/CIA Directorate of Science and Technology, NOAA Office of Satellite Communications, NASA joint investigative force, Internal Memo RE: Goiania, 17.06.98: NOAA team has concluded that the atmospheric location of the 'anomaly' is roughly at an elevation of 300 km, situated between the ionosphere and thermosphere. All communications and geosynchronous satellites above this elevation are cut off, as are shortwave radio communications. Low Earth orbit satellites appear to be unaffected. Extrapolating from ground-based observer reports, the 'anomaly' originated approx. 17.34.22 S, 49.18.29 W, 100 km southwest of Goiania. A joint US-Brazilian Army unit, which includes a field agent from the CIA DST, has been dispatched on the ground for the purpose of discovering and investigating the source of the 'anomaly'.
Alarmingly, the atmospheric 'anomaly' still appears to be spreading, at a constant rate of 119.27 km/hr. If it continues at this rate, the entirety of the globe will be affected in less than four days from the date of this report. From midnight local time at date and locus of origin (14.06.98) and assuming 360 degree directionality, major cities will be hit e.g.: Mexico City, New York City, 2.4 days; Johannesburg, 2.8 days; Los Angeles and London, 3.2 days; Moscow, 4.0 days; Sydney, 4.9 days; Hong Kong, 6.3 days; finally converging in Tokyo at noon local time on June 21, the day of the solstice.
Recommendation: preventative steps to ensure civil security, both locally and globally./
The next day of school was just as tedious as the previous day had been. Mr. Chun was unwilling to host any further discussion of the South American happenings, and instead insisted that his class focus on their schoolwork all day long. Tian could hardly pay attention at all. He wanted to know what was happening with the stars. And…Song had appeared at Grandfather's in the morning to walk to school with Jiang; Na hadn't been with her. Tian had been a little disappointed at that. His stomach gave a nervous little leap every time he though of Na, though he couldn't say why.
Maybe she would walk home with them again; he wanted to ask her what her favorite constellations were. From their short talks yesterday he'd gotten the impression that she knew quite a lot about the stars, more than most other kids his age did.
The bell rang for dismissal at last, and Tian's spirits lifted when he saw that Na was waiting for Song outside their classroom. Her hair was braided again, and her bangs were held back by sparkley silver, star-shaped clips. However, any hopes that he might have had in talking with her again were quickly dashed by Song.
"Na and I are going to stay and do some studying," Song told them, "so we can't come watch your practice today. I wanted to come - and Na did too - but her mother is picking her up from the school later and I promised that I would keep her company."
Tian rubbed the back of his head absently. "Oh, um, that's alright. We aren't going to do anything interesting today anyway, just some balance work."
Jiang threw an arm around his shoulders and grinned. "Don't say it's not interesting," he chided, then turned to the girls. "We have to balance on one leg for as long as possible; most of us can't make it past forty seconds, but Tian has the record. What was it last time, sixty-two seconds?"
"Sixty-four," Tian said grudgingly. It was true, he was good at balance work; but Jiang didn't need to draw attention to him like that.
Then Na said, "Wow, so long? That's pretty amazing," and she smiled at him. "Do you think you'll beat your record today?"
"Uh, I don't know. Maybe. I don't really worry about records." Tian stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"You're too modest," Jiang told him with a frown when they'd left the school building, Na giving Tian a shy little wave which he awkwardly returned. "You'll never impress girls like that."
"I'm not trying to impress girls," Tian protested, his face heating a little. He wished that he was as confident as his cousin always seemed to be. He should have complimented Na on her silver hair clips. Girls liked compliments, right?
Jiang snorted. "Geez, are you sure you weren't adopted?"
Xing and Jiao-tu joined them at the gate to the schoolyard, Xing swinging her bag beside her and chatting away about everything that had happened to her and her friends at recess. Apparently it involved a tortoise who had wandered into the yard from who knows where, but Tian wasn't really paying attention. Neither was Jiao-tu: she'd pulled a book out of her school bag and was reading as they walked. Without her glasses on, she had to hold it almost against her nose to see the characters. Tian had to catch her elbow before she walked into the corner of the gate.
The little group had hardly turned down the street when a boy appeared on the sidewalk ahead of them. After a moment, Tian recognized him as the kid who had been picking on Jiao-tu yesterday. At first, Tian thought that the boy didn't see them, or else didn't recognize Jiang; surely he wouldn't be walking with such confidence towards them otherwise. But then he saw the grin on the boy's face, and started to get worried.
Jiang recognized him too. "What's that twerp want?" he muttered darkly.
The boy stopped calmly in his tracks about ten yards away and pointed at Jiang and Tian. It didn't make any sense at first; then from out of an alleyway stepped Honglian and his two cronies. Tian tightened his grip on his book bag nervously.
Honglian stepped up next to the boy, his friends fanning out beside him. He pressed his fist into his hand menacingly.
"Heard you were pushing my little brother around yesterday," he said, and cracked his knuckles. Tian's heart sank. Honglian's brother? There was no way they'd be able to walk away from this without someone - probably Jiang - throwing a punch first.
"Your brother was bullying my sister!" Jiang shot back, completely unafraid of the older boys. "He shouldn't have started a fight that he couldn't finish!"
"So we'll finish it for him," one of the others sneered.
The little boy was hanging back behind his older brother, grinning from ear to ear, Tian saw with disgust. "What, it takes all three of you?" he said angrily.
"Shut up, dweeb; we'll use you for a blue-eyed punching bag once we're through with this trash."
"I'm going to go get a teacher," Jiao-tu said, eyes wide. She turned on her heel and bolted towards the school, trying to stuff her book back into her bag as she ran.
Tian turned to his sister. "You should go with her, Xing," he said.
Xing had an upset look on her face. "Don't fight!" she begged him, clutching his sleeve.. "Someone might get hurt!"
"Don't worry, Xing. Those dog farts are the only ones who are going to get hurt," Jiang said. He dropped his school bag on the ground and moved into a defensive stance. Honglian and the other two did likewise.
Tian carefully lowered his own bag to the ground and detached Xing's hand from his arm, pulse racing. Jiang couldn't take on all three at once; Tian could probably keep one of them occupied for a while, fending off attacks until Jiang had finished with Honglian. But that still left the third boy; unless Tian went on the offensive, he didn't see a good outcome in the future. He tried to think of a way to talk Jiang and Honglian down, but his mind was a complete blank.
Brow sweating, he walked up next to Jiang slowly and mimicked his stance.
"I'll take Honglian and the one on the left," Jiang muttered to him. "You take the other one."
Tian didn't answer; he was still trying to come up with a way out. Behind him, Xing gave a nervous little whimper.
The boy on the left made a false start forward. Jiang didn't budge an inch, but Tian automatically took a step back, heart pounding. The boy snickered. The boy on the right was slowly edging away from Honglian, to come up on Tian's flank. Tian turned slightly, trying to keep his opponent in sight without taking his eyes off of Honglian. The little brother, standing well clear, was hooting and shouting for the fight to get started already, but everyone ignored him.
Honglian shifted his weight; both Jiang and Tian tensed.
Then someone suddenly pushed passed Tian, nearly throwing him off balance in his surprise. He blinked; Xing?
Before he could catch her, she'd run up to Honglian. "Please don't fight," she said, twisting the hem of her school uniform shirt in her small hands. "Jiang's sorry he pushed Sheng, he'll apologize."
"I'm not sorry," Jiang said, indignant. "And I'm not apologizing to that twerp!"
"Another blue-eyed freak, is it? Out of the way," Honglian said impatiently, and to Tian's horror, he reached out and pushed Xing roughly to the side. She lost her balance and fell, landing with an audible smack on the hard sidewalk.
Tian struck without warning, before he himself even realized what he was doing. One second he was watching Xing fall, the next he had closed the space between himself and the older boy and his fist was connecting with Honglian's jaw. It hurt his hand, but he hardly felt it. His training instincts kicked in; he blocked the bigger boy's wild swing with his forearm, following it with a body strike, the palm of his hand scoring a direct hit to the solar plexus.
Honglian dropped to his knees, wheezing for breath. Tian would have left him there, but Honglian gathered his legs beneath him and lashed out with a savage kick, striking a sharp blow to Tian's shin. Pain raced up his leg, but he ignored it and kicked hard at the teenager's shoulder reflexively. Honglian fell back, still gasping for air.
Jiang and the other two leapt into the fight, and Tian didn't have time to think; just like with the practice dummy, all he could do was react. One of Honglian's friends came after him now, and Tian desperately fended off a flurry of attacks. The boy was stronger than him, but Tian was faster, even with his aching leg. Several times he saw an opening for an offensive strike that might have ended the fight, but he never took it. He had seen a trickle of blood on Honglian's lip where he'd punched him; he hadn't meant to do that. He didn't want to hurt Honglian or this other boy.
Honglian was recovering his breath; out of the corner of his eye, Tian saw him throw himself forward in a tackle. Tian jumped back quickly, but landed hard on his sore leg and fell over backwards. The other boy wasn't expecting that - either the move or the fall - and accidentally let his momentum carry him too far forward in a hand strike, just in time to collide with Honglian. The two older teenagers crashed to the sidewalk in a confused heap.
Now would be the perfect time to run; from his uncomfortable position on the ground, Tian looked over at Jiang, hoping to catch his eye. But Jiang was still in the middle of his fight, going at it like it was the final round in a province-level tournament.
Honglian and the other boy were getting up, both glaring at him angrily. Tian's shin felt like it was on fire; he didn't know how well he could stand, let alone fight. His heart was thudding in his chest from a mixture of exertion and fear.
Then he heard pounding feet racing down the sidewalk, and voices were shouting, "Break it up, break it up!"
Two teachers, Mr. Chun and Mr. Yu, reached the fighters. The boy who was fighting with Jiang stopped immediately, raising his hands in defeat; Mr. Yu had to physically restrain Jiang to keep him from going after the boy again.
Honglian and the other boy eyed the teachers sullenly; Honglian wiped the blood off his chin and gave Tian a glare that promised further violence in the future. Then the two turned on their heels and headed back the way they'd come. Honglian collected his little brother on the way, pushing him ahead roughly; Sheng had a scowl on his face at the fight being interrupted. Jiang's opponent ran after them, limping a little.
Throughout the fight, Xing had remained sitting where'd she fallen; now she crawled over to where Tian still sat on the sidewalk, eyes shining with tears. "Brother, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Tian lied. "What about you - look at your hands! Does it hurt?" She gave him her hands to look at; the heels were scuffed and bleeding from her fall.
"A little," she admitted, sniffing.
Jiao-tu had been hanging back behind the teachers, but now that the older boys were gone, she walked up to Xing and Tian. "Mom can clean them for you when we get home," she told Xing, eyes wide at the sight of the blood.
"How did this whole thing get started?" Mr. Chun asked the group at large. Mr. Yu was leading Jiang alongside him by the shirt collar. Except for a rapidly forming black eye, Jiang looked to be in pretty good shape. Tian got to his feet awkwardly, his shin protesting with every movement.
When neither Jiang nor Tian spoke up, Mr. Chun sighed. "Fine," he said, "you're off school grounds, so you're not my responsibility at the moment. Fighting in the street…" He shook his head in disgust. "Xu, I'm not surprised. But Li…I would have expected better of you."
Tian remained silent, his stomach souring in shame.
Mr. Chun looked the three of them - Tian, Jiang, and Xing - up and down, assessing their injuries. "Do I need to call your parents?"
"No!" Tian and Jiang exclaimed in unison.
~~~~o~~~~
Tian wasn't sure which was worse: a bruised shin, or the look on Grandfather's face when they arrived at the studio for wushu practice.
Jiang was grinning ear to ear when they walked through the door, and immediately began regaling the other students with a blow by blow account of the fight, but one stony look from Grandfather shut his mouth tighter than a steel trap. Uncle took a look at their injuries and declared them to be non-life-threatening, though he wanted them both to sit out of practice.
But Grandfather just tapped the ash from his pipe into a cup (never on the floor of the studio) and said, "No. The boys thought they should do a little warm-up before practice. Well, they're warmed up, so let them practice."
Xing threw them a worried glance as Aunt fussed over her scuffed hands, but she knew better than to argue with Grandfather. Xing was one of the few people who could ever sway him from a decision - but in wushu, his word was final. Thankfully, Aunt took both the girls inside and kept them there throughout practice.
Practice was excruciating. There was a bruise on Tian's cheekbone that he hadn't noticed during the fight; it was constantly throbbing now, and during the one-legged balance forms he could hardly stand for twenty seconds on his injured shin without wobbling and needing to put a foot down lest he fall over. Breaking his record of sixty-four seconds was definitely out of the question tonight.
Jiang was in a little better shape, until they started doing sit-ups; it seemed that he had a lightly bruised rib as well as a black eye. Grandfather finally took pity on him after one hundred, and let him do push-ups instead. The way Jiang grimaced on each one, Tian didn't think that it made much of a difference.
If Tian thought that that was the only punishment they were going to get, he was wrong.
As soon as the rest of the class left for the evening, Grandfather approached Tian and Jiang. He had his hands clasped behind his back in a businesslike manner, which was never a good sign.
"So," he said impassively. "Fighting?"
"Honglian started it," Jiang spoke up, holding a hand to his ribcage. "We were just walking down the street, when him and three of his friends came out of an alley. He pushed Xing down!"
Grandfather turned his gaze on Tian, who felt his courage flag under the heavy weight of judgment.
"It's true," he said. When that stern gaze didn't alter, he added, "Mostly. I mean, Honglian did push Xing down, because she was trying to stop the fight. But he didn't actually hit first." Tian looked down at his feet, ashamed. "I did."
Uncle sighed. "Tian, it's one thing to leave out part of the truth, but to lie outright? I'd never expect that of you."
Tian looked up in surprise. So did Jiang. They exchanged glances. "Uh," Jiang said, unsure.
Grandfather's eyes were slightly narrowed in puzzlement. "Are you telling the truth? You started the fight?"
"He pushed Xing," Tian said guiltily. "I didn't think…I just couldn't let him hurt her like that."
Tian could see the disappointment in the old man's eyes, and that was far worse than any words of disapprobation that he could possibly receive. Grandfather was silent for a long time. Then he said brusquely, "You both need to clear your heads."
"For how -" Jiang started, but the old man interrupted him.
"Until you can learn to set aside your emotions, and think before you act!" Then he turned and strode across the room and to the back office, without a backwards glance.
Uncle sighed, and gestured for them to go to the wall. "You heard him. Jiang, we are going to have a talk later, just you and I." He gave his son a stern look, then followed his father into the office.
Jiang muttered a few choice curses to himself, then squared his forearms on the floor and swung his legs up into a headstand, grimacing as he did so. Tian followed suit. It was a relief to take the weight off of his leg, but blood quickly began pooling in the bruise on his face and it started throbbing painfully again.
"This is all your fault," Jiang whispered to Tian after a few seconds. "If you hadn't attacked Honglian like that - what were you thinking?"
"It's not my fault!" Tian shot back. "He pushed Xing! You were the one who practically beat up his little brother, so it's your fault!"
"Because the little snot was picking on my sister! That's not my fault!" He kicked out at Tian's leg, connecting with his ankle. Tian kicked back, nearly losing his balance. There was a minor scuffle, a flurry of wild and aimless kicks, before someone across the room cleared his throat loudly and pointedly, and they stopped, still swaying slightly.
"Actually, it's that kid's fault," Jiang said, quietly so that his father wouldn't hear. "He's the one who started it."
"Yeah," Tian agreed.
"It'll impress the girls though - we'll have to make sure to tell Na how you went after Honglian like that, she'll be impressed for sure."
Somehow, Tian didn't think so. The thought of Na's disappointment in him, on top of his teacher, Uncle, and Grandfather, made him feel a little sick.
They were quiet for a moment. Then Jiang said, "At least we won."
"Shut up."
Tian had no idea how long he and Jiang had been standing on their heads. Occasionally they would lose their balance or get tired; in which case they'd lower their legs to the ground for a few seconds, then swing them back up. That was allowed under Grandfather's rules, as long as you waited until you were almost ready to fall over, and got back into position in less than five seconds.
Eventually, Xing's bare feet pattered up into upside-down view. She bent over so that she was face to face with Tian, her head turned sideways in an attempt to be upside-down herself, black hair almost brushing the floor.
"Grandfather says you both can stop now," she said. "We have to go home."
Tian and Jiang lowered their legs with pained groans; Jiang flopped over onto his back. "I'm just going to spend the night here," he said. "I don't think I can move any farther."
"Aunt is making pork and potatoes for dinner," Xing told him.
Jiang sat up quickly, then pressed a hand to his ribcage. "Really? Ow. Maybe I can walk that far…"
The thought of pork and potatoes made Tian's stomach growl, but he was glad that he and Xing weren't staying for dinner. The prospect of having to face Grandfather over the dinner table after this was horrifying. And in any case, Mother had promised to be home early enough to cook tonight; Father didn't have a late class today either.
Then his mind finally registered Xing's earlier words: We have to go home. He turned towards the doorway to the studio and saw his father waiting there, arms folded. He'd obviously already talked to Grandfather.
Jiang followed his gaze, then clapped Tian on the back in support. "Don't worry," he said, "your dad is a lot nicer than mine." Using Tian's shoulder for balance, Jiang levered himself up and then started hobbling towards the door.
Tian climbed awkwardly to his feet, favoring his injured leg a little. The pain wasn't as sharp as it had been earlier, but he could tell that it was going to hurt for a few more days, at least. Xing gave him a worried look. "Are you alright?" she whispered, as if it were possible to keep his injuries secret from Father.
"Fine," Tian told her. "How are your hands?"
Xing showed him her hands, the heels of which had wads of gauze taped over them. "Aunt let me do it myself," she said proudly, "after she washed the cuts with perkoside. That part hurt, but I didn't cry."
"I'm sure you didn't." He smiled down at her, then took a deep breath. "Come on, let's go."
~~~~o~~~~
Father didn't say anything to Tian about the fight on the walk home. He listened attentively to Xing's tortoise story, holding her hand and laughing in all the right places and offering suggestions as to where the tortoise might have come from. Tian would have enjoyed the conversation more, even joined in himself, if it weren't for the lump of dread sitting in the pit of his stomach. Every step sent a dull wave of pain up his shin, reminding him of the earlier fight and the next punishment that awaited him.
Father had never been truly angry with Tian before; he never yelled, not even when Tian or Xing were acting up. Not that Tian ever acted up anymore, he was too old for that sort of thing. But a fight with other boys, where some of them had gotten hurt, was different from turning the television up too loud when Mother had a migraine. A fight would probably warrant harsher words and sterner action than a frown and a supper without dessert. What exactly that would be, he had no idea.
Father still didn't say anything when they got home and Mother exclaimed over Tian and Xing's injuries, except, "An accident at school. Don't worry, it's all sorted out." Then he gave her a quick kiss on the lips, and started helping with dinner. Mother gave him a suspicious look, but she didn't ask any further questions. She gave Tian a package of frozen snow peas to put on his cheek, kissed Xing's hands sympathetically, then returned to her work. Father would probably tell her after dinner, Tian guessed. Then both of his parents would be disappointed in him.
Tian normally enjoyed it when his parents cooked together, but even though it was starting to look like he wasn't going to get into trouble after all, he couldn't even bring himself to smile when Father blew a handful of flour at Mother to make her sneeze, or when Mother added chili powder to Father's bowl when he wasn't looking. Xing gave the game away by laughing so hard that she fell off her chair; Tian just felt the lump in his stomach grow bigger and knottier. Mother was worried that he might be ill when he only had one plate of dumplings, but he claimed that the pain in his leg was throwing off his appetite. She fetched him an aspirin and let him leave the table early.
He worked on his homework in his bedroom for a while. Xing had finished hers with Jiao-tu during his practice; she was watching television in the main room with Mother. Tian could hear the music through the door: one of her favorite cartoons, the sort where there were talking animals and the good guys always won. He sighed to himself; Jiang was wrong, they hadn't won the fight. Honglian was angrier than ever now. Next time he'd be back with more friends, in a place where there weren't any adults to come to the rescue.
Even though he wasn't making any progress on his homework, Tian stayed in the bedroom until it was time for Xing to go to bed. Since he couldn't work in the dark, and it was way too early for him to sleep, he shut his history book with a sigh and left the room.
"Hey sweetie," Mother said when she saw him. "Feeling better?"
He shrugged. "A little."
She patted the seat next to her on the couch. "The Water Margin is about to start - want to join me? It's an old episode, but I think it's a good one."
He hesitated. Father wasn't in the room, which meant that he was probably working in his office. It would be nice to sit down and just watch television for a while, but Tian felt as if he was about to go mad without finally knowing whether or not Father was angry with him.
"Um, yeah - in a minute," he said.
Father's office wasn't really an office, but a little space squeezed in between the kitchen and the bathroom. Tian didn't know what kind of room it was supposed to be; it was too small to be a bedroom, which was why Xing shared with Tian. There was a light shining beneath the accordion door; Tian knocked on the rickety wood softly.
"Come in," Father said.
Tian took a deep breath to steady himself, then folded the door open and stepped inside. There was just enough room for him to stand behind Father's chair, against the wall. Father's desk, barely big enough for one person to sit at, took up the entire opposite wall. There were three shelves above the desk, crammed with books; Father's camera was on the top shelf.
Father turned when Tian entered and smiled at him over the top of his reading glasses. Mother always teased him about having to wear reading glasses at such a young age. "What is it, son?" he asked.
"Um," Tian began, then lost his nerve. His stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared at his toes, as if that was where his courage was hiding. "Did Grandfather tell you about the fight?" When he heard Father's chair turn completely around, he looked up.
"Yes," Father said, taking off his glasses and giving Tian a steady look. "Between Xing and Jiao-tu, we got most of the story."
"Then…aren't you angry with me? Why aren't I in trouble?"
"I'm not angry," Father said, and Tian could tell from his face that he really wasn't. "I am disappointed in you; starting a fight like that, hurting another boy - you should have waited for adults to get there, or tried to find another solution first."
Tian looked at his toes again. "I know," he said.
"But," Father continued, "you were trying to protect your sister, and I can't blame you for that. You just have to be smarter about things in the future, and think before you act."
Tian looked up at him, a little surprised. "Really?"
Father smiled a small smile. "Really. I'm glad that Xing has you watching out for her."
The knot in his stomach started to unravel somewhat, but Tian tried to temper his newfound optimism. "You're not going to punish me then?"
The look that Father gave him was uncannily like one of Grandfather's inscrutable gazes. "Do you think that you need to be punished?"
Tian had no idea what answer was correct, so he spoke honestly. "Yes."
"The guilt has been eating away at you all night, hasn't it," Father said seriously.
He nodded glumly, and Father's smile returned. "Then I think that you've suffered enough already tonight. Why don't you go watch your show with Mother then?"
As Tian turned to leave, confused and relieved all at once, he bumped against the telescope that was crammed into the corner of the tiny room. He caught it before it fell, but Father frowned.
"You know," Father said thoughtfully, "I've been thinking that maybe we should go up to the lake house this weekend."
"Really? But it's not summer vacation yet." They occasionally went up to the country village on weekends, but it was such a long trip that Mother didn't like to do it for anything less than a real break. With the end of school only two weeks away, it didn't make any sense to Tian for them to go now.
Father nodded. "I know, but what with everything that's been going on in the west…I heard on the news during lunch that all of South America is affected now, and probably most of North America too, though they won't know for sure until nightfall. If it keeps spreading like it has been, Xi'an's stars are supposed to disappear late Friday night."
The knot in Tian's stomach was back. He didn't want the stars to vanish; he couldn't imagine a world without them.
"I'd rather not be in the city if things get out of hand," Father continued, looking grave. Then he smiled a bit. "And anyway, if the stars are going to fall, I'd like to watch them one last time - how about you?"