It was the Earth year 1939. The Spaceman lived among Earth people in his human disguise. The accumulated wisdom of countless ages spent traveling through time and space was his to share for the benefit of humanity.

For many decades, since his arrival on the Earth, The Spaceman had gently urged humanity forward, sharing only minute amounts of his scientific knowledge. Yet, in such a short amount of time, that minute bit of knowledge had completely transformed the world.

But the scientific advancement of Earth was not The Spaceman‘s highest priority. He was far more anxious to see humanity develop higher compassion and spirituality. For without these, man was sure to use the gifts of science unwisely.

Thus The Spaceman had situated himself at the center of the entertainment industry. This allowed him the opportunity to reach the majority of the population with works of art that promoted a more enlightened state of mind.

The Spaceman was not particularly interested in fame or fortune, though he had achieved both in great magnitude. It was more important to him that he should have the ears of the children, and that he should communicate ideas that would make them better custodians of the future.

During the previous decades in which he had dwelled on the Earth, The Spaceman had communicated his messages of spiritual and moral advance through music, comic strips and cartoons. Now he was working in radio.

How inconspicuous he seemed as he stepped from his cab in front of the broadcast studio of The Maximal Network, holding in his hand the script for a new radio serial he was to begin that day.

No one would have believed the secrets hidden within the mind of this seemingly common Hollywood socialite. Not a single word or motion was he seen to make that betrayed his extreme knowledge of a universe that existed beyond the limits of human awareness.

As he entered the building he waved to the receptionist.

“Good evening, Mr. Rhoades,” she called to him casually, for he had become a very familiar face around The Maximal Studio in recent times.

Casually, The Spaceman paused to flirt with the pretty receptionist a moment before continuing on his way to the broadcast booth. This was a big day for him, but he did not wish anyone to know that he had anything more on his mind than the ordinary opening of a new radio show.

Arriving at the broadcast booth a full half hour before the show was due to air, The Spaceman chatted with the actors and technicians, as well as the sponsor’s representative who seemed to have no doubt in the ability of the notorious Perry Rhoades to produce a hit show that would be a boon to his company.

With all preparations for the broadcast complete, The Spaceman entertained all present with a demonstration of the special electronic organ he had developed especially for the new program. Everyone marveled at the mysterious electronic sounds that issued forth from the strange instrument, which The Spaceman explained would give their radical experiment in science fiction an atmosphere like no other show on radio.

Three minutes to airtime. Everyone stood ready, and The Spaceman sat behind his keyboard contemplating the one thing no one else knew about the radio program he would begin that day. For the story of his new serial was not science fiction at all. It was an interpretation of his own experiences as a traveler in time and space.

This was his inventive way of relieving the need he felt to share the truth about himself with the people of Earth. He could not come right out and tell them all that he had seen. But by relating his experiences in the context of a fictional story he could tell them everything. He could give them insight into a wider universe than they had ever imagined. And with luck, share with them the wisdom of the hard lessons he had learned in his travels.

His special musical instrument also had more significance than he revealed. It could do more than conjure images of alien landscapes in the minds of his listeners. It would induce a meditative state in anyone who focused their attention on the show. And in such a state, the listeners would be able to receive special messages he would weave into the program – messages that would increase the listener’s ability to relate and sympathize with the characters, as well as to absorb the moral implications of each situation, hopefully influencing the next generation of humanity to become a more caring and less destructive species.

Was that a twinge of nervousness he felt? Certainly he had cause to be nervous. He knew what he was doing was unwise. And surely he would never have ventured to attempt such a thing had the sponsor not handed him the opportunity by specifically requesting a type of show that so closely resembled his own story.

Now everyone considered it the sponsor’s folly to have requested a show about “funny animals in space” to be presented in a serious context that would appeal to both children and adults. And Perry Rhoades was looked on with sympathy for being the one faced with the impossible task of delivering it.

And so, as the second hand on the studio clock drew near the hour, 7:00 PM, January 5, 1939, The Spaceman sat poised at the keyboard, the extensive narration he would read in the first episode spread out before him as he waited for his cue.

As the second hand struck the hour, The Spaceman pressed his fingers to the keyboard. Eerie sounds issued forth conjuring an image of the vastness of space, while the announcer read dramatically, “The Maximal Broadcasting System presents, Spectral Shadows.”

The Spaceman pressed the swell pedal on the organ and played a few bars of theme music, which quickly faded back down as the announcer continued, “A new Perry Rhoades furry fantasy adventure, brought to you through the courtesy of Holdsworth Department Stores…”

The Spaceman smiled at the sponsor’s representative as a second announcer came on to read the 30 second commercial. He had not yet begun to tell his tale, but he could see that the sponsor was already ecstatically delighted.

As the commercial ended, the first announcer returned to the microphone, saying, “And now Spectral Shadows. Serial No. 1: Children of the Ommadawn. Episode one: An Invitation to the Living Forest. ”

That was The Spaceman‘s cue. Time to begin.

The Spaceman began to play his special music. Listeners would later comment that it struck them as the music of the spheres and held them spellbound so that they could not tear their ears away from the author’s hypnotic narration.

And so, he read…

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