Strange Code Signal Discovered in Curiosity's Video Feed

During a routine analysis of a video sent back by Mars Probe Curiosity, engineers at NASA discovered what "seems to be a structured algorithm" in the video signal feed being sent back to Earth. In an interview with World News, Matt Stringfellow, lead analyst at NASA for the Curiosity project, said, "A video that was sent back by Curiosity on Feb 28, 2013 is being examined because of an anomaly found in the signal by engineers. It seems to be a structured algorithm that is not consistent with video streams we have been analyzing."

The video was sent back during the period that a software glitch was discovered by NASA in the command protocols sent to Curiosity. Initially the glitch was thought to be caused by Solar interference which affected the operating system memory on one of the on-board main computers. It may be that this alien signal is what was mistakenly thought to be a memory glitch."We first thought that a memory glitch was the cause of the unexpected behavior but on closer analysis we found an unmistakeable consistency in the pattern of the glitch and how it acted.", Mr. Stringfellow announced.

Dr. Stan Stanford,with public affairs at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratories, said in an official statement, "The video in question is now isolated and being analyzed. The initial discovery came about because of unusual behavior in the uncompressed video stream. There is a definite structure to this anomaly. We are presently trying to deconstruct what appears to be a structured code element." Dr. Stanford added, "It is not clear, at this point, if there is any danger to computers and equipment that came into contact with this signal but all measures are being taken to insure that this video is isolated in a quarantined computer environment. There are initial indications that the signal can use any electrical inductance to propagate so we are examining the entire NASA computer infrastructure to see if any systems are compromised." Asked about the possibility that the code had traveled outside of the NASA computer complex Dr. Stanford answered, "It is unlikely." When asked if the signal originated from space DR. Stanford replied, "It is the most likely scenario"

Additionally, Gerald Parson, a computer virus expert at SANS Institute, stated, "There has always been a possibility of this with sending signals from space back to Earth. It could now be a reality and only time will tell if this is an actual alien computer virus. All initial signs suggest it is an intelligent code structure with the ability to propagate across different media. The question is, What is the payload?" Mr. Parson and several others from the computer anti-virus community have been requested to join NASA in examining the code. Mr. Parson further remarked, "The one thing that alarms me is the ability of this signal to travel across any electronic media and maintain its structure. It will be interesting to dig into the code structure and find what allows it to do this." He added, "The fact that we were able to detect a defined code structure gives me hope that we might be able to decipher what is contained in the signal that attached itself to the video feed. It is very intriguing"

The Department of Homeland Security announced it is sending a team of scientists to help in analyzing the video but said in a statement, "There is no reason to believe a threat exits and, at this point, we will wait on further analysis." While DHS is downplaying this discovery the National Institute of Earth Sciences is recommending a full shutdown of NASA systems until it is determined what this signal is. NASA is expected to make a statement later today. While news of this starts to spread, an alarmed and curious populous is beginning to ask questions and demanding answers. For now the White House is remaining quiet but with growing concern it can't continue in silence much longer.

by Jim Atkins 'thedosmann'

Memphis Web Programming

This story is fictional and presented here for entertainment. Any person's names used in this story are fictitious and any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.