ARIA: Left Luggage

A silvery metallic case is found in the International Space Station struts. It’s sent to a US lab where it emits an Alien Retrograde Infectious Amnesia virus. No one is immune and forget everything from now back at the rate of a year per week. Society breaks down as people forget where they live, how to do their jobs, etc. Small groups realizing what is happening isolate themselves. The crew on the ISS find a second case and bring it to an isolated group in North Wales. ***ARIA won the P&E Readers' Poll for best science fiction of 2012.***