This Platter of Ponderings is presented to you in the form of a creative short story by Callum Slaughter. Continue on to read Filter:
 

Filter

Max had always loved the stars. Ever since he was a little boy crawling around the ankles of his mother and father, he had never failed to stop and stare at the night sky. He loved the thought of countless undiscovered planets, each with their own unique treasures floating in space, waiting for discovery. But most of all, he loved the thought of extra-terrestrial life, aliens.
He watched every science fiction show he could get his hands on and every science magazine issue he could afford found a place in his treasured magazine box. Of course, some of Max’s friends made fun of him. It didn’t matter. He loved space.
Max aged and his passion became somewhat tempered. Through high school, it would aid him in applying himself in his science classes; for the rest, he would daydream of all that lay up there. For the most part, he was a good student. Later he dedicated himself to being a good son too.
When his father fell ill and could no longer run the family corner store on his own, Max took it upon himself to cover the weekend shift. Weekends were always the busiest period of the week and although he would come to hate retail with a passion, he was proud he could help the family out. With his earnings, however, Max once again fell prey to his old passion for space and the unknown.
Like many other 16-year-old boys his age, Max spent much of his time on the internet, particularly UFO conspiracy websites. He would read them aloud and wonder where all the aliens truly were. If there really were little grey men coming to Earth, he was certain irrefutable evidence would exist. While he was reading, an advertisement popped up, showing a computer and radio antenna system. The ad claimed it was available at any major tech dealership in the country.
Max was sold.
The next day he caught the bus into town and bought the radio kit. It was heavy and bulky, and the small inbuilt computer meant to send messages to supposed advanced civilisations seemed rather dated. Such small details didn’t bother Max. He knew if he wanted to make real alien friends, he would need to take the initiative.
Thankfully the device was simple enough to operate, capable of sending sound out over a range of non-commercial radio frequencies. Max set the range variation as high as he could, but then he encountered a problem. What would he say? He spent an afternoon pondering the matter and finally settled on a single, elegant question.
Is there anyone out there?
Max left the radio on its automatic mode as the rest of his life continued and he waited, hoping that one day the radio would record a response for him.
The years went quickly for Max, and he finished high school while still tending to his father’s shop. He later went on to university and, some time after that became engaged to his fiancé. All the while, his message continued its transmission out to the universe.
Is there anyone out there?
Years later, Max’s father had passed away. To help his mother, he and his now-wife volunteered to stay with her. Max, depressed and bored out of his mind, took it upon himself to rummage around his old room to find something, anything to keep his mind off the death of his father. He found the old radio. It was still turned on and broadcasting, but that wasn’t it; the message received light was flashing.
Max’s eyes lit up and without any hesitation, he hit play. An alien voice spoke to him in an utterly inhuman and yet beautiful accent.
Be silent. It will hear you.
His fascination turned to shock and yet… The message received light was still flashing. It had recorded another message. With shaking fingers, he pushed the play button. A voice spoke to him, and he could hear screams in the background.
Yes. I hear you.
Max took a deep breath to try and calm his trembling and decided to step outside for some fresh air.
He couldn’t see the stars.
Something was blocking them.