[ WP ] Humanity listens to the last 50 years of another civilization . 10,000 light years away .

**THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH** 
 [ 670 Words ] 
 *** 
 
 James Monroe stood outside the President ’ s office, sweat beading up beneath his dress shirt. He clutched the memo in his shaking hands, the rustling of the pages the only noise in the anteroom. He dabbed the top of his bald head with a handkerchief as the examined the walls of the room. 
 
 They were decorated with posters. Every one advertised the same show: *The Voice of the Other. * His show. 
 
 Some of the copy was quite good. 
 
 - *Life reaching across the void! * 
 - *Join the National Space Agency as they share their latest discovery with the world! * 
 
 Some of it was… hokey. 
 
 - *From ten thousand years in the past, they speak to us. Will you listen? * 
 - *Don ’ t be left out at the water cooler tomorrow. Listen to ‘ The Voice of the Other. ’ * 
 
 But only one held his attention. It was the newest poster, and he didn ’ t need to be in the studios of WBCM to see it. It was all over the city. 
 
 - *Celebrate 50 years of The Voice of the Other ’ -- radio's greatest SPECTACULAR! * 
 
 *Radio's greatest spectacular failure*, thought James. 
 
 The secretary looked up from her desk. “ Mr. Kelly will see you now. ” She pressed a red light that was blinking with life. It stopped blinking, sitting dard and dead on the desk. 
 
 James stared at the door. He had been waiting for ten minutes, and still didn ’ t know what to say. 
 
 “ Mr. Monroe? ” The secretary asked. “ I said that Mr. Kelly will see you now. You can go in. ” 
 
 James swallowed and pushed on the door. 
 
 Rudy Kelly was standing at the picture window of his office, overlooking downtown Chicago, and a sliver of the lake. James had to clear his throat, before Rudy turned around. Rudy ’ s face split into a grin. 
 
 “ Jim! How is my favorite producer? ” 
 
 “ F-fine, sir. ” 
 
 “ Well, come in! Have a drink? The usual? ” 
 
 “ Yes, Please. ” Then a pause. “ Actually, no. Thank you. ” 
 
 Rudy stopped mid pour. “ Oh? Is there something wrong? With the show? ” 
 
 “ You could say that. ” 
 
 “ Well, what is it? If it is a question of money, you needn ’ t worry. I already made it clear you have a blank check, didn ’ t I? ” 
 
 “ Yes. Yes you did. Thank you. ” 
 
 “ Well, what is it? You need me to lean on some talent? I don ’ t know why anyone wouldn ’ t want to be a part of this. Shit, you should see the latest ratings. They just came in today. We have twice the ratings of our nearest competitor. Our nearest *television* competitor. Yes, Jim, WBCM owes you a favor. *Radio* owes you a favor. And those shit-actors should be lining up to fucking clean up your set. ” James said nothing, and Rudy sighed. “ Well, what is it? You only have two weeks, you know? If something is wrong, fix it. Spend what you need. ” 
 
 “ Sir. ” James handed Rudy the memo, and then stood as he read it. 
 
 “ What the fuck does ‘ the signal stopped ’ mean? ” 
 
 “ It means that there is no more stream, si- ” 
 
 “ I know what it means! I *mean* how the fuck does it just stop? ” 
 
 “ Well, sir. The scientists are trying to figure this out, but the speculation is that there was a supernova in the vicinity. ” 
 
 “ A supernova? ” 
 
 “ Yes, it is when a large star dies, and- ” 
 
 “ I know what the fuck a supernova is, Jim. I just… “ Rudy sat down on his sofa, and cradled his head in his hands. “ So… after this week… ” 
 
 “ We have nothing. ” 
 
 “ Fuck. ” 
 
 “ Yeah. ” 
 
 “ Couldn ’ t those little alien fuckers waiting one more fucking week to die? I mean, we have sunk some serious coin into this anniversary. And now what? A clip show? And *then* what? Fuck. I have a family to feed. This was the only fucking thing that was competing with television. ” 
 
 James stood with his mouth open for a moment. Then, in a whisper. “ I know, Rudy. I know. ” 
 
 “ Just my luck. A supernova goes off a petamile away, and I ’ m the one that gets fucked. ” 
 
 ***
