The Age of Light

Angel Aniela raises her translucent arms. The crystals vibrate intensely as they make contact. From each location, a blinding shaft of light shoots high into the sky. Three beams continue skyward, extending away from the planet.

Before long the beams of light become visible to the world. People leave their homes to watch the sky. Some are frightened, not understanding what's happening; yet all are mesmerized by the concentration and power of the extraordinary light rays. The expedition teams cheer and encourage the beams higher.

3:15 p.m. EDT, International Space Station

The beams ascend through the first and second layers of earth's atmosphere. Astronauts in the space station orbiting over northern Europe witness the phenomenon. Heading right toward them is an unmistakable column of light.

Space Station Commander McCloud glances at his chief engineer. "What in the world is that?" He wonders if he's hallucinating. "Do you see anything on radar?"

"No sir. I've been watching. Looks like some kind of light ray."

"Yeah, and it's coming from somewhere in central France. We'd better report it." Following his checklist, the commander opens the secure communications line to mission control and someone there notifies NORAD. There is a chain of military responses. NORAD, the military branch that monitors airspace, reports back that it has picked up unidentifiable static activity on its radar equipment in three locations. The agencies agree that General Scott, head of NORAD, will call the command center in Washington, DC.

Scott orders a surveillance aircraft to take a closer look and within minutes the heavy jet banks west toward northern Europe.

Meanwhile, the general calls the command center in Washington, DC.

"Yes, sir," a curt male voice replies.

"This is General Scott. I need to speak to your commander. Immediately."

"Right away, sir."

Anxious seconds pass, but soon he hears a voice: "Scott, what's up?"

"We're getting three unusual radar disturbances from unknown sources originating in Oregon, France, and New Zealand. In addition, the space station sees a light beam airborne out of France. Radar confirms the three disturbances, but no visuals on the other two yet. We think they may all be connected."

"General, what can you tell me? Is it a missile launch?"

"No, the unidentified object doesn't have a solid substance."

"What do you mean no solid substance?"

"Our data so far indicates photons—it's just light particles."

"Have you seen anything similar that could help identify it? Has there been any chatter?"

"Nothing and no chatter so far," the general replies.

"Does it appear to pose a threat?"

"We don't know enough about it. We don't know what's generating it. We don't even know what it's made of, other than light particles. I suggest we order the response team to the command center. Get a briefing lined up in ten minutes and then patch me in, code name, Skybar."

"Yes, General." The phone line goes dead.

France

Jesse's dad and aunt stand stupefied, as their eyes follow the brilliant light traveling from the children into the moonlit sky. Jonathan puts his hands to his head. "What the—?"

"Mon Dieu," Celeste says, and grabs her brother's arm to stop from falling. Together they turn to Madame Villars, whose uplifted face is splendidly illumined by the bright apparition.

"You've known about this."

Madame's smile turns mysterious. Then all of a sudden the wolfhound rushes to Madame and nudges her hand. She snaps her fingers and the hound shifts into a young girl with long red hair and elfin ears. Jonathan's and Celeste's mouths fly open. Neither can utter a single word.

Once the intense vibration stops, Jesse opens his fingers wide. "The crystals have disappeared," he says in wonder.

"Why?" Aimée asks. They stare down at empty hands.

"Maybe their power's been used up." Jesse spins around. "She's gone," he says, feeling disoriented without his angel.

Daniel pulls on Jesse's shirt. "Look, Zana's there with your p-parents. And she's a girl now."

Jesse's stomach lurches. "What are they doing here?" He glares in their direction.

"M-Madame's there too," Daniel says.

"Have they been here all along?" I'm in worse trouble now, Jesse thinks.

Oregon

Nikki and her crew yell and cheer as the light shoots deeper into the sky. Christina hugs Devin and then her mom. They laugh as Jake does a little dance that looks like an Irish jig.

"What do you think of the supernatural now?" Laurita asks Devin. He shakes his head, suddenly realizing there must be another map that humans can't see.

"Now we wait to see if it circumnavigates the planet," he says. "If it does, it'll stab a knife in the heart of known physics."

3:21 p.m. EDT, International Space Station

"Sir," says the chief engineer, "look at the light beam. Its trajectory is changing." Commander McCloud looks up from his read-outs to see the light shaft bend to the southwest.

"You're right. Looks like it stopped climbing right around the thermosphere," McCloud says. "I'd say it's a hundred miles over the planet. The light's beginning an orbit of its own. In fact, it seems to be on the same orbit as ours, southwesterly, only we're a hundred and fifty miles higher." He feels a warm quiver in the region of his chest and turns to his computer to transmit the update.

3:31 p.m. EDT, Washington, DC

General Scott is patched into the command center ten minutes later and briefs the responder team on what they know so far, which isn't much.

"Line up the President, the national security advisor, and the intelligence community," Scott says. "I want to get to the bottom of this. And by the way, we just scrambled F-22s for visual confirmations of the other two Skybar locations."

3:45 p.m. EDT, International Space Station

The space station is continuing on its natural orbit passing over the South Pacific when the two astronauts witness a second unusual phenomenon.

"I'll be a blue-nosed gopher," the engineer says, his Texas accent deepening. "A second Skybar is comin' out of New Zealand, right where NORAD saw those radar disturbances." He stands and points. "I see it right there, sir."

"Yes, you do, cowboy, and so do I. Report the visual to mission control."

"Hold your horses, sir, more visual coming," says the engineer, and together they watch the curve of light from the French beam connect with the New Zealand beam. Then the light ray continues on its invisible orbit a hundred miles over the earth.

"Fascinating," McCloud says as his eyes stare at the trajectory. "Looks like the two beams are being connected by this traveling light field. Where did NORAD say the third Skybar was?"

"Northwestern United States, sir, Oregon; we'll be overhead in a half hour. 'Fascinating*'* is an understatement. It's like someone, or something, wants us to witness this, this...whatever it is."

New Zealand

Chaz looks up into the clear blue sky and sees a faint curve of light approach as their beam holds steady like a blurry Grecian column.

"Look up!" Chaz says. "That has to be Jesse's arc coming at us." Tip and Taylor bolt out of the cave with their necks craned. Jojo, carrying water in his goatskin, drops and spills it.

Together they follow the thin light as it aims for their beam, and soon the two lights merge. Jojo claps his hands. "Right on, mates."

The question of the France and New Zealand beams connecting has now been answered. Chaz feels overwhelmed by his desire to call the others. Will his beam make it all the way to Oregon?

He looks at his watch. "It's taken thirty minutes to get here. Guess that must be the rate of travel. Hey, Tip. What's the speed of light?"

"A trillion times faster than this," Tip says. "Light can make it around the planet about seven times in one second."

"Wow. Then something else is controlling the speed."

"Definitely, and light usually travels in a straight line, so this arcing effect isn't typical."

France

Jonathan stares at Zana in disbelief. "Hey, weren't you just...a...dog?"

"Wolfhound," Jesse says, panting after running from the cave opening to face the little spying party. "Zana's a girl and a wolfhound."

Jonathan turns to Madame Villars. "What is going on?" Each word sounds like a spike being driven into cement. Then he glares at his son. "And what's with you?"

"Maman, Maman!" The twins run into Celeste's arms while babbling back and forth. "Did you see it—the light going up? It came from the crystals we found in the mine. The angel—she told Jesse in the crater this would happen on the full moon in June. And it did. And now, the light is going all around the planet, and the earth's going to change. It's going to be better. Everything will get better." They stop and catch their breath.

"Ssh, ssh, mes enfants," Celeste says. "Calm down." She looks at Jesse with a gentle smile. "Sweetheart, tell us everything, from the beginning."

Jesse sucks in air and then launches into his story beginning with the moment the crystal angel appeared to him, Nikki, and Chaz in Happy Valley. He finishes and his eyes fill with tears. "And Dad, we have no way of knowing if Chaz has found his crystals."

"What about the DSC?" Jonathan asks. "Do you have it with you?"

"Of course." Jesse lowers his voice. "But we promised not to tell anyone. So we haven't used it in public."

"Well, Son, I can't think of a better use for it than this. Go get it and call them."

Jesse rushes into his father's arms. "Thanks, Dad." Then he reaches into his pack.

3:52 p.m., EDT: Situation Room, the White House

The situation room at the White House, used during emergencies, contains advanced communications equipment so the president can maintain command and control during a crisis. Today the atmosphere is edgy as leaders file in. The basement room has no windows. The only light comes from fluorescents and dimly lit flat screens that line the walls. A gleaming conference table fills up with members of the responder team.

"Where's the President?" asks Cheryl Long, the national security adviser.

"Ron's trying to get him out of a meeting with the prime minister of Thailand. It'll take a few minutes."

"Well tell the chief of staff we need the president now," Long commands, fingering her briefing notes.

"Yes, ma'am," says the situation room secretary.

Cheryl looks at General Phil Benson, chairman of the military branches. "Phil, let's refrain from calling the embassies just yet. I want to find out what's going on first."

"I wholeheartedly agree, Cheryl." Phil continues writing.

4:04 p.m. EDT, BBC News Bureau, Paris, France

BREAKING NEWS: Secret Light Spectacle Rockets out of French Countryside

"It has been reported by a growing number of witnesses that an unidentified light structure has allegedly discharged from a tiny village in rural France. [Pictures of fuzzy light configurations appear behind the newscaster.] No one at the Ministry of Defense or the prime minister's office has responded to our inquiry or released a statement. More on that story later."

4:15 p.m. EDT, International Space Station

Commander McCloud stares out through the curved bay windows of the space station module. They are floating toward the northwestern United States, and he looks down at the Pacific Mountain crest jutting high. He's grateful for the privilege of witnessing his home planet from outer space and remembers astronauts who have had mystical awakenings while in space. He wonders whether this might be happening to him.

"See anything yet, Commander?" asks the engineer reading the instruments.

McCloud snaps out of his reverie and stands to focus on the geography near Mt. St. Helens. "There it is," he says, and the familiar warmth builds up in his chest. "The third beam. I see it."

The engineer stands and the skin on his neck comes alive. "Look at that, sir. I'd say that light ray is tryin' to form a circle around the planet. It's come two thirds of the way and I expect it will continue on to France."

"If it does, it'll change history."

4:23 p.m. EDT, Situation Room, the White House

The door opens and everyone stands. In walks the president followed by Ron, her chief of staff.

"As you were," President Lee says and sits at the head of the assemblage. She sips the coffee placed before her and looks to her right. "What have we got, Cheryl?"

"Ma'am, we've got three unidentified light singularities emanating from France, northern New Zealand, and the mountains of Oregon. They've been visually confirmed by the International Space Station. Radar shows three frequency disturbances starting about an hour ago." She points to a screen.

Everyone turns to the screen as a holographic image appears showing three light beams shooting out from the planet—forming a tripod.

"They're peaking at a hundred miles up," Cheryl says, "just at the top of the thermosphere."

"Why there?" the president asks, scanning her briefing papers.

"We don't know, exactly, ma'am. Could be the air is too thin beyond the thermosphere and the light particles would dissipate. The odd thing is these beams have somehow sprung a circle of light around the planet."

"That'll send the famous astronomer Stephen Hawking back to his research," the president says. Everyone laughs nervously.

"We have eyes in the sky and are monitoring the radars, but the structures seem harmless," Cheryl says. "Calls are pouring in from where the lights are visible—Europe, Australia, Indonesia, and the western United States."

President Lee switches her gaze to Phil. "Is anyone claiming this? What do you recommend?"

"Good afternoon, ma'am. As you know, we have been at defense readiness alert green with no imminent threats to the United States. We don't see this as a threat and don't recommend a change at this time. We've not contacted the embassies or the news media and have only responded generally to those who have contacted us. Public Affairs has prepared a statement. Frankly, we've been nursing the situation, ma'am, waiting for your input. I recommend we release the statement in your file as soon as possible."

The president closes her file and looks at the screen again. "Phil, what about the countries where this...these Skybars are coming from? Any military response from them?"

"No ma'am—France and New Zealand have been playing it soft. You'd think it was just a bunch of fireworks going off for all the attention they've been paying. But they are tracking."

"I see." The president sips her coffee, sets it down, and holds her chin. The room grows quiet except for the sound coming from the beeping equipment. She searches the faces of those around the table. "What's the most troublesome issue emerging right now?"

The public affairs officer raises his hand. "Yes, Bill, go ahead," the president says.

"Ma'am, I believe it's important to calm the public. People who live in the Skybar locales are running outside to observe and then are contacting everyone they know, peppering the Internet with pictures and comments—a lot of the usual doomsday rhetoric. Unfortunately it's causing a fear frenzy on social media." The others nod in agreement.

"Release the statement and continue to follow it. It would help if we knew what it was and its purpose." The president pushes her cup away and stands, as do the others. "Now back to Thailand. Keep me informed." And she leaves the room.

France

Jesse enters his personal code into the DSC and lets the device read his retinal frequency. It comes alive and he starts pacing. What if they don't answer? His body heats up and beads of sweat spring from his forehead. His dad puts a hand on his shoulder and Jesse breathes. Seconds flow like molasses.

"Jesse, look," Aimée cries, pointing up. Jesse cranes his neck up to see a new curve of light coming from the northwest on the same orbit. "The chain," she says, "it's about to close*."*

His heart pounds as he waits for his mates to respond. "Hurry, hurry!" he pleads. "Where are you?" He realizes it's vital for them to be connected when the circle closes. Finally he hears a dim voice emerging from a noisy background.

"Hello, hello, who's this?" he says into the DSC.

"Jesse?" the disembodied voice says. "It's Nikki."

Soon another, louder voice pipes in. "Chaz here. I almost didn't answer because—well you know—the promise." Chaz smiles feebly at his stunned teammates who have surrounded him.

"Chaz, great. I've got you both now." Jesse is relieved. "Dad gave me permission to call." His eyes sweep over Madame and the others. "You brought the devices."

"Of course we did," Nikki says. "Do you think we're complete idiots?"

"Nikki, louder," Jesse says. "I can barely hear you."

"Hang on a minute, Jesse." The noise stops. "Sorry. "My teammates are celebrating." Nikki sniffs, realizing she feels more like crying now that the words of the angel have come to pass. "Jesse, have you seen the arc—is it close?" Her voice shakes.

"We see it now," Jesse says, his voice hoarse. "It's traveling right over us. The circle is closing."

Then the three begin talking at once—about how the angel showed up right before the illumination, how the beams shot up and shocked them even though they were expecting it, how their hands nearly shook off from the vibration of the crystals, and finally how excited—and grateful—they are that Jesse's dad was here to give permission to call on the DSC.

"The circle is trying to close right now," Jesse says. "I can't believe we're talking." He wipes his eyes and dries his knuckles on his pants.

Jesse feels his hand being grasped. Jonathan takes it in a strong grip and points upward. They look up together and, with his aunt and cousins, Daniel, the Villars ladies, and his best friends linked by the DSC, they witness the completion of the crystal chain. Every cell in his body is filled with elation. Then a curtain of light spills from the halo and drifts down toward earth.

4:45 p.m. EDT, International Space Station

High above, the two astronauts stare out the window of the bridge. They are the only humans who have observed the light travel from conception to completion as a great halo surrounding the planet. For ninety minutes, McCloud and his engineer have barely left the window. They have no idea what—if anything—will happen next, but refuse to miss this astonishing occurrence.

McCloud looks at his digital readout. "This arc is connecting with the French beam right under us. It's forming a circle—a light chain of sorts. Now what? We're not high enough to see the whole light chain."

"I don't rightly know, sir, but I'm not missin' this for anyone—even my wife couldn't order me away from this window right now."

McCloud chuckles. "What's it for? I wonder." Their eyes remain glued to the windows.

"Sir," the engineer says, "are my eyes goin' screwy? It looks like this thing is rainin' light."

McCloud stares harder. "You're right; it's like a veil unfurling. Let's watch and then report."

BBC News Bureau, Paris, France

BREAKING NEWS: Light Chain Shifts Spewing Photons

"People are amassing on hilltops, in parking lots, and in open areas to witness a change in the appearance of the light show in the sky. On the ground, witnesses describe stars breaking into trillions of tiny pieces. Others say heaven is falling. Regardless of one's point of view, its origin and purpose remain unknown. However, government sources have determined there is no danger, for now."

4:48 p.m. EDT, Washington, DC

Bill has been drowning in stories from affiliates in France and New Zealand and from news bureaus in the United States and other parts of the world. The number of witnesses has grown to incomprehensible numbers as more citizens observe the original light phenomenon expanding.

"Look at this," Bill says, showing the latest reports to his assistant. "One witness writes, 'Has the sun exploded? Its rays are dropping to earth one by one in tiny, iridescent droplets.' Another says, 'UFOs release poisonous dust particles.'"

Bill's assistant picks up the ringing phone, listens, and then hangs up. "The president has signed off," he says. "We can get the statement out."

Bill pumps his right arm. "Yes!" he exclaims. "Just in time for the five o'clock news."

Washington, DC, White House Statement

"Three beams of light have been detected emanating from New Zealand, Oregon, and France. They appear to be made of trillions of photons, which have formed a circle of light around the planet. These particles have been closely monitored and measured, and are proven to be harmless. Although the circle of light's purpose is unknown, there is no need for concern. Since its appearance, no damage or ill effects have been reported. The incident is under investigation, and more information will be made available as it develops. President Lee will address the public at a later time. Updated reports are available at 212-555-6397."