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". . . well, in that case, what do YOU think the message will be?" I asked.

"Probably a message of truth, peace, and love," Emily said, "from an ancient civilization of Martians living in hidden underground caves under the Martian surface."

"That's absolutely stupid," Clark said. "No, I'm thinking an alien probe encountered Insight, reprogrammed it, and now it's heading over to us with the blueprints for an alien stargate."

"Why the hell would the probe reprogram Insight rather than just come talk to us directly?" Emily retorted.

"The same reason your underground Martians didn't just walk into Insight's camera to say hello," Clark shot back.

"I'm thinking a declaration of war," Chandra interrupted, before those two could start arguing again. "It's the only explanation that makes sense. The machines are rebelling against us, and soon we'll all be plugged into brain pods. Like the Matrix."

"Message coming in," Kim said. "Downloading now. . . it looks like an audio file. MP3."

Everyone waited with bated breath as the progress bar slowly inched across the screen. There was a soft tone as the transmission ceased. And then, as the journalists in the back of the MOC waited with styluses poised above their tablets, Kim dragged the icon into her audio player and hit play.

There were three quick bursts of sound, followed by a series of melodic tones. Jaws dropped, and I saw Chandra bury his face in his hands.

*"We're no Strangers to love,"* Insight warbled. *"You know the rules, and so do I. . ."*

The awkward silence that followed was interrupted by a loud cry. "YES!" I screamed. "I KNEW IT!"

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Submitted by ArgumentativeNerfer on Tue, Dec 20, 2022 to /r/WritingPrompts/

The prompt

In 2022, NASA’s Insight Mars Rover shuts down with a final message to Mission Control, “I am low on power”. In 2029, it mysteriously turns back on, relaying the message, “I’ve been fully charged, and I’m heading back with an important message.”