Escape Pod 208: An Almanac for the Alien Invaders
An Almanac for the Alien Invaders
By Merrie Haskell
In January, there will be an annular solar eclipse, with the path of annularity moving through the Indian Ocean and into Sumatra and Borneo. Two days later, aliens will invade Earth.
No spaceships will loom large in blue skies, nor hover over our cities. At night, though, when we see blinking dots of light near the horizon, as small and pale as any star, we’ll think they’re planes or satellites of human origin. They won’t be. These are alien ships, come for conquest.
That is all we can see. What we hear is just as faint and difficult to resolve: we hear rumors. Or rather, one persistent rumor: “the aliens want volunteers.”
Naturally, I and my junior faculty friends need to drink quantities of beer to discuss this in detail. I expound that it’s a hoax.
About the Author
Merrie Haskell
Merrie Haskell was born in Michigan and grew up in North Carolina. She wrote her first story at the age of seven, and she walked dogs after school in order to buy her first typewriter.
Merrie returned north to attend the Residential College of the University of Michigan, where she earned a BA in biological anthropology. Her fiction has appeared in Nature, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, and Unplugged: The Web’s Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy: 2008 Download. She now lives in Saline, Michigan, with her husband and stepdaughter. Merrie works in a library with over seven million books, and she finds this to be just about the right number. She is also the author of The Princess Curse and Handbook for Dragon Slayers.
About the Narrator
Sara Tolbert
Sara Tolbert studied acting at Grinnell College and the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Center. She has narrated podcasts for Drabblecast, Fantasy, Escape Pod, Pseudopod, and PodCastle. In addition to voice acting, she enjoys performing in live theater and has earned a regional award from the Rocky Mountain Theater Association for her work. Sarah currently lives in Kansas with her amazing husband and adorable son.
