First published 2022
This collection spans Jack McDevitt's four-decade career with thirty-two stories that explore cosmic mysteries and human curiosity. A century-old lost package arrives at a post office and transforms two postal clerks in "The Emerson Effect." Three sailors venture into hurricane winds in "The Big Downtown" for reasons that defy logic. An automated probe reaches Tau Ceti after fifty years and discovers something so disturbing that authorities suppress its message. A time traveler from the past arrives seeking recognition for her work. The crew of a starship debates whether to risk everything to save a stranded cat. A senator's routine conversation with a simple AI escalates into a major crisis. These tales examine how ordinary people respond when they encounter the inexplicable, whether it arrives as advanced technology, temporal anomalies, or messages from distant stars.
Genres: science-fiction, mystery, short-story-collection
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, ordinary-people-encountering-the-inexplicable
576 pages · Hardcover · Subterranean Press