Suddenly, they got a new signal. The parts of the spacecraft that had been damaged during the fall were being repaired. It was surprising, not only because it was being repaired in Saturn, but also because it was supposed to be absolutely destroyed by the inhospitable conditions in Saturn.
Some hours later NASA got a new message from the spacecraft that read "You are not alone". Cassini could only send preprogrammed messages, and that was definitely not preprogrammed. So they decided to send a reply and show it on Cassini's screen in order to try to see who was on the other side. The answer didn't take long. "We are Saturners, that's all you need to know. We will give you the spacecraft back, but do not try to investigate Saturn or its moons any more. We don't want any visitors and our planet is none of your business"
That message left NASA absolutely astonished. What were they supposed to do now? "Can we keep in touch?""Only for emergencies". But they didn't say how.
Some months later Cassini arrived to the Earth. It looked so different from when it had left. Analysing every part in the spacecraft, NASA discovered it had new components. Someone had added it an extra protective shield which probably protected it from the hostile conditions of Saturn's atmosphere. They had also filled its fuel tank with an unknown substance. And they'd made some modifications to the motor so it would work with the new fuel. It even seemed to be working better.
And that, for better or worse, is how it all started.
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