The starwhale floated past the ship, its silver fins spread to catch the solar wind.
Jin gaped, speechless for once.
Their guide smiled. “The computer translates its song into frequencies humans can hear. ”
Eerie, low sounds drifted from the speakers.
“We call this one Cassandra. She always comes back. There’s something wrong with the pitch of her voice, you see. The others can’t hear her.”
“Can’t the computer translate for them, too?” Jin asked.
“In theory.”
“Can we try?”
“All right.”
After a few hours, a strange, new song burst forth.
Together, the two starwhales disappeared into the nebula.
Author’s Note: According to NASA, there is sound in outer space. Humans just can’t hear it.
I like this story. It captures a mood beautifully and I loved the ending.
To say there is “sound” in outer space requires an absurdly loose definition of sound though. Space is a virtual vacuum and so incapable of carrying sound as it is commonly known. What Nasa has been studying is electromagnetic waves they have converted into sounds.