Chapter 2

“I still don’t believe in extraterrestrials.”

Julie smiles. “Planet Nine, Doctor Knight. You know it?”

“Of course, I wrote my graduate thesis on the methods used to predict its orbit.” I pause. Julie’s obviously done her homework. I wonder briefly what else she knows about me. “I—I don’t have my doctorate yet. Just started on my research proposal, actually.”

“But Doctor Knight sounds so much cooler than Miss Post-Graduate Degree Holding Doctoral Candidate Knight, don’t you think? I think we can fudge just a little.”

I allow myself a small smile. And people wonder why you can’t trust what you find on the internet.

“Have a seat Doctor Knight.” Julie leads me to a high-back leather club chair and sits me down. She then proceeds to fiddle with the laptop that’s hooked up to the box with all the cables before looking at me with a frown.

“What?” I say.

“I’m getting a glare off your glasses. Do you mind if I take them off?”