Estlin Hume awakes alone in his home outside of Twin Butte, Alberta, to find that he’s surrounded by aliens, soldiers, scientists, spies, and affectionate squirrels. That’s nothing new. But now there’s a giant (12 acres x 16 fathoms) saltwater tank full of cuttlefish suspended above his house. WTF!
Adopted by a pair of newly arrived aliens to serve as their translator, Estlin is trapped at the center of a first contact crisis. Unfortunately, the aliens have silently climbed the nearest tree, leaving him to contend with the hundreds of cuttlefish.
He is inundated with ill-advised governmental and military directives—punctuated by random acts of violence from unknown nefarious agents—as everyone is determined to find out for themselves what the aliens really want. No matter the cost! No matter the outcome!
Claire McCague is a Canadian writer, scientist, musician, and science fiction fan. She works on sustainable energy systems, plays with words, and owns an excessive number of musical instruments. Her novels, The Rosetta Man and The Rosetta Mind (Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing), are first contact thrillers that begin when a pair of spike-covered, mostly harmless space visitors turn up in Wellington and want to climb the nearest tree. She’s performed with dance bands for decades. As a theatre director and playwright, she's had productions on stages and in fields from the Fraser Common Farm in BC to the Manhattan Theatre Source.