IT CAME FROM BEYOND! (1950'S SCI-FI STORY)

Chapter One: The PANIC Broadcast

PART 1

It was 8:42PM, in the small town of Kinsley, when the UFO was first picked up by radar systems on the planet Earth.

It spun hypnotically through the blackness of space slowly approaching the small, fragile blue planet.

The bright silver metallic saucer-like structure hovered outside the Earth's atmosphere taking in the sights. As it drew near the nearest continent it witnessed from it's new terrestrial home, the silver semicircular top fluttered a neon green as it took in information from the planet's current radio broadcastings.

News, politics, music, current local events, national events, global events, sports, radio plays, talk shows, advertisements, more baseball...  This new world seemed to be enamoured by the sport.

"Language acquired.", The saucer announced confirming the newly processed input, before returning to its former shade of deep silver.   

***

The radio communication center was in disarray. People plugged away flicking switches and turning dials while on headsets.

"Sir, I think it's that signal again." Said one of the radio monitors seated at his post in the cramped heated room of the Kansas army base.

"Well, can you boost it?"

"I'm trying sir, there's a lot of distortion. It's different this time."

"I don't care for your excuses, lieutenant. Weather it's a passing meteor or just some space debris, I want to know what exactly that thing is."

General Kent Wilson hollered marching back and forth eyeing lieutenant Campbell as he always did, while the lieutenant fiddled with the knobs on his radio dial and checked the readouts of paper compiling in a streamer off the desk, and onto the floor beside his feet.

"Lieutenant!-", the General began to bark again before being abruptly cut off.

"Wait, Sir! I've got something..."

The two men stared at the the readouts of paper as the needle began darting erratically back and forth across the page creating a timed pattern.

Lieutenant Campbell, scrunched his headset closer to his ears listening in the now silent room as all eyes became fixed on him.

"Well?!", shouted the general growing more impatient.

Campbell's eyes widened before slowly turning back to the General, holding the long coiled corded headset outstretched in his direction.

"S-sir... You need to hear this."

General Wilson snatched them from his flimsy shaking hand and quickly placed them over his own ears.

His nostrils flared and his face began to turn bright shade of red as he suddenly became filled with rage.

"What is this, lieutenant, some kind of joke? If you're trying to put me on, I swear I'll have have you court martialed so fast-"

"Sir, it's no joke!" Yelled someone in one of the back stations. "It's broadcasting on every radio station!"

Another officer bolted through the doorway standing by the entrance.

"Sir, I'm getting reports it's even on the television."

General Wilson raced in his direction and down the hallway until he found the room the other officer had come from with a television in it. A small group of lab engineers and technicians stood around fixated on the flickering static of the black and white picture as the message repeated.

Blood drained from, General Wilson's face as he watched the image slowly sharpen into a picture of shimmering silver saucer sitting in the outer reaches of the earths atmosphere.

There was no distortion anymore and he could hear it plain as day. He listened as the message repeat over, and over, trying to gather if what he was hearing really was in fact, actually what he was hearing.

No, the readouts and the military's radar didn't lie. The message was crystal clear.

"Hello, peoples of earth. In one week and 17 hours your planet will be destroyed. Please make the most of your time while you can. We are the Athenaeum, and I have come to witness your end.

Hello, peoples of earth. I regret to inform you-"

"Sir?" Called the officer standing back by the doorway who had following behind.

"Your orders sir?"

General Wilson inhaled deeply from his nostrils and took a moment to gather himself before turning back to the now three extra officers now spilling into the room awaiting his command.

***

"We apologies for the suddenly technical difficulties." announced a tv reporter as he shuffled some papers then patted them back together.

"We're just receiving word from our sources that the sudden broadcast you just witnessed was the result of  an early Halloween gag by some pranksters who happen to work in broadcasting fields such as radio and television, to make this coordinated   having a go at the expense of kind trusting folk such as our audience. We'd like to assure you that we here at KPANN do not endorse such behaviour an we are doing everything in out power to make sure something like this beer happens again."

The anchorman turned his sights to his co-anchor.

"When you think about it, this is fairly similar to that old Orson Welles radio play we've all heard about for the War Of The Worl-"

Tommy's dad flipped off the knob of the television set....