Sample Chapters of "Thiaoouba Prophecy" (First Three Chapters)
Table of Contents
Chapter 3: The first man on Earth
Chapter 1: Abduction
I awoke suddenly, not knowing how long I had slept. I was completely awake -
fresh and alert - but good God, what time could it be? Lina was sleeping beside
me, her fists closed, but then Lina always sleeps...
I had no desire at all to go back to sleep and besides, it was possibly already
five in the morning. I got up, made my way to the kitchen and checked the clock.
Only 12.30am! It was unusual for me to wake up at such an hour.
I took off my pajamas and dressed in trousers and a shirt, why, I had no idea.
Neither can I explain why I went to my desk, took a sheet of paper and a biro
and watched myself write, as if my hand had a mind of its own.
'My dear, I'll be away for about ten days. Absolutely no need to worry.'
Leaving the note by the telephone, I headed through the door and on to the
verandah. I avoided the table on which last night's chess game remained, with
the white King still in checkmate, and silently opened the door leading on to
the garden.
The night seemed to be suffused with a strange brightness, which had nothing to
do with the stars. Instinctively, I tried to recall what phase the moon was
currently in, thinking that perhaps it was about to rise. Here, in the northeast
of Australia where I live, the nights are generally quite clear.
I descended the outside stairs and headed towards the pandanus. Usually, at this
time of night, we would have a veritable concert from the frogs and crickets
whose chirring sounds fill the night. Now however, there was a heavy silence and
I wondered why.
I had only walked a few steps when, quite suddenly, the color of the
philodendrons changed. The wall of the house too, and the pandanus - all were
bathed in a kind of bluish light. The lawn seemed to undulate beneath my feet
and the ground beneath the pandanus waved also. The philodendrons distorted and
the wall of the house resembled a sheet floating in the wind.
Beginning to believe that I was not well, I decided to return to the house when,
at that precise moment, I felt myself lifted quite gently from the ground. I
rose, slowly at first, above the philodendrons, and then quicker, until I saw
the house becoming smaller and smaller below me.
'What is happening?' I exclaimed in utter bewilderment.
'All is well now, Michel.'
By then, I believed I was dreaming. Before me, a human being of impressive size,
dressed in a one-piece suit and wearing a completely transparent helmet on 'her'
head, was looking at me - friendly and smiling.
'No, you are not dreaming,' she said, answering the question in my mind.
'Yes,' I replied, 'but it always happens this way in a dream and in the end you
find you've fallen out of bed and have a lump on your forehead!' She smiled.
'Further', I continued, 'you are speaking to me in French, my native tongue, and
yet we are in Australia. I do speak English, you know!'
'So do I'.
'It has to be a dream - one of those stupid dreams, moreover. If not though,
what are you doing on my property?'
'We are not on your property, but above it.'
'Ah! It is a nightmare. You see I was right. I'll pinch myself!' I accompanied
the words with the action. Ouch!
She smiled again. 'Now are you satisfied, Michel?'
'But if it's not a dream, why am I here sitting on this rock? Who are those
people over there, dressed in the fashion of the last century?'
I was beginning to distinguish, in a milky light, people talking and at a slight
distance, others moving around.
'And you, who are you? Why aren't you normal sized?'
'I am a normal size, Michel. On my planet we are all this size. But everything
in good time, my dear friend. I hope you don't mind me calling you that? If we
aren't good friends already, I am sure that we will be soon.'
She stood there in front of me, intelligence reflected in her smiling face and
goodness emanating from her entire being. It would not be possible to meet
anyone with whom I could feel more at ease.
'Of course, you may call me what you wish. And what is your name?'
'My name is Thao, but first, I would like you to know, once and for all, that
this is not a dream. Indeed, it is something quite different. For certain
reasons which will be explained to you later, you have been chosen to undertake
a journey which very few Earthlings have made - particularly in recent times.
'We are, you and I, at this moment, in a universe which is parallel to that of
Earth. In order to admit you, as well as ourselves, we have made use of an
'airlock'.
'At this instant, time has stopped for you, and you could remain here twenty or
fifty of your Earthly years and then return as if you hadn't left. Your physical
body would remain absolutely unchanged.'
'But what are these people doing?'
'They exist as well as can be expected and, as you will learn later, the
population density is very low. Death only occurs by suicide or accident. Time
is suspended. There are men and women, as well as some animals who are 30 000,
50 000 or even many more Earth years old.'
'But why are they here and how did they come to be here? Where were they born?'
'On Earth. . . they are all here by accident.'
'By accident? What do you mean?'
'It's very simple. You have heard of the Bermuda Triangle?' I nodded. 'Well,
quite simply, in this spot and in others less well known, this parallel universe
becomes confused with your universe so that there exists between them a natural
warp.
'People, animals or even objects finding themselves in the immediate vicinity of
a warp are literally sucked into it. Thus, you can have, for example, an entire
fleet of boats disappear in several seconds. Sometimes a person, or persons, can
pass back into your universe after several hours, several days or several years.
More often, however, they never return.
'When a man does return and relates his experience, the vast majority of people
don't believe him - and if he persists, he is assumed 'crazy'. Most of the time,
such a person recounts nothing at all, realizing how he will appear in the eyes
of his peers. Sometimes too, he returns amnesic, and if he recovers some memory,
it is not of what happened in the parallel universe, and therefore sheds no
light on the subject.
'There was,' Thao continued, 'a typical case of this passage into a parallel
universe in North America, where a young man literally vanished while going to
fetch water from a well which was situated several hundred meters from his
house. About an hour later, family and friends set out in search of him and, as
there had been a fresh snowfall of about 20 centimeters, it should have been
quite simple - they had only to follow the footprints left by the young man.
But, right in the middle of the field - the footprints stopped.
'There were no trees around, no rocks on to which he could have jumped - nothing
strange or unusual - the footprints just stopped. Some people believed that he
had been taken by a spacecraft, but that could not have been, as you will see
later. This poor man had quite simply been sucked into the parallel universe.'
'I remember', I said, 'I did hear of that particular case, but how do you know
all about it?'
'You will find out later how I know,' she replied enigmatically.
We were interrupted by the sudden appearance of a group of people so bizarre
that again, I wondered if this was all a dream. About a dozen men, accompanied
by what seemed to be a woman, emerged from behind a pile of rocks a hundred
meters from where we were. The sight was even stranger, since these human beings
appeared to have stepped out of the pages of prehistoric records. With the gait
of gorillas, they brandished enormous clubs which modern man would not have been
able to lift from the ground. These hideous creatures were coming straight for
us, howling like wild beasts. I made a move to retreat, but my companion told me
there was nothing to fear and that I should stay still. She put her hand on the
buckle of her belt and turned so that she faced them.
I heard a series of small clicks and five of the strongest looking men fell to
the ground, motionless. The rest of the group stopped cleanly and began moaning.
They prostrated themselves before us.
I looked again at Thao. She stood like a statue, her face set. Her eyes were
fixed on those people as though she was trying to hypnotize them. I later
learned that she was giving orders by telepathy to the female of the group.
Suddenly, this woman got up and began, it seemed to me, to issue orders in a
guttural voice to the others. They then helped remove the bodies, carrying them
on their backs to the pile of rocks mentioned earlier.
'What are they doing?' I asked.
'They will cover their dead with stones.'
'Did you kill them?'
'I had to.'
'What do you mean? Were we really in danger?'
'Of course we were. These are people who have been here for ten or fifteen
thousand years - who knows? We don't have time to establish that and besides, it
is of no importance. Nevertheless, it illustrates well what I was explaining to
you a few moments ago. These people passed into this universe at a certain time,
and they have lived in that time ever since.'
'It's frightful!'
'I agree. However it is part of natural, and therefore universal, law.
Furthermore, they are dangerous because they behave more like wild beasts than
human beings. Dialogue would not have been possible between them and us, just as
it is not possible between them and most of the others living in this parallel
universe. For one thing, they are unable to communicate; and for another, they,
less than anyone, understand what has happened to them. We were in real danger
and, if I do say so, I have done them a favor just now, of liberating them.'
'Liberating?'
'Don't look so shocked, Michel. You know quite well what I mean by that. They
are liberated from their physical bodies and are now able to continue their
cycle, like every living being, according to the normal process.'
'So if I understand correctly, this parallel universe is a curse - a kind of
hell or purgatory?'
'I didn't realize you were religious!'
'I just make this comparison to show you that I am trying to understand,' I
replied, wondering how she could know whether or not I was religious.
'I know, Michel, I was only teasing. You were right in explaining it as a kind
of purgatory but, of course, this is quite accidental. In fact, this is one of
several accidents of nature. An albino is an accident, and a four-leafed clover
can also be considered as an accident. Your appendix is just as much an
accident. Your doctors still wonder what use it could possibly have in your
body. The answer - no use whatsoever. Now usually, in nature, everything has a
precise reason for existing - that's why I list the appendix among the natural
'accidents'.
'People living in this universe suffer neither physically or morally. For
example, if I hit you, you would feel no pain, but if the blows were strong
enough, although without pain, you could still die from them. This might be
difficult to comprehend, but it is so. Those existing here know nothing of what
I have just explained to you, and it is fortunate because they would be tempted
to commit suicide - which, even here, is not a solution.'
'What do they eat?'
'They don't eat, nor do they drink, because they don't feel the need to. Here,
remember, time has stopped - those dead won't even rot.'
'But that's terrible! In all, the greatest service that one can render these
people would be to kill them!'
'You raise an important point there. Effectively it would be one of two
solutions.'
'What is the other?'
'To send them back where they came from - but that would pose great problems.
Because we are able to make use of the warp, we could return many of them to
your universe, and thus deliver them, but I'm sure you are aware of the enormous
problems that would create for the majority of these people. Here, as I have
already said, you have people, who have been here for thousands of years. What
would happen if they found themselves back in the universe they left so long
ago?'
'They might go insane. In all, there is nothing to do.' She smiled gently at my
affirmation.
'You are certainly the man of action we require, Michel, but beware of jumping
to conclusions - you have much more to see.'
She put her hand on my shoulder, having to incline forward slightly to do so.
Although I didn't know it at the time, Thao measured 290 centimeters,
exceptionally tall for a human being.
'I see with my own eyes that we made the right choice in selecting you - you
have an astute mind, but I cannot explain everything to you now, for two
reasons.'
'Namely?'
'First, it is still too soon for such an explanation. By this, I mean that you
must be instructed further on certain points before proceeding beyond.'
'I understand - and second?'
'The second reason is that they are waiting for us. We must leave.'
With a light touch, she turned me around. I followed her gaze and stared
wide-eyed with surprise. About 100 meters from us was an enormous sphere, from
which emanated a bluish Aura. I later learned that it measured 70 meters in
diameter. The light was not steady, but shimmered, resembling a heat haze when
one looks from a distance at sand heated by the summer sun.
This enormous sphere 'shimmered' about ten meters from the ground. With no
windows, no openings, no ladder, it appeared as smooth as the shell of an egg.
Thao signaled for me to follow her and we set out towards the machine. I
remember that moment very well. During the short time we took in approaching the
sphere, I was so excited that I lost control of my thoughts. A constant stream
of images flashed through my mind, resembling a film in the 'fast-forward' mode.
I saw myself relating this adventure to my family, and I saw again newspaper
articles I had read on the subject of UFOs.
I remember a feeling of sadness sweep over me when I thought of my family whom I
loved so much; I saw myself caught, as though in a trap, and it occurred to me
that I might never see them again...
'You have absolutely nothing to fear, Michel,' said Thao. 'Trust me. You will be
reunited with your family very soon, and in good health.'
I believe my mouth fell open in surprise, triggering in Thao a melodious laugh,
such as is rarely heard among us Earthlings. That was the second time she had
read my thoughts; the first time I thought might have been a coincidence, but
this time there could be no doubt.
When we arrived in close proximity to the sphere, Thao placed me in a position
opposite her and about a meter's distance away.
'Do not touch me under any pretext, Michel, whatever happens. Under any pretext
- do you understand?'
I was quite taken aback by this formal order, but I nodded.
She placed her hand on a type of 'medallion' I had noticed earlier 'attached' at
the height of her left breast, and with the other hand, she held what resembled
a large biro which she unclasped from her belt.
She pointed the 'biro' above our heads and in the direction of the sphere. I
thought I saw a green beam of light flash from it but I couldn't be sure. She
then pointed the 'biro' at me, her other hand still on the 'medallion' and quite
simply, we rose, simultaneously, towards the wall of the machine. Just when I
was sure we were going to collide with it, a portion of the hull retracted like
an enormous piston in the core of a cylinder, revealing an opening, oval in
shape, of about three meters in height.
We regained our feet, Thao and I, on a type of landing inside the craft. She let
go of her 'medallion' and with a dexterity that suggested she had done it often,
she refastened her 'biro'.
'Come. We can touch each other now,' she said.
Taking me by the shoulder, she guided me towards a small blue light, so intense
that I had almost to half close my eyes. I had never seen a color like it on
Earth. When we were almost below the light, the wall on which it was located
'let us pass'. That is the only way to describe it. From the way in which my
mentor was leading me, I could have sworn I was going to have a handsome lump on
my forehead, but we passed through the walls - like ghosts! Thao laughed
heartily at the shocked expression on my face. That did me good. I remember that
laugh - like a refreshing breeze and reassuring at a time when I was not feeling
at ease.
I had often spoken with friends of 'flying saucers' and was persuaded that they
did, in fact, exist - but when you are actually faced with the reality, so many
questions cloud your brain that you think it will burst. Of course, deep down I
was delighted. From Thao's manner towards me, I sensed that I had nothing to
fear. However, she was not alone: I wondered what the others were going to be
like. In spite of my fascination with this adventure, I still doubted if I would
see my family again. Already, they seemed so far away, when only several minutes
earlier I was in my own garden.
We were now 'gliding' at ground level along a tunnel-shaped corridor that led to
a small room, the walls of which were of a yellow so intense that I had to close
my eyes. The walls formed a vault - exactly as if we were inside an upturned
bowl.
Thao covered my head with a helmet made from a transparent material and I found,
by opening one eye, that this enabled me to tolerate the light.
'How do you feel?' she asked.
'Better, thank you, but that light - how can you stand it?'
'It is not a light. It is just the present color of the walls in this room.'
'Why 'present'? Have you brought me here to repaint them?' I joked. 'There is no
paint. There are only vibrations, Michel. You still believe that you are in your
Earthly universe, when you are not. You are now in one of our super long-range
spacecraft, capable of travelling at several times the speed of light. We will
be leaving soon, if you will lie down on this bunk..?'
There, in the centre of the room were two boxes - rather like coffins without
lids. I stretched out in one of them and Thao in the other. I heard her speak in
a language unfamiliar to me, but very harmonious. I wanted to lift myself up a
little but couldn't, being held by an unknown and invisible force. The yellow
color progressively disappeared from the walls, to be replaced by a blue that
was certainly no less intense. The 'paintwork' had been redone...
One third of the room suddenly became dark and I noticed minute lights sparkling
like stars.
Thao's voice was clear in the darkness. 'These are stars, Michel. We have left
Earth's parallel universe and will be leaving your planet further and further
behind, to take you to visit ours. We know you are going to be greatly
interested in the journey, but also in our departure that will be quite slow,
for your benefit.
'We can watch on the screen you see in front of you.'
'Where is Earth?'
'We still can't see it, being almost directly above it, at approximately 10 000
meters altitude...'
Suddenly, a voice could be heard, speaking what seemed to be the same language
Thao had used moments earlier. Thao answered briefly and then the voice spoke to
me in French - excellent French (although the tone was more melodic than is
typical) welcoming me aboard. It was very much the 'welcome aboard' of our
airline companies, and I recall being quite amused by that - in spite of the
unique situation in which I found myself.
At the same instant, I felt a very light movement of the air and it became cool,
as though air-conditioned. Things began to happen quickly. On the screen,
appeared what could only have been the sun. At first, it seemed to touch the
edge of the Earth or, more precisely, South America, as I later learned. Again,
I wondered if I could be dreaming. Second by second America was shrinking.
Australia couldn't be seen, as the sun's rays had not yet reached it. Now the
contours of the planet could be distinguished, and we seemed to move around the
globe, to a position above the North Pole. There, we changed direction, drawing
away from Earth at an incredible speed.
Our poor Earth became a basketball, then a billiard ball until it finally
disappeared - or almost - from the screen. Instead, my vision was filled with
the somber blue of space. I turned my head in Thao's direction hoping for
further explanation.
'Did you like that?'
'It was wonderful, but so fast - is it possible to travel at such a high speed?'
'That was nothing, my dear friend. We 'took off very gently. Only now are we
travelling at full speed.'
'How fast?' I interrupted.
'Several times the speed of light.'
'Of light? But how many times? It's incredible! What about the light barrier?'
'I can well understand that it appears incredible to you. Not even your experts
would believe it - it is, however, the truth. '
'You say several times the speed of light, but how many times?'
'Michel, during this journey many things will be intentionally revealed to you -
many things, but there will also be details to which you will not have access.
The precise speed of our spacecraft is one such detail. I'm sorry, for I know it
will disappoint you not to have your great curiosity for all things satisfied,
but there will be so many new and interesting things for you to see and learn,
that you must not mind too much when information is withheld from you.'
Her manner indicated that the matter was closed and I didn't insist further,
sensing that to do so would have been rude.
'Look' she said to me. On the screen a colored dot had appeared and was growing
rapidly.
'What is it?'
'Saturn.'
The reader must forgive me if the descriptions I give are not as detailed as
he/she might wish, but it must be understood that I had not yet recovered all my
senses. I had seen so much in so short a time, and was somewhat 'disoriented.'
As we approached, the famous Saturn grew rapidly larger on the screen. Its
colors were wonderful - incomparable to anything I had ever seen on Earth. There
were yellows, reds, greens, blues, oranges - within each color, an infinite
range of nuances mingled, separated, grew stronger then weaker, creating the
famous rings and confined within them...
It was an amazing spectacle, which filled more and more of our screen.
Realizing I was no longer restrained by the force field, I wanted to remove my
mask so as to see the colors better, but Thao signaled that I should do nothing.
'Where are the satellites?' I asked.
'You can see two, almost side by side towards the right of the screen.'
'How far away are we?'
'We must be approximately 6 000 000 kilometers or perhaps more. They know
exactly on the flight deck of course, but to give you a more precise estimate,
I'd have to know whether our 'camera' is on full zoom or not.'
Saturn suddenly disappeared from the left side of the screen, which filled again
with the 'color' of space.
I believe it was at that moment I felt exalted, as I never had before. It hit me
that I was in the process of living an extraordinary adventure - and why? I had
asked for nothing and had never contemplated the possibility (who would have
dared?) of experiencing such an adventure.
Thao got up. 'You can do the same now, Michel.' I obeyed and we found ourselves
again, side by side in the centre of the cabin. It was only then, I noticed Thao
no longer wore her helmet.
'Can you explain to me,' I asked, 'why just now, you were still wearing a helmet
while I was able to accompany you without one, and yet now I have one while you
don't?'
'It is very simple. We come from a planet bacteriological different from Earth,
which, for us, is a veritable culture medium. Thus, in order to contact you, I
was obliged to take this basic precaution. You, yourself, were a danger to me
but you are no longer.'
'I don't follow you.'
'When you entered this cabin, the color was too intense for you and I gave you
the helmet you are now wearing, which was specially designed for you. Indeed, we
were able to anticipate your reaction.
'During the very short time the cabin was yellow and then blue, eighty per cent
of the dangerous bacteria in you was destroyed. Then perhaps you felt a coolness
in the air, similar to when an air conditioner is working; this was another form
of disinfection by...let's call it radiation, although that is not the correct
word - it cannot be translated into any Earth language. In this way, I have been
disinfected one hundred per cent, but you still have enough bacteria to harm us
considerably. I am going to give you these two pills, and in three hours you
will be able to consider yourself as 'pure' as one of us.' As she spoke, she
took a little box from beside her bunk, removed the pills and held them out to
me, along with a test tube containing a liquid that I supposed to be water. I
swallowed them both, lifting the base of my helmet to do so. Next ... well,
everything happened very quickly and it was all very strange.
Thao took me in her arms, put me on the bunk and removed my mask. I saw that
happen from two or three meters from my body! I imagine that certain things in
this book will seem incomprehensible to the unwarned reader, but I saw my body
from a distance and I was able to move about in the room just by thought.
Thao spoke. 'Michel, I know that you see me and hear me, but I am not able to
see you myself, therefore I cannot look at you when I speak to you. Your Astral
being has left your body. There is no danger in this - you needn't worry. I know
that this is the first time this has happened to you, and there are people who
panic...
'I have given you a special drug in order to cleanse your body of all bacteria
that is dangerous to us. I have also given you another drug that has caused your
Astral being to leave your body - this will last three hours, the time it will
take to purify you. In this way, you will be able to visit our spacecraft,
without danger of contamination to us and without wasting time.'
As strange as it seems, I found this quite natural - and I followed her. It was
fascinating. She arrived in front of a panel that slid open to let us pass into
one chamber after another. I was following at some distance and each time, if
the panel had already closed by the time I reached it - I quite simply passed
through it.
Finally, we reached a circular room, about 20 meters in diameter, in which there
were at least a dozen 'astronauts' - all women and all about Thao's size. Thao
approached a group of four who were seated in enormous, comfortable-looking
armchairs, arranged in a circle. When she sat down in a vacant seat, the four
heads turned towards her questioningly. She almost seemed to take delight in
making them wait: finally she spoke.
I was again charmed to hear that language - the assonance was quite new to me,
and the intonations so harmonious one would have thought they were singing. They
all seemed to be greatly interested in Thao's report. I supposed they were
speaking of me, believing correctly that I was the main purpose of their
mission.
When Thao stopped, the questions streamed forth, and two other astronauts joined
the group. The discussion swelled and developed a tone of increased excitement.
Not understanding a word of what was being said, and having noticed on entering
three people positioned in front of screens displaying 3-dimensional images,
more or less vividly colored, I approached to discover that this must certainly
be the control room of the spacecraft. Being invisible made it even much more
interesting since each person was performing her duties without being disturbed,
or even distracted, by my presence.
On a screen bigger than the rest, I was able to discern dots - some larger than
others and some brighter, which moved steadily and without interruption in their
prescribed directions, several towards the left of the screen and others towards
the right.
Their speed increased as they grew on the screen and finally exited from it.
Their colors were often brilliant and extraordinarily beautiful, ranging from
subtle tones to a blinding yellow, like the light from our sun.
I soon realized that these were the planets and suns among which we were
navigating, and I was absolutely fascinated by their silent progression across
the screen. I can't say how long I had been watching them, when suddenly a
strange sound filled the cabin - a sound which was soft and at the same time,
insistent, and which was accompanied by many flashing lights.
The effect was immediate. The astronauts that had been talking with Thao now
approached the control post and each took a seat that seemed to be personally
assigned to her. Everyone's eyes were fixed attentively on the screens.
Right in the middle of these large monitors, I began to distinguish an enormous
mass that is difficult to describe. Let me say only that it was round in form
and blue-grey in color. It remained immobile in the centre of each screen.
In the room, all was silent. The general attention was focused on three
astronauts in command of oblong-shaped pieces of equipment resembling in some
ways, our computers.
Suddenly, covering a huge area of what I believed was a wall of the cabin I was
stupefied to see an image of New York - no! That's Sydney, I said to myself, and
yet the bridge is different...was it even a bridge?
My surprise was such I had to ask Thao, at whose side I was standing. I had
forgotten however, that I was no longer in my physical body and no one could
hear me. I was able to hear Thao and others commenting on what they were seeing
but, not understanding their language, it didn't get me far. I was convinced
though, that Thao had not lied to me and therefore we had well and truly left
Earth behind. My mentor had explained we were travelling at several times the
speed of light...and I had seen Saturn pass by and later, what I took to be
planets and suns - so had we come back, and why?
Thao spoke aloud and in French, which caused all heads to turn in her direction.
'Michel, we are stationed above the planet Aremo X3 which is almost twice the
size of planet Earth, and as you can see on the screen, quite similar to your
world.
'I can't explain at any length our current mission as I am required to
participate in the operation, but I will do so later. To put you on the right
track, I will tell you that our mission concerns atomic radiation such as you
know on Earth'.
Everyone seemed preoccupied: each knew exactly what to do and when to do it. We
were stationary. The large panel projected an image of the centre of a town. The
reader should understand that this large panel was in fact, no more than an
immense television screen, projecting an image in relief so real, we could have
been looking out the window of a tall building.
My attention turned to another smaller screen being monitored by two of my
'hostesses'. On this panel I could see our spacecraft, as I had already seen it
in our parallel universe. As I watched, I was surprised to see, slightly below
the middle of our vessel, a small sphere ejected, like an egg from a hen. Once
outside, this sphere accelerated rapidly towards the planet below. As it
disappeared from view, another sphere emerged in the same manner, and then a
third. I noticed each sphere was being monitored on separate screens by
different groups of astronauts.
The descent of the spheres could now be easily followed on the large panel. The
distance should have made them invisible in quite a short time but they remained
in sight and I deduced that the camera had to have an extraordinarily powerful
'zoom'. Indeed, the effect of the zoom was so strong that the first sphere
disappeared from the right of the panel and the second from the left. We could
now only see the middle one and followed its descent to the ground quite
clearly. It stopped in the centre of an immense square, situated among apartment
buildings. There it hovered, as though suspended several meters from the ground.
The other spheres were monitored in the same detail. One was above a river that
flowed through the town, and the other hovered above a hill, near the city.
Unexpectedly, the panel projected a new image. I could now distinctly see the
doors of the apartment buildings, or rather, the doorways, for where doors
should have been, were gaping openings.
I remember clearly that, until then, I had not realized how odd this town was...
Nothing had moved...
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