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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#210: Is There Anybody Out... Here?

In the summer of 1950, physicist Enrico Fermi pointed out that 一 given the high probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy 一 it’s peculiar that we haven't encountered any of them yet. This paradox had many wondering whether we’re truly alone in the Universe.

The answer remains elusive to this day. But in recent events, a former intelligence officer testified under oath that the U.S. government possesses "non-human" biologics. If true, this suggests that not only are aliens real, but they might already be here on Earth.

In the absence of real evidence, most people have carried on with their daily lives. But what if it is true? How would this discovery alter the course of human existence? This week’s prompts are inspired by these timeless and unsettling questions.

This week's prompts

Set your story after aliens have officially arrived on Earth.

Science Fiction – 96 stories

Write about a character who has to grapple with something completely alien to them.

Character – 46 stories

Write a story about a character who is trying to share groundbreaking news, but isn’t being taken seriously.

Dramatic – 29 stories

Make a mysterious message an important part of your story.

Mystery – 39 stories

Write a story that includes someone saying, “We’re not alone.”

Dialogue – 87 stories

Stories

“Love in the Time of Asthma” by Katy B

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #210

The mask swam elephantine and bug-eyed in the dark glass. After several years of passing the auto shop, whose empty windows were the only ones between the drilling fields and the motel left unboarded, Tommy still struggled to recognize the reflection as his own. He stopped absently to observe himself. It was dawn. The sun pink as a freshly peeled blister behind its film of dust cast downtown into streaks of gray shadow and warbled rose. It accentuated the muffled slurp of the mask, the clouds of dirt rising from the shuffle of what feet...

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“Boxing the Moon” by Kelsey H

Submitted to Contest #210

Jesse waited on the porch, time passing slowly. The moon rose high and unblemished. All through the long hours at school he had watched the sky, the clouds billowing, parting. He had watched the night come as he sat and ate dinner, the conversation of his father and brother passing over him.“What’s out there, Jesse?” his mother asked, following his gaze. The curtains were open, stars appearing in the purple sky. No clouds.“It’s an eclipse tonight, remember,” he told her, and she nodded and smiled, already standing to clear the table before h...

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“Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #210

The sound increased in volume each time someone opened the glass door of Joe’s Diner, a cacophonous emphasis to Lois that she had to make a decision. Does she choose the fate of her life, or of the entire planet? She gritted her teeth, and kept working, her small frame flitting between the tables of the small Diner as a hummingbird dips from flower to flower. The notes which make up the song of history are played on the instruments of prejudice and fear. Lois knew this, had lived it as a brown-skinned woman in snow-white Idaho,...

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“GAIA OS 2.88.13v” by Muthukumarasamy Vinodh

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #210

The year was 2048 A.E.M., and Gavin was on his last patrol before his shift ended. The street was quiet; only the buzzing sounds of neon advertisements filled the air. The tablet attached to the car’s dashboard buzzed – it was Linda from headquarters."God damn it, not her again," Gavin mumbled to himself, taking a deep breath before responding to the call. "Hi, Linda! How are you doing?""It’s Lieutenant Linda to you, Gavin.""Of course, Lieutenant Linda, it rhymes," Gavin joked, a failed attempt at lightening the mood.Linda responded onl...

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“A taste of progress ” by Sean McDonnell

Submitted to Contest #210

Inside his belly, he could hear the screams of a thousand men and women. He laughed, and a city fell. On his morning jog, oceans sloshed and spilled over coastlines, drowning the praying tourists and locals; indiscriminating destruction, done without malice—without emotion. He belched, and with it came a collective cry for mercy. He shrugged. What was he to do about it? He had tried everything that he could think of, including but not limited to ingesting Ipecac, punching himself in the stomach, getting black-out drunk, eating ghost ...

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“Visitant” by Martin Ross

Submitted to Contest #210

News of the alien invasion had dominated the news around here for several days, but Oscar and Nicole saw no option but at least to try.Nicole already had lost two cousins to the inhumans’ violence in their town two states away, and there was little reason to believe there would be much mercy or humanity when they reached their destination. They controlled the water and food supplies, battling and battering the resistance. They apparently had been bred to hate the humans who ventured into their appropriated territory, and had no hesitation in...

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“One Night Out on the Lake” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #210

One Night Out on the LakeThe best time to fish for walleyes is the last half-hour of sunlight. Every fisherman worth his weight in nightcrawlers knows that. It is also the best time to be out on the lake for any reason, or even better, for no reason- the wind dies down, the temperature drops, the sky presents a tapestry of extraordinary colors, all is quiet and still, and it is enough to just be there. Marty knew this better than any man alive, and he took full advantage. He was there so often even the fish recognized his boat. The occasiona...

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“They're Here!” by KG Green

Submitted to Contest #210

The moon hung low in the night sky, casting an eerie silver glow over the tranquil suburban neighborhood. The houses stood in solemn darkness, their windows reflecting the obsidian void.Among them, a standard residential house seemed to blend seamlessly into the quietude, but within its walls, a storm of fear was brewing.Tasmin dashed out of the house, her breath quick and erratic, panic etched across her features. Her eyes were wide, reflecting a terror that seemed to emanate from the very core of her being. The house's lights remained unli...

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“Outposts.” by Ken Cartisano

Submitted to Contest #210

“Would you like a brochure? Sure, here you go.”I remember the first time I was abducted. Whisked away at virtual ‘probe-point’ to a distant galactic ‘depot’ called ‘Zudprillipud.’ Why? Well, that’s a good question. It was kind of like sleepwalking except I wasn’t asleep, and I don’t think I was walking. Anyway, they brought me back. Dropped me off in my car. It seemed like ten minutes had elapsed, but when I awoke, I soon realized I’d lost an entire week. A week! And nobody even noticed.I asked Cathy where she thought I was. ‘Out in your boa...

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“Letters to a Dying World” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #210

"You loved the herdsman, shepherd and chief shepherdWho was always heaping up the glowing ashes for you,And cooked ewe-lambs for you every day.But you hit him and turned him into a wolf,His own herd-boys hunt him downAnd his dogs tear at his haunches."--"Gilgamesh VI" in Myths from Mesopotamia byStephanie Dalley.A mysterious book appeared on the shelves of every bookstore the world over, translated into every language. Its title hinted at our deepest fears: “Letters to a Dying World.” The author, Actaeon, claimed to be an extraterr...

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“The X Factor” by Chris Miller

Submitted to Contest #210

“In 1961 Dr Frank Drake made a list. He wrote down all the things you’d need to know to be able to predict the likelihood of finding intelligent extra-terrestrial life.” Dr Maurice Gaunt paced around his office as he delivered the lines that had opened dozens of freshman lectures. “Unsatisfied with his list, Dr Drake seasoned it with a few multiplication signs and realised that he’d done just that. The product was an estimate of the number of detectable civilisations in our galaxy.” "Yeah, I’ve seen Cosmos with Carl Sagan. People have be...

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“Echoes Of The Cosmos” by Anna W

Submitted to Contest #210

Donna sat on the couch, legs folded under her. The afghan she was working on covered her lap and fell over the side of the couch. Taylor suppressed a sigh. Mom always worked on the blanket when she worried about something. She loved her mother’s crocheted creations, but when she saw her working on the ever-growing purple afghan, she knew something bad was brewing.“What’s wrong, Mom?” Taylor asked, sitting down next to her on the couch and pulling the blanket up over her own legs. It had grown as long as the rectangle rug that covered th...

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“Cathyheimer” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #210

Cathy nudged up her Vint & York Adeline glasses as she studied the data on her screen. It was unmistakable. A signal.Until that moment, Cathy had believed the future of the planet to was hopeless. Global warming, inequality, pollution, the mistreatment of animals–so many issues. And there was no way out. People were too driven by their own selfish desires.But what if we received help from another race of intelligent beings? One that travelled the stars would know how to transform this planet into a truly sustainable ecosystem. Follo...

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“Your Point Is?” by LeeAnn Hively-Insalaco

Submitted to Contest #210

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you an important message from the office of the President of the United States of America. Hardly a single head in Tequila Mockingbird, the high-class bar in a dead-end town, stirred an inch in response. The President had stopped mattering much to anyone in this area many moons ago. Across the country, there was a similar non-response wherever the TV programming could be interrupted. L...

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“The Human Invasion” by Matthew Ruiz

Submitted to Contest #210

Connor stared at his laptop in shocked silence. The blood in his veins seemed to be replaced by ice water and he could feel all of the color drain from his face like in those cartoons he watched as a kid. Except this time he wasn't a kid and the scene he watched play out on the screen was not as cartoonish as one might be led to believe. His phone buzzed somewhere on the couch beside him and his hand glided across the leathery surface, searching, as he could not unglue his eyes from what he was seeing. His fingers wrapped around his ph...

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$250

Prize money

297

Contest entries

112

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 11, 2023 EST

Won by Julie Clark 🏆

Title: Sight Unseen

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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