[ WP ] After finally making it to Pluto we get back the first high definition photos , upon the surface is a geographically engineered message from an Alien race ... .

The atmosphere seemed more like Times Square on New Year ’ s Eve than NASA Mission Control. Champagne bottles had been popped and glasses passed around. The speeches had been made, and now uniformed men and women hugged, high fived, and patted each other on the back. A group of scientists in the corner were drunkenly belting out Bowie ’ s Space Oddity, shrill and off key, but in that jubilant moment no one seemed to notice or care. 
 
 NASA Flight Controller Herbert Johnson didn ’ t notice the singing ether, but for a very different reason. He sat like a stone in his seat, eyes glued to his monitor as the party flowed around him. He was frozen in place with his jaw hung open, his eyes glazed over, he didn ’ t blink; only his hands moved, and those were fiercely shaking on his desk. Johnson ’ s hands never shook, ever. He was known as the biggest coffee drinker in the NASA office, and bragged ( as often as possible ) about his ability to drink cup after cup without any side effects, shaking or otherwise. So when the passing Flight Commander noticed Johnson ’ s near catatonic state, he stopped to check on him. 
 
 “ Snap out of it Johnson, working time is done. It ’ s celebration time now baby! Drop the mouse and come have a drink with us, you ’ ve earned it. ” Flight Commander Bradford did not particularly like Johnson, in fact he thought him a notorious and chronic one-upper, a social pariah to be avoided. But it was hard not to feel jovial at a time like this. Johnson didn ’ t respond, didn ’ t even blink. “ Hey, ground control to Major Johnson. Take your protein pills and put your helmet on. Come on son, first ever close up picture of Pluto, and you ’ re a part of it. This happens once in a lifetime, come enjoy it. ” He reached out and shook Johnson ’ s arm. 
 
 Johnson turned to him and blinked, like a man coming out of a trance. His face was white as a sheet of paper and sweat beaded on his forehead. Bradford took a startled step back. “ Jesus, Johnson you look like you ’ ve seen a ghost. Are you ok? ” 
 
 “ I… I think you should see this, Sir, ” Johnson replied. 
 
 Bradford turned his attention to the monitor Johnson was seated behind. It showed the newly captured image of Pluto that had just been beamed back from New Horizons. Johnson took hold of the mouse and steadied his right hand by grabbing the wrist with his left. He slowly began rolling the mouse wheel forward, zooming the picture in. Johnson navigated to a quadrant in the northwest of the planet and continued zooming. Between each roll of the mouse wheel they had to wait for the picture to clear up and come into focus; it reminded Bradford of the days of the 56k modem. 
 
 Finally, after when seemed an eternity, Johnson reached max zoom on his desired location. The jumbled mush of pixels slowly began to take shape. Bradford let out an involuntary gasp. 
 
 “ Is that what I think it is? ” 
 
 “ I believe it is, sir ” Johnson replied. 
 
 “ But… but how? ” he asked, dumbstruck. 
 
 “ It ’ s carved into the ice… somehow, it ’ s carved into the ice of Pluto. Someone out there knew we were coming and wanted to send us a message. ” 
 
 “ But that means… ” Bradford faltered. He couldn ’ t say it. Saying it out loud would make it real, but this was impossible. Johnson had no such qualms. 
 
 “ Alien life, ” he stated matter-of-factly. 
 
 On the screen in front of them, in black and white, carved into the ice on the surface of Pluto was a URL. 
 
 “ Have you plugged it into a browser yet? ” Bradford asked. He was shaking now too. 
 
 “ Not yet, sir. ” 
 
 “ Well, what are you waiting for goddammit? Type it in. ” 
 
 Johnson typed the letters in one by one. The two men took a brief pause to steel themselves for what they might see, for the next moment could quite possibly alter the course of human history. They both held their breath and Johnson hit the enter key. This is what they saw: [ http: //tinyurl.com/2fcpre6 ] ( http: //tinyurl.com/2fcpre6 ) 

