Name That Science Fiction Short Story-Filter

October 26, 2022 8:22 PM

The story would have appeared in one of the science fiction magazines (Analog, Asimov’s) in probably mid to late 1990s (roughly). Main character is a classic gifted (bordering on genius) child who hasn’t lived up to their potential as a young adult, but with a twist: as a child, they were visited by aliens(?), and they spend all of their time trying to build a machine to re-contact their childhood friends, living at home with parents, possibly working a menial minimum wage job or possibly unemployed.
posted by eviemath to Writing & Language (2 answers total)

I'm sad that there are no suggestions yet, because now I want to read this!
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 8:08 AM on October 27, 2022 [4 favorites]

This sounds so familiar, but I too have no answer. If you discover what it is, please come back and post it.
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:32 PM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]