Glimpse is a science fiction short story written by Daniel P. Douglas. After many years spent living in the cramped confines of a 1950s era bomb shelter, an aged couple finally ventured a glimpse of the outside world when the shelter’s failed ventilation system gave them no other option. They had no idea what they would see when the door opened, but they had each other and would brave whatever the world had to offer them. The story of how they ended up in that shelter began during the Cold War when top secret meetings were held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to discuss a series of crashes that were kept strictly classified and safely away from the public's eye. While scientists and politicians discussed new technology, their concerns were complicated by fears of Soviet espionage and the growing civilian restlessness over the inexplicable sightings in the sky. A cadre of Federal agents, who were assigned to protect the researchers at Los Alamos and keep control of the known Russian spies in the area, were also charged with keeping civilians calm in the face of the unknown.

Daniel P. Douglas' science fiction short story, Glimpse, offers the reader a glimpse in the past as well as a post-apocalyptic future, and it does so in an unsettling and absorbing historical tale. The author's main character, Knox, is a World War II vet, whose PTSD, which was undiagnosed as such at the time, caused him to suffer flashbacks of combat and whose medication seemed to make his brain work less efficiently. Douglas' historical view of the mood and prevailing mindsets of the 1950s is brilliant, and the story’s opening scenes superbly set the stage for the rest of the plot. Glimpse is a well-written and intricately plotted short story that should appeal to conspiracy, espionage, science fiction and history buffs alike. It's highly recommended.

Glimpse by Daniel P. Douglas starts us off on this wild journey with a view of an elderly couple, who had locked themselves in an old bomb shelter, slowly climbing out after many long years trapped inside. It launches from this into a discussion between President Truman, Talbot, and a German scientist as the President tries to decide if they should use the new alien technology they've found. They aren't sure if it is dangerous, but they know they need to have assets in a specific location to get a glimpse of anything when they use the technology. The story drives inexorably forward as we are introduced to the men who are part of a new and shadowy group, and one of the men decides they will be known as the 'Men in Black' in the future. We also see a spy who is investigating this issue, and gradually the narratives coalesce to a final confrontation.

All of the characters are fleshed out with interesting details that give each of them personality and purpose, despite the work being so short. Each section is short and contains only sparse details to set the stage and then usually launches into a lot of telling dialogue and action. I really enjoyed the writing style and was pulled along by my desire to find out what the alien technology was, what it would do, and what they would 'see' once it started to happen. The ending loops the entire story back to the beginning and clarifies everything that had happened in the first chapter. Glimpse by Daniel P. Douglas is a well-told short story sure to delight fans of the post-apocalyptic and sci-fi genres.