John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction is the definitive collection of stories at the crossroads of horror and sci-fi. Follow us into a dark future, from post-apocalyptic earth, into space and beyond. Each mini series explores the universal fears of the unknown, alien life, interstellar travel, and the age old question, can anyone can hear you scream in space. The answer is no.
In 1977, astronomers detected the so-called “WOW” signal: a burst of sound from deep space, near the constellation Sagittarius, believed to be extraterrestrial in origin. The next month, the astronomers sent a reply. More than four decades later, the alien intelligence has sent an invasion force of exactly one photon—and it’s the kind of microscopic threat we could have never seen coming.