First published 2016
At the Blind Lake research facility in northern Minnesota, Nerissa Iverson studies alien life through technology no one fully grasps. She watches a distant planet where lobster-like creatures go about their daily lives. The scientists can observe but cannot communicate or decode the alien language. Then the military seals off the entire installation. All outside contact stops. Supplies arrive by remote control. No explanation comes. Nerissa continues her work alongside Raymond Scutter, her recently divorced husband. Ray believes the aliens will remain forever unknowable, that culture cannot cross such vast differences. Nerissa thinks sentient minds share common ground and that human ignorance blocks understanding. The alien she tracks begins showing patterns that suggest narrative logic. She starts to suspect the creature knows it is being watched. Time grows short as Ray becomes hostile and begins stalking her. The military cordon tightens around them all.
Genres: science-fiction, mystery, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Blind Lake, Minnesota
Period: 21st-century
MP3 CD · Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio
Content warnings: violence