July 3rd

Have you ever seen that movie where a fleet of spaceships arrives and hovers over major cities around the world? Then, on the Fourth of July, they all attack?

This was something like that.

I had just purchased the old Bradford house on top of the hill outside of town. It was going to be torn down, but I saved it. Although it needed a lot of work, I knew that once finished, the house could be worth millions.

Seeing that I had paid only $75,000 for it, I believed I had gotten a real deal.

The problem, if you want to call it that, started the day I moved in.

To save money, I planned to live in the house while I remodeled it. There were a lot of old items that could fetch serious money at antique auctions. There were several shelf clocks. One, a Pennsylvania walnut shelf clock, was worth over $100,000 according to an online appraisal.

There was also a Duc d’Orléans Breguet Sympathique clock. I had heard of one auctioning for $6.8 million. I knew mine probably wouldn’t be worth that much, but it could still be worth a few million.

In one room on the fourth of five floors, I found an old radio. It was covered in enough dust to plant a garden.

I could tell this was the room where old man Bradford had spent most of his time. It was large, with several comfortable chairs and huge windows overlooking the town and the night sky.

I wiped the dust off the radio and turned it on.

To my surprise, lights came on.

Static poured from the speakers.

I slowly turned the dial until I got a signal.

Rod:

Welcome back to WINO, the World International News Organization. This is Rod Pickmen.

The time is 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. We begin tonight with breaking news from the International Astronomical Observatory in Hawaii.

While the United States would normally be preparing to see the sky filled with fireworks tomorrow night, the entire planet is watching the skies for something else.

Astronomers have confirmed that several unidentified objects have entered Earth’s atmosphere.

At this time, there is no indication that the objects pose a threat.

We take you now to Dr. James Howard at the International Astronomical Observatory.

James:

Thank you, Rod. We’re normally made fun of for reporting such things, but since so many people are seeing this with their own eyes, I doubt there’ll be much backlash this time.

About an hour ago, we detected what we initially believed to be asteroids.

They were nothing of the sort.

We now know that these objects are artificial in origin. There appear to be hundreds of them. Maybe as many as a thousand.

They slowed down before entering Earth’s atmosphere.

Rod:

Did you say they slowed down?

James:

Yes, sir.

These objects are being controlled. They seem to be—

[STATIC]

Rod:

Dr. Howard?

Dr. Howard, are you there?

We seem to have lost Dr. Howard.

We are receiving reports that one of the objects is descending near Chicago, Illinois. Others have been spotted over New York, London, Tokyo, Sydney, Cairo, Moscow, Mexico City, and dozens of other locations.

Pam Murphy, a reporter in Chicago, is approximately two miles from the object.

We take you to her live.

Pam:

This thing is huge. A lot larger than I thought it would be. It has to be at least 500 feet across.

It is hovering just above the Sears Tower. From my view, it almost looks like it’s parked on top of the building.

Rod:

Didn’t they rename that building?

Pam:

Don’t get me started. It will always be the Sears Tower.

The object has no visible wings. No propellers. No engines that I can see.

And there is absolutely no sound.

Wait.

It’s moving.

It moved over Navy Pier.

It’s coming down.

[DISTANT CROWD REACTING]

It has landed.

I’m almost there.

Police are ordering everyone to remain behind the barricades. Fortunately, I have a friend on the force.

Officer Fuller:

Pam! Pam! No, we can’t do this today. I have my orders.

Pam:

Greg, you owe me.

Or do I need to remind you on live international radio?

Officer Fuller:

Okay, Pam. I’ll let you through. But this takes care of everything.

In fact, you owe me now.

You owe me big.

Pam:

Of course I do.

Until next time.

The military has arrived. Amazingly, they have no weapons aimed at the object.

We’re not calling it a spaceship yet. We don’t know what it is.

Wait.

There appears to be some movement.

A section of the ship is opening.

Something is coming out.

[LONG PAUSE]

Yes.

We are calling it a spaceship.

It is most definitely a spaceship.

Three figures have stepped out. They appear humanoid.

Two are perhaps seven or eight feet tall and very thin, with pale gray skin. The third has light green skin and is shorter, maybe six feet tall.

They’re all wearing some kind of white uniform.

The shorter one is raising its hand. It has three long fingers with what appear to be suckers on the tips.

It’s speaking.

Its voice is raspy.

Alien:

Greetings to the people of the planet Earth.

We have traveled many light-years to meet you after receiving your invitation.

There is no reason to fear us.

We come in peace.

[CROWD CHEERING]

Pam:

The crowd is cheering. People are trying to move toward the visitors. The military is holding them back.

One of the visitors is approaching General Scott of the U.S. Army.

They’re extending their hands.

They’re shaking hands.

They are actually shaking hands.

This is unbelievable.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have just witnessed humanity’s first contact with intelligent life from another world.

And it appears to be peaceful.

[STATIC]

Rod:

We have just received confirmation that similar encounters are taking place around the world.

In New York, people are taking photos with the aliens. In Tokyo, they’re treating them to lunch.

Everywhere, the message is the same.

“We come in peace.”

Stay tuned. We’ll be back with more.

[STATIC]

The radio died.

I was shocked that it had stayed on that long.

The broadcast struck me as funny. It reminded me of The War of the Worlds. Not the movie, but the famous 1938 radio broadcast. I had heard a replay of it dozens of times.

It, too, had aired at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Somebody had put a lot of thought into this.

What amazed me was that they had chosen radio. The internet would have reached far more people. I doubted that even a hundred people could hear this station. It was low on the dial, probably used only by local, short-range broadcasters.

The mention of asteroids made me think of reports I had recently heard about objects passing close to Earth.

So I spent the next few hours on the balcony, watching the sky through an old-fashioned telescope.

What I saw was beautiful.

That was until the radio came back on.

Static at first.

Then—

Rod:

The current time is 11:00 p.m.

Thirty minutes ago, the United Nations met to welcome our visitors. President Mowey of the United States led the meeting.

They call themselves the Vallon, and they were more than happy to accept this international greeting.

They chose Ambassador Gorzan to speak on their behalf.

We were able to obtain a recording of part of that meeting.

President Mowey:

Welcome, Gorzan, and all the Vallon, to the planet Earth.

May this be the start of a long and glorious friendship.

On behalf of the United States and all nations on Earth, we welcome you.

Ambassador Gorzan:

Thank you, President Mowey.

We are honored.

For many centuries, humanity has looked toward the stars and wondered whether it was alone.

We are proud to be the ones to prove that you are not.

We offer our friendship, our knowledge, and our technology.

We will propel your world into the future.

We have helped dozens of worlds just like yours reach greater heights than they ever thought possible.

We will do the same for you.

Your world will never be the same.

We ask only that you allow some of us to take up residence on your beautiful planet.

May your people and our people become one people.

President Mowey:

We look forward to the uniting of our people. Hopefully, we can both bring something to the table. May the—

[STATIC]

The signal disappeared again.

I found it strange that they were continuing the story.

Even stranger, they were playing it in real time.

It was exactly 11:00 p.m.

Somebody had put a lot of thought and energy into this.

I hoped their intended audience was listening, but I knew it couldn’t be me.

It was late.

I went to bed.

My bedroom, the largest in the house, was next door to the radio room. It was also the cleanest and came complete with a Wyoming king bed.

If you’re wondering what that is, a standard king is 76 by 80 inches. A California king is 72 by 84.

A Wyoming king is 84 by 84.

Seven feet square.

For a man who is only five-foot-two with shoes on, that’s a lot of bed.

I covered myself with Egyptian cotton sheets and fell asleep almost immediately.

I was awakened by loud static.

The radio was on again.

I staggered into the other room to turn it off. I figured I’d unplug it if necessary.

But another broadcast started.

Rod:

This is WINO, the World International News Organization.

The time is 3:17 a.m., July Fourth.

We apologize for interrupting our scheduled programming.

We have just received reports of a large explosion at Fort Liberty in North Carolina. It is not yet believed to have been an attack, but an investigation will be carried out. We will let you know as soon—

Wait one moment, please.

[LONG PAUSE]

This just in.

Camp Pendleton in California and Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada have also experienced large explosions.

This cannot be a coincidence.

Explosions at three military installations almost simultaneously!

Wait.

There’s more.

Ramstein Air Base in Germany has lost communications.

There are reports of explosions at military installations in France, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

At this time, we cannot prove that these incidents are related.

Wait.

We have just received an emergency bulletin from the Pentagon.

All military forces have been placed on maximum alert.

The alien vessels—

[STATIC]

[EMERGENCY TONE]

Rod:

Are we on?

Are we back?

Okay. Okay.

The time is 3:32 a.m., and we are back on the air.

President Mowey has declared a national state of emergency.

The Vallon have positioned their ships near military installations around the planet.

They have opened fire.

Our so-called friends have attacked.

I repeat:

Our so-called friends have attacked.

This was not an accident.

This was not provoked.

The attacks appear to have been coordinated.

We now turn to Pam Murphy in Chicago.

[EXPLOSIONS AND SIRENS]

Jessica:

My name is Jessica.

Jessica Morgan.

Pam was injured. They took her to Northwestern Hospital. Her injuries are severe, but she’s expected to survive.

Rod:

Jessica, how is it that we have you?

Jessica:

Pam was interviewing me. The building down the street exploded, and something came flying down the street and struck her.

Rod:

Did you see what happened?

Jessica:

Yes!

Those Vallon lied to us.

They said they wanted to be our friends.

The large ship that landed at Navy Pier rose into the sky, and a bunch of smaller ships came out of it.

It was just like that movie.

They started attacking military targets. It was as if they knew exactly where to strike.

They also destroyed—

[EXPLOSION]

Oh my God!

Rod:

Jessica?

Jessica?

Are you there?

Jessica:

I’m here.

The sky is filled with those things. People are panicking.

Wow!

The ship just fired some type of beam at downtown.

It knocked out the power.

Everything electrical just stopped.

Cars.

Phones.

Streetlights.

Everything.

Rod:

Jessica, can you get somewhere safe?

Jessica:

I don’t know where safe is anymore.

[TRANSMISSION ENDS]

I managed to record most of it that time.

I had no idea why I kept listening.

Actually, I did.

I was dying to hear the end.

But I needed sleep.

I considered unplugging the radio, then decided against it.

The moment my head touched the pillow, I was out.

Once again, static awakened me.

My determination to shut the thing down was quickly replaced by eagerness to hear what happened next.

Rod:

We’re back online.

The time is 5:10 a.m.

You’ve been following me for nine hours now. I’ve been sticking with you all this time, and I plan to stay as long as I can.

It is official.

We are in World War III.

This time, all the nations of Earth have joined forces against a common foe.

The Vallon.

The United States Air Force launched more than 300 aircraft armed with some of the most powerful nonnuclear weapons available.

Only 30 returned.

There has not been a single successful attack against the Vallon ships.

They appear to have some kind of energy shield. Our weapons simply bounce off or are absorbed.

We’ve just learned that President Mowey plans to address the nation.

President Mowey:

My fellow Americans—

No.

That’s not right.

My fellow humans.

This message is for the entire human race.

We welcomed these visitors with open arms.

We offered them peace.

They promised us peace.

What they gave us was deceit and an act of war.

But regardless of what they can do, regardless of how powerful they are, humanity will never surrender.

Whatever our differences were yesterday, today we are one people.

One planet.

United.

[STATIC]

There was no point trying to go back to bed.

I was wide awake.

I continued cleaning the house and found more things I could sell. Silver. Gold. Antique clocks. Items more than two hundred years old.

I began to realize that the contents of the house might pay for the house itself.

Maybe several times over.

A few hours passed.

Then the static returned.

Rod:

The time is 8:45 a.m., and we are still here.

We have breaking news that will bring joy to humanity.

A Vallon ship has been destroyed outside Beijing.

Authorities there shared information with other nations, and soon afterward, another ship was brought down over the Atlantic.

Scientists have developed a weapon capable of overwhelming their shields.

Humanity is fighting back.

And it appears we are winning!

[CHEERING IN NEWSROOM]

Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps—

[ALARM]

What is that?

VOICE IN BACKGROUND:

They’re here!

Rod:

What?

VOICE:

Look outside!

[DISTANT RUMBLING]

Rod:

There is something above the city.

It is—

I have never seen anything so large.

It covers the entire sky.

[STATIC]

I turned off my recorder and started to walk away.

The static lasted only a few seconds.

Then another voice came through.

Recorded Message:

This is a message from the Emergency Broadcast Station.

This is not a test.

I repeat, this is not a test.

Stay tuned for further information.

Unknown Announcer:

I’m not sure if anybody can hear this transmission.

If you can, it is very important that you do not enter any major city.

I repeat:

Do not enter major cities.

The counterattack has failed.

Further evaluation has revealed that the enemy deliberately allowed several smaller ships to be destroyed.

Military intelligence now believes those ships were decoys.

While our forces—

[LOUD BANG]

What was that?

[DOOR CRASHES OPEN]

What’s going on?

Vallon Speaker:

People of Earth, we have secured your world.

Remain calm.

Do not resist.

Serve us, and live.

[STATIC]

The radio began to spark.

Smoke poured from the back.

Then it caught fire.

I grabbed the fire extinguisher and put it out.

If that wasn’t the true end of the story, it was the end for me.

I never heard another word.

A few days later, on July 3, I was driving home from work.

The radio station I normally listened to suddenly cut away from its music.

There was breaking news.

A familiar voice came through my speakers.

Rod:

Welcome back to WINO, the World International News Organization.

This is Rod Pickmen.

The time is 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

We begin tonight with breaking news from the International Astronomical Observatory in Hawaii.