[Iphis, I've really enjoyed your entries.. sorry I've been so evil with this thread :)]
Commander Jonathan Blakers was orbiting high above the earth when the Change occurred. On the Protagoras, the newest and most advanced of NASA's shuttles, all radio contact was lost with ground control. "Luke, damn you, what's going on?" Cm. Blakers shouted. "Why can't we communicate with anyone on the ground? Is the radio broken?"
Luke shook his head. "The radio is fine. We can pick up automated satellite transmissions, but no one is responding at ground control."
"You know we can't complete this mission without help from GC," Armstrong, Blaker's friend for more than 10 years, cautioned him. "If we can't regain radio contact, we'll have to abort."
"That's unacceptable, captain. Luke, fix the fuckin' radio!"
"It's not Luke's fault, Jonathan. A minute ago, instruments picked up some strange energy readings from the surface of the earth."
"Strange energy? What the fuck is that, Armstrong? Some kind of weapon?"
"Radiation. Who knows? It came from a specific spot on the globe and then spread. Maybe it was some kind of EMP attack."
"Armstrong, I wish you would be more specific."
"I'm a scientist, Jonathan. I'm as specific as the evidence allows. We have precious little of it right now."
Blakers nodded, running a hand over his clean-shaven head. "Luke, can you monitor news stations for anything strange?"
"Can do, Commander." Luke was many years younger than the other two officers. This was one of his first missions in space. And what a mission, Blakers thought. If the god damned Russians or -- worse! -- the Chinese knew what they were up to here, it would be disastrous for the United States. That's why the radio being out worried him so much. What if America's enemies had discovered the real purpose of this not-so-routine mission? If so, an attack might already have been launched, and ground control wouldn't be responding because it was now a radioactive crater.
The tension in the air of the shuttle was palatable. Each of them knew the mission's purpose, even Luke, and he wasn't supposed to know, but Armstrong had told him a few things ("Just in case we fail and the Chinese blow his hometown to bits," the old scientist had explained.)
"Sir, I think I'm picking up the BBC," the kid said.
"The Brits? You couldn't find anything American?"
"ABC isn't broadcasting news at this time. In fact, all the American networks seem to be broadcasting soap operas."
"BBC is better than nothing. Put it on speakers."
The clear, English voice of a female newscaster could be heard. She was reporting...