---
Location: Beijing, China
The flickering glow of a single lamp illuminated Dr. Li Jinxi's desk as she sat, eyes fixed on the computer screen before her. The artificial signal embedded in the asteroid cluster's electromagnetic data continued to pulse on the monitor – a signal no one else seemed willing to acknowledge.
Her earlier conversation with Director Zhao replayed in her mind, his dismissive tone still fresh in her ears. She had been prepared for resistance, but the weight of her frustration was suffocating. Time was slipping through her fingers, and every moment of inaction gnawed at her nerves.
Leaning back in her chair, Jinxi ran a hand through her hair, considering her options. She had already reached out to her superiors. They wouldn't listen. Sending the data to other agencies might be an option, but international bureaucracies were slow, and her warnings would likely be dismissed again, not to mention the risk of leaking data from the government database.
She glanced at her phone lying beside the cold cup of tea. What if she bypassed the official channels altogether? What if she brought this directly to the public's attention? It was a reckless idea – dangerous, even – but the stakes were too high to play it safe.
Taking a deep breath, Jinxi opened a browser and navigated to Twitter. If she could release the data anonymously, it might at least reach a wider audience. Someone, somewhere, might take notice.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment before she began to type:
[
@SkywatcherAnon: Satellite data shows something cloaked within approaching asteroid cluster. Potential threat. Governments ignoring. Don't stay silent.
#SpaceWatch #HiddenDanger
]
She attached a heavily redacted version of the data, ensuring that no sensitive details about her identity or the agency's involvement could be traced back to her.
After a final glance at her message, Jinxi pressed "Tweet."
For a long moment, she sat back and stared at the screen, feeling a strange mixture of fear and exhilaration. The tweet was out there now, floating in the digital ether. Maybe it would spark the attention she needed – or maybe it would be buried under the noise of a thousand other conspiracy theories and baseless rumors.
---
A few hours passed, and the post began to gain traction. Replies trickled in, many dismissive, others latching onto wild ideas of government cover-ups or alien invasions. But there was no official response – nothing from NASA or any other space agencies.
Jinxi sighed, rubbing her temples. The overwhelming dismissal felt like a punch to the gut. Even the public, notorious for jumping at conspiracy theories, seemed unconvinced. She had hoped for more, for something – anything – to shake people out of their complacency. But it seemed the world wasn't ready to believe.
---
Location: Mumbai, India
Aron stood at his apartment window, gazing out at the sprawling city below. The streets bustled with life, cars honking, people weaving through the evening traffic. Yet, none of it seemed to register.
The weight of his dream pressed on him more each day, but it was the letter he received that truly unnerved him. It had arrived earlier that morning, a plain envelope slipped under his door, the words typed in simple, cold font:
"Aron, you are summoned. Meet at the abandoned godown near the old dock. Come alone."
His pulse had quickened at the sight. There was no signature, no explanation – just the unsettling command. He had immediately thought of Meera, wondering if she knew something about this.
As if on cue, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Meera.
"We need to talk. It's urgent."
Half an hour later, Aron and Meera sat together in the same small coffee shop they often visited. The bustling sounds of life around them seemed distant, overshadowed by the thick tension between them.
Meera sat across from him, her usual calm demeanor fractured by the worry in her eyes. She slid an envelope across the table – the same plain white envelope with the same unsettling message.
"You got one too," Aron muttered, his stomach churning.
Meera nodded, her voice low. "I don't know who sent it, but this isn't random. There's something... something big happening, Aron."
Aron's mind raced. He had been tormented by his visions of war and destruction for weeks, but this – this was real, physical, undeniable. But what did the letters mean? And why both of them?
Meera took a deep breath, her fingers lightly tracing the rim of her coffee cup. "I don't know. But the fact that both of us were summoned – there's no way it's a coincidence. Someone knows about us. Someone is watching."
"Watching..." Aron repeated, the word sending a cold shiver down his spine. "So, what do we do? Do we go?"
Meera was silent for a moment, her eyes searching his. "I don't trust this, Aron. But at the same time, I can't shake the feeling that if we ignore it, we'll regret it later. Whoever sent these letters knows something. They might have answers."
Aron's thoughts swirled, a storm of uncertainty building within him. The idea of walking into an abandoned godown, summoned by an unknown party, was unsettling. But Meera was right – whoever had sent the letters knew more than they were letting on.
After a long silence, Aron finally nodded. "We'll go – but we'll be careful. No one's going to trap us if we're smart about it."
---
Location: Beijing, China
Dr. Li Jinxi paced nervously in her small apartment, her eyes constantly drifting toward the tablet on her desk. The anonymous tweet had gained more attention throughout the day, but the official channels remained silent. It was as though her warning had fallen on deaf ears, lost in the sea of digital noise.
She was just about to shut her computer down for the night when a new notification flashed across her screen – an email. It wasn't from anyone in her professional network, but the subject line made her heart skip a beat:
"We know what you've seen. Come to the Celestial Hotel at 10 p.m. tomorrow. Come alone. We have answers."
Jinxi's breath caught in her throat. The cryptic, unsettling tone made her uneasy. The timing was too coincidental. Whoever was behind this knew what she had discovered about the asteroids. But how? She had been careful – meticulous, even. Her identity was protected online, her warnings masked behind an anonymous account.
Yet someone had found her.
Her hands shook as she closed the email, the weight of the decision bearing down on her. Should she go? A thousand thoughts rushed through her mind – scenarios where she was ambushed, trapped, or worse. She was no stranger to the dangers of pursuing the truth. But this was different.
Whoever had sent this email claimed to have answers, but the risks were too high. She couldn't afford to walk into a trap. The world already felt like it was teetering on the edge of something catastrophic. She wouldn't be another casualty of this unseen threat.
Jinxi stared at the clock, her heart pounding. Finally, she made her decision. She wouldn't go.
But she wasn't done fighting. Not by a long shot.
---
Location: Mumbai, India
As the night settled over the city, Aron and Meera sat in silence, their decision made. The abandoned godown loomed large in their minds – a place of unknown danger, yet a place that might hold the answers to the growing storm they both felt was coming.
They exchanged a look, the gravity of their choice hanging between them.
Tomorrow, they would go. Tomorrow, they would face whatever awaited them.
---