CHAPTER 209: AFTERSHOCK (2)

Arlington, Virginia — Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, and three men and two women stepped out, all wearing clearance badges marked BLACK PRIORITY — a level above Top Secret, reserved only for existential-level events.

They said nothing as they walked through the sterile corridors of DARPA headquarters. Even here, in the most advanced research institution on Earth, the air felt heavier than usual.

At the end of the hall, the door to the Strategic Anomalies Division opened automatically.

Inside, dozens of screens displayed synchronized feeds of Lucid delivery drones descending silently across dozens of cities around the world. Each frame was annotated with telemetry data, infrared overlays, and field analysis.

Dr. Ellen Marsh, Director of Advanced Aerospace Systems, stood at the center of the room, her arms crossed. Her eyes were fixed on a paused frame, showing one drone hovering midair over Seoul, its metallic surface gleaming faintly under the rain.

"We confirmed the readings?" She asked.

"Confirmed, ma’am," her deputy nodded.

"What altitude was this detected?"

"Forty-seven thousand feet."

"That’s too low for orbital drop. Too high for standard insertion. So how did they enter the atmosphere?" Dr. Marsh frowned.

"Unknown, ma’am. We don’t think they entered at all."

The words hung in the air.

***

Project SKYLINE — Emergency Session

Thirty minutes later, the top brass of DARPA, the Air Force Research Lab, and the Defense Intelligence Agency convened in the underground war room now known as Skyline Vault.

General Marcus Fielding — head of U.S. Strategic Defense Command — stood at the head of the table.

"Let’s get straight to it. You’ve all seen the footage. Forty autonomous aerial craft appeared worldwide, delivered unassessed emerging technology attributed to Nova Technologies, and vanished back into the atmosphere. Not one defense system caught them in transit. If we had an enemy that could do this, we’d already be dead," he said and no one disagreed.

Dr. Marsh brought up a slide labeled AERODYNAMIC IMPOSSIBILITIES.

"Analysis suggests each drone operates by generating a localized spacetime gradient — a gravity bubble, effectively. Inside it, inertia is zero. Outside it, physics behaves normally."

"You’re telling us they warp gravity?" A colonel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"In layman’s terms, yes," Dr Marsh nodded, and continued explaining. "But not the way sci-fi depicts it. They’re folding a microscopic layer of spacetime, turning it into a fluid medium. That’s why there’s no thrust or heat. The vehicle isn’t pushing through air. Rather, it’s displacing itself through a self-contained field."

"And energy?" asked the general.

"Unknown. No fuel signatures, no isotopes, no magnetic interference. Whatever they’re using, it’s something beyond our energy models entirely."

Silence filled the room, as everyone processed what this meant.

The general turned to the Director of DARPA and asked, "What do we have that can match this?"

The director replied quietly, "Nothing conventional. But we do have dormant programs — the ones we buried because the math didn’t add up."

He pulled up a classified directory on the screen. Each project name flashed in red.

Project Orion: Quantum Vacuum Energy Extraction (Terminated 1998)

Project Blacklight: Anti-Gravitic Propulsion Study (Classified Level 6)

Project Q-Link: Neural-Field Communication (Discontinued 2009)

Project Prometheus: Synthetic Intelligence Interface (Frozen 2013)

"We’re reopening all of them," he said, as he looked around the room.

A murmur spread across the table.

"On whose authority?" General Fielding asked.

"National Security Directive. Signed an hour ago by the Secretary of Defense. Effective immediately, all Nova-related research is to be consolidated under DARPA’s oversight. Code name: Project Eclipse," the Director said.

***

Project Eclipse — Mission Parameters

A massive holographic screen lit up behind him, displaying the new directive.

Objective 1: Identify the underlying principles of Nova’s propulsion system.

Objective 2: Replicate or neutralize the energy source.

Objective 3: Determine if the AI guiding these drones is self-aware.

Objective 4: Secure an intact Nova device at any cost.

Dr. Marsh read it silently, then said, "We’re treating this as an extraterrestrial-level anomaly."

"Because that’s what it is," the director nodded

***

Within 48 hours, DARPA would spun up four parallel task forces under Project Eclipse:

ECLIPSE-01: ANVIL — Material Sciences Division

Mandate: Identify and replicate Nova’s alloy. Reverse-engineer its molecular bonding structure.

Lead: Dr. Rajiv Patel.

ECLIPSE-02: Orion — Energy and Propulsion Division

Mandate: Model possible zero-point or gravitic field interactions. Develop containment systems.

Lead: Dr. Ellen Marsh.

ECLIPSE-03: NEURAL — AI & Interface Division

Mandate: Study Lucid AI behavior. Determine if self-evolving intelligence exists.

Lead: Dr. Kian Zhao (ex-DēēpMind, now federal consultant).

ECLIPSE-04: SENTINEL — Security Division

Mandate: Acquire a Lucid. Monitor all global intelligence chatter for possible leaks or sightings.

Lead: Colonel James Rourke, DIA Liaison.

***

By the time Liam woke up, the world was already in chaos. He sat up in his bed and put on Lucid, and he was immediately greeted by Lucy.

"Good morning, Master. How was your night?"

"It was wonderful, Lucy. Thanks. How’s things going on your side?" He asked, his usual smile on his face.

"Work on the spacecraft for the moon launch is currently in progress and should be done before the end of the day. And I have some reports, Master," Lucy replied.

"Shoot."

"The delivery drones made the drops four hours ago and the world’s reactions to the display was just as you expected," she said, causing Liam to smile proudly.

"Tell me more," he said.

"Within the hours after the drone deliveries, the United States consolidated all intelligence and defense branches under a covert initiative called Project Eclipse, reopening their buried experimental programs in energy, gravity, and synthetic intelligence — all in direct response to Nova Technologies."

"Is that so?" Liam chuckled.

"Yes, Master."

"I wish them all the best then," Liam laughed hard.

"Continue with your report, Lucy," he said, controlling himself.

"Yes, Master. While the United States formed Project Eclipse to contain Nova; the United Kingdom formed Project Hublis to compete; France and the Gulf nations are seeking alliance; while Germany, Japan, India, China, and Russia have each launched covert programs to replicate or seize Nova’s technology. In less than a day, the entire world has mobilized."

"France and the Gulf nations wants to ally? Who exactly do they think they are actually going to ally with?" Liam asked incredulously.

"France’s offer is economic outreach and research collaboration on AI, aerospace, neural tech and everything our company touches on, all in a bid to gain our trust. The Gulf nations, meanwhile, are approaching the problem the only way they know how — by funding it. They’re offering limitless capital for what they call ’strategic inclusion,’ but in truth, they’re chasing a once-in-history chance to buy the future," Lucy replied.

Liam smiled and sighed softly, shaking his head when he heard this. He knew that they are offering all these but they still ultimately want to control the company and its techs.

"Is there more to report, Lucy?" He asked.

"Yes, Master. For the markets, the drone event triggered a global surge in aerospace, defense, and surveillance stocks with investors scrambling to price in a new era of invisible flight."

She paused briefly before continuing, "The reaction to Lucid was intensified this time, as the AI, neural interface, gaming, and wearable sectors exploded overnight, while traditional tech, console, and energy markets plummeted under the weight of obsolescence."

Liam said nothing as he only gave a small smile. The single action of his has disrupted the world in so many ways and things will never be the same again. But all that wasn’t any of his concern, as everything was going accordingly.

"What about the gamers, are they still streaming?" He asked.

"Yes. They have been streaming for the past four hours and none of them seem to have any intention of stopping. The tech reviewers also joined in and are also streaming. Currently, there’s a total of 2.5b combined viewers on all fifty channels."

"That’s nice. They are doing a perfect job. All that’s left is the public release that will happen in four days," Liam said to himself.

He was thinking about how much things would change in the future when Evelyn knocked on his door, informing him that Daniel had arrived.

My day has started.