Daniel Finnley was asleep the day the world fell apart.

The first to notice were the scientists in the National Radio Quiet Zone, the earliest traces coming in the form of a low buzzing. An unknown beat pulsed in the background of the radio systems in the laboratories, accentuating the buzzing. While the scientists took note of this, they wrote it off as some tourist turning on their cell phone or iPod in the nearby town, despite the fact that it was illegal to do so, lest it interfere with the highly sensitive equipment. The next sign was something that couldn’t be so easily ignored.

Those using the high-powered telescopes noticed a sort of ripple in space, slowly closing in on them from the far reaches. With a hint of both excitement and fear of the unknown in their voices, they quickly made calls to the higher-ups to let them know of the phenomenon. According to their calculations, at the rate the ripple was approaching, it would only take a few hours before it would reach the Earth.

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The government immediately ushered a gag order, as this sort of event could easily induce panic. Unfortunately, thrilled by the discovery, a scientist had already notified his family, who immediately told everybody else they knew through the use of a certain social media network. It quickly caught the attention of several prominent news stations, and in the end, the government was unable to repress the news.

Whether the people believed it or not, whether they were afraid or nervous, in the end, none of it would soon matter. None of them could imagine the changes that would be wrought on their world.

Daniel Finnley was asleep in a janitor’s closet the day the world fell apart.