Tides of Change (2)

10:32 AM

Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Today was the final launch of the 'longest-serving rocket in history,' i.e. Soyuz U. The Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, was launching the Progress MS-05/66P resupply mission for the International Space Station.

Following confirmation of the most probable cause of the Progress MS-04 launch failure on 1 December 2016, Roscosmos had ordered a complete third stage engine replacement on the last remaining Soyuz-U carrier rocket. This engine will be used to launch Progress MS-05 to the International Space Station.

There was a solemn atmosphere permeating the mission control room, in Moscow, as the countdown of the last minute started. After the failure of the previous rocket, the success of this rocket launch was crucial.

Twenty-seconds before liftoff, the Soyuz-U's four strap-on boosters and core stage engine began their ignition sequences, ramping up to full thrust for last-second health checks before the vehicle was released from the pad.

4

3

2

Boom!

Before the four boosters could even ignite, the whole rocket exploded into a massive ball of bright yellow fire. The sound reverberated across miles. Silence reigned the launch control room as scientists could not figure out what happened.

The project director, who remained the most calm asked, "run diagnostics, and I want to know what went wrong."

Just as he was about to join the investigation as well, he received a notification from the Central Command. He felt his blood freeze when he heard the news. 89 of the 153 satellites that Russia operated in space have stopped responding a few minutes ago. The announcement came from the 'Main Space Intelligence Centre'. The administrator has ordered to stop all activity and report back to the headquarters.

…

13:32 / 01:32PM

Paris, France

Built-in 1889, the Eiffel Tower stands 324 meters (1,063ft) tall and held the title as the tallest building in the world for 41 years, until the Chrysler Building in New York City took over.

A group of school kids were excitedly shouting and chattering as the elevator ascended slowly. All the other tourists were recording or observing the 10,000 tons marvel of modern human history.

There was a guide explaining the exciting facts of the tower while some people enthusiastically listened.

"Gustave Eiffel used latticed wrought iron to construct the tower to demonstrate that the metal could be as strong as stone while being lighter."

"The Eiffel Tower is 1,063 feet (324 meters) tall, including the antenna at the top. Without the antenna, it is 984 feet (300 m)."

"The tower was built to sway slightly in the wind, but the sun affects the tower more. As the sun-facing side of the tower heats up, the top moves as much as 7 inches (18 centimetres) away from the sun. The sun also causes the tower to grow about 6 inches."

"There are five million lights on..." before the guide could complete, the children started shouting, "Look I see a woman there, what is she doing?"

The elevator operator also stopped the lift when he saw that person. He thought that this person was here to commit suicide. The reputation of the Eiffel tower has been tarnished by the suicides of more than three hundred people. If this person also took her life here, it would further affect the image of 'symbol of love' of the Eiffel tower.

The person who was standing on the edge of the second platform which was 380 ft from the bottom. She looked young and was gorgeous with keen, emerald eyes. She looked at the structure beneath her feet with contempt in her gaze as she muttered, "Iron lady? Symbol of Love? More like a gigantic black smokestack and a solidly riddled suppository. Even the Notre Dame, the Tour Saint-Jacques, the Louvre and the Dome of Les Invalides are more pleasant to see. It's a good thing that this is the last time I will see this rotten iron piece."

The woman looked elegant in a black fur beret and black-white checkered coat. She took a small glass bottle from her pocket. The glass bottle was transparent and contained a clear liquid which flowed like water. She opened the container and sprinkled a few drops onto the metal floor beneath her. The fluid made sizzling sounds when it came in contact with the metal. The metal began to liquefy slowly.

The woman ignored the shocking transformation of the floor beneath her. She turned to look at people behind her and leapt. The children in the elevator screamed when they saw that the woman jumped while some people tried to prevent these children from seeing any further.

Thud!

Cracks spread outward from where the woman landed. She stood up and dusted her clothes a little and walked away as no one around her dared to stop her. Before the police could come, she had vanished.

After a few minutes, the Eiffel tower which had stood erect for 128 years started violently shaking. The moment the authorities detected the disturbances, they activated the emergency protocol. In thirty minutes, everyone was evacuated. Before everyone's shocked vision, the majestic tower collapsed an hour later.

The woman looked at the people who were terrified with an indifferent expression and walked away. She was supposed to pour the full content of the container on all four sides. Doing that would not have given the time for these people to evacuate.

…

15:32 / 03:32PM

Margate, United Kingdom

This place was the most beautiful coastal town in England. Margate is a seaside town in Thanet, Kent, South East England and lies 15 miles (24.1 km) north-east of Canterbury.

The sandy beaches, the shell grotto and other attractions have kept Margate as the leading seaside resort in the UK.

T. S. Eliot, who recuperated after a mental breakdown in the suburb of Cliftonville in 1921, commented in his poem The Waste Land Part III-The Fire Sermon:

On Margate sands.

I can connect

Nothing with nothing.

This beautiful city was ravaged by an unknown tsunami with waves reaching 10m. The seawater flooded a full kilometre into the city. No prior warnings were issued, no deep-sea tsunami detection buoys sensed an earthquake. They were tens of casualties and hundreds of injuries. No one had expected such a disaster would strike Margate.

…

White House, Washington, D.C. USA,

The President looked at the person who was leisurely drinking a cup of tea in front of him. For the first time in his life, the president was not sure about how he felt. He had witnessed the most horrifying events. The President felt that nothing that he had experienced in his life could come close to what he felt the last 24 hours.

First of all, two men appeared in his quarters without the knowledge of anyone. No alarms were set off, and no security measures were triggered. It was as if they were always there, and the president was the trespasser. Then the president was invited to sit in his own home as the television screen turned on.

Before the president could talk, he saw four Chinese commercial airliners crash into each other in Beijing. Then, the president witnessed a Provincial leader being murdered in cold blood when he was campaigning in India. This tragedy was followed by the destruction of a rocket and a considerable chunk of Russia's space satellites.

Just when he thought that he had seen it all, the president saw the Eiffel tower collapsing. What sent chills running down his spine was one of the persons who were with him had regretfully muttered, "Sarah is too soft. No one died."

Then, the president saw a tsunami devastate a beautiful coastal city in the United Kingdom. 'these people could create artificial disasters also'.

After everything the president had witnessed, he could not bring himself to doubt if the tsunami was just a coincidence. He had spent hours sitting with these people and yet no one came into the room. It was as if no one noticed his absence. It was astonishing that when such chaotic incidents were occurring in the whole world, no one felt the need to report to him.

Each time that the President hoped that this disaster was the last, he was proven wrong. Every time he would fear that the next catastrophe would be happening in his country. The president felt that his heart could not take this stress anymore.

After he watched the peaceful town in the UK get devastated by the wave, he lost his patience and restraint. The president stood up and shouted with cold fury, "If you want to destroy us, then do it. Don't play these games. What do you people even want from us?"

The person who was drinking the tea smiled when he saw the furious expression. He shook his head and said, "it is regretful that you still don't get it. We don't want to kill you," the person looked at the president and said in a grim tone, "we want to train you."

"train?"

"Yes, there is a war coming. We need some foot soldiers. It is as simple as that." the person continued to drink.

The person set the cup down and stood up, "We will bring you out of your well-like world view and expand your horizon. Frankly, if we did not think that your species held a little value, things would have been more simple. Anyway, the warning has been given. If you continue on this path, we will not meet again. Don't think you have weapons which could decimate the world many times over. Those mean nothing to us and frankly, even if you want to commit suicide, you need our permission to do it."

The president blankly looked as the two people walked towards the door. "Wait, species?" he looked at the person and asked a doubt which was in his heart, "Are you people, aliens?"

The person stopped at the doorway but did not turn back. He slightly turned his face to see the president from the corner of his blue eyes as he scoffed, "Aliens? We are gods."