We're receiving a transmission [static] The Americans podcasting interrupted [static] some heptapods have arrived for this hepta-pod(cast) [static] our favorite political-science-fiction enthusiasts Desiree Weber and Sid Simpson join John to break down this developing story.  Join us as we discuss the 1998 novella "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang and the 2016 film Arrival (dir. Denis Villeneuve) that is based on the novel. After a genre-defining consideration of sci fi and politics, we turn to the novella and film to consider their engagement with language, the impossibility of storytelling, tragedy, free will and determinism, causality, teleology, time, the adaptation choices from novella to film, and much more. Many of our usual segments return, replete with Christopher Nolan gags, jokes about being very on brand, cinematic shout-outs, and the most literal Cave we have yet encountered.  Spoilers for both the novella the film in this episode.  --  Music by Lesfm from Pixabay