4. I Dream Of Jeannie
Major Tony Nelson was returning from the International Space Station when his Soyuz capsule disappeared without a trace. For months the world watched as experts from space agencies around the globe worked overtime trying to find out what had happened to the crew between undocking from the ISS and their vanishing from all ground based telemetry in low Earth orbit. Conspiracy theories spew forth from the plausible to the full tilt tin foil hat variety and spacefaring nations begin to eye one another suspiciously. Many months later after all hope was lost, the Soyuz command module was discovered by the crew of a passing ship on a remote Pacific island half a world away from its designated landing point in Kazakhstan. Major Nelson is the only survivor, and he is found hysterical and delirious, raving through months worth of beard about a bright light and a beautiful woman. His spacesuit is in tatters yet he appears well fed and is in possession of an odd crystal he claims he found on the beach. He is returned to the United States to a hero's welcome, but his condition upon discovery has been hushed up by the authorities, as is his questionable state of mind. What's more, strange things have been noticed happening around Tony. Authorities keep a close eye on the man as he lapses into a gambling addiction and begins to embark upon a series of death defying stunts. Since his arrival he has been accompanied everywhere he goes by a female companion known only as Jeannie, a quiet and somewhat disturbing character who avoids talking to the press. He also seems to have unfeasibly good luck in everything he does. Now world famous, Major Nelson decides to run for President as an independent, and enjoys unheard-of success for a third party candidate. The mysterious Jeannie never seems to leave his side unless anyone deliberately tries to track her down, in which case she disappears from view. She seems to have no past and no family. Freelance journalist Roger Healey is suspicious, tails the pair after a public event and does not believe his eyes as he witnesses Jeannie transformed into a glowing cloud of energy and absorbed into Nelson's crystal which he now wears around his neck at all times. What exactly did happen in orbit? Is Jeannie the source of the oddly synchronistic events surrounding Major Tony Nelson and what does this mean for the world as he rockets in the polls ahead of the election? More importantly for Healey, how will anyone ever believe what he saw that night?