Tens of Thousands humans have stood under the open night sky and wondered. First we wondered what they were, and who they were, and why they seemed so small. Then we wondered if they were gods, being of great power sitting and watching us from a distance. Our technology evolved then as our thoughts did, with the discoveries of many centuries. Eventually the question came to a few simple words.

Are we truly alone.........

The day begun much the same as always in a sleepy suburb of habitation area C 15. The top of a cube staring back down at McMurry as he woke for another day. His room like hundreds of other at this instalation was bland plain and uncreative. Minus a few personal items he had been allowed to bring in his luggage when he had left the bountiful warmth and seasons of earth to live on a small installation floating around it. He had at the time seen it as a fun chance to get away and explore the possiblities of space, Floating beer, living entirely self sufficent off what the station made, floating se........ sleeping arrangements. Many things an average 18 year old thought about.

It was all far from what he had imagined, reason for self sufficent living, the cost of bringing anything from the surface was to high, Alchol was not allowed except during certian celebrations, and as for other things, been there done that. The decided lack of ability to have any lengthy relationship was one of the few things he truly did miss, with the amount of personel rotation for everyone except select personel, such as McMurry, nothing ever took hold, and nothing was really lost at the end of the day.

Hunter McMurry rolled out of bed cursing himself for woolgathering, "your really not supposed to do that till your old right?" he muttered to himself as he dressed. At 21 McMurry was one of many around the same age stationed on Echo instalation. His job was simple, to monitor fix and control long range radar signals in and out of the instalation. Working in 8 hour shifts with 4 other controlers they monitored all the chatter from other stations, of which 12 now orbited the earth to assist in supporting its population.

Hunter strolled out his door about 20 minutes later and entered the door marked "Authorized Personel Only" a door regularly laughed at and mocked for the fact that all people in this installation were of sufficent clearance not just to pass through these doors, but to access any ship anywhere any time. Hunter walked over to his abandon station, cracked open his book and begun to read, since nothing else was allowed. To think at the start of that day his goal had been just to finish that book..........