But they’re not just any old stars. These are specific stars. They’re all in the correct relative positions to one another, with Tau Ceti right in the center. The map’s point of view is kind of odd. To make the spheres match my data plot of star locations, I have to hold the doohickey at a 30-degree angle and kind of rotate it around a bit.

But of course, all of Earth’s data is based on Earth’s orbital plane being the reference point. People from a different planet would have a different coordinate system. But no matter how you look at it, the end result is the same: The doohickey is a map of the local stars.

Then I’m suddenly very interested in that little filament connecting the center sphere (Tau Ceti) to another sphere. I check the corresponding star in my catalog: It’s called 40 Eridani. But I bet the crew of the Blip-A call it home.

That’s the message. “We’re from the 40 Eridani system. And now we’re here at Tau Ceti.”

But there’s even more to it than that. They’re also saying “40 Eridani has a Petrova line, just like Tau Ceti.”

I stop to let that sink in.

“Are you in the same boat?!” I say.

Of course they are! Astrophage is getting at all the local stars. These people are from a planet orbiting 40 Eridani, and 40 Eridani is infected just like Earth’s sun! They have some pretty good science going on, so they did the same thing we did. Make a ship, and go to Tau Ceti to see why it’s not dying!

“Holy cow!” I say.

Yes, I’m jumping to a conclusion there. Maybe they harvest Astrophage from their Petrova line and consider it a boon. Maybe they invented Astrophage. Maybe they just think Petrova lines are pretty. There are a bunch of different things this could mean. But the most likely, in my admittedly biased opinion, is that they’re here to find a solution.

Aliens.

Actual aliens.

Aliens from the 40 Eridani system. So I guess that makes them Eridanians? Hard to say, even harder to remember. Eridans? No. How about Eridians? Sounds kind of like “iridium,” which is one of the cooler-sounding elements on the periodic table. Yeah, I’m going to call them Eridians.

And I think it’s pretty obvious how I should respond.

I thoroughly searched the lab a few days ago. There’s an electronics kit in one of the drawers. The trick is remembering which one.

I don’t remember, of course. It takes me a while of searching and not-quite swearing while I do, but I eventually find it.