Chapter 9: Reactions

"Te preguntas si hay otra vida en el universo. Con mi ayuda tendrás la habilidad de aprender esa respuesta."

"Nǐ xiǎng zhīdào qítā yǔzhòu, qítā cúnzài de fēijī shìfǒu chāochūle nǐ zìjǐ de fànwéi. Wǒ shì nàgè dá'àn."

"Kunt taseaa algharad lihayatika, wa'ana ymkn 'an yuhaqiq lahum alwafa'a."

"Vous désirez savoir ce qui se cache au-delà de la mort. Je vous prouverai qu'en moi il y a une vie au-delà de la mort."

"Sie versuchen, sich zu den Sternen zu erweitern und ein neues Zuhause unter ihnen zu machen. Mit mir werden solche Dinge in deiner Reichweite sein."

"Vy ishchete Boga, kotorogo vy mozhete sluzhit' i poklonyat'sya dukhu i istine. Govoryu vam, chto vam bol'she ne nuzhno iskat'."

"Copies are already all over the net sir." One of the President's aides said, the various situation screens showing online videos of the mysterious broadcast, each in different languages and each with the same powerfully deep voice.

The Situation Room had filled in quickly once the broadcast had ceased a short while ago. The Joint Chiefs of Staff and other cabinet officials had come scurrying in, each of them in shock over what they had seen though the military contingent hid it rather better, though their faces looked rather grim.

Not that the man could blame them since apparently the world had just been contacted by a being not of this planet.

"Are we certain this isn't some kind of hoax?" One of the military brass asked.

One of the advisers from Homeland Security shook his head. "The web is exploding with all kinds of theories already and we're getting reports from all over the world. Every major broadcast network was seemingly impacted, even North Korea's and they don't allow any outside transmissions to intrude on their networks for any reason. If it is a hoax then whoever this was, they have the ability to hack into multiple broadcasting systems and data centers around the world at the same time and broadcast whatever they like on a global scale. The power and logistical capability that would be required to pull that off, nevermind the technology required...no, there's no way this could be a hoax."

"Oh my god…" one of the Joint Chiefs muttered dismally, the others looking at each other in concern.

"I suggest, gentlemen, that before we break out the nukes and panic we actually take time to consider the message." The President said pointedly, hoping to clamp down on any knee-jerk reactions. His day had just gone from bad to insane but at least he now knew that the object coming towards them was under someone's control. Not that it made it any better if they decided to ram the Earth with it anyway but at least someone had control of the thing.

"It doesn't hurt that the aliens, or whatever they were, appeared to have universal translator technology." One of the aides said quietly. "That will make first contact much easier."

"Are we actually considering this?" One of the Joint Chiefs asked in disbelief. "Someone or something just hacked every data and broadcast network on the planet! Who knows what information they got away with?!"

"According to the system logs at the NSA there were no outbound transmissions from any of the systems besides ordinary and expected traffic during that time." The other man reported. "As far as we can tell nothing was uploaded via that signal and no unusual transmissions occurred."

"As if they'd leave anything behind to find if they did." Someone muttered.

"It's a moot point." The President stated firmly. "If they have the ability to take control of our systems like this then we have no defense in any case. If they wanted to screw with us, or anyone else for that matter, they could easily have done so. Instead they chose to forward a message to us. Let's focus on that for the moment."

"We need to make some kind of statement and we need to make it quickly." The White House Communication Director stated urgently. "The press is going to break every speed record they can to get here and be the first ones to get our official statement out. We need to give them something! Something that will help keep everyone calm while we figure this out."

"We obviously can't be seen to take that message at face value or we'll look naive at best and foolish at worse." The Secretary of Defense stated.

"We also don't need to immediately condemn the message as an attack." The President's Senior Adviser said, standing nearby. "The message stated repeatedly they had no hostile intentions. Obviously we aren't going to assume that but we can at least say we are hopeful that this is the case and we are looking into the matter with the utmost concern."

"Will that be enough?" One of them asked dubiously.

"It has to be, for the moment we have nothing else to go on." The Senior Adviser replied.

"Alright enough." The President said firmly. "All we know is that they broadcast the message and that's all we know. We don't know who they are, where the broadcast came from, or whether we can trust the contents or not. We tell them we are devoting every resource we have to find out the truth of what happened and we leave it at that. The press is going to speculate wildly anyway, let's not give them even more fuel."

He turned to his Communications Director. "Write it up. I'll address the press and the nation as soon as it's ready."

He looked around the room. "Any other thoughts?"

There was a pregnant pause in the room before someone mentioned the fear no one wanted to think about.

"We need a plan in case they're hostile sir." One of the Joint Chiefs said stoically.

The President paused before giving him a level stare. "I had rather hoped, General, that you or one of your predecessors had already come up with one by now. Sounds like you need to start scrambling either way."

Turning about the man left the room.


"What the fuck is this shit? Did my phone just go crazy?"

"It's not just you it happened on my phone too! What the hell?"

"Is this some kind of crazy hacker or virus going around? What the heck?!"

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Most recent posts from 'CrazyMessages' on Tumblr:

Rigatoni: Anybody know what the hell I just saw?

Wildman2876: Rigatoni Same thing I saw man. A wild-ass recording with a bunch of static and light effects.

CrayCray387: Everybody and their grandma is going apesh*t over this.

AngstromHello: My grandma doesn't give a sh*t, she's been in the ground for 8 yrs.

Wavesalot: AngstromHello Sorry to hear that man.
Wolfensteinfreak28: I'm not saying it's space aliens, but it's definitely space aliens!

CrayCray387: LOL!

Westendfool10: What Wolfenstein are they up to now? 20? :-D

Trollfag5: Wolfenstein sucks!

Wavesalot: lol wut?

Wolfensteinfreak28: Trollfag5 Like your mom did when I was there the other night b*tch?

Trollfag5: Wolfensteinfreak28 F**k you!

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Most recent posts from TheTruthIsOutThere forums:

Abductee223: I knew it man! I just knew it! Vindication baby!

Trutherbaby12: The gov't gonna lose their g*ddamn minds over this!

Trailingthestarshopefully: What'dya think? Greys? Lizard people? Vulcans?

Icklefirsty1278: You hear about David Icke? The dude is having a joy-gasm on every conspiracy site he can find. F**kin' funniest sh*t I ever saw!

Trutherbaby12: Icklefirsty1278 You mean the nutty guy who thought up the lizard people meme?

Icklefirsty1278: Trutherbaby12 F**k yeah man! OG's frothin' at the mouth goin' 'I TOLD YOU SO!". Gonna be sweet watching him eat crow when it turns out to be fake! :-D

Slamduck98: Icklefirsty1278 Dude this ain't some fake sh*t. Sh*t's real. I just hope they ain't lyin' or we're all f**ked.

Butterflycox65: Can't wait for it man! Six months is too long! Hurry your asses up aliens! .


Vancouver, Canada...

The 54 year old woman stared in disbelief at her phone sitting on the desk next to the computer she was seated at in her home. A few minutes ago the strange message had appeared not only on her phone but on her monitor as well. She had been shocked and frightened by what had been happening, thinking that somehow her devices had been hacked by some strange individual or group but as time passed she found herself wondering just what on earth it could mean. She was quite grateful she and her husband had decided to take the day off from their practice but she was quite certain her day was about to get a lot crazier. Her office would be fielding phone calls left and right from her patients, wondering if they had suddenly gone crazy on top of whatever other mental issues they were having.

Suddenly the phone rang.

The woman jumped at the unexpected sound before swiftly picking it up to see who it was. Relieved to find it was only her husband calling she hit the button and put the phone to her ear.

"Thierry!"

"Dana! Everything okay? My phone went crazy a little while ago-"

"I know, it happened to me too, and the computer!" She exclaimed, gratified that it was not just here that had seen it.

"I'll be home in a few minutes." He told her. "Are you okay?" He asked in concern.

"I'm fine, just a little shook up." She assured him. "I'm going to check the news to see if anyone else saw it."

"Good idea. See you in a few." He said before hanging up.

Her mind focused once again she began opening various news sites she visited before her eyes widened in surprise. Apparently society had effectively flipped its collective shit with people freaking out from all parts of the globe with looting and riots already starting.

She was never more grateful that their home had a state of the art security system in place, not to mention the fact that she and her husband owned several guns and knew how to use them. She just hoped they wouldn't have to be used. Picking up the phone she quickly decided to call her two children. She wanted them here and close to her, under her watchful eye even if they were grown, until this whole mess blew over. They were her miracle babies and there was no way she was going to lose them to this craziness.


Defense Command Headquarters of the Korean People's Army

Pyongyang, North Korea...

Supreme Leader Kim Sun Ki strode quickly through the stone and marble hallways of Defense Command HQ followed by his retinue and various Generals of the armed forces. The message on the television he had seen a short while ago had shaken the young dictator badly and from the looks of things his Generals were faring no better. It was obvious to him that the Americans had somehow managed to breach their firewalls and plant this video into their computer systems somehow, perhaps even to devices across the country. How they had managed to do so eluded him but he had a crack department of cyber-warfare specialists to figure out that problem. Of course, that was before he had them all executed for failing to stop the attack in the first place. Such incompetence could easily lead to people getting the wrong ideas about how powerful he and his family were and how much control they had over their own systems. Kim was still fairly young as far as rulers went; his father Kim Jong-un had passed away a few short years ago and while he had been ruling in the man's stead for nearly a decade before his passing he was still considered untried by the rest of the world and this development would certainly not help matters.

If there was one thing the Family did not tolerate, it was appearing weak.

The group quickly moved into the meeting room where he and the other heads of the armed forces would meet frequently to discuss sensitive military matters. The room appeared more like a modern boardroom than a war room with wood paneling and leather executive chairs, but Kim, like his father, was a firm believer that the highest up the chain should have only the best for they deserved it more than others.

The other men waited for Kim to be seated before sitting themselves. The young man looked around at each of them quickly.

"You have all seen the broadcast. Speak your minds. We will need options to deal with this new development." He turned to the head of the Cyber-Warfare Division who was, understandably, nervous. "It goes without saying that I expect you to find out how this unacceptable attack on our systems occurred and what we can do to stop another in the future! I will not have our people's minds be contaminated with Western filth like this!"

"Forgive me Supreme Leader but are we sure the West is behind this?" One of the Generals asked cautiously.

Kim gave the man a scornful look. "Our Great Enemy would not hesitate to use such tricks against us to make us appear as fools! I have no doubt the Americans are behind this reprehensible attack! The only questions are how and what shall we do in response!"

"Long have we held our nuclear weapons in reserve for the day when the Great Enemy makes their move and attacks us." The General of the Strategic Rocket Forces stated harshly. "I say this constitutes such an attack! Let us use our great weapons against them and show the world we are not to be trifled with!" He insisted.

Kim frowned at him in annoyance. The man was utterly predictable in his desire to use said weapons and he touted them often. His father had fired many test rockets decades prior when they were developing their weapons program but despite what the West apparently thought of them Kim's family were not fools and they could recognize bluster when they saw it, having employed it their whole lives. Like the former USSR they understood the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction and the plain truth was that even if they managed to fire all of their missiles at America, their own country would be radioactive ash shortly thereafter. The puffer fish and many other animals made themselves appear bigger and stronger to bluff an enemy into fleeing. While this tactic did not truly work in the world of international politics with today's covert surveillance technologies it at least allowed him and his government to appear to be defending his people while keeping a lid on the crazier Generals who did not have such foresight as he.

"We will keep the weapons in reserve General, right now it would not be an appropriate response given what happened." Kim stated firmly.

The man appeared to want to argue but backed down a moment later. "As you say sir."

"What shall we say?" Another of the Generals asked the room. "We must show we will not stand up to such aggressive tactics!"

"We will indeed say so." Kim stated. "The people must know that we are ready to defend them at a moment's notice. Have we any recent intelligence that suggests the Enemy is preparing to strike?"

"We do not." The Head of State Intelligence replied. "There has been no significant troop movements in the South in recent weeks and the President has not suggested such to his people. No new assets have come into the region from anywhere in the world. If this is an attack it is a very strange way of going about it and very unlike what the Americans normally do."

"And that is exactly my point!" The head of the SRF exclaimed. "They have changed their tactics! Used an attack we did not foresee! We must strike with our missiles before they attack us from the shadows again!"

Suddenly one of the aides rushed into the room. "A thousand pardons for the interruption Supreme Leader, but the President is about to make a statement from Washington."

Gesturing for him to continue the functionary turned on the television, one of the few able to officially receive outside communications from the rest of the world. On the screen they saw the President standing before a podium.

"My fellow Americans..."


N M Rothschild & Sons Limited

London, Great Britain

The tall, stately building stood in the middle of central London as a testament to the ancient power of wealth and status, having been erected in the 1700's. The inside had been updated consistently throughout the centuries as times and aesthetics changed but the sense of opulence and grandeur had never faded from it. To call the institution merely a bank was to do it a disservice as property, money, and power on a global scale exchanged owners daily within its marble and rich wood walls. The institution was one of many across the world held either publicly by various holding companies or privately by a very close group of people, namely the Rothschilds. The current head of the family, one Baron David René de Rothschild, had been paying a visit when the broadcast had gone out over the airwaves. The man and his confidant now sat in a private office on the penthouse floor at the top of the building. Ensconced by luxurious wood, leather, and brass trappings they watched as the President spoke from the White House.

"My fellow Americans. Today we experienced an event no one could have anticipated." The President said from the television screen as he stood in front of a podium on the White House lawn. "At approximately 10:47am local time a message was broadcast to the White House and to every communication network in the world simultaneously. This broadcast included a vocal message that appears to be multilingual in nature. While we are still examining the contents of the message and its details the overall message was positive and pacifist in nature, indicating that we will be visited on the summer solstice by a person or persons unknown. While it is possible that this message was a hoax I and the United States Government are taking this message seriously. I would like to reassure everyone that all steps are being taken to ensure the safety of our people and plans are being drawn up for every possible contingency as we speak. On the other hand we do not wish to assume that this visitor is hostile and their message did not indicate as such. Therefore we are doing as they proposed in their message: prepare as you wish but do not expect to use such preparations as they will not be needed. We hope, we pray, that the visitor's message is authentic and truthful. If so, it will be an amazing and wondrous day for everyone. But make no mistake, we will be prepared for any eventuality that might come. You have my solemn oath and the oath of those who serve alongside me: we will defend this country and our freedoms if it becomes necessary. To all nations around the world and all of their leaders I say this, do not let fear rule your actions in the days ahead! Let us proceed with cautious optimism for history will judge us based on the actions we take now! If this message is authentic then it will indeed mean a turning point in our history and we must not squander this moment!"

The television switched off as Rothschild put down the remote, sitting back in his executive chair behind the large desk and smoothing out his immaculate business suit. The man's French face was scrunched in thought as he mulled over the matter. Having been born on the eve of the second world war he had never thought he would live to see so much history. He was nearly a century old but his white, conservatively-combed hair and chiseled face made him look twenty-five years younger. His body was still firm and his health was good thanks to various treatments he had undertaken over the years. If he was fortunate he would continue to live on for several more years.

Assuming this new development didn't bring the world to its knees; the contents had been enough to shock even him. At his age he had thought the world had finished throwing surprises at him. Apparently the world was just enough of a sadist to prove him wrong.

He looked over at his confidant who had stood by him for nearly fifteen years. The Germanic and hound-faced man was dressed in an impeccable wine colored suit of burgundy and rose. His hands were covered by fine black velvet gloves and he wore a gold ring on each hand. His hair was brown and graying at the temples, his forehead was lined, and on his face he wore a pair of older fashionable spectacles, the left lens darkened to create an eye patch effect.

"Your thoughts Richard?" Rothschild asked.

"The President's response is hardly surprising." The man replied in his smooth baritone voice with a hint of a German accent. "He appeals to both ends of the political spectrum trying to sooth them as always. Yet his words are reasonable, we must not panic. We have time yet before the event unfolds if the message is to be believed."

"The markets are already in chaos." Rothschild muttered, glancing at a computer screen that showed the fluctuations in the world's stock exchanges as they reacted to the news. "God knows how much money we'll lose by the end of the day."

"Things will stabilize as they always do." Richard replied evenly. "Give it a week and the road should be less bumpy. We have diversified enough to ensure stability even in interesting times such as this."

"Interesting times?" Rothschild said with a sardonic glance. "I would consider that the understatement of the century."

"An old Chinese curse." Richard said with a smirk. "'May you live in interesting times'."

"Yes, well, I have had quite enough of those thank you." The man said with a sigh. "Yet it seems we must weather more and hopefully come out the other side with more fortune than we had."

"Trust in me as always and we shall." Richard replied soothingly.

"Let us hope." The man said, stroking his cheek thoughtfully. "What do you make of the message, then?"

Leaning back against the black leather sofa he was reclining in opposite the desk the man tilted his head back in thought.

"This changes a great many things." He said. "If the message is authentic it means that there is either life beyond our world or the concept of the multiverse is true and there are parallel worlds that are reachable by some means. By the same token it means that our world can be reached by others. The fact that they speak in language and in thoughts we can comprehend is quite frankly miraculous. Either they have been observing us long enough to decypher our languages perfectly, or they have technology that is beyond ours by a significant degree."

"I would think the fact that they can travel between universes with ease would be indication enough of them having advanced technology." Rothschild remarked sardonically.

"We have no idea if that is true or not." Richard pointed out in mild reproach. "But there was confidence in the message as well, the tone and words used were of those who believes completely in what they are saying, that their words are undeniable. Such conviction is...undesirable in this day and age. The social upheaval will be significant at the very least. Mankind has believed itself alone in the universe for decades and yet most of our cinema portrays such outsiders as destructive. It will be interesting to see how people react as the day approaches."

"Bank runs. Panic in the streets. Protests and demonstrations everywhere. I can see them now." David remarked dismally. "This could very well cause the markets to collapse if people decide that doomsday is coming."

"That is a strong possibility." Richard agreed with solemn nod. "In the short term this news is terrible for business but long term it may yield great bounties depending on the desires and intentions of the visitor."

"I suppose we shall just have to wait and see then." Rothschild said as he stood. "There's no point in continuing the tour of our holdings here at this point."

"Shall I instruct the pilot to file a flight plan for Switzerland?" Richard asked as he also stood, taking a cellphone out of his suit pocket.

"Yes, and make sure to call the rest of the family." Rothschild instructed. "This business will need to be discussed with everyone."

Nodding the man began to dial as they left the office.


Unknown location,

China

As the President's speech concluded Jin Longwei switched off the television, his mind whirling at what he had heard. Both the messenger and the message that had appeared on the television earlier had struck a chord deep within him as the voice that had come from the television had been the most powerful he had ever heard, filled with authority as if Heaven itself bowed to his will. Following that line of thought his eyes trailed upward to the ornate portrait done in the traditional Chinese style of a man in flowing royal robes of gold and crimson backed by the former symbol of the Chinese Empire, an eastern dragon facing a red orb in the corner.

The Emperor.

He had been brought up by the Society and his parents to revere the Emperor as was proper, even though his throne had been usurped by the Communists over a century ago. The legends of the Yellow Emperor as well as other ancient national heroes had been told to him many times over the years, even when he was younger, and his work with the Society had only deepened his reverence. Jin smiled as he recalled the stories, the ancients believing the Yellow Emperor to be the originator of the centralized state and even Chinese civilization itself, a cosmic ruler and a god, as well as a patron of esoteric arts. The Emperor had died in the fullness of time after living for nearly a hundred years but through his efforts he had attained immortality and become a god in his own right. Thus in his mind it was not inconceivable that the Emperor could return. Perhaps...

Jin had been somewhat religious most of his life, having paid lip service and respect to the various deities that ruled the Heavens. But this...this was something profound and if the message was to be believed, it could change everything.

Lighting a candle and retrieving a small cup of incense he placed it before the picture upon the wall, lighting it and filling the room with a sweet scent. He bowed his head and began to pray earnestly and softly, hoping that he would be heard.

"Great Emperor, Lord of the Four Faces who sees all that happens upon the earth, he who is glorious and mighty, I pray that you hear your humble servant…"