Chapter Fifty
Flight B313-MG
March 20, 2012. Ancient Era.
Ataturk International Airport, Istanbul. Turkey.
The last hours of the late afternoon sun filtered through the scattered clouds over the horizon, painting the runway with warm orange glows, more reminiscent of autumn colors than of the approaching spring.
Benu, a twelve-year-old boy sitting in the large waiting room, looked up from the book he had been reading and watched the sunset through the enormous windows. Hebe Bender, his mother, was beside him, engrossed in a book on Nuer culture. They were both waiting for the flight to Geneva, where they would spend a week before returning to the Kingdom.
Hebe had hardly needed to instill a love of books in her son, it seemed that he had inherited it from the family, as well as the curiosity for history. Yet, Hebe had to admit that Benu seemed much more interested in science than in history.
She would never have imagined that making the decision to have a child would bring so much happiness to her life. While it had been a challenge, she had done the best she could and Benu had grown up to be a handsome and naturally curious young man. While that curiosity had brought her some headaches, the truth was that even those moments had become memories of happiness.
It had been hard during the early years, but she had had a supportive family, so she considered herself fortunate in that respect.
Travel had become commonplace between them. At least twice a year they went on trips. She liked to take him to see other places and cultures. Just as her parents and grandfather had also done with her when she was little. On a few occasions during those trips she had experienced a scare, but nothing serious.
With the exception of that one time in Japan, when Benu had gotten lost for a few minutes while visiting Shinjuku. It made Hebe's heart clench just remembering it. If it had happened the next day it would have ended in tragedy.
The day after that adventure in Shinjuku there had been a terrorist attack on a hotel across from the park where she had found Benu. There were several dead and wounded and it had almost happened at the same time her son had gone missing the day before.
Hebe wondered if that policeman and those girls who had helped her find Benu were all right, but she could never know. Three days later, due to the shock of the attack, they had decided to return to the U.S. Kingdom.
[Passengers for Anemi Airlines. Flight B313-MG. Please proceed to gate G/53.] The caller's voice echoed through the waiting room and Benu called out to his mother. "Mom, that's ours."
"...Ah! Yes, come on."
Benu's voice had brought her out of her reading and they both rose from their seats. Benu put away the book he had been reading and stowed it in the travel backpack that had some comics in it, along with the red jacket he had taken off. The carry-on luggage was light, as the suitcases carried the stuff and they didn't worry about carrying too much stuff with them, as the flight from Istanbul to Geneva would be too short, just over two hours.
They both looked for gate G/53, but it took them about 10 minutes to find the gate. They had to ask someone from security who looked at them a bit funny when they asked for the gate. Hebe was not surprised by that. After all the ticket had cost a few dollars more even though it was economy class.
That flight seemed to be a special private class flight. She had bought it the day before and it was the one that fit their itinerary. Otherwise they would have had to wait until the next day. Usually those flights cost more but the airline wanted to fill the seats. Not that she was wealthy, but the ticket certainly wasn't a problem. They always bought one-way tickets. They preferred to deal with the return trip on their own terms.
Sometimes a trip could take a few days longer and that was why Hebe preferred to deal with it on the fly. For example, she had not thought of traveling to Geneva until a week ago, when an acquaintance had called and invited her to a symposium on archaeology. That might cut the Turkey itinerary short, but Benu didn't mind, they had toured almost everything her mother had wanted to show her about that place and it had been a merry-go-round going from archaeological site to archaeological site.
Benu was excited that they could go to Geneva, because he thought he could at least ask his mother to take him to see the Nuclear Research Center, where the particle collider was located. Hebe wondered how she would do that, but surely there must be some kind of tour or something for tourists. She was counting on it.
Mother and son were finally able to board the plane and looked for their seat. They were in the front of economy class. It looked like the flight would be full. Considering they were boarding on the connecting flight, she was a little surprised. She thought it would already be full from the Maldives, but on second thought it made sense that the airline had then lowered the ticket a bit to fill the fare on the stopover so as not to waste fuel.
In the end the plane took off without any problems and they both sighed in relief. It was a little silly after so many years of traveling together, but both mother and son could feel their hands sweating a little at the moment of take-off.
When the order was given that they could take off their seat belts Hebe had done so, while Benu had continued with his. He had barely sighed quietly and had taken his book of Greek myths in different languages out of his backpack and was immersed in reading again.
Hebe smiled at him and rubbed his hair, but Benu didn't flinch much as he practiced a few words.
Hebe didn't read again and just stared out the window at the sea of clouds. Almost half an hour had passed when something startled her. Many passengers were going about their business and only the monotony of the trip was broken by the passing of the stewardesses or when someone went to the bathroom.
"Excuse me. Yes, thank you!"
Hebe looked to where the voice had come from. An elderly, but somewhat handsome-looking man had passed down the aisle from the business section and was heading toward the far seats, while his hands were on his hips as if he were in pain. Possibly someone stretching his legs. He had good American English, so she judged he must be from the Kingdom.
It was a few minutes before the man came forward again. He could possibly be a passenger from the business section, but she couldn't rule out that he was a first class passenger either. He was dressed in a shirt and pants with suspenders. She wondered how old he was. He looked old in the face, but he had the bearing of someone who had not yet lost his athletic faculties.
"Hmm?" Hebe wondered. He looks familiar.
The man had raised his arms behind his head, as he seemed to be cracking his neck. For someone so old he looked fine but that face told her something.
"Ah!" said Hebe with a startled gasp. Benu turned to her, looking up from the book, and saw that she was looking at the man, Benu looked at him too, but he couldn't say he was surprised. He looked like an old man and nothing more.
The man had passed close by when Hebe had exclaimed, so the man looked at her sideways at first, but almost at the second he looked back. He was looking at her in surprise too.
"Mrs. Bender?"
Mrs.? Well, Hebe had never been married, but she didn't remember them knowing the details of her family. Still, it was an embarrassing moment for her. "Yes... sir.... Excuse me, I have your name on the tip of my tongue."
"I'd be more surprised if you remembered it, we barely met a couple of times. I'm Jack, Jack Piersons."
The two greeted each other smiling, so Benu wondered who the man was. It was true that his mother had friends and acquaintances all over the world, but to run into one in the middle of a flight was a new record. Anyway, he greeted him politely and tried to get back to his reading.
It was an incredible coincidence for Hebe to meet the man. She had met him almost by chance. He was an acquaintance of the girl with whom she had shared a room before she gave birth to Benu.
Hebe then recalled the meeting at the hospital when she was about to give birth. With a smile, she told Benu that they had met before he was born and the connection became apparent to him.
The two had spent a few minutes talking. Hebe asked him about the other girl he had shared a room with, since they had barely kept in touch for a couple of years. Jack told her that everyone was fine and that in fact Rose Scott had recently become a mother again.
"I'm going to the mini bar," Benu said, finally taking off his belt and getting up from his seat. Apparently they had plenty to talk about so he judged it would be best if he gave them some space.
"It's okay," Hebe said, smiling at him.
After receiving his mother's permission, Benu went to the minibar in the next section, in search of a drink, after all, since they had paid for the somewhat more expensive ticket, he didn't see why not make use of the extra services that came with the trip, even if it was only for a couple of hours. While that was going on Hebe had continued talking to Jack.
"He's really grown up well."
"Yes, fortunately. I was a bundle of nerves when he was about to be born."
"Yes, I remember," Jack said. " Are you two traveling alone?"
"Yes."
"Has your husband stayed in the Kingdom?"
"I'm not married."
"Oh, I see."
"I don't think you remember. Or I don't know if I ever said it but, my pregnancy... was... by artificial insemination. And... in my case it was by anonymity."
"Oh!" Jack looked surprised. Probably that detail she had never mentioned at the time. "Now that I remember that time I only met your father at the hospital. Artificial insemination, wow, science sure has advanced since my time."
"And you?"
" If I am married? No... or rather I was, a couple of times. A long time ago..." Jack had put a somewhat melancholy expression on his face. "I haven't had a relationship in a long time anyway."
As they talked, Benu glanced from time to time through the curtain that separated the section. Although he had left them alone to talk, it wouldn't hurt for his mother to get herself a boyfriend. A few years ago she had told him about his birth and it didn't bother him that he didn't have a father, but it made him a little sad that his mother seemed to have closed herself off to the idea of having a relationship to focus solely on her work and raising him.
Hebe had noticed that a couple of times, when Benu tried to push her to accept a date when someone invited her. For Benu to meet the man might be a coincidence, but it wouldn't hurt for them to be alone for a moment. With that idea Benu went back to spying.
The two continued to talk for a few moments about their lives, until Jack seemed to remember something. "I think it's time for me to get back to my flying partner. Stop by this section to stretch my legs."
"No problem," Hebe said, smiling at him. "I think I'll go look for that kid who forgot to come back."
"We'll see you when the flight is over. Maybe we can talk a bit more."
"Yeah, sure. I'd love to."
Hebe watched him leave and looked at her watch. They had been talking for almost half an hour. Time flew when you get old, she thought and got up from her seat.
Meanwhile, Benu had been reading in the minibar with a stewardess, seeing that his mother's talk was going well with the man.
I wonder if this boy is going to become a real charmer with women, Hebe thought. And then she remembered that she had forgotten to ask Jack who he was traveling with. They had been chatting but she had not asked him if he was alone.
***
Jack walked down the business class hallway and crossed to the first class. There were only about eight passengers in that part. Four of them were Jack and Leteo and the two escorts who were a few seats away.
The flight in the military plane from the base to the Maldives had been smooth and short. There had been no mishaps and in less than twenty minutes they had passed through the cargo hold to load the ULD for the new flight. The ticket from the Maldives to Geneva actually had a stopover to keep the cost down, with a stop in Istanbul where most of the passengers would board. Due to the light fare from the Maldives the flight route had been completed in five hours when it would usually take up to seven hours for a direct flight from the islands to Ataturk Airport. There were some rumors that the aircraft model, although old, had been upgraded a couple of years ago and the airline had upgraded its fleet with those improvements.
Even so, a stopover in five hours of flight time was minor and not a problem, although Jack felt that his legs were aching from sitting for so many hours. So he had decided to stretch as soon as they were in the air again and take a walk down the aisles.
He would never have guessed that Professor Bender's granddaughter was also on that flight. It was true that they had met many years ago, in that hospital where Scott's daughter had been hospitalized. He was pleased to see that she was well and happy with her son. In fact, he was surprised that Hebe hardly seemed any different from when he had first seen her. The quiet life sure was good for her.
That conversation he had had with her had plunged him into some thoughts of his past. He had always cherished the idea of being a father, but those memories were not his own.
He smiled and shook his head, as he sat next to Leteo, who had taken off his jacket and loosened the knot of his tie. He was engrossed in reading some scientific articles on a tablet.
"Don't you know who I just ran into?"
"Here?" Leteo asked without looking up.
"Yep."
Leteo turned and looked at him quizzically, who could he have met in the middle of a flight? "Some spy?"
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"Remember that day at the hospital, when Rose had been admitted?"
"When she gave birth to Alyssa?"
"No, Louise."
Leteo frowned and narrowed his eyes, as if he were reminiscing. "Yes, why?"
"Do you remember there was another woman next to her in the hospital?"
Leteo set the tablet down on his lap. He could remember her. "Hebe Bender? Professor Bender's granddaughter?"
"Yeah."
"Is she here?"
" Yeah, she's with her son in economy class."
Leteo remembered her clearly. That woman had made a strange impression on him. It had been odd and he remembered the feeling. Maybe it was because he had never met his parents and seeing a pregnant woman always filled him with a strange sensation. Still, he had only met Hebe Bender once, since he never went back to that hospital due to the amount of work he had when he was working on the holographic portal research.
"Do you remember if she had mentioned anything about artificial insemination?"
Leteo looked at him quizzically. "Artificial insemination?"
"Yes, we were talking and it turns out that her pregnancy was by artificial insemination."
"Oh. Wow. Now that I remember we didn't see her boyfriend or husband at that occasion." Leteo relaxed in his seat but, almost instantly, put a hand to his chin thoughtfully.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked him.
"It's just that I never called to ask what was up with that."
" About what?"
Leteo looked at him and gave a slightly nervous smile. "Well, it turns out I never got around to making a family in the end."
"And what's wrong with that? Me neither."
"Yeah, I know. But I always thought it was a shame. Even if it wasn't a family I wondered if it wouldn't be a good idea to at least leave some of me behind. Who knows, even if I don't know, maybe I'll have a kid out there."
Now it was Jack who looked at him in confusion as he raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"In '95, after I moved to New Jersey, I donated sperm to an assisted fertilization clinic. I never got any calls from them so I don't know, maybe my sample found someone interested. They had a strict privacy policy from what I seem to remember. It's been so long."
Jack looked at him in surprise and raised his eyebrows. He couldn't imagine that Leteo would have done something like that. Jack hadn't received any particular instructions regarding that or leaving offspring, so he had assumed that it wouldn't alter the final outcome at all. Or perhaps it was already predisposed because it had already happened?
It was still a surprise. "Aren't you interested in finding out? Maybe you have family out there, maybe a boy, or a girl."
"It's been a few years since I thought about it. The truth is, that idea was comforting to me in the past. But come on, be realistic. What kid would want to meet his father and meet an old man like me?"
"Old or not, that has nothing to do with it."
"You have to think that usually the people interested in these procedures are couples who can't procreate by traditional means. If someone used my sperm with the confidentiality protocol then all they can tell me is that it was used, but they can't give me the identity of the interested party."
"...I see."
They stood in silence for a few minutes and Jack thought about all that he had just learned. Now that Leteo had told him that story he remembered the face of the boy he had met downstairs. He regretted a little that he hadn't taken a better look at him. But no, it would be stupid, wouldn't it? Although... he had seen the impossible in all those years. Strange or improbable things only varied in degree in his life.
Leteo had gone back to his reading and Jack left him alone. But deep down he was still thinking about it all. From the beginning when he had arrived his memories were already a bit fuzzy. He had been alerted to it, it was because of the trip he had made. He had been able to resist it because once his body had fully regenerated he had acquired a homunculus ability that was the union of matter with consciousness. Thanks to that he was one of the few who could resist that trip. But, although there were memories that had disappeared from before the trip or were hollow, the instructions of what he and Scott had always been there. As if someone had opened his skull and filled his brain with memos so that he would remember and never forget.
He had no regrets. He had gotten a new life and had managed to see and live three times what anyone else could. In fact, he was grateful for it. He had met friends and, while he had not been able to make a family as such, those he had met along the way had become a kind of family as well. Gone were all those adventures and betrayals from when he had been a human.
He smiled. He always forgot that those human memories should not be treated as his own. That belonged to the man who had died in that laboratory. His life had started right after that. But did it really matter if he even treated them as his own if he couldn't tell whether they were a truth or a lie? He had done what he had been told to do and he had done it. He wouldn't have a statue or anything like that but they had saved the world.
He and Carl had made it possible for the future to exist. However, in the twilight of his life, he felt he had lived to the fullest. He could ask for nothing more.
He looked at the clock and checked that they should be a few minutes away from their destination, although he would have to change the time, it should be 7:00 p.m. when they landed. Those ramblings had distracted him and he hadn't realized that another hour had almost passed. The sky through the window was gray and already dark.
When did it get cloudy? Jack thought, looking out the window. Suddenly his vision blurred for a few seconds. "Huh?"
And that wasn't all. Leteo wobbled in his seat, as if dizzy, and the tablet fell to the floor. But he wasn't the only one, other passengers on the plane looked at each other quizzically and a couple of children had started crying.
What was that? thought Jack. It was a strange sensation, like a slight dizziness.
A slight tremor shook everything. Maybe turbulence? That could explain the dizziness but it had felt strange. Could there be something wrong with the plane's pressurization devices?
Whatever it was, he did not like it, he felt a bittersweet taste in his mouth that had not been there before. No, it wasn't true. He had felt a similar taste. He had forgotten it. It had been a long time.
Why did you obey?
"Wh-what?"
Why did you follow him blindly? Why didn't you ask anything else?
"W-what is this?"
Jack tried to get up, but staggered and fell into the hallway in tremors. He adopted a fetal position while clutching his head. The dizzy feeling was back, but with something else. It was as if a drill had been put into his head and an inner voice was asking questions and warning him at the same time. But that voice was not the only one, there were other voices, all overlapping and speaking at the same time.
Such was the hubbub that Jack could barely make out anything in that unintelligible whirlwind.
What? How? Where? Why did you do it? It's a trap! Listen to me! Listen to me! Run away! Run away! Take Leteo and get out of there! Run away? Where to? How? When? Why? Avenue 32, Homunculus, Jack Piersons, ¾ parts of the fluid to preserve stability... this is Caltech? Suicide squad... Run away! The stone! Who sent the stone in first place?!... Fractus! There are many years to go before you can get something like that... savitronic particles, MCE…
Not only voices now, but images of past memories leapt into his mind so vividly that it seemed as if he was living them at that particular moment.
An inhuman scream burst from his throat. Those voices and images and memories of the past in his head had multiplied and he felt as if he was about to explode. The voices were mixed with his own voice asking him and ordering him to run away. What was that?
Don't you understand yet? You've been half awake all these years. Run away!
Jack looked to the side in search of Leteo and there he had seen him. He was staring blankly at the ceiling of the plane with his jaw unhinged. Whatever was going on he wasn't the only one. He turned his head as best he could and saw a stewardess who had just collapsed while convulsing. He could barely see the escorts but a dangling, shaking hand could tell him that at least one of them was in a similar situation, convulsing in the seat.
Suddenly he thought he saw it.
"N-no! T-this is not possible!" From the back of the plane he was seeing a flash of tiny blue particles that had just crossed the wall and sliding doors separating the passenger sections. He hadn't seen those things in a long time either.
The dull roar of the plane's engines filled the cabin with an oppressive atmosphere as the aircraft passed through the dark clouds of the early night. The passengers, seemingly calm at first, were immersed in their own worlds of reading, movies or quiet conversation. However, a latent tension hung in the air after the first turbulence, like an ominous whisper that only those with heightened sensibilities could perceive.
Without warning the plane had shaken violently again. A rumbling roar filled the cockpit, as the left wing of the plane swung dangerously low. Screams of shock and terror filled the claustrophobic space, as passengers struggled to stay in their seats, their faces paling with fear and disbelief.
In the midst of the chaos, an inexplicable darkness loomed over the cabin. Flickering lights fleetingly illuminated the terrified figures of the passengers, while mysterious shadows danced through the aisles of the plane, distorting reality with their haunting presence in the eyes of the passengers. The vision in their eyes was blurred and they thought they saw things that were not there.
Suddenly, visions and voices began to assault the minds of the passengers. Grotesque and disturbing images crept into their thoughts, twisting their perception of reality and sowing seeds of doubt and madness in their minds. Some hallucinated indescribable creatures lurking in the shadows of the plane, eyes glowing with ageless viciousness. Others found themselves trapped in nightmarish mazes where happy memories and recollections were being passed at a speed that was terrifying. The aisles of the plane writhed like live snakes for those hallucinating passengers and the screams of adults and children filled the confined space.
In the midst of that pandemonium, a sense of primordial darkness enveloped their minds and they could no longer see, but it was as if they were being watched by something strange, something that had awakened from a lethargy to lurk in the minds of each of them.
In the mind of each passenger, voices, screams and images resounded, crying out for the light of reason in the midst of that epileptic madness of visions and voices. But such was the speed of it that the only thing they managed to do was to become more terrified.
Some passengers managed to get to their feet only to collapse almost instantly from the turbulence. One businessman slammed into the seat in front of him, while others had tried to hide their heads between their legs. A less fortunate one had bitten his tongue and was bleeding to death. One woman had sprained her neck when she tried to run in an undirected direction. The turbulence was not only in the plane, but in the minds of each of those unfortunates.
The cockpit was engulfed in an eerie dance of endless lights, with the glow of the flight instruments casting dancing shadows on the metal surfaces with each jolt. The pilot and co-pilot, two solitary figures in the middle of the vast firmament, clung tightly to the controls as the plane shook violently, as if being buffeted by forces beyond human comprehension. This was bad, they had just communicated with the control tower less than a minute ago and they had been told that everything was fine.
It was not fine. Now they were trying to establish communication again, only to find that the communication had been cut off and that none of the other emergency channels were working properly. There were signs that some parts of the avionics below them were having problems and the autopilot had even switched off.
Suddenly, an anguished groan escaped the pilot's mouth, his face contorted in pain as he clutched at his chest in desperation. The co-pilot, his eyes filled with panic, rushed to his side, trying to help him as ominous visions took over his mind as well, twisting reality before his stunned eyes.
The pilot, with a last agonizing gasp, slumped over the controls, his limp body lying like a shadow in the cockpit. The co-pilot, trembling with fear and horror, tried desperately to take control of the aircraft, but his trembling hands could barely hold the controls in the midst of the growing chaos. But it was too late for him too, those voices and visions had reached his mind and the vision in his eyes was also erased. He had tried to activate the autopilot but his fingers had failed to do so.
Meanwhile, in the passenger cabin, terror had spread like an uncontrollable plague. Passengers' screams echoed in the claustrophobic confines of the plane, as grotesque visions and sinister shadows seeped into their helpless minds, sowing seeds of madness and despair.
But the horror soon came to an end.
One by one, passengers and crew fainted in their seats, overcome by the overwhelming fear that consumed them from within. In the oppressive darkness of the cabin, only the sepulchral silence remained, broken only by the steady hum of the engines and the haunting whispers of the unknown, lurking in the shadows beyond human comprehension.
"Mom! Mom!"
Benu stared terrified at his mother and waved her from side to side. A trickle of saliva hung from Hebe's mouth, but she had also lost consciousness and hit her forehead in one of the plane's sudden movements.
Benu soon realized.
He was the only one who could move in that place. But that was not what terrified him the most. When he looked up he noticed that from the back of the plane a series of flashes and tiny blue dots were coming from the back of the plane. They seemed to be of different sizes and they went through everything and then faded away after a certain number of meters. But this wasn't just happening inside the plane. As he looked out of the corner of his eye he saw the same glow and flash. It seemed to be effectively from the back of the plane and they didn't care about the fuselage at all.
Benu secured his mother with the seatbelt and began to feel dizzy. It didn't last more than a few seconds, because he collapsed on the ground and fainted as well.
In first class all was silent, broken only by the sound of the plane's metal creaking and objects falling out of the overhead luggage compartments. There were a few more sounds, though, but they were of Jack on the floor writhing in pain. It hadn't stopped, but he was feeling like he was losing consciousness. He turned as best he could to look at Leteo once more.
The last image he saw was of his friend with the same blank stare and he thought he heard him mutter a word. Then all was darkness.
But Leteo had not yet fallen unconscious. With a strength he shouldn't have had for his years he got up gritting his teeth and picked Jack up off the ground. He dragged him as best he could. The bastard was as heavy as a dead man. Leteo's eyes seemed to be dreaming, as they darted from side to side, but he kept them open.
When he reached the business section he gritted his teeth once more and Jack escaped from his arms rolling into the middle of the aisle with the turbulence of the plane.
Leteo tried to take a few steps but stumbled and fell forward as well. The two friends were left lying there at the entrance separating the mini bar and economy class.
The turbulence of the plane continued, but no one was moving inside.
Towards the rear cargo section of the plane, from the ULD AKN-8-31416 HP, those particles were still emanating from that machine, more precisely from the rock contained inside.
Like ephemeral fireflies they burst out of that rock and continued their procession through the ship and in the space outside it. Almost imperceptibly a buzzing sound was spreading from that machine and reverberating in the metal of the fuselage and throughout the ship. It soon became audible even though there was no one there to hear it. Almost as if they were calling someone.
A call that would soon be answered by another event.
Inside the machine the rock rested supported by the arms of a pentagonal structure and from the different structures around the machine there were a series of fine needles, whose heads manufactured with nanometric precision had been withdrawn several centimeters backwards. A series of not-so-thin support arms coming from other parts were in charge of keeping the rock from moving from its place.
That didn't last long, though. Those metal supports had begun to move and their structure was changing. The surface of the rock slowly began to move. Without anything or anyone sending energy it had lifted a few millimeters from the pedestal support and was now slowly rotating on itself. The surrounding supports were touching it lightly but something was changing in the environment.
As the stone rotated the internal structure of the machine was changing. It was as if the rock was sending something through the arms that had been made to hold it in place. The dark crystalline aspect of the stone took on a more metallic hue and the particles sprouting from it helped to give a glimpse of what was happening.
It was as if a thin film of root-like filaments was spreading through the machine. In just a couple of seconds it had spread and reached the retracted needles and then the layers of electromagnets, circuits and other parts of the sphere.
But it had not stopped there. Like a cancer it soon reached the outside of the machine, where it spread from the empty slots where wires used to be connected.
In less than ten seconds those filaments had reached another second security barrier which was a special box separating it from the walls of the cargo container.
Thirty seconds later, it had reached the outside and spread across the entire cargo area until it reached the hatches that separated them from the upper part of the passenger cabin. It was advancing like the roots of a tree in search of water, although much faster.
The filaments were already of metallic appearance with parts of dark crystal as a strange amalgam of roots or veins. Some were thicker, up to a couple of centimeters thick, but almost all were only a few millimeters.
Nearly a minute later it had surrounded part of the inner fuselage and continued inside the walls of the plane as if nothing could stop it. It was reaching towards the outer fuselage spreading like gangrene but without the need for the whole plane to depressurize.
At that very moment a shower of particles was reaching the earth from the sun. Although the sun was already hidden on the horizon, that did not matter to those particles. They were crossing the earth's crust in a straight line and heading to their final destination, which was to activate that rock in that airplane.
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