Important meetings always have a specific purpose. Discussion and consultation are the ways to solve problems. No matter how there might be occasional disagreements, meetings must be held before conflicts escalate. Like a wave that come and go, a meeting that doesn't always happen the way it does now will bring about change.
The flags on each desk are not the only identities present. Leaders from various parts of the world have no choice but to send representatives to attend meetings. The wide room, like a mini football stadium with a closed ecosystem, bears witness to the neatly dressed people sitting silently in their designated seats in harmony.
In the dark atmosphere, with the lighting focused only on the central area, a person in a white lab coat walks up to the podium to speak.
"Welcome to the AMER headquarters. I apologize for the sudden invitation, but we could not wait any longer to inform you," he said.
As he spoke, not everyone understood Indonesian. Therefore, almost all representatives from several countries wore smart glasses, which functioned for auto-translation.
"If you called everyone here, does that mean there's something so important?" asked the representative of a superpower country.
"I appreciate your question, but before that, let me introduce myself first."
From his pants pocket, the person took out a gadget. A laser from various points shot particles of light just to display his name card page like a presentation screen.
"You can just call me Professor, even though you all know it's just a codename. I am one of the scientists in the AMER project. I am here to inform you of our achievements over the past two decades."
As the man who introduced himself as Professor began his explanation, everyone present became serious and listened intently.
"As you all know, our biggest mistake as humans is being too curious. Our curiosity eventually leads to destruction, and we have to clean up our own mess."
"This is too ridiculous," said someone from the darkness who still sat relaxed in his seat. "Why do we all have to share the blame?"
"Correct! Indonesia itself is creating problems. Why should the world share the burden?" added another.
Trying to listen to complaints coming from various directions, Professor sighed in boredom.
"Don't worry, my presentation after this may change your perspectives."
The projector screen started to rise, and the presentation continued as scheduled. Several pages of meeting reports from the past were shown as an opening.
"The gateway between dimensions, where humans should rarely know about, suddenly multiplied itself due to an incident 18 years ago. The stability of nature that was originally normal became unstable due to the emergence of creatures that we should not see."
He presented the material using a gadget she brought. From the side of the podium, a large empty circular floor was open. Mechanical sounds were heard loudly, and from underground emerged a giant empty glass tube.
"Unfortunately, these creatures we call ghosts are not as mysterious as we think. After nearly 20 years of research, our science finally got to them. It may sound long, but understanding other dimensions which turn out to be only a small part of our dimension is indeed difficult."
As time passed, the glass tube continued to rise and emerge to the surface.
"The problem is that creatures that should not pose a direct threat to humans have become a threat. After our investigation, it turns out that there is an X factor that plays a role in their mutation, which ultimately allows them to make physical contact with humans."
Eyebrows raised as a sign that these people were actually becoming curious about the mysterious three-meter-high tube.
"The X factor that we eventually named UF or Unidentified Fragment, not only infects astral creatures but also humans. Unfortunately, this particle is still mysterious, so we can only collect it through the research extractor from last year," explained Professor.
"Dear envoys, as you are aware, we have prepared a unique pair of glasses for each table. You are permitted to use it at this time."
The request sounded simple. They looked at each other, observing the strange object that resembled glasses. Somehow, a few people attached the object around their heads and suddenly it locked in place.
"HAA!!"
Professor's explanation was interrupted by a scream from someone who was already wearing the glasses, followed by screams from various points that also startled. The longer it lasted, the more it became mass hysteria.
"Using reflective technology from several artificial sensors, the visualization of the unseen form can finally become real. Slowly, just a collection of dots, then shadows, and finally a visual form."
He continued to explain casually, not caring about some people who were still screaming in fear. Some saw figures resembling incomplete corpses, a beetle-bodied granny hanging from the ceiling, and a small child on a table with only a head and staring eyes.
The delegates were diverted to the figure in the middle of the room. The empty tube that was originally empty, now apparently exposed a... um... something? or someone strange, where its form was only filled with dozens of hands with a torso in the middle and a shaggy-haired human head covered in blood grinning. Its face was only half-damaged, as if pierced with protruding eyeballs that almost came out, adding discomfort when looking at it.
"What the..."
"WHAT IS THAT?!!"
Before people could be surprised by the terrifying creature that was there, a woman in a black uniform and military-style vest joined the meeting. She entered through the wide main door.
The woman climbed up to the podium while tightening her gloves before finally taking a Mini Uzi from her weapon pocket. She looked young despite being in her thirties. She still looked pretty with her red hair tied in braids and a flat expression.
"Our world is actually also home to creatures with low density levels like them," said Professor as he pulled out a chip-shaped object from his pocket. "With this, a particle will be fused according to the predetermined density level, the principle is to equalize the density level of the particles to make direct contact."
"Professor, we need a better explanation!", someone interrupted.
Professor forgot that not everyone could understand what he was saying. The best course of action was to hold a live demonstration right away. The strange chip from his pocket was finally given to the gun holder, while he started running away from the center area.
"Ok Lisa! the stage is yours," shouted Professor.
Fearlessly, this woman walked towards the glass tube and stopped at a range of about 5 meters. Once again, she took something out of her pocket and it turned out to be glasses. Unlike the glasses worn by the attendees, this one was more compact and could be considered as regular black sunglasses.
From the front, the appearance of the creature inside was clearly visible. By pressing the control through the controller, Professor lifted the glass tube, freeing the creature inside. Lisa immediately prepared her weapon. She quickly inserted the mysterious chip she was given into a special slot in her Uzi rifle. Now, the gun looked like it was emitting a faint light.
As soon as the tube opened, the creature ran towards one of the participants. It roared with a sound that was a combination of birds and bears. A hazard signal in the form of flashing lights suddenly appeared throughout the room.
"Oh my god!"
DRRRRRTTT~~ DRRRRTT.....
People were almost panicked, followed by a barrage of rifle shots heading towards the direction where the creature was running. Its footsteps stopped and it began to falter, with many holes in its body that emitted mysterious light particles.
"Oh no!!!"
"What just happened?"
Some people started to stand up and intended to leave the location out of fear. Certainly, what was happening in front of them now was not a normal event.
"A modified rifle that can adjust sub-atomic density based on the converter chip that has fused with the magazine inside. Together with the extractor tool, the mission of collecting UF can be accomplished," said Professor.
Lisa approached the creature that was already lying down. When she pressed something on the left side of her backpack, two mysterious spray paint objects appear and sucked in the scattered strange particles.
"With this, our years-long project has reached its final stage. Tell your country that we can finally take offensive action."
Slowly, the creature's existence disappeared, along with its body turning into light particles that were sucked into Lisa's bag.
"Professor, are you sure that this is the answer?" asked the representative from the United States.
"Yes! Without the need for approval from higher-ups, we have moved according to our promise. Starting next week, the eradication of UF against unseen creatures will be fully charged to AMER."
"Wait a minute! Isn't this too sudden?"
"AMER should not make their own policy!!"
"Unfortunately, your opinion will not be valid. Everything has been arranged, even right before we held this meeting."
"How?!"
The shouts of protest grew louder from various corners after Professor's explanation. Some were still confused, especially after witnessing the shooting incident which still seemed inexplicable. There were also those who argued with representatives from the neighboring country. They were still not accepting the decision which sounded unilateral and too hasty.
"I understand your concerns... ladies and gentlemen."
The debate was about to heat up but stopped because of the words of one person. A middle-aged man walking with a cane joined the meeting. Accompanied by three guards who surrounded him, the invited guests fell silent and sat back in their seats.
Professor and Lisa slightly bowed as a sign of respect, indicating that this middle-aged man was not an ordinary person.
"Everything is under my supervision," the man said.
"But it's a military weapon, do you have any intention to use it on humans?"
The sound of the cane hitting the floor echoed loudly throughout the room. With great confidence, the man stood in the middle of the meeting area, smiling calmly in response to the question thrown at him.
"The matter of Espers is not AMER's priority. But..."
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