(Image Source: Financial Times)

The award winning British-Pakistani novelist, Mohsin Hamid, published a short story on an Alien Invasion in Financial Times which was quite well received. Here is an excerpt from the story:

A hot wind rattles the roof of our shanty. Corrugated metal bucks up and down, scrabbling against rough-hewn tops of thin walls, straining at threaded wires that bind it into place. Like some kind of monster.

“It’s just a rumour,” I say.

“Put on your spectacles,” Mother tells me.

“We’ve been hearing it for months.”

“This is different, Daughter. Put on your spectacles.”

I have an old-style pair. Big, black, bookish. Retro. I’ve been told they suit my face. Make me look like a character from the past. I prefer them because they’re tough. And easy to slide off. Unlike Mother’s lenses, which just sit there, stuck to her eyeballs, from when she wakes until she’s ready to sleep.

Plus specs don’t cause infections.

Mother’s right. I see it coming through on all the media. Broadcast, narrowcast. Chatter histograms.

“The smoothies are up to something,” she says. “First they deny everything. They’ve been denying it all along. And then, suddenly, everyone agrees. It’s confirmed. There are aliens here.”

The wind dies for a moment and I can hear the murmur of the milking machine, flared tubes of transparent plastic tugging at Mother.

“It doesn’t sound like they’re friendly,” I say.

“Can you find pictures?”

I’ve been trying. “No. I’m getting blocked.”

You can read the rest of the story  Mohsin Hamid here