Whatever You Want

Whatever You Want

“What does this mean?” asked the grad student holding up a fragment of rock.

Professor Della Fortescue took it from her. Taking out a field magnifier, she examined it minutely.

“I have no idea; it’s unlike any writing I’ve ever seen before,” she said excitedly. Getting up from her camp stool, she hurried over to a laptop and started researching.

The grad student stood for a minute, then went back to what she’d been doing.

“Emmah!” she heard, even from inside the slit cave. As fast as she could, she stumbled out of the cave toward Professor Fortescue.

“Yes?” she said as she skidded to a stop beside the professor.

“Where did you find this?”

“In that cave there,” Emmah said, pointing with her trowel.

The two women hurried to it and went in together.

“We need some privacy,” the professor said abruptly. After a few minutes, they were alone.

“According to what I’ve been able to find out, this is not any language ever found on Earth!”

Emmah stared at the professor.

“It’s one of the few examples found of what is considered as extraterrestrial writing.”

“But what does it mean?” Emmah asked in bewilderment.

The professor shrugged.

“Whatever you want I guess, until we know better. “

Emmah mouthed the word ‘Wow’.

“Indeed,” Professor Farnsworth said, grinning.

The sun began to reach its zenith, so the dig began to pack up for the day. The professor patted the seat beside her in the front of her jeep. A little embarrassed, Emmah slid into the spot.

“I can’t shed my disguise until we get back to base camp. But I got what I came for, evidence of our visit to this site thousands of years ago. One more trace no longer left behind,” she told herself.