392.10 46616.10 52325.15
392.05 392.0.5 46616.05 46616.05 55437.05 52325.20 392.10 41616.10 52325.15
46616.05 46616.05 392.05 392.20 + pause. Or, written with no points and intervals:
3921046616105232515392053920546616054661605554370
552325203921046616105232515466160546616053920539220 + pause. Did you get it?”
It was as if the endless deep silence of the desert was brought into the control room.
“Pause?” Marcela was the only one who dared to speak.
Hans nodded and went on:
“Yes, it seemed logical to me to present it like a note 00 with value of 1.0, i.e. 0010.”
“So, what is it finally?”, Norman asked.
“Pay attention to the time… 4/4.”
“What time is it? Isn’t 4/4 the same as 1/1, i.e. one?”, Marcela was the next one to pose a question.
“Not quite”, Hans smiled. “4/4 is a time that was imposed in classical music since Guido D’Arezzo till the Holy Trinity – Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven. It consists of first strong time, second weak, third strong and fourth weak again… Suddenly the genius of rock music of the 20th century arrives and turns everything upside down.”
“What are you talking about, Hans? You’ve gone totally insane”, Alan murmured quietly.
“With Richie’s heavy rock the times of the percussion instruments are exchanged and they go respectively like that: first weak, second strong, third weak and fourth strong… which totally changes rhythm and sound. This is a colossal rebellion of a new epoch against the classical order.” Hans’s voice was exalted and shrill.
“I just cannot understand how the juxtaposition of Baroque and hard rock corresponds with our casus here” Marcela expressed her astonishment.
“So, aliens know our alphabet and language, but write to us in a musical code?!” Norman’s logic could not fathom this.
“As I said earlier, the pause is represented as 0010 and the first message that we received, is actually an incessant repetition of the key to the code…”
3921046616105232515392053920546616054661605554370
552325203921046616105232515466160546616053920539220
0010…
Everyone gaped at the stack of figures, nonsensical at first glance, which, with the help of the mathematician, now seemed a little easier to be understood. This time nobody asked a question or urged the plump professor to explain further. After giving them a few seconds to realize what they heard, Hans went on: “Every four figures encode a letter…”
3921/0466/1610/5232/5153/9205/3920/5466/1605/4661/
6055/5437/0552/3252/0392/1046/6161/0523/2515/4661/605
4/6616/0539/2053/9220/0010/…
Hans looked around to make sure he had their attention and continued typing:
A – 3921 B – 0466 C – 1610 D – 5232 E – 5153 F – 9205 G – 3920 H – 5466 I – 1605 J – 4661 K – 6055 L – 5437 M – 0552 N – 3252 O – 0392 P – 1046 Q – 6161 R – 0523 S – 2515 T – 4661 U – 6054 V – 6616 W – 0539 X – 2053 Y – 9220 Z – 0010
“You are the top, Hans!”, Michael congratulated him spontaneously.
“With all my respect, Professor, two of the code groups are repeated for two letters J-4661 и Т-4661”, Sergey noticed.
“It would be strange if everything coincided 100%”, Hans smiled. “As Professor McDowell states in his “Theory of the Imperfect Detail”, no system could be ideal, because that would demand infinite quantity of energy and zero entropy, and this, as we all know, is impossible…”
Perseus killed the terrifying Medusa. She was one of the three Gorgonas and poisonous snakes curled on her head. Anybody at whom she directed her gaze, turned instantly to stone. Many brave men had gone to take off her head but no one came back.
Perseus never looked in her eyes, but fought her, following her reflection in his shield, shining like a mirror, that was a present to him by Pallas Athena. He cut with one blow the head of the monstrous Medusa and put it in his magic bag.
The young hero sat to take a rest from the long way, leaving the bag over water plants and seaweed. The blood of Medusa trickled through the bag and the weeds turned to stone at once. The charming sea nymphs came and were fascinated with the beauty of the stoned water plants. The nymphs took them and dispersed them on the bottom of the entire sea. That was how the corrals were born.
Hans took of his jacket and hanged it on the back of the chair. “I’ve adjusted an algorithm to use the music key and translate directly the messages, coming from the ship. Here, see, to the left is he original code of numbers, and to the right – their direct ‘translation’:
39210466161052325153920539205466160546616055
5437055232520392104661610523251546616054661605
39205392200010
39210466161052325153920539205466160546616055
5437055232520392104661610523251546616054661605
39205392200010
39210466161052325153920539205466160546616055
5437055232520392104661610523251546616054661605
39205392200010
39210466161052325153920539205466160546616055
5437055232520392104661610523251546616054661605
39205392200010
A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z
A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z
A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z
“The key is repeated 1 061 594 times”, Hans continued.
“They are quite insistent”, Michael noted.
“Yes, you are right, but when you need someone to hear you by all means, you’ve got to be a little pushy, don’t you think?”
Hans explained.
“Or when it is really important for both sides”, Marcela added.
“And what now? What does ‘good upbringing’ dictates to be done on our side?” Alan inquired.
“I suggest we return the code back… It is a very easy and courteous way to show them them that we have understood the message.” Hans made a move to start typing, but then he glanced at Norman for an approval. He just nodded in agreement. “Here, we return the code back… Once… I guess it is enough,
and if I am right, we will be understood correctly.”
Everyone fixed their eyes towards the screen, nobody moved.
Marcela could hardly breathe with anxiety. Ten seconds passed… then ten more… a minute… two minutes…
“That’s bullshit, you must have made some mistake in your calculations, Hans”, Alan said nervously.
“I’d hate to disappoint you, Hans, but Alan might have a point here”, Norman said, shifting his glance from the screen to the plump scientist.
“Have a little patience, I am sure everything is correct…” Another minute passed and everybody in the group started fidgeting, obviously freed from the initial tension. And just at this moment a sequence appeared on the screen: 039232525153
“What is it, Hans?” Norman almost stuck his long nose in the screen.
0392 = О
3252 = N
5153 = E
ONE
“One?!” Norman jumped back.
“Yes, ‘one’. It’s wonderful!” Hans was grinning as if he was the happiest man on earth.
The rest of them were gaping in wonder.
“What the hell is ‘one’?” Ivanov turned abruptly at Hans.
“Well, this is the beauty of Mathematics.”