WEBVTT

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Welcome to end to the night.
I'm nary your guide on to day's excursion

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down a twisted path. Be careful
not to get lost. Be it dark

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or light, It's easy to lose
your way. Are you ready, then

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let's begin out of this world.
Shena Wells looked upward as the warmth of

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a summer day glistened against her skin. She loved this time of year,

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and her spirits lifted, knowing this
would be the first of many such days.

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Gone were the darker and gloomier days
of winter that tugged on her soul

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until she fell into depression. Spring
and summer made the world feel new and

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alive again, and now, with
summer's arrival on the horizon, she felt

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nothing but happiness. She hummed a
tune her mother sang to her when she

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was young. It brought back good
memories, and it often came to mind

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when she had plans to do something
special. Today was one of those times.

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This afternoon she would be off on
a grand adventure with her favorite person

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in the world. Her grandfather,
a pre eminent scientist and engineer, offered

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to take Shena as his honored guest
to the facility where he worked. He

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and his team of scientists worked for
NASA and unveiled his latest project, a

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hypersonic rocket that they hoped would take
the manned crew out of the atmosphere for

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the first time. He'd brought Shena
many times to the test launches of various

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projects he supervised, but he promised
her that today amounted to the crown jewel

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of his career. I'd like you
there with Musina. You've been my biggest

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supporter since your grandma died years ago. It only seems right to have you

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with me. Doctor Wilfred Heidemann was
no ordinary man. His research development earned

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him numerous prizes and recognition around the
world, and Shena took great pride in

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being his granddaughter. Grandpa, I'd
be proud of you even if you weren't

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a rocket scientist, but it sure
is exciting that you are. Thank you,

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my dear. I hope some day
you'll follow after me and continue my

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research. I have high hopes for
you. I think you will be the

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one to take us farther than anyone
has imagined going. You're so smart,

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and I see a lot of the
young me in you. Shena swelled with

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pride. She valued her grandfather's praise
above all else. Their circle felt small

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ever, since her mother, father, older brother, and grandmother passed away.

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They didn't die at the same time, but during a five year stretch

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of grief and tragedy, Shena and
her grandfather clung to each other for support.

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As she watched him age, sharp
pains of preemptive sadness flooded over her,

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so she tried to lie and tell
herself that the man she loved and

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admired would never die. She couldn't
make it through life thinking otherwise. Shena

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grew up listening to his dreams of
reaching out of space. Rumors flew for

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decades that aliens existed, and Wolford
found the concept fascinating. While some people

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discounted the possibility of alien life forms
inhabiting the realms outside of our atmosphere,

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others swore they'd seen unidentified objects that
defied understanding. Shena's entire family believe the

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sightings, at least some of them, were true. One woman's story captivated

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Shena's imagination. As a child,
traveling home one evening, just as the

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sun disappeared in the horizon, the
woman heard a whorrying sound. It wasn't

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loud, but it was loud enough
that I knew something was coming, she

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told Shena's family. I stopped and
looked around, but then I heard a

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strange boop boop boop sound, and
I saw an elongated craft sail past me.

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I don't know if they saw me
or not, but I definitely saw

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it. Others claimed to have seen
unusual crafts that disappeared just as quickly as

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they arrived. Some had flashing lights, some were silent, others emitted sound.

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No one had a reasonable answer for
what these crafts were, and hundreds,

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thousands even of reports told of encounters
with them throughout the years. Now,

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Shena, I know that not all
these stories are true, but some

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of the witnesses are esteemed members of
society, college professors, law enforcement officers,

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teachers. Shena's mother gave her daughter
a reassuring hub. I don't want

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you to be afraid. However,
I don't think they, whatever they are,

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mean us any harm. Well,
Grandpa find one some day, Shena

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certainly hoped he would. Well.
For years, your grandfather and his associates

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at NASA have worked to fly out
of our ap fear, and physicists tell

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us that there is a vast universe
outside of our reach. Galaxies hundreds or

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thousands of them could exist. It's
been your grandpa's life work to go farther

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than we've ever explored before. Her
mother's eyes sparkled with excitement and anticipation for

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what he might accomplish. Shena's chest
swelled thinking about the pride her mother had

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and her father and his life's endeavor. Her mother loved the fact that she'd

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been raised by one of the brightest
men around, and she took delight in

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her own daughter's interest in his work. Shena, some day you'll follow in

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your grandfather's footsteps. He's a great
scientist, and one day you will be

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too. She stared out across the
landscape, lost in thought, with memories

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of when her family remained whole washing
over her. Her mother was a beauty,

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and while many admired her, she
felt absolute devotion towards Shena's father.

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Before she lost her parents, brother, and grandmother, she'd lived an idyllic

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life, and she hoped, by
remembering the good times, she would keep

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their version of Camelot alive. No
one could ever replace her lost family members,

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but she hoped that one day she'd
have a husband and children of her

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own who could fill the boys she
felt every day. Grandma feels the same

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loss that I do. No matter
what, I have to keep his fields

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up. I can't let him seem
me depressed, even though some days I

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just want to curl up and cry. She checked the time and hurried inside,

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I can't keep grap awaiting. This
is his feet day. Grabbing her

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keys, she rushed off to meet
him at the launch site. She arrived

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at the facility, checking herself in
the rear view mirror, and jogged across

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the parking lot. Knocking at his
office door, she gave Wilfred a hug

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when he opened it. Ah,
Shena, you're right on time. You

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seem a little out of breath,
though anyway, I was cutting it close,

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so I ran to your office from
my car. I didn't want to

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keep you waiting. His eyes sparkled. You have perfect timing. I'd have

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kept the whole launch on hold until
you got here. You're the most important

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part of this day to me.
Happy tears glistened on her lashes. Oh,

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Grandpa, you're so sweet. This
is your big day, though,

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I'm here to celebrate you, not
the other way around. Now, let's

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fix your tie and make our way
to the launch. Sank. You have

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to look good for the cameras.
You're the big news of the day.

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Let's just hope this ship does what
we've designed it to do, and it'd

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be a shame if it just flopped
over, fizzled out. He chuckled and

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picked up his hat from the table
by the door, placing it on his

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head. He smiled at Sheena and
ushered her outside. Together. They walked

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across the complex, where cheering fans
gathered to watch the historic launch. People

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flocked to the famous rocket scientist and
asked for his autograph. Look, Grandpa,

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you're famous. The old man blushed, but his chest puffed out with

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pride. He had worked his entire
career for this moment. Staring out across

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the complex, he thought back to
when this was no more than a dream

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in a young man's imagination. He
squeezed Shena's hand as the countdown began ten

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nine, eight seven. The roar
of the rockets drowned out the shouts from

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the crowd. The world rumbled as
the ship thrust upward and became a living

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beast, enveloping everything in its force. Onlookers felt the lift off as much

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as they saw it. Wilford subconsciously
placed his hand over the NASA patch on

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his uniform. The flames from the
boosters illuminated the magnificent NASA emblem that dominated

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the side of the mission control building. Shena leaned her head against her grandfather's

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shoulder as she watched his life's work
launched from the pad and hurtled through the

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water toward the great unknown beyond their
realm. She thought about the magnificence of

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the organization he helped to build,
Nelson, the North Atlantic Space Agency,

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Gray Pause, taking us beyond the
water's surface. Maybe we will find a

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new civilization out there and whatever exists
outside the ocean. Her heart pounded in

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anticipation. On board, the crew
cheered in amazement. Control. You aren't

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going to believe what we're seeing up
here. There are cities and strange flying

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machines. We believe there's proof of
intelligent life outside the ocean. We believe

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life is abundant on Earth. We
read you. You're making history today,

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gentlemen. The ship banked and circled
as the crew explored an entirely new environment.

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On this day, the inhabitants of
the sea ventured out of their world

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and into ours. Thank you for
joining me for this episode of the Into

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the Night Anthology podcast. Written by
Caroline Giamanco, narrated by Nari Quok,

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Theme music by Nico Rodriguez, all
other original music, sound design and editing

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by Omenhawk Studios. You can find
our links in the show notes. Into

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the Night is on your favorite podcatcher, so make sure to like, subscribe

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and leave a five star review to
help other excursionists to join us. I'll

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see you next time, and remember, whether in the shadows or in the

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daylight, all twisted paths lead you
into the night. Into the Night Anthology

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is a creative typo entertainment production.