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Welcome to episode two of metus
pod. I'm your host Dee meet us.

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Our first episode went over very
well, I got lots of encouraging

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tweets and feedback from our
listeners. Meet us pod is now

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listed on the iTunes podcast
directory. I would love if you

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would all go and leave an honest
review. I haven't seen the

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actual studies but from what I
understand leaving a five star

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review for me to spot will make
you a more attractive person.

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Also, I spent a significant
portion in the last few days

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working on getting discussion
forum set up and meet as pod.com

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You should drop by and say
hello. And lastly, please stay

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tuned after the story to learn
how you can help us keep the

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show ad free and more frequently
produced with high quality

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content with a service called
Patreon. I received our story

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tonight via the Submissions page
at meet us pod.com. One sided

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argument by Alex Schwartzman
originally appeared in nature

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earlier this year. Alex is a
writer, translator, editor and

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game designer from Brooklyn, New
York. Over 70 of his short

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stories have appeared in nature,
intergalactic medicine show

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galaxies edge, daily science
fiction, and many other venues.

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He won the 2014 W es F a small
press award for short fiction

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for his story, explaining
Cthulhu to grandma, which was

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published in IgM s last year.
Alex is the editor of the

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unidentified bunny objects
annual anthology series of

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humorous science fiction and
fantasy. His collection

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explaining Cthulhu to grandma
and other stories will be

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released on February 1 2015.
Alex is a great guy. I got to

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spend a little time talking with
him this week and he has a

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fountain of useful knowledge.
links to his work are in the

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show notes. I really enjoyed
this story and I decided I

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wanted to narrate it myself. I
hope you all enjoy it as well. A

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one sided argument by Alex
Schwartzman. Our arguments

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became one sided after the
aliens crashed landed into

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Manhattan. It was next in coal,
it says a tragic mistake. They

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didn't mean to hurt anyone. She
prattles on and on like this. I

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soak. There may be 7 billion
people on Earth. But our planet

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is mostly uninhabited, full of
vast empty spaces, even if you

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only count the landmass. So the
odds of those octopus looking

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bastards crashing into one of
the most densely populated

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cities in the world are one some
fraction of a percent. A dark

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cosmic joke, except there are
20,000 Dead people buried under

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the rubble and their families
aren't laughing. Colette only

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sees the best in people, even
when they aren't people at all.

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They aren't perfect, but they
are evil either.

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It was a rough landing, their
ship almost disintegrated on

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entry. It's not like they wanted
to kill anyone.

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Captain Sully managed to land a
malfunctioning airplane in the

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Hudson River some years back,
and he was only human. These

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aliens are built vessels capable
of reaching another star should

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have been able to do better. I
bet they just didn't care.

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Years from now that they won't
be remembered for the tragedy

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and the loss. But for the
moment, we finally learned that

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we aren't alone in the universe.

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Colette can keep up her side of
the argument for hours, days

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even. We're a real Odd Couple. I
served two tours in Iraq and she

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protested against the war. I'm
quiet and she's chatty. But it

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was her nonstop chit chat to get
me through the nightmares and

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the shakes and all the other fun
parting gifts I returned home

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with after the war. PTSD the
doctors called it I called it

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hell. So I listened to her
defend the aliens. Whenever I

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can no longer stand to hear it.
I leave the house for a while. I

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drove to Sunset Park, our
favorite outdoor spot in

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Brooklyn back when we were
dating. We used to love coming

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here to take in the New York
skyline. I sit at the bench

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where I proposed and I stare
where the familiar contours of

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skyscrapers used to be.
Manhattan still burns. Ash walks

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across the water. The alien ship
leveled several city blocks

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downtown. The devastation they
cause was worse than any war

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worse than 911. Some terrorists
did this with a suitcase nuke

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when we bombing their capital
already, but these aliens we

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just forgive them and welcomed
them with open arms. This isn't

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right. I inhaled a bit of smoke
and reminds me of death and pain

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and Volusia they can't get away
with this. Somebody has to make

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the alien bastards pay back
home. I stare the Arsenal laid

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out on the workbench in my
garage. The Glock 19 handgun and

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AR semi automatic rifle have
been there since the day of the

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crash. A pair of homemade IEDs
have joined them uh, since then.

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I've been busy. I can get close
boasts I can walk right up to

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the police barricades that
cordon off the ship, and I can

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push my way past New York's
finest. They probably wouldn't

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try very hard to stop me. After
dealing with the grieving

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families who show up there every
day, the cops must hate the

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aliens nearly as much as I do.
And when I get to the dozens of

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little alien octopus is
preparing the whole of the ship.

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Like they keep showing on the
news. I can open fire. I bet I

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can take out a good number of
them before anyone stops me. The

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only thing holding me back is
Colette. She forgives them

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utterly. And without doubt. I
pace across the garage and allow

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Collatz voice to soothe me. Our
arguments became one sided after

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the aliens crashed landed in
Manhattan after their gargantuan

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spaceship crushed Colette's
office building their one sided

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because there's no use and
talking back to the dead. All I

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can do instead is to honor her
memory as best I can. To do what

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I've done every day since I've
lost her. I take another longing

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look at the workbench and walk
out of the garage and go back to

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the house. Back to our bedroom
where Colette scent still

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lingers. And close my eyes.
Listen to her voice inside my

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head and try very, very hard to
let her persuade me. As I

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mentioned at the top of the
show, I've added a support

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option called Patreon. Patreon
is a site that you can support

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creative pursuits sort of like
Kickstarter but ongoing, you can

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set a monthly donation amount to
help us out. Just go to

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patreon.com/d meet us. We here
at me this pod are hoping to

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avoid ever having ads on the
main podcast. Everyone who signs

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up for Patreon will get their
name mentioned on the show and

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special thanks for me
personally. The money we receive

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will go towards getting you
great stories and top notch

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production values. If we can get
enough donations, the podcast

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will get longer and better. I'm
also thinking about a secondary

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podcast where we discuss the
stories feature here with

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listeners and authors. But
that's down the road a little

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bit. If you want to donate but
don't want the monthly

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commitment. We do have a Bitcoin
and Pay Pal option as well. Just

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check out meetup pod.com for
details. If you want to help us

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out but love keeping your money
because you plan on swimming

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around in it like Scrooge
McDuck. I understand I've had

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that same dream myself. You can
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Share us on your blog. If you
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like us on Facebook. Hit us up
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pretty much everywhere on the
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show and how great it is. Me
this pod is released under a

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Creative Commons Attribution non
commercial no derivatives

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license. That means you can
share us all you like but don't

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sell it or change it. Thanks for
listening everyone. We'll see

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you next time.

