This is really great. It reminds me in some ways of Lovecraft's short stories. By leaving out some details, the story pushes us to use our imaginations to fill the rest in. This can make a story even better, and you've come up with something great here.
Thanks! Lovecraft is on the list, with Heinlein, and Le Guin, of authors I am ashamed to have neglected. The short story is a great format for sampling an author and some, like Borges or Kafka, shine brightest in their shortest works. I'm curious to know more about the "formula" behind a lot of science fiction. It seems like a common pattern is to ask one unlikely indulgence of the reader -- that aliens exist, a deadly windstorm on Mars, or an alternative twist in history -- in order to see where it takes things. This story owes a lot to H. F. Saint, a one-hit wonder whose single thriller is one of my favorites. I understand he quit his dull job in finance to write it, then sold the rights to make an awful Chevy Chase movie, and retired to the south of France, never to be heard of again.