Cosmic striptease

Earth’s attempts at spaceflight are thwarted by a baffling electro-magnetic field while an alien civilization establishes contact by resonating the atmosphere and projecting a three-dimensional pageant across the sky. The visitors showcase their advanced culture in a worldwide broadcast designed to educate and moralize, prohibit militarization of their technology, and yet allow commercial sponsorship. The narrative follows television producers and their secretary as they navigate the logistical, ethical, and promotional dilemmas of staging the cosmic spectacle, exploring themes of media spectacle, technological hubris, cultural misunderstanding, and the uneasy blending of entertainment with first contact.