The Looking Glass - Episode 1: The Focal Point

As children we lack knowledge of how the world works, so it feels like anything is possible, for all we know Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy could be real. Then as we grow into a young adult those fantasies start to fade and become less real as we gain knowledge. We start to believe we know everything there is to know and our imaginative capacity fades as a result. But as we become even older a strange thing starts to happen... we begin to realize how much more there is to know, and how ignorant we were in those younger years when we thought we knew everything. We start to get an unsettling feeling like maybe there is something just beyond the veil, just outside our perception, right on the edge of our peripheral vision.

Some of us will choose to ignore it, others will become obsessed with finding "the truth", they just cannot stop until they know how deep the rabbit hole really goes. Among all the conspiracies and occult mythology, there is one especially enigmatic device known as The Looking Glass. Some say it's a quantum computer used by the elite to predict the outcome of their actions in order to shape our future and avoid disasters or create them when it's beneficial. Those who control The Looking Glass also control the destiny of humanity. The device is so powerful only 12 people in the world have the security clearance required to access it. These are the leaked stories of what one of those 12 people saw... when they gazed into The Looking Glass.

November 4th, 2024 - Timeline Variant #451

I see a young boy, maybe 14 or 15 years old, he's watching something on a laptop with great enthusiasm. That's strange... he seems to be watching the news, and they're talking about the election. It appears Biden and Trump are once again in a very tight race, but that's not what has this boy so transfixed on the screen. The news anchor starts talking about UFO's and the boys eyes get even wider.

"We've just received more footage of the crafts which recently arrived over the skies of New York. Would you just look at that, those things appear to be massive in scale, we truly are living in strange times aren't we Tom? As this chart shows, the number of UFO sightings around the world has been rising rapidly since 2023 and now it seems like we are on the verge of a full on invasion or full disclosure."

"It's still a mystery exactly who these beings are and what their intentions are. It's also still unknown why they remain stationary in our atmosphere without attempting to make any contact. Biden has made multiple statements suggesting these crafts could pose a threat to the security of the United States. The unusual design of these crafts has many ufologists speculating that it could be a new alien race which hasn't visited Earth until now."

"There's obviously also a lot of speculation about why these visitors decided to arrive at this particularly volatile moment in history. We have to ask the question, is their arrival somehow related to this election? Some religious fanatics are saying that Judgment Day is upon us, but I don't know about that Tom. Wouldn't invaders try to be stealthy instead of purposely making themselves known?"

"At the present time there are over 10,000 confirmed reports of these crafts presently floating in the sky of countries all over the world. We've got some more footage here from Sydney Australia. Wow look at that one, you can almost see the lightning through the craft, it appears to be made from some sort of glass-like material. At this point I don't think anyone can deny the existence of these things, wouldn't you say Tom?"

"Oh you've certainly got that right Luke. The skeptics don't have a leg to stand on at this point. The first step is to accept the fact these otherworldly beings are real. I'm glad to see most people aren't reacting to these revelations in a way we often see portrayed in Hollywood films. We've seen minor rioting in a few places, but I think the whistle-blowers who came forward the last few years have really helped people adjust to this new reality."

"Well Tom, it's funny you say that, because many people now think they knew what was coming this year. Which begs the question, how did they know? Looking back now, it seems like they must have received permission to reveal that information. I think we also need to ask the question, how long has the government known these crafts were headed for us? We've got a big pile of questions and no clear answers as of yet Tom."

Suddenly the boy is distracted by something outside of his window. He hastily gets up from his bed and looks up into the sky, then he starts screaming for his mother, "They're here! I knew they'd come, this is so awesome! Mom quick come look, there's a UFO in the sky!". The parents scramble from their room into the boys room and frantically shut his window curtains. They're clearly scared but the boy couldn't be happier.

They tightly tuck the boy into bed and tell him to stay away from the window. He gets up to look again after they leave, then starts shining his laser pointer at the UFO. It flashes some multi-colored lights in response and the boy actually seems to be a bit shocked by it, he runs back into his bed and pulls up the covers. I guess it didn't upset him too much, he's still got a big smile on his face. Ok he's going to sleep... speed up playback.

Resume normal playback right there, it looks like something happened. There is a massive explosion which wakes the boy in the early hours of the morning. He leaps out of bed and before his feet even hit the floor his house begins to violently shake as if being hit by an Earthquake. The shaking only lasts a few seconds, and when the boy regains his composure he stumbles over to the window and lets out an audible gasp.

The UFO he witnessed the previous night had crashed into the farmers field next door and now he could see how massive it truly was. It intrudes on the horizon, it must be kilometers in diameter and appears to be made from some type of green glass material, but it doesn't appear to be shattered or damaged in any way. It has an angular type of design made from many large flat panels of the glass-like material.

The boy stands there for a few moments overwhelmed by what he is seeing outside. Then he runs back to his laptop to check the news, and he quickly learns that all of the UFO's around the world have fallen out of the sky at the same time. "We just got word President Biden is going to address the nation and the world concerning the extraordinary and tragic events which just took... ok we're taking you live right now."

"My fellow citizens of the United States and citizens of the world, today we must remember that we are united as one species on this beautiful planet, and we will persevere against any threat we face. What just happened was the result of a coordinated plan devised by an international multi-agency task force, in order to disrupt the propulsion systems of the invading crafts and bring them to the ground. Under no circumstances should anyone approach these objects."

"Make no mistake, this was an invasion, and our decisive actions, along with the coordination of physicists all over the world, has secured our victory and protected Earth from these invaders. Should they choose to return we will be ready for it. There was some collateral damage, but we have to accept that is the price to pay to secure the survival of the human race. We must keep the Earth safe and I hope I've proven I'm the only one to get the job done."

"That's the end of playback sir. We couldn't get clear details about events beyond that point."

"Can we at least see the result of the election in this variant?"

"I'm sorry sir, the predictions get exponentially less certain beyond the 5th and it can take a few weeks to confirm the final vote counts."

"I figured. So what is the most likely outcome?"

"The probabilities suggest that Biden will gain enough support to be re-elected, but other outcomes are almost equally probable."

"What is the other most probable outcome?"

"Well, uh... you're not going to like it sir."

Yes this is inspired by classic shows like The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone for those wondering. I like the idea of different timeline variants because it allows me to come up with some crazy sci-fi stuff that probably wont happen in our timeline but could potentially happen in some timeline. Personally I think full disclosure wont happen until at least 2026.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

Great story, ChaoticOrder! Well put together, kept me hooked.

I agree 100% with your first paragraph.

a reply to: Encia22

Thank you! I've also been enjoying some of your writing recently, you have a way with words that even I don't have. But I am quite good at putting together engaging plot lines so I try to focus most on that. I think this is one of my best short stories actually.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

I'm humbled, ChaoticOrder, very kind of you.

Your words are not shabby, in fact, you gave Biden an eloquent and inspiring speech. The plot is perfect!

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone

One Step Beyond the televised projection of human propensity to shoot first and ask questions later is shoot first and leave it at that.