make it novel format and dont compromise on the word count
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Location: NASA JPL, California – 30 Minutes After the Blackout
A surge of frantic energy coursed through the NASA JPL building, the chaos outside mirrored by the feverish pace within. Every brain there was working overtime, each trying to piece together the same puzzle, but none of them finding the answer.
The room was filled with some of the most brilliant minds on Earth, yet the answers they so desperately needed remained just out of reach.
Lieutenant Commander Jenna Ruiz moved swiftly down the hall, her face laced with urgency. She was a messenger, her task was simple, yet its gravity weighed on her shoulders.
The Pentagon had delivered a message, and it was her job to make sure it got to the right people, the right minds. And time, it seemed, was running out.
Inside the room, Dr. Aisha Varma, NASA's youngest division head, was on the verge of a breakdown. Her fingers trembled as she wiped the sweat from her forehead, her eyes darting from the glowing screens to the scribbled notes that seemed increasingly meaningless.
"This doesn't make any sense. This… whatever this is, it just doesn't make any sense,"
She muttered to herself, but it was clear she wasn't just speaking to her colleagues, she was trying to convince herself as well. She was running out of explanations, and the more she stared at the data, the more everything seemed to slip from her grasp.
David Klein, a senior cosmologist and Nobel nominee, didn't share Aisha's panic. Instead, his voice carried a nervous excitement. He glanced up from his papers, the gravity of the event settling deeper in his bones with each passing moment.
"All this tells us is that it's a picture-perfect textbook wormhole, Dr. Varma," he said, his voice shaky but still driven by a scientific fervor. "There's no clear definition for this... but it might be related to how dark matter and energy influence the universe and space-time itself."
The words hung in the air, but there was no sense of relief. Aisha's brow furrowed, her mind racing, but there was a trace of reluctance in her tone as she responded.
"And what good does that do us now, Klein? We're talking about a cosmic anomaly that no one has seen before, let alone understood."
Klein's enthusiasm didn't falter. This might be it, he thought. This will prove my dark matter theory right. The thought was almost obsessive, pulling him forward despite the deepening uncertainty in the room.
Min-Ho Park, a world-renowned physicist with years of experience in quantum mechanics, cut in sharply, his tone calm but insistent.
"Even so, Mr. Klein, we can't base our understanding on your incomplete theory, no offense," he said, a touch of impatience creeping into his words.
"What we must focus on now is the shortage of time we have." He turned his gaze to Tom Beherns, a young assistant working under him, whose hands were flying across the keyboard as he analyzed the data streaming across the screen.
"Tom, what's the estimated time until we reach the point of contact?"
Tom's fingers were a blur as he punched in commands, eyes darting between the numbers and projections. His voice came out steady, despite the panic that pulsed in the background. "If the current conditions hold, and the wormhole maintains its nature, we have... three days," he said, the weight of the words hanging in the air like a death sentence.
The room fell into heavy silence. Three days. It was more than just an unsettling timeline, it was an impending deadline that none of them were prepared for.
A Countdown of Humanity's Doom.
A cough echoed through the room, piercing the tense quiet.
Ahem
Lieutenant Ruiz stood at the door, her presence commanding the attention of everyone in the room. She stood tall, military posture unwavering despite the gravity of the situation. She was the centre of attention now. The urgency in her voice broke the silence.
"Ladies and gentlemen," she began, her words sharp and clear, "the Senate wants to know what the current situation is."
The room stilled. The scientists exchanged glances, some narrowing their eyes in suspicion, others with worry lines etched deeply into their faces. Dr. Varma dropped her head to the table, her earlier confidence evaporating if there was any. She didn't need to be told why Ruiz was here. They all knew. She wasn't asking for answers, she was delivering a message.
A heavy pause hung in the air as Lt. Ruiz took a step forward. She locked eyes with Dr. Varma, whose words trembled as they left her lips.
"We still don't know what's causing this," Aisha admitted, her voice shaky but resolute. "And studying all this data... it'll take time, Lieutenant."
Ruiz's expression didn't soften.
"Which is a luxury I can't give you, Dr. Varma," she snapped, her voice still clear, but edged with frustration. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "Here is the message sent directly from the Pentagon."
The words "Message from the Pentagon" echoed in the minds of everyone in the room. It was a statement that carried as much weight as any scientific breakthrough, if not more.
Ruiz continued, her tone firm and unforgiving. "As of this moment, you all are to collaborate with other space agencies, sharing resources and information. However, this is to be kept highly confidential. Therefore, only you five will remain in contact with the other agencies."
David Klein opened his mouth to speak, but Ruiz cut him off before he could voice his protest.
"What about the public conference we were all set to give to address the public?" he asked, his voice laced with frustration.
"Nothing goes out to the public," she replied, her voice flat, unwavering.
Tom Beherns snorted, the edge of disbelief clear in his voice. "In the public? I'm pretty sure everyone can see that thing up in the sky."
Ruiz met his gaze without flinching. "The congressman will address the situation within an hour or two. But all of the discoveries you make now are classified. Everything is private and confidential. Nothing goes to the public."
The room fell silent again. Tension hung thick. There was no arguing with orders, especially not when they came from the highest levels of government. Yet the frustration was palpable, even as everyone in the room understood the importance of keeping the truth contained.
Aisha's voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke, her anxiety creeping into her words. "You're making a mistake, Lieutenant."
Ruiz's eyes hardened. "It wasn't my decision to make. Please, understand the gravity of the situation."
Min-Ho Park's voice cut through the tension like a blade, his words laced with bitterness. "Gravity isn't the only thing we're understanding here, Lieutenant," he said, his voice simmering with frustration. "People are scared, and the very least we can do is tell them the truth."
"I'm just the enforcer of it," Ruiz said curtly, her eyes hardening even further. "Please comply with the order, gentlemen and ladies."
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. No one could argue with the Lieutenant's position. They were in the dark, just as the world outside was. Yet all of them were acutely aware of the fear rising outside, and none of them had a single answer for what was to come. The knowledge that they couldn't tell the world the truth, couldn't even try to alleviate the fear that was growing outside, gnawed at them.
MEANWHILE
[ CNN GLOBAL BROADCAST – LIVE]
The studio lights were dimmed, a stark contrast to the usual vibrant energy of the newsroom. The news anchor's voice trembled slightly, caught between the weight of the situation and the pressure of delivering breaking news.
Behind her, footage played, captured by amateur telescopes, of the black sphere growing in orbit, a haunting presence against the backdrop of stars. Below, cities across the globe flashed on-screen, with a glaring "LIVE" tag in red, underscoring the urgency of the broadcast.
The news anchors spoke "...Again, to repeat, the object currently visible beyond lunar orbit has been confirmed by multiple space agencies as a stable gravitational anomaly, possibly a wormhole. The United Nations has called an emergency midnight session, and global flight traffic has been grounded in a precautionary response."
Her voice faltered slightly as the words left her lips, and the anchor struggled to maintain composure.
"We... we don't yet know what this means. But stay calm. Follow official instructions."
[ NEW YORK CITY – TIMES SQUARE ]
The giant digital billboards flickered from advertisements to emergency alerts, sending a wave of unease through the crowd. A scrolling text blinked, warning:
"STAY CALM. SHELTER IN PLACE. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EVACUATE."
A large crowd had gathered in the street, their eyes turned upward, phones raised to capture footage of the strange phenomenon. In the distance, a faint black circle glowed ominously, blotting out the stars. A low-frequency hum seemed to vibrate the air, adding to the mounting tension.
The first shout broke the silence.
"It's the end! It's pulling us in!" a man shouted.
A woman screamed from the back of the crowd, her voice shrill with panic.
"They're not telling us everything! They knew! They KNEW!"
Panic spread like wildfire, the energy in the streets erupting. Police scrambled to hold barricades in place. Storefronts slammed their shutters down. Sirens wailed, drowning out the chaos. People ran, desperate to flee.
[ MUMBAI – MARINE DRIVE – NIGHT]
A massive crowd stood in eerie silence, staring out at the sea. The moon above had been distorted, stretched out like a smear of light across the sky. The air was thick with tension. Children cried, while others knelt in prayer.
A young man filmed the scene on his phone, his hands shaking as he spoke to the camera.
"It's like it's watching us, yaar... It's right there. You can feel it."
[ SUBWAY – TOKYO – NIGHT]
The trains had come to a halt, passengers pressed against windows as the faint tremor of the earth rattled through the train cars. Emergency lights blinked on and off, casting eerie shadows on the faces of the commuters. The overhead speakers crackled with announcements in both Japanese and English:
"Attention: All public transit has been suspended until further notice. Please remain calm."
But the lights flickered. Some phones displayed an alert:
"GRAVITATIONAL ANOMALY DETECTED — DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SKY."
[INT. CHURCH – RIO DE JANEIRO]
The pews were crowded with people, their faces pale, eyes red from weeping. The priest stood at the altar, clutching a satellite radio, his eyes glued to the static-filled screen. Broken updates from NASA flickered across the screen, offering little comfort.
A child, no older than five, looked up at the crucifix and asked softly, " Is God in there?"
[ EARTH ORBIT – VIEW FROM ISS]
The Earth lay bathed in a pale glow, serene from this vantage point. But beyond it, a black sphere loomed, silent and eternal, casting its shadow across the unknown.