Read Online Overture (Earth Song) by Mark Wandrey - Free Book Online
Authors: Mark Wandrey
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international aid. One group was insisting the world was getting warmer and the polar icecap was melting, while another was simultaneously insisting that the planet was getting colder and another ice age was looming. Meanwhile, scientists worked on an Antarctic excavation, trying to beat the return of hard winter. The team should have departed weeks earlier but had uncovered evidence of a pre-human species nearly a hundred thousand years older than anything previously known. Tax day in the USA was approaching and a march of one million protesting the increase of the flat tax to 29% was planned for April 15th. Officials doubted more than one 100,000 would show up. It was just another day on planet Earth.
Harper threw away his microwave tray and brought a brace of beers back to the little living room. Hours more went by as events around the world played out. He didn’t see much of interest, and fewer important events. It was nearly midnight and he was beginning to fade. The national news had held no mention of what was going on in his NYC. Just before he pushed the off button a news segment caught his attention. It gave a feeling of haste and lacked the refinement of many network news spots.
“ We have a developing story in China. Tiantan Park in South Eastern Beijing has always been a peaceful place, even through the revolutionary periods that have embroiled other landmarks of that city. Mainly known for hundreds practicing Tai Chi and the famous Vault of Heaven historic landmark, today it has become the scene of violent conflict.
“ Unknown people occupying the park at dawn attacked Beijing security forces. Those forces have now pulled back and military personnel have shown up to create a perimeter. This park of approximately six hundred acres is now controlled by what officials have estimated between fifty and one hundred thousand civilians. No demands have been made at this time, and there are likewise no indications that it is another spate of pro-democracy demonstrations.”
The image cut from the reporter where he stood to a rooftop camera taking pictures of the park itself. Masses of people could be seen milling around as well as the cordon of military vehicles and troops. The camera panned past something that made Harper sit up suddenly. There in the distance surrounded by a tight circle of people was what many would think was a glowing white sculpture. Harper had first seen a picture of the sculpture only hours ago, drawn from the descriptions of a reformed drug user. It was an exact match for Victor’s “Portal”.
The cameraman was ignorant of what he had just captured because the view simply continued to pan onward without fanfare. Harper knew what he had just seen and the event left him stunned. “Oh my God,” he said and started flipping the cable news channels. He found one more bit on the Beijing disturbance but that network didn’t have video coverage. He decided to go to bed because he still had to work the next day. He lay awake for some time thinking about what he’d seen, and what was in another park only a few miles away.
Others noticed the footage as well. Most notable were certain government agents and workers in such far flung locations as Sydney, Cairo, and Moscow. Reactions of these people varied from amazement to fear. One person caught the footage and instantly sent it onward digitally. When his e-mail beeped for attention, agent Mark Volant popped the computer open and looked at what he’d been sent. He knew it would be significant; this e-mail account was on a server that required a password and special encryption to send a message. As he read and watched the enclosed video he felt his blood pressure rising. Once again the agency director was correct, this was something big. There was at least one other Portal in Beijing, and preliminary intelligence reports from overseas bureaus were pointing toward indications of at least five more.
“ I want that spraycrete dome installed
Harper threw away his microwave tray and brought a brace of beers back to the little living room. Hours more went by as events around the world played out. He didn’t see much of interest, and fewer important events. It was nearly midnight and he was beginning to fade. The national news had held no mention of what was going on in his NYC. Just before he pushed the off button a news segment caught his attention. It gave a feeling of haste and lacked the refinement of many network news spots.
“ We have a developing story in China. Tiantan Park in South Eastern Beijing has always been a peaceful place, even through the revolutionary periods that have embroiled other landmarks of that city. Mainly known for hundreds practicing Tai Chi and the famous Vault of Heaven historic landmark, today it has become the scene of violent conflict.
“ Unknown people occupying the park at dawn attacked Beijing security forces. Those forces have now pulled back and military personnel have shown up to create a perimeter. This park of approximately six hundred acres is now controlled by what officials have estimated between fifty and one hundred thousand civilians. No demands have been made at this time, and there are likewise no indications that it is another spate of pro-democracy demonstrations.”
The image cut from the reporter where he stood to a rooftop camera taking pictures of the park itself. Masses of people could be seen milling around as well as the cordon of military vehicles and troops. The camera panned past something that made Harper sit up suddenly. There in the distance surrounded by a tight circle of people was what many would think was a glowing white sculpture. Harper had first seen a picture of the sculpture only hours ago, drawn from the descriptions of a reformed drug user. It was an exact match for Victor’s “Portal”.
The cameraman was ignorant of what he had just captured because the view simply continued to pan onward without fanfare. Harper knew what he had just seen and the event left him stunned. “Oh my God,” he said and started flipping the cable news channels. He found one more bit on the Beijing disturbance but that network didn’t have video coverage. He decided to go to bed because he still had to work the next day. He lay awake for some time thinking about what he’d seen, and what was in another park only a few miles away.
Others noticed the footage as well. Most notable were certain government agents and workers in such far flung locations as Sydney, Cairo, and Moscow. Reactions of these people varied from amazement to fear. One person caught the footage and instantly sent it onward digitally. When his e-mail beeped for attention, agent Mark Volant popped the computer open and looked at what he’d been sent. He knew it would be significant; this e-mail account was on a server that required a password and special encryption to send a message. As he read and watched the enclosed video he felt his blood pressure rising. Once again the agency director was correct, this was something big. There was at least one other Portal in Beijing, and preliminary intelligence reports from overseas bureaus were pointing toward indications of at least five more.
“ I want that spraycrete dome installed
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