Even through all those years of misery and wandering, he had not once admitted to himself the true nature of this fog-cottoned grail. He knew it, and he did not know it. It was patrolling the edge of his mind, circling a far-off periphery, recognizable by a crude silhouette but nameless.

I realised that I had heard this story narrated on a podcast as soon as I read about Jack seeing the shadow and the boots while hiding in the empty lot. This is a sad tale about the hapless victims of an alien invasion that seems to have gone unnoticed by earth's government and the general population, allowing the aliens to get away with murder. ( )

After high school, Jack Crane decided to work for a year, save his money, and see the world before going to college. He achieved all but the latter. Instead, he ran out of money and ended up homeless, spending his days evading agents of the Bureau of Health and Sanity (Bohas) who would lock him up along with the rest of society's undesirables.

All the while, Jack recollects a moment from his chilhood when his father met with an eccentric insurance salesman. During that meeting, young Jack experienced a euphoric vision while staring into the saleman's eyeglasses. If only Jack could find that man again and glean an explanation for what happened to him... ( )