A notice from the Ad Hoc Committee for Stellar Distribution, as provided by Daniel Hudon
Art by Ariel Alian Wilson
Somewhere in the Galaxy, our galaxy, the Milky Way, your star shines. It was assigned to you when you were born, and its light has been traveling the vast spans of interstellar space since long before then. From the time when Babylonian priests looked up from their ziggurats more than three thousand years ago, astronomers have been compiling star catalogues, and at their general assembly, held every three years, they parcel out the stars to all new members of humanity like confetti, making sure that everyone gets one.
Many people live their whole lives without ever knowing they have their own star. These are the same people who don’t know that they have their own tree (somewhere on the Earth) or their own species of beetle (even if they have to share).
Because astronomers have much other business to attend to at their meeting, like understanding the nature of dark matter, or the latest evidence for dark energy, which is slowly tearing the universe apart, the announcement of the delegation of stars is scheduled simultaneously with other sessions where important research breakthroughs are sure to be announced. In 2006, it was bumped off the agenda entirely to allow more time for the debate that ultimately led to the demotion of the planet Pluto.
Consequently, those who find out they have their own star often discover the news by accident. They stumble across an announcement on the Internet, see an ad in the Classified section of the newspaper, or receive an anonymous email on their twenty-fifth birthday with a text that reads only: “Have you found your star yet?”
“How will I know it’s mine?” you ask.
To read the rest of this story, check out the Mad Scientist Journal: Autumn 2016 collection.
The Ad Hoc Committee for Stellar Distribution meets irregularly but frequently in order to keep up with the increasing number of Earthlings. Because Earth’s birth rate far exceeds the stellar birth rate, Committee members are presently discussing how to handle running out of stars to assign to new Earthlings. In addition, a large project of the Committee is to put its formidable catalogues in the Cloud with the idea of encouraging people to help others find their star. Although not Committee members have found their star, we are assured all are looking.
Daniel Hudon is a product of the Big Bang, stardust, and evolutionary biology, in that order. He’s a pessimist on intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and an optimist for finding intelligent life on Earth. He is going to keep writing prose and poetry, and posting links to danielhudon.com, at least until he finds his star. Then he’s going to retire and watch soccer full time.
Ariel Alian Wilson is a few things: artist, writer, gamer, and role-player. Having dabbled in a few different art mediums, Ariel has been drawing since she was small, having always held a passion for it. She’s always juggling numerous projects. She currently lives in Seattle with her cat, Persephone. You can find doodles, sketches, and more at her blog www.winndycakesart.tumblr.com.
“Your Star” is © 2016 Daniel Hudon
Art accompanying story is © 2016 Ariel Alian Wilson
