Untold Podcast

​Two astronauts almost become the first people to explore interstellar space.

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The Diamond hurtled through the ether. Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn passed without notice. Neptune and Uranus soon followed.

Next came tiny Pluto and the other denizens of the Kuiper belt—MakeMake, Haumea, and thousands of cold rocks with only letters and numbers for names. Twisted, broken, misshapen bodies. Known for their uniqueness, scale, and remoteness.

Then came the scattered disk, with its eccentric bodies. Small, icy denizens that, led by tiny Eris, seemed lost in their way. Lonely wanderers.
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Finally, the ship passed the Oort Cloud, resting place of comets. The only boundary that remained was the heliopause. The extent of the sun’s influence. The start of interstellar space. 

​ ​Cassidie is part of the third generation of children to be born into Vibrant Village, a nursing home turned sanctuary, which protects her and its inhabitants from the dangers of the outside world.

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My great-grandmother died last week. She was the only window I had to a world outside of Vibrant Village. The walls seemed to thicken with each day of her passing. 
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When Nonna Lola was young, she was hired as a nurse and hairstylist for Vibrant Village, a self-sustaining nursing home complex. My Nonna told me it had been built in a deserted shopping mall. The nursing home was designed to look and function like a small town to help residents, particularly those with dementia, feel more at ease. As a child, I would go into her room, lie down in the bed next to her, and listen to her stories. Stories about the beginning of the village, the moon, space travel, the Great Pandemic, and butterflies. 

Traveling through the portals of the realms, Lord Nazerous grows weary after twenty years of constant battle.

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The skull spider crashed one of its mechanical legs into the makeshift catapult.

“Fall back,” Lord Nazerous ordered.

Thirty or so tusk-faced freedom fighters ran past their would-be savior. They clutched their blasters looking for shelter in the foothills behind the village.

The mechanical spider swept another leg across a cluster of home-pods.

Thank God we evacuated, thought Nazerous.

He unsheathed the blade from his back and charged the guardian. A hum followed by green energy surrounded the blade.

The skull spider was a doomsday weapon.

Miriam has been chosen to venture to another world to help a neighboring Amish community. But if she accepts the call, she will never see the love of her life again.

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They were careful to let a girl know what was coming. They knew how much they were asking.

Elder Laudenslager, one of five who governed the Millerite planetoid, had arrived at the Bontrager home, unexpected, on a Saturday evening, after the supper dishes were put away. His demeanor in the lamplight was solemn but not apologetic. Miriam sat silent throughout his talk. She could feel the eyes of her siblings and cousins upon her. They were guessing what Miriam had understood from the moment he had arrived: a great and terrible disaster was about to fall upon her.

“We have received communication from the Yoderites,” said the elder. Since the Yoderites were light-years away, this announcement was fraught. “They have need of an exchange. Four boys and one girl.”

Jenni Gil has a warning for Special Agent Louis Hayes, but will he listen in time?

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Jenni Gil paced the length of the room. She refused to look at the window. Sunlight glowed between the blinds.

“Ma’am, you keep that up, I’ll tell Maintenance they’ll need to replace the carpet.” FBI Special Agent Louis Hayes tapped a stylus on his computer tablet.

Jenni focused on the plastic clacks. Quarter notes. 4/4 time. “You keep asking me the same questions.”

“Only because you won’t give me the real answer.” Hayes swiped down a page without breaking rhythm. Clack. Clack. Clack. Clack. “The bureau takes these threats seriously.”

“It’s not a threat. It’s a warning.”

Copilot Tersav Aut searches for a sector of space to peaceably settle.

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Auto-Log of Copilot Tersav Aut, Karnik Exploratory Age, Voyage Number 77:
 
Yet again, we struggle to repair our ship after engaging in a battle we did not ask for. In such situations, there's no win. Death abounds on each side.
 
Why can't our people find another sector of the cosmos to settle? Every cycle, we pray to live in peace so we might unravel the Mysteries of the Maker. When will we finally be able to follow our purpose? After over a thousand cycles, some are giving up.

As he searches for his mother, a young boy encounters one of the living islands.

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The ground shook with the voice of the Living Island. Tam stood riveted into place, his world narrowed into one terrifying vision.

"I am sorry, that was too loud, I will whisper," the Living Island breathed, its version of a whisper like a gale in an autumn forest. "I said: you lost your balloon."

Tam reached to his trike's handlebar, then stopped, as slow as the Island appeared to be, he could never outrun it. Tears ran down his face, "I didn't lose it, I let it go."

"You did?" The Island was close now, so immensely close.

"My mum...," Tam stammered, "My mum is lost. I came to find her, and I sent up the balloon. I thought she might see it."

Sammy and Geoff are the perfect couple in the perfect small town, but can the words of two strangers destroy everything they've ever known?

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The late morning rays of sun bounced off her chestnut curls, transforming them into golden thread so fine and bright as to turn the eye of the choosiest jeweler. Then, the breeze displaced her hair, interrupting the optical illusion.

Sammy stepped off the sidewalk and into the grassy field that still smelled like last night’s rainstorm. She cut across the field to the pagoda, where Geoff had told her to meet him. It was a little earlier than they’d agreed, but she wanted some time to think before she talked to him.

She was suspicious.

After storming away from base, the leader of an exploration team gets lost in the vast cave system of an alien planet.

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Archer White stormed through the night, his shoes crunching the coarse gravel. All three moons lit this path. Pretty bright for almost midnight.

He kicked a stray stone. The lightweight rock soared into the distance. It was easy to forget that the gravity was slightly less than Earth standard here on Savannah, but little things like kicking a rock were good reminders.

What a tough day. Joe's mistake had been the last straw. Walking out here alone always helped Archer clear his head. Nothing brought back the awe of being on another world than a moons-lit night.

A howl echoed through the plain. Archer's heart seized. There was a skin about. He stopped and looked around for the source of the noise. It seemed to be coming from somewhere behind and to the right of him.