The Golden Disc by Adam Rutter

The Golden Disc - Humanity's Calling Card

On board the spaceship I studied the pictorial symbols on the side of the unmanned craft that were inscribed on the aluminium plate. I tried to decipher each symbol while I attempted to understand what they represented. One of them resembled a sine wave which broke down into irregular peaks and troughs. Below was a zig-zag cut into the plate with each line rising perpendicular and sloping down at right angles. Every ‘sloping line’ had a marking engrave above, and I had noticed that the same marking was shown on four other symbols that were probably used as cardinal numbers by an ancient civilization from a different part of the galaxy.

The plate also contained a big circle and a tiny one at the centre. The same number was surrounding the big circle, interrupted by a thin, rectangular shape which denoted an instrument that was possibly used to scribe these symbols. But when I looked at the same number more carefully, most were horizontal, whereas some were vertical which suggested a universal coding system that has not been used on my world for many eons. Binary Code!

This implied that both the sine-like wave and binary system was used by the instrument to record encoded information onto removable media.

I placed my fingers on the edge of the plate and separated it from the craft.

Inside was a gold disc containing a narrow channel spiraling towards the century. At the centre was an image of a planet covered in white clouds as well as oceans and continents. There was indecipherable lettering printed on the image. Next to the gold disc was the instrument that was presumably used to encode the information of the surface of the disc. I placed the instrument on the edge of the disc and slowly turned the rotating apparatus as instructed by the binary numbers. The instrument made scratching noises as it travelled through the channel. It also produced faint vocal sounds of words spoken in an unfamiliar language including other strange noises such as a series of clicks and squeaks, continuous rumbling, simmering and the wind whistling. The disc also consisted of electronic sounds of bleeps and warbles mixed with a deep, low-pitched noise. There were sounds of clattering, like something moving along hard ground. A constant ‘clang’ was replaced by a ‘clickety-clack, ‘clickety-clack’, ‘clickety-clack’. A quartet of stringed instruments played a melodious tune – pleasing, but familiar sound throughout the universe. A slight croaking sound was heard on the disc with a blend of loud chirping noises which may have been produced by an unusual insect. There were also other unidentifiable sounds like trilling and tweeting, with a combination of trumpeting and screaming made by wild animals. I listened to artificial sound of two solid objects striking each other- like stones. I heard a fast ‘thump’ which can only be best described as a heartbeat. The pace and rapidity of the heartbeat indicated that it belonged to a primate. A gentle humming sound of brainwaves was evidence that it belonged to the same species. I also heard an explosive vocal sound made by the primate that seemed to display a heightened emotional state. A crashing and roaring sound - an attribute to a rocket, probably the same vehicle that launched the craft into space.

The instrument travelled towards the middle of the disc.

Then the apparatus stopped spinning and the noises stopped.