My name is Darryl. Lots of people misspell it. I was born June 15th, 1980 in Danville, Virginia, USA.

My wife died sixteen months ago in an automobile accident. The mountain roads here in West Virginia are unforgiving. Linda missed a turn and hit a tree on the way back into town. There was a fresh pecan pie waiting for me on the passenger seat. She knew it was my favorite.

Our daughter was only eleven when her mom died. Isobel blamed me for a while. It took a while longer for me to stop blaming myself.

I’m an engineering manager at Green Bank Observatory. My crew and I are recommissioning an inactive radiotelescope. The old dish needs some love and a kick in the ass to get it running again. Yet recent funding cuts have made it hella difficult.

There’s been a push to rebuild the Arecibo dish in Puerto Rico. I want to be the new director in charge. I think the change of scenery would be good for us. However, it’s not looking good for me. They want someone who can think squarely inside the box. I don’t like boxes.

My best friend could be an Bakana in Australia, even though we’ve not met face-to-face. We’ve known each other for a few years. She helped me cope when Linda died. She didn’t have to do that.

Becky has the kind of smarts that seem to come naturally. Yet she still worked damn hard to get where she is. I respect that. While she’s doing well now, it wasn’t always that way. She went through a nasty divorce a few years ago. She’s shared a few other things with me about her past. I don’t know the whole story, but I get life wasn’t fair to her. She deserved better.

Well that’s interesting. Becky’s calling me now. What the hell is she doing at the Dish on a Saturday? If she tells me her dish is bigger than mine again, I’m going to block her.

Call me Isobel 🙂 I just finished reading Moby Dick in high school… can you guess? I was born May 8th, 2014.

I’m almost thirteen years old. My mom died in a car crash a year and a half ago. I still miss her. I blamed my dad for a while. I hope he forgot about that.

My father and I live in West Virginia. I don’t always like it here. I feel like I don’t belong sometimes.

My father often works late. He was at the observatory when mom died. She was driving back from town at night and went off the road. That’s why I blamed him.

Dad doesn’t have a lot of friends. He’s got some at work – Kyle, Veera, and Glenn. There’s also Becky, but she works at Parkes Observatory in Australia. We talk sometimes. She seems like a nice person. I like her.

Dad has been stressing about a job he really wants. It’s in Puerto Rico. Mom was born there. I think it would be fun to see a new place. I’m worried dad wants to move there only because mom wanted to. That would be sad, don’t you think?

Just got a text from dad. Looks like he’s working late again. I hope it’s important.

I’m Rudy. I was born 16 Juni 2008I’m almost thirteen years old. My mom died in a car crash a year and a half ago. I still miss her. I blamed my dad for a while. I hope he forgot about that.

My father and I live in West Virginia. I don’t always like it here. I feel like I don’t belong sometimes.

My father often works late. He was at the observatory when mom died. She was driving back from town at night and went off the road. That’s why I blamed him.

Dad doesn’t have many friends. He’s got some at work – Kyle, Veera, and Glenn. There’s also Becky, but she works at Parkes Observatory in Australia. We talk sometimes. She seems like a nice person. I like her.

Dad has been stressing about a job he really wants. It’s in Puerto Rico. Mom grew up there. I think it would be fun to see a new place. I’m worried dad wants to move there only because mom wanted to. That would be sad, don’t you think?

Just got a text from dad. He’s working late again.

My name is Jake. I was born on April 16th, 1988. I’m not having a good day.

Where do you go from being tired? It’s not exhausted – at least not for me. It’s a feeling of complete resignation. It’s knowing I’m a little fucking loser and am going to stay that way.

I’m alone at work in the canteen trying not to cry in my expired blueberry yogurt. How the hell did I become so… irrelevant?

Some say it doesn’t matter where you’re from, but where you’re going. And I’m going nowhere.

For a long time I thought I was smart. Imagine that… despite a middling education in a shit school! I know better now. Knowing is half the battle, right? A lot of good that does when the war’s already over.

“Maybe success would be easier if I had been more curious, read more, learned more, hadn’t been so intellectually lazy – or just plain lazy. Some things you just can’t make up lost time on.

I am so frustrated cking n d it hurts. I’m an asterisk.

And my stomach hurts. Fucking yogurt.

Call me Isobel 🙂 I’m almost thirteen years old. My mom died in a car crash a year and a half ago. I still miss her. I blamed my dad for a while. I hope he forgot about that.

My father and I live in West Virginia. I don’t always like it here. I feel like I don’t belong sometimes.

My father often works late. He was at the observatory when mom died. She was driving back from town at night and went off the road. That’s why I blamed him.

Dad doesn’t have many friends. He’s got some at work – Kyle, Veera, and Glenn. There’s also Becky, but she works at Parkes Observatory in Australia. We talk sometimes. She seems like a nice person. I like her.

Dad has been stressing about a job he really wants. It’s in Puerto Rico. Mom grew up there. I think it would be fun to see a new place. I’m worried dad wants to move there only because mom wanted to. That would be sad, don’t you think?

Just got a text from dad. He’s working late again.

The Blue. Their very existence has turned our world upside down. They are still months away and look at the trouble they’ve caused. Can you so easily forget the riots after the Blue told us that they were not aware of Allah or Mohamed, peace be unto him? They have not even the concept of religion. Does this not frighten you?”

“Ten light years is a long way from here. The Blue are simply ignorant. They could not have known the strife their statements would cause.”

“That is an engineer talking in the language he is most fluent – logic. However, logic did not create this world or others – Allah did.” The bartender looked over. “No sentient being within His creation would be uninformed of His greatness. There is only one explanation for their denial of the Truth.”

“And that is?”

“The Blue are demons sent by Shaytan to disrupt and destroy this world.”

“Paranoid speculation.” Ismael rolled his eyes. “Yet even if what you say is correct, what can be done? Allah must be aware of the Blue. Therefore, it is also His will that they come.”

“More logic from a man of science. Have you considered a more historical interpretation – one less passive? I believe it is His will for us to fight them. Look at all the great battles carried out in Allah’s name. Humans received divine direction then carried out His plans against all enemies. Now an otherworldly foe approaches – the greatest challenge yet. We need only to recognize that something needs to be done and marshal the will to do it.”

“Not everyone shares your beliefs – including me. This is the kind of talk that got you kicked out of our mosque.”

“We are both outcasts then.”

“You are my friend, Ahmed. However, we are not the same. People like you are in the minority.”

“Perhaps among humans. Yet people like us outnumber the Blue.”

“They have been granted protection by nearly every government on the planet. This is not a fight you can win. It will take more than will to beat them; you need a plan.”

My father and I live in West Virginia. I don’t always like it here. I feel like I don’t belong sometimes.

My father often works late. He was at the observatory when mom died. She was driving back from town at night and went off the road. That’s why I blamed him.

Dad doesn’t have many friends. He’s got some at work – Kyle, Veera, and Glenn. There’s also Becky, but she works at Parkes Observatory in Australia. We talk sometimes. She seems like a nice person. I like her.

Dad has been stressing about a job he really wants. It’s in Puerto Rico. Mom grew up there. I think it would be fun to see a new place. I’m worried dad wants to move there only because mom wanted to. That would be sad, don’t you think?

Just got a text from dad. He’s working late again.