For decades radio telescopes have scoured the skies for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence but have found none. Why? Could it be we really are alone in the universe? Or is it that the truth has been withheld from us by a global conspiracy of silence?

When radio telescope operators Lauren Stelleck, a woman with a special gift enabling her to literally see certain sounds, and Steve Andrews, a diehard sci-fi geek, detect a signal like no other at Jodrell Bank in England, a chain of events is unleashed that propels Earth towards all-out nuclear war. Can Lauren and Steve unlock the secret of the signal before our species tears itself apart?

The Signal is a prequel novella to the Fractured Light trilogy, and is part of the Multiverse Chronicles, an epic series of interlinked stories that follows the struggle of humanity to survive across parallel universes.

Watch the skies because the darkness is coming for us.

Today is the culmination of years of work as I launch myself into the world of indie publishing with my new company, Voice from the Clouds. To mark that launch I’m giving away The Signal, a novella set in my new Multiverse Chronicles series. If you love epic science fiction storytelling that spans many interlinked tales, then this series will be for you.

To mark this special moment I’m going to make The Signal free to the readers of my newsletter. All I ask is that you subscribe and in return, apart from being able to read The Signal for free, I’ll keep you updated with news about my books and other books that I think you might love too. I also want to hear back from you on here, or via email, or on Facebook. I view the journey ahead as a collaborative one between me the author and you the reader. 

Do remember to leave a review on Amazon or alternatively you can buy a paperback version here: mybook.to/TheSignal-Nick-Cook

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Here’s a question for you…what if we’re all alone in the galaxy? What if there is no one else out there across the vastness of space?

The famous Drake Equation predicts the likelihood of life out there. And that equation tells us that statistically there should be civilisations that have evolved to a technological point that they have a desire to communicate. That equation also tells us there should 50,000 alien intelligent civilisations.

It was the Drake Equation that later evolved into the famous SETI program, which to this day, scans the heavens with radio telescopes looking for any signs of intelligent life. The problem is that so far none have ever been detected. The troubling question is, why?

It sounds simple doesn’t it to pick up the radio chatter from an alien civilisation, but it really isn’t. The radio frequency is actually a very wide band, from short wave to long wave. Originally, SETI searched through very narrow radio bands, trying to guess the magic frequency that aliens might be broadcasting on. Today, radio telescopes, thanks to computing developments, can search multiple bands at the same time. But we still haven't heard anything. And it this contradiction between what the Drake Equation and we still haven’t found, that has led to the Fermi Paradox that asks, why? 

Could it be that the hurdles to evolve to intelligent life, often referred to as the great filters are so great as to make it almost impossible to get past? In other words, is Earth a one-off?

The optical search is currently on for Earth-like exoplanets planets, measuring the dip of light as the planet passes in front of its star. This search has thrown up many candidates for planets, like our own, that exist in the goldilocks orbit – not too hot, and not too cold – where the conditions, in theory, are ideal for evolution of life. And this list is growing rapidly every year. 

However, being suitable for life is only the starting point. The point where basic chemistry tips over the line into one where life flourishes, is a tricky one to navigate. So far we haven't been able to simulate this in the lab. But what we do have is the evidence of the planet that we live on that proves this process works. Additionally, Darwin shows us that there was a single common origin for all life on Earth. 

And we aren't this planet's first attempt either. There's new research that points to the fact that life may have actually made several attempts to get going on Earth. 

And all this has positive implications for finding other life out there...

This is why the search for life within our own solar system is so significant. If we can find life on Mars or the moons of Saturn or Jupiter, then it proves that life on our own planet isn’t a one-off fluke.

Another major barrier (filter) is the evolution into an intelligent species. So could it be that humans are just a freak of nature? Or is it that perhaps alien civilisations haven't lasted long enough for their communications to reach us because they wiped themselves out? And does that mean that a similar fate awaits mankind?

Or, on a more positive note, maybe there is a technical reason that alien technology has moved rapidly beyond radio. In other words, we don't have the technology to hear their quantum entangled, or whatever they are using, communications.

But there may be an even simpler explanation... Have we simply not done enough searching yet? If the universe is represented by Earth’s oceans, then so far we have measured a cupful of all those combined seas. This puts our current efforts so far, into sharp perspective.

This is a needle in a haystack search. However, it's also a question that is so fundamental to us as a species, that after fifty years of searching, we still have no real choice but to continue. Who knows what may be waiting around the corner for us, but we won’t know unless we carry on trying.

Photo via Visual Hunt

Out there in the space as they say, no one can hear you scream... and that will be because of the vacuum. However, radio waves can happily pass through that medium and radiate out across the galaxy. 

If you’ve ever seen static on a TV screen did you know that you’re actually tuning into the white noise of the universe, the static that fills the radio waves between our broadcasts. Listen to the pops and whistles from the audio output of a radio telescope and you may hear Jupiter and its moons, our sun's wail, the distant clicking of pulsars, and even the echo of the big bang itself.

Inspired by this, I’ve assembled a little YouTube celestial orchestra for you to listen to. The gas planets are majestic and Earth sounds truly unique buzzing with the sound of life. And further, much further away, you can listen to the clicking of the spinning pulsar at the heart of Vega. These are just a selection of the haunting sounds that fill the universe around us.