Ying Yue Makes Alien Contact

My name is Ying Yue, which means full moon. Ma says she chose it for me because, when I was born, I looked out the window at the night sky. I'm not sure if it is because of my given name or my destiny, but I love space. My dream is to do math for NASA. My first year in the USA, we watched the moon landing in class. I didn't need to know English to understand how significant and glorious that moment was. Numbers pushed that hunk of alloy and steel into space and made it possible for a human to walk on the moon. And numbers are a universal language that I speak well.

We moved from Taipei, Taiwan in 1969. I was 12, so I remember my home country well. Everyone was packed in so close together in our neighborhood. I would look up at the night sky to ease my claustrophobia and find myself fascinated. I am thankful that I can look at the same sky from Los Angeles, California as in Taipei. It helps when I feel homesick. I like having privacy in our new house but I miss sleeping in a room with my cousins. It's too quiet without Hua’s snoring. It has been difficult to make friends in LA. I’ve always been nerdy but now I have to worry about wearing trendy clothes and working on my accent.

My lab partner Mei shoves my arm and tells me in Mandarin to please pitch in on the worksheet. Mei is an immigrant too, from China like me. She has an easier time making friends even though my English is much better. I guess it's because she does her makeup and has more Western eyelids. Mei’s family moved a year and eight months after mine. We were friendly when we were younger, but I can't tell she's trying to disassociate from me. I heard she even had her first kiss with Jeremy H. on the basketball team. She Mei hands me one of the rocks and shrugs. I turn it over in my palm. I tell her that this one goes in the foliated column because it's metamorphic. I point to the slaty layers to help her understand but she's looking away, at Matthew. He's oblivious to her staring since he's reading a car manual. I wonder if he has his license. I feel jealous that she has boys interested in her and I don't have a seat at lunch. To prevent myself from feeling sad, I think about how fast rockets can travel. I could get from here to Taipei almost instantly on Apollo 11.

The bell rings so I slide my packet to Mei. She copies down her empty answers and puts them on the teacher's desk without acknowledging me. She rushes out, probably to walk with Matthew. He is also in my advanced geometry class, but I've never talked to him. I wonder if he likes Mei back since she's getting more popular. I grab my supplies to pack up, I'm glad the school day is done.

I get home and dump my bike to open the garage. In order to work at NASA I need to do something amazing. I don't have a telescope good enough to discover a new planet, and my parents won't let me make a homemade rocket. What I do have is my Pa’s Healthkit home HAM radio. And if it can reach our family in China I can get it to reach space. Ying Yue, Chinese- American, was the first human to contact Aliens. That would get me the job for certain. And, you know, make history and change the world forever. I've been attempting to transmit to specific stars. Every night I adjust the frequency to a new target and send a sequence of prime numbers down the line in Morse code. If anything is out there my best bet for a response is using math. Pa is incredibly smart and really in love with Ma. He built two HAMs for her to talk to her family in Taipei. Pa also taught me Morse code. I told him associating numbers with letters helped me learn English; he doesn't know I use the HAM in the hour between when I get home from school and he gets home from work.

I circle my star chart and power on the transmitter. While it warms up I walk around the side gate to check on the vertical antenna in the backyard. It's a straight metal rod taller than the yard fence. Everything should be set. I sit down at the desk and begin tapping 2,3,5,7,11, 13,17,19, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101. The pause and wait for a response. 2,3,5,7…

I look at the clock without breaking the pattern. It's second nature. Five minutes left before Pa gets home. 101… pause. I hear a beep so I lift my forearms to check if I bumped the key. But there are four beeps. Then a space. Then another beep. Oh. My. God. I scramble to get my scrap paper and pencil. My chest is strained with nerves. Thankfully they come through slowly.

HELLO.

I reach my trembling hands to grab the key. My mind is blank. All this time trying to contact aliens and I never thought about what to say. Stupid Ying Yue. I hesitate and then type back

HELLO.

I get a response right away and start scribbling letters onto paper.

P- R- I- M- E.

A laugh forced out of my chest. I knew math would work. Think, think, what would an alien understand? I type the

year out, 1-9-7-2.

I got a phrase back: P-T-T.

Push to talk? I am becoming suspicious that this is alien life. It's likely someone on the same frequency. I picked up the radio and pressed down.

CQ CQ CQ. This is, Whisky Six Lima Alpha, W6LA calling CQ and listening.

I hear an excited boyish voice over the receiver. Oh wow someone's there, um, copy that Whisky Six Llamma Alpha. Over.

I can tell this is another teenager on expensive equipment that is not their own. Although this teen doesn't seem to have any clue what they're doing. I'll respond more casually then.

Do you know your call sign? Over.

The teen replies, I'm on this transceiver I found at the dump and fixed with parts from Goodwill. I'm pretty techy. I didn't think it would actually work. So no call sign.

Her antenna must be obsolete if this nut was on the same airwaves as her with his hodgepodge HAM.

I don't think that's legal. And say over when you're done talking. Over.

Ok, so where are you from? Over.

I thought about stranger danger but decided I could just be general.

Southern California. Over.

No way me too! How old are you? I'm 16. Over.

I felt my cheeks get hot when I realized I was talking to a boy my age. I felt like being honest.

I'm 16 too. Over.

Nice! What equipment are you on? Over.

I thanked my lucky stars that he didn't ask any more identifying questions. I wonder if I have ever crossed paths with him.

My Pa’s Healthkit. It has a separate transmitter and receiver. How do you know Morse code? Over.

The clock glared in the corner of my eye, 3 minutes.

I don't. I have a book with a key in front of me. I hear him laugh. What are you doing on a HAM radio anyway? Over.

I could ask you the same thing, although I don't want to be considered an accomplice when the FCC comes after you. Over.

He laughs again but louder. I like fixing things. I find broken parts and research how to make them work again. Sorry that I don't know much about radio etiquette. What's the FCC? Over.

The Federal Communications Commission. What else have you fixed? Over.

Oh, all sorts of stuff. My grandma’s washing machine, a blender, a telescope, a digital watch, I’m into cars too. I still want to know what you’re on the radio for. Over.

Oh, you fixed a telescope! Do you like space? Over.

Yeah, sure, I’m a real science nerd. But why are you avoiding the question? Over.

I knew he would think my reason was pure stupidity, but I’d never have to talk to him again. Or ever see him in person.

I was trying to contact aliens to get noticed by NASA because it’s been my dream since forever. And my name means Full Moon so if anyone is destined to get an answer from extraterrestrial life it's me.

Woah cool! Do you watch Star Trek? You would like it. Over.

I was thankful he didn’t think I was weird.

1 minute, Damn. Pa would be so mad to find me here on the radio, talking to a boy, nonetheless. I'm not supposed to touch anything without him since this equipment is precarious.

No I don’t. I've got to go. It was nice talking to you. Over.

Wait, what school do you go to? What's your name? Over.

I pushed down but could think of nothing to say. He would hear static on his end.

He asked another rushed question. Wait! Could we meet on this frequency tomorrow? Over

Pa would be home any second.

My name is Math-

I switched everything off at lightning speed. My cheeks were burning. I opened the garage and ran up the steps through the front door into my room and onto my mat, covering myself with a quilt. He started to say his name… Math? I had to giggle; what a lovely name! Pa knocked on my door making me jump.

Ying Yue come eat.

I looked at myself in the mirror to flatten out my hair and opened the door.

You look flushed, have you been drinking water?

Yes Pa.

I ate pork belly buns and thought about my conversation. My stomach sank. I wasn't cool like Mei. If “Math” and I shared identities he would be disappointed if we met. I was considering turning into the same frequency tomorrow but… aliens are more important, no, NASA is more important. He shouldn't get to know me.

I went back to my room after dinner and read a Go strategy book until I fell asleep. I dreamt that I was floating weightless in space spinning towards the moon. I got closer and closer and I could feel it was warm. The light absorbed me and I was transported to my home in Taipei. It was pouring rain but inside all of my family and friends were there for a celebration.

I wake up feeling optimistic. I'll adjust my antenna and pick a new target to set my frequency towards.

✩✩✩

In Earth Science today we're reading Chapters 14-17 in the textbook. I'd prefer rocket science or astronomy, but rocks aren't so bad. According to this passage, igneous rocks can either be intrusive or extrusive. I feel Mei tap on my shoulders.

This is for you, she says in Mandarin. She hands me a paper, but I don't take it.

I must look confused because she points to Matthew and then points at the paper with her eyebrows raised in annoyance attempting to hand it to me again. I look over at Matthew who waves at me smiling, causing my hand to fly up to cover my face. Mei starts opening the paper herself so I snatch it.

It says, I have something to ask you. Watson Park at 8:30?

I was absolutely in shock. I looked down at my jeans and plain top, I'm pretty sure this pair of socks has a hole. But yet, he waved at me. I don't turn around for the rest of class and I speed walk out the door when the bell rings. I'm convinced this has to be a joke.

When I open the garage and see the HAM I'm instantly reminded of my conversation. I gasp and let my bike fall flat and cover my mouth. It would explain his random urgent question. But how did he know it was me? My stomach hurts.

✩✩✩

I debated up until 8:23 pm if I should go or not. I'm sure I jumped to some conclusion or it was some sort of joke. There's no way Matthew even has the time or interest to tinker like that. And was he really a self-proclaimed “real science nerd?” On the other hand, we do seem to have a lot in common. I decided to ride by the park to scope things out first. I told my parents I was seeing a movie with some girlfriends and snuck some of my Ma’s lipstick. She definitely noticed but didn't say anything. I knew she was glad to see me going out.

I pedaled past the park and saw Matthew setting something up in the grass. He was alone which was good news. I pulled into the far bike racks to give myself plenty of time to back out. I try to remember when I've interacted with Matthew before. I guess he's always been nice…when I've heard him say things in passing. When I got close enough for him to see me he waved in an exaggerated motion and told me “come here” with his hand. I suck in a big shaky breath and try to look casual with my hands halfway in my pockets.

It's clear now what he's doing: putting together an old telescope and looking through a book in his left hand and the knob in his right, adjusting. I stand in front of him and tell him hello in a small voice.

He looks straight at me and doesn't acknowledge my greeting: Sorry if this doesn't make sense but you're W6LA right?

Thank god I wasn’t mistaken. Yes, that's my call sign.

He claps his hands together, Alright then! You're going to help me look at the moon through this. He gestures to the telescope in front of him.

Oh yeah, the telescope you fixed!

You remembered that? That definitely proves it was you. Matthew grinned.

I had to ask. How did you guess it was me? It didn't even take you a day to figure it out.

He doesn't show any shyness. Your accent made me think of you but I knew for sure when you said your name meant full moon.

I had to be as red as a New Year's envelope. I wanted to change the subject. So what is it you need help with?

We made small talk about earth science and advanced geography as we took turns twisting and looking through the lens.

It's silent for a moment before Matthew says, I think it's really cool you're trying to work for NASA. Even if you don't find aliens I think they could notice your knack for communications, or working with telescopes.

His comment almost felt like a compliment. I ignored what he said. That should be the best view we'll get, looks like a waning crescent tonight.

I do know where to find aliens though. He looks at me with the corner of his mouth pinched up in a smirk. Four of them live on Belmont Street.

His sarcasm hurts my feelings. Very funny.

It's true, you can meet them if you’d like. Mom is an excellent cook. He is looking even more amused.

Are you implying you and your family came from space?

Not quite so far, we're from Canada. We're aliens, you know the term, we weren't born here.

Even with my decent English there are terms I don't know. Updated definition: aliens can be people too. I had no idea Matthew was from Canada. He may not look like me but we're much more alike than I would've thought.

When did you move to the USA? I bend down to take another look.

I must have been 10 years old. The different weather was hard to get used to and it was horrible saying goodbye to my family. We can still visit but it's not the same. I’m sure it's even harder for you since China is an ocean away. I was not processing anything I was looking at, fully focused on what Matthew was saying.

I remember when you moved to our Junior High. When you told the class your name I looked it up in the library. Ying Yue, Full Moon. I stood up feeling awe at being so acknowledged.

Why do you know these things about me?

Now Matthew does seem bashful and rubs the back of his neck. I’ve always wanted to be friends with you, you just, you’re so…

Oh god. What trait of mine stopped him from approaching me altogether? Different? Plain? Oblivious?

You’re just so smart, I mean you’ve won the science fair the past two years and I don’t see you talking to that many people so maybe you’ve got crazy high standards-

I had to cut him off. Matthew, I would love to be friends with you.

✩✩✩

Matthew told me years later his name means Gift from God. In some ways, he was my generous offering from space, the alien I didn't know I could seek out. Matthew and I took the SATs together, worked a summer job at Radio Shack together, and now he's here as I open a letter from NASA.

It's definitely an offer letter, Ying Yue.

They probably sent a rejection letter as a formality. There were parts of the interview I got tongue tied and I don't have the right experience.

Just open it.

I tore open the edge and pulled out the letter. All it took was one look at Matthew for him to know I got it.