Legends of O'nyith

A world that resets itself every eon. No one knows why, but previous eons always leave traces behind for settlers of the current world to find. People from all over the Galaxy have come to O'nyith over countless eons, but once sucked in, there is no returning. It's not a black hole exactly — the planet is visible in telescopes and looks like a gorgeous green/blue orb with oceans and a single, largely barren moon which many visitors have turned into a staging point to study the odd planet. But there's a boundary point some hundred thousand or so kilometers out from the center of O'nyith that, once crossed, cannot be returned from. Some objects are allowed to pass through unchanged, but those carrying technology or intelligent beings of any kind are drawn inexorably towards the planet and from then on become part of the current eon, shrouded in a haze that can be viewed most clearly from the moon.

Every thousand years, like clockwork, the haze lifts completely and the planet becomes perfectly visible to outside observers, down to the mountainous terrain at sea level. The planet remains like this for about one hour, and then the haze reforms. During this hour, the boundary becomes permeable — ships can cross in and out freely. But when the haze returns, the barrier seals, and anyone still inside is trapped for the next eon. It is during this time that the planet has been most assiduously studied. And it is from interminable snapshots of this period, stacked one on top of the other every thousand years, that residents of the Galaxy have learned the planet is never the same between eons.

The end state is always different, the terrain always different. There are often traces of civilization left behind, towering cities and even satellites zipping around the planet.

But there are no radio signals, there are no traces of life in the cities anymore. No movement. Whatever life was there has gone.

Every time, without explanation.

What is the mystery of this planet?

What happens during each eon?

No one knows. At the end of the hour, the haze returns and the planet is presumed to reset itself.

The only way to find out would be to fly a ship through the boundary.

· · ·

Or so it was thought.

The last eon has just ended, and something unbelievable is happening. Something that hasn't happened in a recorded million years.

This time, when the haze lifts, a radio signal is detectable at the moon base, stationed presently by several different galactic visitors.

The repeating signal is old — about 600 years old — but it is clear enough what it translates to:

SOS

And it contains coordinates. And a countdown.