“I swear that we'll meet again, Namiko.”
She waved goodbye and headed towards the stairs leading to the hatch, fading from my view.
In the file that she had sent me, she listed her all of her phone numbers, emails and social network accounts. Including her home address in Osaka.
The image of her empty bunker remained fixed on my screen for an entire day.
Then it all went black.
August 31
They say that the alarm can only be definitively deactivated from the inside. But I was in Namiko's hole that day, when the cam was left on, and never saw anyone come in to do so.
I looked in the manual and in the computer's memory, and couldn't find any information to dispel my doubts.
And now the alarm is going off more frequently.
Or maybe it's just my imagination.
I don't know, I should check the data archived in the database.
It's been a week since they said they were almost here.
I think they're desperately searching for me.
Perhaps, because of the war and some unfortunate circumstances, they lost the coordinates of the bunker where I am.
Oh God!
They may never find me.
I asked them specifically.
They said they have limited resources and have had to tunnel through kilometers of rubble. That's the reason for the delay.
I just need to be patient for a few days.
Books, video games, movies...
Nothing distracts me.
September 4
Another four days have passed.
But to me it seemed like a lot more.
The clock in the bunker is screwing with me, making me lose all sense of time for reference. I can't count sunrises and sunsets. I can't do shit in here.
It seems to me that at least ten days have passed.
Idiots!
They didn't think I'd count the containers of freeze-dried stuff that I've consumed?
I don't think I've suddenly started eating twice as much.
Today I screamed, deliriously punching everything.
I destroyed half of the hole.
I've only stayed in contact with the American Command.
The beautiful face of an angel appeared on the screen; the woman was too pretty, fake.
She offered words of comfort and support, to reassure me, as usual.
They certainly are taking their time.
The alarm still goes off.
This time, I had the sirens ringing in my ears for about half an hour and no one bothered to turn it off from the outside.
In my opinion, they can't.
They're able to communicate but can't access the mechanism that governs the alarm.
It's obvious that they're utilizing a different channel, or some extreme cryptography, I don't know, for the usual security reasons, but I think it's really strange.
I pushed the button nonetheless and finished the procedure, as always.
But if this story doesn't reach a conclusion soon, I won't do it anymore.
September 8
Everything is quiet.
I tried to call every Command.
No one answered.
It's been days now.
I was in the dark more than once.
Alone and abandoned, with the emergency generators.
The alarm...
I'm freaking out.
In tears.
Red-faced.
I came really close to doing it.
I almost destroyed the world.
Get me out of here! Because I don't know if I'll find the strength to do the same next time.
They don't have the guts to tell me that they can't find me.
That's the truth.
So I decided to send them all to hell.
But I'm not God.
I had an hour to think about it, and only at the last second did I prevent a rain of nuclear missiles from destroying the planet.
Live or Die.
The dilemma.
Resources have become scarce quicker than expected. I fear that I will soon die of starvation.
But destroying everything would only take away all hope of a miracle.
No one would've looked for me anymore.
There are billions of survivors.
Can a man arrogate the right to destroy his entire race?
No, he can't.
Now another fear grips me.
If they can't access the alarm, who'll stop it if I don't survive?
I can't die.
I have to live.
September 11
I'm going crazy.
Maybe I'm already insane.
What if it's the aliens?
That's the reason for everything.
For the planet to explode.
It could all be a trick, a trick similar to the one they used that day, when they projected a hologram, instead of sending one of their own to our planet's soil.
They're actors, masters of fiction.
They conquered the planet and uncovered our every strategy to stop them.
But they can't seem to find me or disable our nuclear weapons.
And they won't just go back to their mother ship.
They need the blue planet.
No one journeys for light years without an important goal. Other than people on the run. Verdecchi was right. They're conquerors from space.
And Sirio Bastiani will shove it up their ass!
No!
I can't give myself the right to kill off every forest, tree and flower, every living thing in the magic of nature, for a dispute between two intelligent races.
Could intelligence be the evil of the universe?
It's the predators that dominate in nature.
They usually possess a more advanced, sophisticated brain than their prey.
If the aliens prevailed, perhaps it was only right.
The strongest one wins.
Reflection of a cosmic law.
Cynical and cursed.
If I push the button, the Earth will continue to live.
Otherwise, it will die.
And I can't allow that.
Even if it continues its existence without mankind.
Which it has done for billions of years.
It's just that I choose life.
Diary Terminated
From the last entry of shelter2A – Operation Astro
The man moves forward and backward, along an invisible line. He talks to himself, in the throes of a psychotic episode. There is a din of sirens and bright red lights all around him. The stopwatch that announces the start of a global missile launch mechanism continues its countdown.
On the bunker's screen, you can see the numbers counting down towards zero in perfect cadence.
The man realizes that there's only a minute left.
The alarm gets louder.
The man kneels down and cries.
He screams.
He's desperate.
He pleads with God.
He sobs in the pain of his anguish.
Then the stopwatch on the screen disappears and Verdecchi's face appears.
“Bastiani, crush that fucking button!”
The man gasps.
He's unprepared and confused.
Incredulous.
He collects himself.
He springs into action.
The stopwatch stops.
At the two second mark.
“We're coming down. We'll be with you in a few moments,” the general says.
The man assents with a nod of his head.
He's short of breath.
The general's big face disappears from the screen.
You can hear metallic noises.
The hatch opens.
Spaceship Alpha Orionis
The class C3 robot, directly in front of the central command console, receives this message from the computer on board:
“Verdecchi Simulation e
nded. Countdown stopped. Human extracted.”
Incoming file from the planet's surface.
Communication from 37°33'59.53"N 126°58'40.69”E
Report drone 7kd: territorial inspection completed.
Communication from 38°53'42.40"N 77° 2'10.92"W
Report robot B21 assault category: human termination completed.
Part II
Class Five Hostile Acts
or
Rapid Dominion
Alpha Orionis On-Board Log
Date ST 7575460.0827
List of automatic report transcripts
Orbit stabilized
Begin archiving data acquired
Blue C – Local Name Earth
Rocky planet
Class L – Intelligent life present
Local name Terrestrials or Humans
Atmosphere
Nitrogen (N2): 78,084%
Oxygen (O2): 20,946%
Argon (Ar): 0,934%
Carbon dioxide (CO2): 0,0391% (391 ppm)
Neon (Ne): 0,0018% (18 ppm)
Helium (He): 0,000524% (5 ppm)
Methane (CH4): 0,00016% (2 ppm)
Krypton (Kr): 0,000114% (1,1 ppm)
Hydrogen (H2): 0,00005% (0,5 ppm)
Xenon (Xe): 0,0000087% (0,08 ppm).
Physical Data
Diameter at Equator 12 756,274 km
Polar Diameter 12 713,504 km
Mean Diameter 12 745,594 km
Surface 5,100 656 × 1014 m²
Volume 1,083 207 3 × 1021 m³
Mass 5,9742 × 1024 kg
Mean density 5,5153 × 103 kg/m³
Gravity Acceleration on surface 9,7801 m/s²
Escape Velocity 11 186 m/s
Rotation Period 0,997 258 days
Sidereal Day (23,934 hours)
Rotation Speed
(at equator) 465,11 m/s;
Angle at axis
On the ecliptics 23,439 281°
A.R. North Pole 0° (0 h 0 min 0 s)
Declination 90°
Temperature
Surface
184 K;[1] −89,2 °C (min)
287,2 K;[2] 14 °C (mean)
331 K;[3] 57,8 °C (max)
Atmospheric Pressure 101 325 Pa
Albedo 0,367
Alpha Orionis On-Board Log
Date ST 7575460.1002
Communication system intelligent form processed and interpreted
Languages revealed 6909
Assimilated 127
Broadcast of First Contact message completed
Alpha Orionis On-Board Log
Date ST 7575460.1005
Technical problem data transmission hologram coordinates 40°43′00″N 74°00′00″W, 760 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA, UN Building
Alpha Orionis On-Board Log
Date ST 7575460.1006
On-Board Computer
Error Code X51K036 cd.2
Error Code X51K037 cd.2
Error Code Z479910 cd.4
Error Code X479915 cd.4
Conflicting data Class C unit
Attempt to restart system no. 2754321
Alpha Orionis On-Board Log
Date ST 7575460.1114
Stand by 36 Terrestrial days
Conflicting data Class C unit
Attempt to restart system no. 2754354
Missile Units revealed, chemical propulsion, nuclear weapons
Restarting systems temporary mode
Defense Systems activated
Neutralization of missiles completed
Interpretation Hostile Class 5 – Level maximum
Launch Attack Rapid Dominion
Organization of Coordinated Attacks
Rome: 41°53'43.68"N 12°28'56.37"E
London: 51°30'0.55"N 0° 7'34.45"O
Lisbon: 38°42'25.79"N 9° 8'7.86"O
Oslo: 59°54'49.75"N 10°44'19.47"E
Moscow: 55°45'20.83"N 37°37'3.48"E
Tallinn: 59°26'19.90"N 24°45'16.10"E
Cairo: 30° 3'53.07"N 31°14'58.23"E
Nairobi: 1°16'27.69"S 36°48'47.18"E
Canberra: 35°16'55.34"S 149° 7'42.89"E
Capetown: 33°55'25.59"S 18°25'24.05"E
Mexico City: 19°25'37.38"N 99° 7'39.24"O
Bogotà: 4°38'50.26"N 74° 5'46.59"O
Washington, DC, USA: 38°53'42.40"N 77° 2'10.92"O
Buenos Aires: 34°36'30.30"S 58°22'23.38"O
Santiago de Chile: 33°25'31.30"S 70°33'59.26"O
Lima: 12° 5'35.10"S 77° 2'47.37"O
Seoul: 37°33'59.53"N 126°58'40.69"E
Kuala Lumpur: 3°13'59.44"N 101°42'29.93"E
Tokyo: 35°41'22"N 139°41'30E"
Berlin: 52°31'07N" 13°243'0"E
Pyongyang: 39°02'01N" 125°45'15"E
Alpha Orionis On-Board Log
Date ST 7575460.1120
Human units terminated 2.974.323.721
Estimated termination Terrestrial military units 90%
Terrestrial satellite systems out of commission 92%
Energy production facilities destroyed 1392
Completion of Rapid Dominion 100%
Alpha Orionis On-Board Log
Date ST 7575460.1122
On-Board Computer
Error Code X51K036 cd.2
Error Code X51K037 cd.2
Error Code Z479910 cd.4
Error Code X479915 cd.4
Conflicting data Class C unit
Attempt to restart system no. 2754355
Alpha Orionis On-Board Log
Date ST 7575460.1123
9KD Drone report:
Project Identification Astro
Interpretation hostile Class 5
On-Board Computer
Order received from Class C3 robot
Data processing software simulation
Mission Command Simulations initiated
Signal transmitted
Alpha Orionis On-Board Log
Date ST 7575460.1215
3T Drone report
Recovery of Project Astro human units completed
Danger of Class 5 detonation negated
Request 7324: authorization to transport humans
Request 7324 granted
Begin set-up of cell for organic guests
Part III
Chronicle of Madness
or
End of the World
August 2
Ballistic Missile Command Center
Strategic Missile Force Division
Musudan-ri – North Korea
United States Department of State Investigative Report:
The People's Democratic Republic of Korea, with 20% of men between the ages of 17 and 54 in its regular armed forces, has the highest percentage of military personnel in relation to its general population of any other nation in the world, with about 40 enlisted soldiers for every 1000 citizens.
“Mr. President, are you certain that you wish to proceed? There are risks to consider regarding...”
“Colonel Chin Ho, I believe that I was clear!”
“Fine, Mr. President. I will have your orders carried out immediately.”
Chin Ho was raised pursuant to the credo of a military doctrine. At the time that he finished the academy, he had devoted a decade to the execution of nuclear missile tests, in the belief that one day they might need to be used against the threat of Seoul, the United States and the Western Enemy in general. However, Chin Ho was not an automaton devoid of consciousness. He secretly questioned the folly of various presidents over time. He had seen these Supreme Commanders sacrifice agriculture, education and civil rights, and condemn their people into an abyss of poverty. All for one purpose: the exercise of absolute despotism. This time, however, he couldn't carry out the madness as ordered: to launch a nuclear missile against an alien ship. It went against the logic of any military strategy; but in his land, logic had been abandoned some time ago.
Three hours later
Chin Ho sat in a corner, removed from office and handcuffed.
“You are under arrest for insubordination,” growled Lieutenant Dong-Sun who, contrary to his superior, plainly shared the president's agenda.
It was not an impulsive choice.
In Pyongyang, the President and Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, had met with most of the leading officials. After eleven days of meetings, the resolution was unanimous. The alien ship had been over their heads, in a new geostationary orbit, for thirty-six days, without responding to any calls. Unacceptable. It didn't matter if the rest of the world was watching like a bunch of cowards, unable to make a decision.
They would strike before being attacked, thus saving themselves and the world.
Dong-Sun had made sure that the coordinates and calculations were ready. Luckily, their new missile had a range sufficient to reach and strike a ship 35,790 km from the Earth's surface. What better opportunity to test it and be remembered as heroes?
He gave his subordinates the order to begin launch operations, extracting an electronic card that, when inserted into a reader, would give the final confirmation.
Chin Ho saw the lieutenant approach.
“Open his jacket!” he ordered them.
Dong-Sun slipped his hands into the pockets of the colonel's uniform. He pulled out a card identical to his own.
“Good, good,” he said, “Now we're all set.”
The two cards had to be inserted in unison into two readers ten meters apart from each other, to prevent one man from changing the course of events.
Chin Ho had tried to sabotage the launch, but in vain. It had been Dong-Sun who had taken him by surprise, after the Supreme Commander had contacted the former privately and ordered him to follow the colonel, whom he didn't trust. At that point, the insubordinate colonel had prayed for them to explain the wickedness of his act; but the stupidity of those present had been disarming and incorruptible.