The Blue Are Coming

August 1977 – the story begins.

An unfortunate scout dies in darkness. A woman in Australia fights for her life during childbirth. Human bones are uncovered in a South African vineyard. The Wow! signal is received.

They sent a message.

On 15 August 1977, the Ohio State University “Big Ear” radiotelescope intercepts a radio signal from the direction of Sagittarius. The transmission lasts less than 72 seconds. Unfortunately, the receiving equipment isn’t capable of recording the signal. It captures only metadata – frequency, relative strength, and direction. Any information the signal may have contained is lost forever.

Discovery of the Wow! signal doesn’t generate much media coverage. The event is overshadowed by the death of Elvis Presley only sixteen hours later.

We couldn’t understand.

Despite thousands of searches over nearly five decades, nothing like Wow! has ever been found. Debate over what it was and where it came from continues to this day.

Could it have been an interstellar radio transmission? Was it military radar or some other local interference? Did a nearby comet burn off hydrogen as it approached our sun? Was it a hoax?

The signal was real, alright. Yet its origin was closer than the mythical archer – about twenty-five thousand light-years closer. The source was neither terrestrial nor from a natural body. It was a message – and the messenger wasn’t calling Elvis home.

Flash-forward to today.

Almost fifty years later, another radio transmission reaches Earth. There can be no doubt this time. We are not alone. The revelation turns our world upside down.

More messages arrive. We soon realize the aliens are trying to tell us something – and they want us to respond. Can we? Will we? Should we?

A kick-ass astrophysicist works with a grumpy counterpart to find answers. A too-smart-for-his-own-good teenager stirs up shit in Indonesia. A failed entrepreneur has nothing left to lose. A military man serves his country behind the scenes. A fanatical humanist fights to prevent an alien landing. An incompetent spy has a debt to pay. A sniper lines up his target. Old bones have a story to tell.

They are coming.

The aliens call themselves The Blue. We don’t know who they are, what they want, or why they’re coming. Their technology is several hundred years ahead of ours. Do they intend to use that advantage against humankind? Some of us won’t wait to find out.

Buckle up, friends. We expect heavy turbulence on the way to this brave Blue world.

Are you ready?

If you want to know where the story is going, check out Roast My Chapter. Every few weeks I drop something new for you maniacs to tear apart. Of course, a rave review would be nice. I don’t expect many of those, though 🙂