What Inhabits Me?

On the icy frontier of Pluto, a modest Earth‑government outpost clings to a frozen world, its 20‑inch telescope peering into the endless dark for a signal from the long‑lost deep‑space vessel Andromeda. Astronomer Craig Randall dutifully swaps photographic plates, hoping each new exposure might finally reveal the ship’s return, while the station’s seasoned veteran, Adam March, clings to the same fragile optimism, asking the same question night after night.

Life on the base is a blend of routine and restless diversion: pinball machines, card games, and the occasional Earth‑broadcast tune drift through the lounge, where bio‑physicist Mary Kirkham shares whispered excitement about a brand‑new laboratory. Beneath the camaraderie, undercurrents of resentment toward distant power brokers and the weight of humanity’s scattered colonies add tension to the quiet wait.

As the crew balances scientific duty with personal hopes, the quiet creak of space itself seems to echo the suspense of what, if anything, might finally emerge from the Andromeda’s long‑ago disappearance.