The Star Jelly Files

Glitter and the Edge of the Universe

• Elizabeth Hamblett • Season 2 • Episode 2

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During this episode Astra shares a message from Opal about her first visit to the 42nd realm of the universe. To visit some aliens that spend most of their time making contact with those that existed before time began. Episode Quote “I closed my eyes and thought for a second. If I was designing a world that sat at the edge of the universe, where very old and mysterious aliens lived, what would I make it look like?”

For more details about the Star Jelly Files visit www.starjellyfiles.com
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For more details about the Star Jelly Files visit www.starjellyfiles.com
To support the podcast, visit my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/starjellyfiles

The Star Jelly Files
Season 2: Episode 2
Glitter and the Edge of the Universe 

Hello Everyone, 

Welcome to this week’s broadcast of the Star Jelly Files. Our letter this week comes from Opal and is about her first visit to meet some aliens that don’t normally bother with the day-to-day affairs of the universe. In fact, they spend most of their time exploring what most cannot see and making contact with those that existed before time began. 

Yes, I know. I said in my last broadcast that I would share my perspective of this story, and I will. It is just that I thought Opal’s experience here should be the one that I broadcast first. Her experience is different than mine, and in reality, closer to the experience that most beings have when they visit that part of the universe. Let’s starts with the basics, then we can move on to more complex things. She saw this journey through the eyes of someone who is still exploring the new and unreal. Through the eyes of a being who is just beginning to understand what might be out there.

Opal’s letter was delivered to me by the Altarians who she is currently traveling with. She sealed it within one of the old jelly jars that she has become accustomed to carrying with her as travels the stars. For the longest time on Earth, Opal enjoyed preserving fruits and creating different jam and jelly concoctions. So much so that she has taken to bringing some along to share with whomever she is getting a ride from. Saving the empty jars to send letters to those closest to her.  A reminder of where she comes from, and a comfort from home, one that reminds us of her. This particular jelly jar is made of tinted green glass and is covered in an old peeling label that advertises the long-gone contents of green apple jelly. Not one of my favorites, but I know a few beings who really enjoy it. The letter itself is written on soft, lavender colored paper. In the cursive script that Opal favors. It took a while to learn to read her handwriting, but the swirling and looping words that pour across her pages are a comfort now. A letter less about business and more about enjoying the letter writing process. Here is what she said.

-Astra 

 Communication from Opal about her visit to the outer edge of the universe.

Hi Astra,

Well not just hello to you. Really, I should be saying hello to everyone else who is listening. You already know my stories Astra, and we have never been as formal as including greetings in our letters. I am sorry this letter is late. I know you are all wrapped up in time and deadlines, but life just gets in the way sometimes. You never know when there will unexpected chores, adventures, or visitors from Europa that pop up in your week. At least my letter made it to you. I count that as a win for my to do list. As I am sure you have already mentioned, this letter from me is about my first visit to the 42nd realm of the universe. Which seems fitting for the week I have had. Time is something that I see less and less as solid, and more as fluid in nature as I explore deeper into the universe. Admittingly this is challenge for me sometimes, as I live on a world that is drowning in deadlines and clocks. Maybe someday Earth will see time for what it is. Something that is alive and ever changing. My trip to the 42nd realm is what started a process of understanding for me. It was the moment I began to see the universe for what it actually is. Not something solid that I can hold in the palm of my hand, but something that changes from moment to moment and thought to thought.

I have thought a lot about how to explain this journey. It was not the typical trip where you board a ship, land on a planet, and explore the new world that surrounds you. Well, it was, but it wasn’t. It was an experience that was intensely personal, and I’m told each experience is unique. Just the same though, I think it makes sense to start with when we landed. We arrived in the 42nd realm in a ship that Astra borrowed from the beings from the star Sirius B. A large triangular ship, made of liquid black metal that had amber lights encircling its perimeter. The ship had the ability to blend into the star scape as we traveled if it chose to. Making our journey secret. I am not aware of any reason we needed our journey to be secret, other than we didn’t want to have to stop to answer questions about why we were taking a sudden detour to a part of the universe that most beings never bother thinking about. 

Although saucer ships are almost always used in Earth depictions of alien travel, triangular ships are far more common. A standard design used on many worlds. I am sure there is a very scientific reason that is the case, I just haven’t had the time to figure that part out yet. I was far more fascinated by the journey I could see unfolding outside of the almost invisible windows. I spent the majority of the five-day journey sitting on a soft, day glow pink, fabric chair that felt like being sucked into a bean bag chair on Earth. Staring out the window and occasionally reading a book or two. I have to admit this particular seating choice felt more fancy then the novelty chairs of Earth. Something about the softness of the velvet like fabric, the way the chair didn’t make any noise as you shifted around, and the fact that they were all about eight feet round. They felt more like sculpture installations than chairs due to their size. The things were scattered around the ship, usually by windows or display screens, and always decorated brilliant fluorescent colors. Bright pinks, greens, oranges, and yellows. Blinding to the eyes in their stark contrast to the deeper colors of the universe outside the windows, and the black metal walls of the ship. 

I asked Astra why they were all so brightly decorated, and got a long explanation about how the beings from Sirius B actually consider these colors to be dull and plain. Much the same as if we decorated a room in all gray tones back on Earth. Besides making me intensely curious about what their home world could possible look like to a human, this also made me laugh as I passed each conference room and gathering space that was supposedly decorated in calming simple designs. They all looked like a roller-skating rink from the 1970s to me.  I have it on my to do list to send them a disco ball to decorate their ship with. 

Anyway, I am off topic. You should really tell me when I start to wander with my story. But I know you can’t cause you are listening to this pre-recorded. BWAHAHHA you will just have to listen to me ramble sometimes. 

As we made our way towards our destination the denseness of the void of space that was outside our windows changed. Most depictions of space show endless stars, planets, and light. Even the pictures taken with Earth technology bend to that depiction of what is out here. I understand why. If you are taking a picture of space you want to show something spectacular, something that grabs the attention of your audience, maybe even something they have not even seen or dreamed of before. And to be fair, that depiction is mostly true. Most places you might travel to in the universe are that dense with planets to see, and civilizations going about their daily lives. That is until you start to make your way towards the edge of things. The further we moved towards the edge of our universe the fewer planets, stars, and nebulas came into view. By the time our ship stopped at its destination the spattering of stars and worlds had mostly vanished, making it so the only thing I saw in the window was my own reflection, and the reflection of the furniture in the room around me. It was as if someone had turned the stars off for the night and forgot to tell everyone the show was over.  

We stopped the ship in what looked to me, like a completely blank area of space. No stars, no planets, no light. Just darkness. The amber lights on our ship didn’t even really make a difference since there were no objects for the light to bounce off. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I think I was expecting to at least see something? Buildings maybe, roads, and bridges, and ships. Or, if not that, maybe at least rocks and water and trees of some kind. Most of the worlds I have visited, even if they didn’t initially appear to contain signs of being occupied, at least had signs of a form of nature. Plants, water, sand, rocks, something. But there was nothing. I think these preconceptions, which I now know were ridiculous to have in the first place, is why I was so shocked when an announcement came over the ship’s intercom saying it was time to depart for the next part of our journey, and to make our way to the hanger of the ship. By the time I had made my way through the winding halls of the ship, and to the place where the long ramp of the ship would open to allow us to leave, I had practically convinced myself that there must be another world, or ship, or something outside that I just couldn’t see. Either because they were hiding from us, or because my eyes were incapable of perceiving it. This didn’t turn out to be true either.  

I watched as the ramp of our ship began to slowly open and reveled nothing except a giant empty space. Astra, Hum and Walter began to walk forward with all the confidence in the world as if it was no big deal they were about to walk down a ramp into nothing. Not even wearing space suites of any kind. Walking down in their daily clothes, as if they were just walking from one room to another. I followed them. I figured if they knew where they were going, and they usually did, that I would be fine to follow their lead. I had known them for 70 plus years, and they had earned my trust hundreds of times. In everything from space travel to recommendations of their favorite recipes that they picked up. I stepped forward, following a few paces behind them. I could feel the weight of my steps on the metal ramp vibrating up through my sneakers, and the sound was so loud that each of my footsteps echoed off the walls of the hanger. Against my determination to act as if this whole situation was normal to me, a skill I had been trying to perfect as my space travels expanded, I could feel a nervous flutter in my stomach.  

I was so caught up in telling myself to calm down, that I was surprised by Astra, and the others stopping just at the end of the ramp and motioning for me to walk ahead of them. “This trip was for you, not us” Astra said to me. A sentence that made zero sense in my brain. I had spent my time following these three around, watching them explore and do their jobs. It made zero sense to me why some of the most ancient beings to exist even had any interest or inclination to ask me to come meet with them. That is probably why they had Astra bring me with her. I don’t know that I would have believed her if she told me in advance. Astra told me that they would be waiting on the ship and would join me when I was ready. Whatever that meant. I wasn’t going to waste my time asking questions though. I could see in Astra’s eyes that she was not planning to tell me anything else, and she would do that thing where she just sits there in silence waiting until I get to annoyed and end up filling the void myself. 

So, I took a deep breath, tossed my long-braided gray hair over my shoulder, I really should get my hair cut at some point, and stepped off the ramp and into nothing. Well not into nothing. I stepped on to something. My current theory in that moment was that as soon as I stepped off that ramp that I would start floating across space. Like in all those action movies on Earth that show actors flying across the screen. But, as soon as I placed my foot down, where I thought some type of surface in theory might be, my foot landed firmly on what I think was a floor, a step? Well, it was something because I didn’t fall anywhere, or fly away either. I turned briefly to Hum, looking for some confirmation that I was on the right track, he unlike Astra could usually be counted on for a hint or two. I got my answer. He stared at me, a twinkle of laughter in his deep indigo eyes, and nodded. Good enough for me. 

I took another step forward, less tentative this time, and again my foot found some type of solid surface. I looked down at my feet which appeared as if they were floating above nothing and started to smile. What kind of world is this I thought. I looked like I was in a space movie that ran out of money for the special effects. I jumped when I heard an answer to my question. A deep rumbling voice said, “It can be whatever world you want it to be.” I stood three, startled for a moment, and began to look around for the source of the sound.  Again, feeling like I was in a movie, but this time with an old-fashioned inviable voice being played through speakers. The blush of embarrassment that had been rising on my wrinkled cheeks began to fade as I laughed. I decided if the voice wanted to be corny, then I could play along. I made an internal decision. If it could be any world I wanted, then let’s make something fun. See if they can prove their point. 

I closed my eyes and thought for a second. If I was designing a world that sat at the edge of the universe, where very old and mysterious aliens lived, what would I make it look like. I could be traditional, make it look like a gray moon, with bright green flying saucers flying around, and futuristic buildings everywhere. All obviously made out of cardboard. I could be modern and make a photo realistic world complete with small creatures gliding across forests and rivers. But, no, those options weren’t really my style. If they were being honest, that it could be anything I wanted, I wanted to see what that could really mean. Also, somewhere deep inside of me, I thought that this might be some kind of test. Maybe to see if I was worth bringing to visit them or not.  Spoiler alert, it wasn’t. But, you know, I was thinking it might be.

So, I stood there with my eyes closed and I decided it wouldn’t be a world at all. When I opened my eyes, I found that my surroundings had changed drastically. No longer empty, but not filled with structures either. My feet now stood firmly on a set of glass stairs, each filled with rainbow glitter that shimmered in the light from the green floating orbs that were now scattered around me.  My stairs lead upwards towards a glass platform, also decked out in glitter. I have to admit, I was a little bit shocked. I don’t think my brain really believed anything would appear. Let alone something covered in glitter. I figured I would roll with it though. Why not? Most people would never believe the story anyway so I might as well enjoy myself. I started making my way forward, the green orbs of light, about the size of my hand, following me as I moved. I began to smile as I noticed that each step I took no longer landed silently, but now created a loud tone as if I was stepping on the keys of a giant keyboard. Each of my steps adding a note to the growing song of my journey. A particular song from the 80s that I still loved to listen to. I mean I was building a city in my own way, right?

I became lost in the song and my steps for a time. Enjoying the strangeness of a staircase I pictured in my mind just suddenly being in front of me. Contemplating the thought that aliens likely helped me to build a glass, musical, glitter filled staircase. I loved the idea that they had a sense of humor most likely or were at least mildly interested in what I might want to build. I laughed to myself at the idea that they somehow were even able to make the stairs create a song of my choosing. Briefly wondering if they had pulled the song from my memory, or maybe they had heard it at some point. Eventually though, I came to realize the steps seemed to go on forever, not part of my design. I was so far away from the ship, that all I could see was the faint glow of the amber lights sitting on what in some worlds would be considered a horizon. The platform wasn’t any closer either. It was if the steps had continued to expand. For the briefest of moments, I considered this was because they liked that I was playing a song, then I shook my head to clear the thought. That was way too much pressure. My steps were still behind me. Glitter shimmering in the green light I created. I could go back if I wanted to, but now that I was paying attention, I could feel something calling me forward. 

I decided to keep going. The moment I did the platform was suddenly only 3 steps away from me. A vibration could now be felt in the air. An energy that made the air feel thick and alive making the hair on my arms stand up. I wondered suddenly if I was underdressed for this meeting. If I was going to meet important beings that knew everything, and were super old, shouldn’t I be wearing more than a pair of overalls and a plaid shirt? I briefly considered changing my outfit with my mind but decided against it. If they invited me, and enjoyed my structural design, then I was fine as I was. I took three quick steps, finishing my song and stopping in the middle of the glass platform. It wasn’t until that moment, when I looked up and around, that I realized they had been sitting there all along. Waiting for me to acknowledge them. They sat around the edges of my platform because I picked the location I think, and were waiting for me to speak? Maybe? They were larger than I thought they would be. I envisioned beings about my height, maybe a little taller, that would sit in chairs around the platform with me. I did not anticipate them to be over 50 feet tall, and just floating out in space, almost like they were treading water to stay in one place and talk to me. They had deep blue skin that shimmered as they moved, and reflected back is if they themselves were covered in rainbow glitter. Beyond that they looked human. A decision, I learned later, that they made because they thought it would make me more comfortable.  

I wasn’t afraid as one might think I should be with 50 foot tall being looking down at me in the middle of space. There was something about them that radiated kindness, and I could tell a few of them were trying not to laugh. I waited, deciding then that I probably should let them talk first. A long silence ensued. All of us looking at each other. Them patiently waiting for me to fill the silence. I eventually gave in. So, I said. Do you like my decorations. They were all smiling then, and some even laughing. I relaxed at the sound.  We talked then for a while. About how they had never had a human design their world before. How usually the designs they see are less fun and more formal. Of how they had lots of questions for me. You see, they don’t travel as often as they used to the busy parts of the universe. They spent most of their time traveling outward. Looking for unseen places and learning to speak to the universe itself. Which apparently, and shocking news to me, is alive and thinking and able to communicate with us. Still haven’t wrapped my brain around that one. 

But, anyway, they were talking to me because they were intrigued by how so many worlds were now seeming to be ready to learn more about what the universe is. About what it means to be part of the galactic community. What the galactic community is. It isn’t just about planets, and aliens, and spaceships. It is also about beings that exist beyond those definitions. They had watched our cameras travel the stars for a while, considered jumping into a few photos to see if we noticed them, but that was the extent of the interactions they had planned for us. Until the veil fell that is. Until it became a reality that Earth would be joining the universal community sooner rather than later. I must admit I got distracted while they talked. Thinking about taking the time to search through photos of space to see if I can find them. I had the overwhelming feeling that they hadn’t just thought about jumping into our photos but actually had. After we talked for a while about the surface level things, and I continued to get distracted while trying to process the conversation we were having, they decided it was time to get more serious about our discussion. 

Seeing as I was the only human they knew of who traveled the stars, they wanted to ask my opinion on something, and they wondered if I could answer a question for them so they could decide if it was worth traveling towards Earth to learn more about humans, and to maybe meet them. You see they are part of the galactic alliance, but rarely meet young worlds, because the way their world works is so different then anything else most of us know. Which makes it more difficult for newer planets to believe it is real. Makes it more difficult for new worlds to adjust to living amongst the greater galactic community. So, they like to do their research first before deciding if they will say hello. Not many worlds, young or old, have yet to figure out that the universe, and time for that matter, are far more flexible and interesting than any of us imagined. That didn’t stop these beings from wanting to share that knowledge though. They just had to find the right worlds to start working with. Those who were ready. I agreed to answer their questions and asked where they would like to start.  

They got serious then. The laughing subsiding, and the smiles falling away from their faces. “Do you think Earth is ready to meet the rest of us. To meet beings from the universe that are not like them, that don’t even fit their definitions of what is real?” they asked. 

What do you think my answer should have been? What do you think my answer was? Well, you will have to wait to find out. I have blueberry pie in the oven, and a certain friend from Andromeda stopping by this evening. 

I will write again soon

-       Opal


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