EP572: Nothing to See Here

[eytanz]

EP572: Nothing to See Here

AUTHOR: Arthur Doweyko
NARRATOR: Patrick Bazile
HOST: Alasdair Stuart

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There is a comfort in the strength of love;
‘Twill make a thing endurable, which else
Would overset the brain, or break the heart.

I heard a squawk—kind of like the goose call that comes out of a police cruiser. Blinking red and blue lights danced on the window shade, so I figured they must have nabbed somebody. The trouble was, they were behind my house, in my cornfield.

I peeled back the shade, and what did I see but a crap-load of state police parked sort of in a big circle. The ground mist was so thick, I barely made out the cut corn stalks. The rows led to the police who looked like scarecrows poking up out of the fog—all facing in, staring at the same something. Whoever they got cornered was out-of-luck, that’s for sure.

Funny thing though—nobody was moving. They just stood at their cruisers. My eye drifted back over the rows. Something itched up the back of my mind, and then the sun peeped up over the tree line on the far side.

Listen to this week’s Escape Pod!

[Frank Evans]

I really liked this one. I loved the ending (although it was a bit of a stomach punch) and thought the host's interpretation was interesting, even if I didn't come away with that myself on first listen. The writing was top notch, as was the narration. Great job all around.

[Lionman]

This felt mildly confusing, at best.  All the Wibbly-Wobbly, Timey-Whimey didn't feel like it was cohesive enough, it seemed lacking.  While I thought the voice of the narration was good, it didn't help to untangle the mild confusion.  So in the end, I felt like it could have been better.

[Unblinking]

Is this an Escape Pod original or a reprint?  The entry on the EP site says that it was an Honorable Mention for Writers of the Future, but Writers of the Future doesn't publish their HMs--it's an honor but not a publication.  Does that mean it's an EP Original?

[acpracht]

Is this an Escape Pod original or a reprint?  The entry on the EP site says that it was an Honorable Mention for Writers of the Future, but Writers of the Future doesn't publish their HMs--it's an honor but not a publication.  Does that mean it's an EP Original?

I'm honestly not sure, Unblinking...This came to use other than via our usual submission route, which does capture the reprint or original information... Since it wasn't via that route, however, I didn't find a definitive answer.

I think it's original to us, but I put the honorable mention in as a C.M.A.

-Adam

[Katzentatzen]

I was admittedly confused. But the "what might have been" ending was moving.

[irishlazz]

Conceptually fantastic.  In the blink of an eye (or maybe a full night) glimpsing a lifetime of an alternate dimension, feeling as if you had lived it.  That end of the story I feel was well done.  The cause of the Event rather less so.  What was the Object's actual purpose?  And how likely is it that *everyone's* alternate life would bring them such bliss?

[Ichneumon]

This was great. Got a little dribbly at the eyes myself. I've got to give my parents a call after this one. I think the confusing bits were just due to the narrator also being confused.

[SteelRat]

Superb story. Living a parallel time at the same time and being happy even though you are stuck in the saddest one.
The reading was sublime, perfect voice for the story.
A bit vague on why the alien( ?)craft is there though.

[acpracht]

Superb story. Living a parallel time at the same time and being happy even though you are stuck in the saddest one.
The reading was sublime, perfect voice for the story.
A bit vague on why the alien( ?)craft is there though.

I believe the alien craft arrived from the planet MacGuffin...

[Varsha]

Was this commentary on how old people see things? There was a certain calm in how the protagonist here reacts to the strange happenings, and life in general.
It was OK as a story.

Narration was good, but would be improved if older person was doing it.

[Kinami]

I realize I'm months behind schedule here (catching up on Escape Pod after not having time to listen much for a while) but this one was haunting enough to me that I felt the need to register and add a very-out-of-date comment.

To me, the hot cup of coffee at the end (with the uncertainty about who made it)  brought up a disturbing question: Which set of memories is fake? Was the narrator shown a blissful alternate timeline, or was his actually-blissful life stolen from him somehow? I feel like this is one I'll be turning over in my head for a while.

[Ichneumon]

 

Which set of memories is fake? Was the narrator shown a blissful alternate timeline, or was his actually-blissful life stolen from him somehow? I feel like this is one I'll be turning over in my head for a while.

That's a very interesting thought, really gives the story a different spin...

[Piet]

My favourite part of this story is the title.

[CryptoMe]

I really liked this story. I admit that it took me a moment at first to understand that we were skipping through time, but I figured it out quickly. Then the ending sealed the story for me.  Well done.

It didn't occur to me that the MC's happy reality was stolen from him. I think it was fairly clear that he had been given the gift of "what might have been" by the alien sphere.

All the other unanswered questions forumites have pointed out about the sphere were of absolutely no concern to me. The story was good enough as is!