Yosemite Valley, July 16, 2031 -- A team of linguists, philologists, paleontologists, lexicographers, anthropologists, and archeologists from around the world, working for over ten years, appear to have deciphered a mysterious message left by an unknown “hand” during the summer of 2021 in a meadow in Yosemite Valley, California, USA.
The message had originally gone unnoticed at ground level, however, reports of the baffling geometric design started to pour in from Park visitors peering down at Ahwahnee Meadow from higher viewpoints thousands of feet above the Valley floor. Questions about its origins first focused on restoration efforts that began in the southwestern portion of the meadow in the summer of 2018. However, no verifiable “author” of the triangular and square shapes could be identified.
As the mystery deepened, interest spread around the world, and speculation began to mount that the “message” had been left by an alien visitation to the Park. Those partial to the majestic Yosemite landscape attributed “refined tastes” to the unknown message givers, believing they could not have selected a better National Park to visit.
Questions about the design began to mount. Why in Yosemite? Why in that meadow? Why at that time and were there other visitations that went unobserved? Most prominent of the questions included, of course, what message did the extra-terrestrial Park visitors hope to convey?
As it turns out, not only did all of those questions get answered, but several surprises also came along with the translation that has rocked the scientific community and the world.
This past week, the research team from six different countries met together to share their discovery at a news conference in Yosemite National Park near the meadow area where the message had originally been left. Ten years later, the section of the meadow that spawned the international intrigue now displays a fully restored palette of native grasses, flowers, and wetland wildlife.
According to the scientists, three unrelated events came together to aid them in deciphering the “text” of the geometric communiqué.
Let’s start with the location. The Ahwahnee Meadow restoration began in June 2018. Heavy grading equipment scooped tons of dirt away as part of the efforts to remove the impact of previous human intrusion. Social trails that had compacted the soil and infill used for agricultural purposes prevented the retention of moisture in the meadow, reducing its natural health.
Restoration efforts focused on reshaping the land to pre-
topography (before 1935 CE), encouraging water retention, and allowing the vegetation to return the soil to “meadow grade.” Native grasses and flowering plants would eventually be added to bring the meadow back to its original flourishing state. Alterations followed recommendations from the Yosemite Management Plan for Yosemite Valley and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (see video below).
However, before the restoration could be completed, the coronavirus pandemic that swept the world in 2020/21 stalled the project, leaving a blank slate of soil. According to the researchers, the design’s authors purposefully selected that portion of the Meadow to avoid disrupting any natural ecosystems in the Park. As it turns out, this species of life appears to possess a keen sense of regard for nurturing meadow biodiversity and health.
This leads us to the second event that, unknown to all, occurred for 150 years leading up to the discovery of the message in 2021. This unobtrusive race of creatures made annual sojourns to nine wet montane meadows in Yosemite to collect the scent of a rare and endangered species of orchid called the Yosemite bog orchid (plantanthera yosemitensis). Although first discovered in 1923, it did not get identified as a distinct species of orchid until 2007. To keep curiosity seekers at bay, researchers have only revealed that the orchid's whereabouts exist between the main stem and south fork of the Merced River at elevations of 5,900-8,900 ft. (1,800-2,700 m). In contrast to the threat of human trampling, the research team reports that the alien orchid seekers left no identifiable damage to the meadow locations where the orchid grows.
The extra-terrestrials’ purpose for seeking out the chemical compounds of the orchid’s scent relates to the substance’s ability to thwart a virulent infection that began to kill off their species 150 years ago, a time when death had been unknown to them. In searching the universe for potential cures, their sophisticated scanning devices led them to Yosemite’s rare orchid. The hard-to-find orchid must compete with other densely crowded grasses, increasing its rarity, and explaining why the visitors seeking it out came back regularly during the bloom season (June through August).
As for the orchid’s odor, it won’t likely become a commodity pleasing to human noses. Its smell has been described as similar to a "corral of horses . . . strong cheese, human feet, sweaty clothing, or simply disagreeable.” Nevertheless, the alien species found value in its healing qualities and their sophisticated extraction process lifted the odor’s chemical compounds without a trace of their presence.
Their message indicated that they successfully completed their goal of returning all survivors to proper health. They also expressed gratitude for the use of the “space” where the slender orchid stalks grow and for being unimpeded in their collection of the life-saving substance.
The primary clue that triggered unraveling the mystery came from a high school math teacher familiar with the work of Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), the famous German mathematician and physicist. Gauss, intrigued by the thought of life on other planets and communicating through the universal language of mathematics, is reported to have proposed developing a huge replica of a Pythagorean right triangle and three squares in the Siberian tundra.
This idea assisted researchers in identifying mathematical formulas that linked the design to the English alphabet. They believe the visiting beings used this type of design as a result of studying human endeavors at the time they first started to collect the substance (c. 1870). Egyptian-like hieroglyphics were also employed, but the geometric designs strategically placed to link with the English alphabet enabled the code breakers to share the design’s remarkable story.
The researchers concluded the news session by indicating that, aside from the message “written” upon the surface of the Ahwahnee meadow, these cosmic neighbors left no detectable trace of their many visits. This, the scientists state, should leave a far more indelible mark on the thinking of earth’s inhabitants than the geometric design which they once left behind.
(Photo Credit Below of plantanthera yosemitensis: A.E.L. Colwell, USGS. Public domain.)
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