A World Beyond
Probes: Signals from Alpha Centauri
Probes: Signals from Alpha Centauri
The following telemetry logs document a series of small, unmanned probes launched from the Progenitor during its early survey missions — before any Peregrine-class vessel was built. The probes were sent toward Alpha Centauri under autonomous navigation. Their data packets began arriving years later, during a period when John Tukei was believed to be occupied with Peregrine II — his final deep-space project.
The distance readings between instruments have not been reconciled.
Launch Log — Progenitor Shipboard Log | Cycle 14, Sol 22
Timestamp: 07.08.24 — 09:47 USST Event: Probe Array Deployment — Batch 1 Location: Mars orbital, holding station
Deployed three probes this cycle. Designations Alpha, Beta, Gamma. Each carries a spectrometric array, a gravitational lens, and a communications relay package. They will coast under ion propulsion toward the Alpha Centauri system. Estimated transit: 40–50 years.
We don't have the Peregrinators yet. We don't have the Peregrine. We have this ship — a monument that learned to fly — and we have a question we won't live long enough to answer. But the probes will.
Someone will be there when the signals arrive. Not us. But someone.
— J. Tukei
Margin note, added by hand (unknown author, dated later): "The probes transmitted for 12 years after launch. Then the signal went dark. We assumed they'd failed. We were wrong."
Data Packet — Probe Alpha | Received 14.09.38
Receiving Station: Peregrine II — Comms Relay Packet ID: ALPHA-DATA-001 Sequence: Orbit insertion data — Alpha Centauri A Instrument: Spectrometric Array
Orbit insertion successful. Star is a G2V-type main-sequence star. Spectral analysis confirms expected metallicity.
Anomaly: Wide-field imaging has identified an object at an orbital distance of approximately 1.2 AU from the primary. Spectral signature inconsistent with natural formation.
Handwritten annotation (source: mission analyst, identified as "EM"): "This packet was sent while John was on Progenitor. We're reading it now while standing on Peregrine II's deck. The ship that launched these probes is a museum piece. The probes themselves are older than some of the technicians."
Second annotation, same hand: "1.2 AU. That's inside the habitable zone. We're looking at something that was already there when we left. We just didn't know it yet."
Data Packet — Probe Beta | Received 22.11.38
Receiving Station: Peregrine II — Comms Relay Packet ID: BETA-DATA-003 Sequence: Secondary scan — Alpha Centauri B Instrument: Gravitational Lens Array
Gravitational lensing survey complete. Three planetary bodies identified.
| Body | Estimated Mass | Orbital Radius | Est. Surface Temp |
|---|---|---|---|
| B-1 | 0.8 Earth | 0.7 AU | 320 K |
| B-2 | 2.1 Earth | 1.1 AU | 280 K |
| B-3 | 0.3 Earth | 2.3 AU | 190 K |
B-2 is a super-Earth at the inner edge of the habitable zone. Atmosphere indicated.
Annotation: "Probe Beta's distance reading: 4.3 ly. Probe Alpha reports 4.2 ly for the same system. Same stars. Same probes. Different numbers. The Peregrine II nav team has flagged this but there is no explanation."
Data Packet — Probe Alpha | Received 03.02.39
Receiving Station: Peregrine II — Comms Relay Packet ID: ALPHA-DATA-012 Sequence: Follow-up imaging — 1.2 AU object Instrument: Optical Telescope Array
The object is not natural. Regular, non-elliptical shape. Reflects approximately 72% of incident light across all visible wavelengths — inconsistent with any known asteroid or comet composition. Albedo too uniform. Surface does not appear geological.
Size estimate: 1.4 km × 0.9 km × 0.9 km.
Designated ANOM-1.
Annotation, margin, faint pencil: "Between Probe Alpha's arrival and Probe Beta's arrival at Centauri, there's a gap in the telemetry. Three months where neither probe reported. Then they both came back online. No one knows why. The diagnostic logs are blank."
Peregrine II — Personal Log, J. Tukei | 17.02.39
The probes are talking again.
Fourteen years after we sent them. I was a different person when I programmed those launch sequences. The Progenitor was different too — it was still a thing people argued about, a symbol, an accusation, a promise. Now it's a retired hull with a plaque on it.
I'm standing on Peregrine II's deck, reviewing data from a ship I built before I knew what I was building. And the probes found something. Something that was waiting.
The Cosmic Engine brought us here. The Progenitor proved it could work. But the probes are telling me there's a reason to keep going — something at Centauri that isn't us, wasn't us, and doesn't belong to us.
I don't know what it is.
But I know the Peregrine II is almost ready.
Comms Intercept — Peregrine II to Mars Habitat Gamma | 18.02.39
Sender: J. Tukei Recipient: Milly Channel: Encrypted (personal)
The probes are back. Data's coming in slowly — signal degradation over distance, some packets corrupted. But there's something at Centauri. I don't want to say it out loud yet. I don't want to name it.
The ship is almost ready. The Peregrine II has everything the Progenitor didn't. Better shielding, better life support, a COSMIC drive that doesn't sound like it's tearing itself apart.
If the probes found what I think they found, I need to see it myself.
Compiler's Note
The data packets in this file arrived at Peregrine II between September 2038 and February 2039 — approximately fourteen years after their launch from the Progenitor. The probes continued transmitting sporadically until 2041, then fell silent.
Of the three probes deployed, only Alpha and Beta returned usable data. Probe Gamma's telemetry was lost during transmission and never recovered.
The discrepancy between Alpha's distance reading (4.2 ly) and Beta's (4.3 ly) remains unresolved. Several explanations have been proposed: relativistic drift, instrument calibration drift, or data corruption during the long transmission window. None have been confirmed.
The object known as ANOM-1 has not been observed by any instrument since.
This story is part of the A World Beyond Here & Now anthology.