by M C Drake
A few brave onlookers rushed towards the crash site, thankfully no one had been hurt but small fires dotted the area. An abandoned vehicle burned slowly. The impact crater had smashed a hole through the pavement.
The heat was so intense that people had to stand back and watch from a distance. Nothing moved from the crash site so they object was not manned. Nothing happened at all for the next half an hour and as people let curiosity get the better of them, they decided to try and take a closer look.
The area was still too hot for them to get a proper look but a few of the local lads had managed to creep to the edge of the crater. They peered over to see a small golden acorn about the size of a Labrador sitting unharmed in the whole.
“What the hell is that?”
“No idea Bazzer, but I dare you to go down and touch it.”
“Bugger off mate, you go down there.”
“Chicken, you have to, I dared you.”
The area suddenly came to life with flashing blue lights as a convoy of police vehicles arrived on the scene. Evidently, they had been far away enough from the blast radius that their vehicles had been unaffected.
The Police officers quickly cordoned off the area and even had to arrest a few of the more rambunctious lads who refused to move on.
“We have a right to know, after what has happened in America.” A young teen shouted.
The police officer responded with a sharp blow to his ribs and then shoved him in the back of the car.
“This area is now off limits, please return to your homes.”
More and more officers arrived and finally, the large group of civilians disbursed.
“Good work Sergeant.” Two eerie voices floated out through the night.
“We will take it from here.”
The Sergeant nodded as four trucks full of soldiers arrived, they quickly jumped from the Lorries and took up positions around the golden acorn.
The police officer turned to the two dark figures, “What is it Sirs?”
The men in black moved from the shadows as the streets lights flickered back into life.
“That is none of your concern Sergeant, return to your home. You have the rest of the night off.”
The sergeant drifted away to his squad car in a dream-like state. He did not argue and returned home.
The men in black ordered the soldiers to take as many pictures as they could and then load the device onto the back of the large flatbed truck. They had to get the device to Drakelow depot.
The soldiers stopped what they were doing for a split second. "Where Sir?"
“Don’t worry.” The men in black chimed in unison, “We will show you the way. We think the Prime Minister will want to see this.”
The soldiers worked fast, they took pictures from a distance and when the fire engine finally arrived they hosed the whole area down. When it was safe to do so three men jumped down into the crater. They walked around the object taking photos as they went.
The golden object was perfectly smooth and had a small inscription around the rim across the base. The words looked like hieroglyphics but they were unlike any the ancient Egyptians would have seen.
“Let’s wrap this up men, get the object onto the truck. We need to go.” The men in black ordered.
The men inside the crater picked the object up, it was surprisingly light and they managed to lift it up the steep side of the crater with the help of the men above; ropes were tied to the bottom of the acorn and it was literally pulled from the hole.
The object was tied securely to the back of the flatbed and was then covered with a large tarpaulin. The men in black jumped into the cab of the truck. They issued one final order.
“Thank you for your assistance Lieutenant, please will you and your men return to the barracks and rest. When you awake tomorrow I promise you will feel better.”
The Lieutenant saluted and his men climbed back into the troop transports and headed for home.
The men in black drove the lorry away from the site and headed towards the hidden underground bunker. As the lorry left London it seemed to disappear from the road.
Die Glocke
Admiral Moorer slammed his fist hard onto the table, "If we hit them with large-scale attacks we can then draw their troops into us. We can then use our destroyers as battleships and take out as many as we can."
Sir Geoffrey Baker rolled his eyes, “Typical Navy twaddle, you would think the navy was the answer because that is all you know!”
For a brief moment the acting President let a flash of red spread across his face as he took a step towards the British Chief of staff, “And what is your plan? Cower away on your little island until the bad guys go away?”
Sir Geoffrey stood and squared up to the American, “I think we shouldn’t just throw away the lives of our troops to get a beaten country back.”
"Like we did in world war two?" Moorer retorted the room went quiet."
Moorer shook his head, “That’s what I thought. Look if we don’t do anything then we risk losing the whole world to these people. You have seen what they are capable of.”
He slumped back down onto the edge of the table, “And that was when Sporrenberg was in charge, who knows what that Advisor of his is planning.”
The room was silent for a full minute as the world’s most powerful men stayed deep in thought.
That silence was shattered as the large steel doors flew open.
“What the hell is this?” Wilson shouted. “Guards!”
The Chinese guard in the room raised his weapon as the two men entered the room.
He tried to pull the trigger but his mind clouded and he stood unable to move.
“Gentleman, please calm down. We are here to help.” The sickening voices rang out in ghostly unison.
“Who are you? And how did you find us?” Admiral Moorer asked he could feel his mind getting colder; it was getting difficult to think.
“We were advising your President and then General Westmoreland in the battle of Washington. Right until the White House was overrun.”
Moorer felt rage flow through his system, "Then how did you manage to get out but nobody else did! You yellow-bellied cowards!"
The men in black smiled but this only managed to repulse the men in the room, “We had to leave, how could we assist you in the fight if we had been captured?”
Moorer said nothing, he wanted to but his brain would not allow it.
“Please take a seat Gentleman.” The first man in black gestured to them.
The men did as instructed.
“You will not be aware of this, but half an hour ago an object the size of large dog fell from the sky and impacted in the center of London.”
A look of fear flashed across Wilson’s face but he stayed silent.
The second man in black slid a pile of Polaroids onto the desk, have a look at these and then tell me us what you think?”
The heads of state looked over the pictures, only Moorer recognized it. “That looks like a smaller version of the device that fell in Kecksburg four years ago.”
The men in black nodded, “And how do you know about that incident?”
“When President Nixon was first briefed on the object, he relayed the information to me.”
The men in black took on a stern tone, “That was an act of treason, but that particular crime has already been answered for.”
The men in black stood behind Prime Minister Wilson, "We have the object here in this bunker, I suggest we go and see what is inside it. It cannot be a coincidence that the device fell in England at the time when the heads of state from the most powerful nations on the planet are all in one place."
Dong Biwu looked up, he struggled to get his words out. “What…What if it is a trap?”
The Chinese interpreter went to speak but the men in black help up their hands, “We can understand thank you, to answer your question we do not think so. This object does not appear to have the same power as the device that fell in
America.”
The men in black turned back to the room, “It should be ready to view now. We have it set up behind a large glass screen. Shall we go and see what secrets it may have.” It was not a question and as soldiers filed into the room to escort the men to the makeshift lab, a feeling of dread washed over the men.
The room was only a ten foot by ten-foot cube. The golden acorn sat behind a thick pane of glass, the device seemed to glow brightly in the dull artificial light.
“Take your seats gentleman.”
Behind the glass, several scientists were attaching a web of copper cables across the small device. The hope was that if they could electrically charge the atmosphere directly around the device it would cause a reaction."
Willy Brandt looked up, “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
"Yeah, this doesn't seem safe, what if we release another army?" Admiral Moorer exhaled.
The men in black turned, their dark sunglasses concealed their black soulless eyes, “We cannot say for sure but it is unlikely that this device is large enough to cause us any significant threat.”
This did not reassure the heads of state but they kept any further thoughts to themselves. The men in black kept a watchful eye on the scientists as they finished off the preparations; half an hour later they were finally ready for the first attempt.
The room had been a communications center but had hurriedly been formatted for the experiment; makeshift control panels lined the left-hand wall. The youngest of the scientific team was an engineer who had just turned thirty; he checked the power cables and then gave the thumbs up to the lead scientist.
The engineer quickly left the room and sealed the heavy steel door. The men in black nodded to the scientist who nervously returned the gesture. The forty-four year old gently turned the dial-up. Power rushed into the room and began to snake its way across the copper web.
The room watched as the power was gently turned up in stages. The room started to crackle as the electricity flowed through the cables and the heat inside began to seep out.
“Fifty percent.” The scientist called out, “holding steady!” replied the engineer.
The lights in the underground bunker flickered steadily for a couple of seconds and then went out.
Harold Wilson looked nervous, “Why have the lights gone out?”
“Nothing to worry about Prime Minister, we will need all available power from the base diverted to this project. Power will be restored when we have finished.” The men in black reassured him.
The three men running the experiment switched on their head torches so they could clearly see the displays. The wires attached to the devices swayed in the rising hot air, they danced about hypnotically and the copper wires glowed ever so slightly with a blue tint.
“Seventy-five percent!”
“Still holding steady.”
A large cracking sound resonated around the room as bright blue sparks stormed around the object; they raced faster and faster across the web of copper wires. One of the wires broke free and smashed into the glass barrier; it cracked slightly.
The men in the room continued to look worried as the electrically charged atmosphere grew larger still.
As the power level crept over ninety percent the acorn started to shake violently, the lightning spread across the room and claps of thunder boomed out.
The men in black turned to the scientist, “Raise it up to one hundred percent, we do not have time to wait.”
The man wanted to protest but he felt unable to resist, his hand moved on its own and turned the dial to maximum power.
Instantly sparks bounced off the side of the device, they ranged from a devilish red to a vibrant yellow tinge. The lightning bounced throughout the room, smashing off of the glass which caused small shards to break off and float in the electrical storm that raged inside.
The device glowed from inside, a brilliant bright yellow as it absorbed the power source.
It vibrated and shook violently and suddenly it shot up into the air; it levitated just below the ceiling. The wires attached to it strained as they were stretched to their limits.
The readouts on the control panel were redlining so the scientist went to shut the power down.
“Step away from the console.” The men in black chimed at him.
The scientist lowered his hand.
A deafening bang rang out as the control panel sparked, smoke billowed out and the electrical charge could not be held and started to dissipate from the room.
“We have lost all power, we can’t keep the atmosphere electrified, we must shut it down now or risk overloading the system and losing power from the whole base.”
“No,” The men in black said sternly, “Let’s see where this goes.”
The electrical storm continued to dissipate in front of their eyes, as the power left the small room the device stopped vibrating. Finally, the power left the room but the lights in the underground bunker did not come back on.
“God damn it, I knew this would happen. The fuse board must have been completely destroyed.” The engineer was about to open the large metal door to the room when a blinding light beamed out from the object.
Suddenly the whole room was illuminated as the acorn levitated towards the concrete roof, it hung suspended in the air mere inches room the ceiling. Out of nowhere, a huge purple beam of light spread out in all directions.
Everybody in the room shielded their eyes from the intense light. Another explosion echoed through the room and Harold Wilson was knocked to the floor. Admiral Moorer shielded the men behind him as the shockwave washed across the room.
The glass barrier shattered, sending shards in all directions, Sir Geoffrey yelled in pain, he could not see due to the bright light but he gingerly felt several shards sticking out from his right arm and upper calf.
The light disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared the power in the base flickered back into life. The room was filled with a pale blue layer of smoke. The men in black approached the broken window and peered inside.
The device had vanished but lying in the center of the floor was a long mental spear and a small disk-shaped object that laid flat. The round device was about as thick as a small bible.
Lights came back on all across the base. Then men in black turned to the shaken scientist. I want you to run some experiments on the objects left in the room, let’s find out what gifts they have left us.”
The scientist gingerly entered and slowly inspected the objects. The older man went to touch the small disc-shaped object but its display suddenly illuminated, the man jumped. When nothing else seemed to happen he picked the object up and turned it over in his hands; it looked like a futuristic watch.
Sir John Frewen checked over Sir Geoffrey’s wounds, he looked up to the men in black and shook his head. “He is in trouble.”
“Please get him the medical attention that he requires” The men in black responded to Sir John, “The rest of you please take your seats. We have a feeling you will want to watch the results of the experiments.”
Atlantis
The room was deadly quiet, only the gently shuffling of the scientist’s hands could be heard as they inspected the two objects that the acorn had left behind. The heads of state sat quietly with their heads bowed low like they were asleep.
The men in black watched patiently as the scientific team got to work. They had plugged the watch into wires from the base but as of yet, nothing had happened. The spear also refused to show its secrets as the thick metal was proving hard to cut into. The blades on saw that the engineer had used had snapped three times now; the engineer threw the broken tool to the floor and rested his head on the workbench.
Admiral Moorer was interested in the watch and he walked up behind the scientist. He started to ask questions.
“What is it? How come it has such a bright light coming from it?”
The scientist ignored him and carried on with his work.
Moorer pushed him out
the way and picked the object up from the table, he twiddled it in his fingers absentmindedly as the scientist tried to pull it from his grasp.
The men in black were about to tell the admiral off when he accidentally pressed the bright light in the center of the watch's face.
The device flashed into life, showering the room blinding beams of bright blue light. Moorer dropped the device and it bounced twice as it hit the concrete floor. The center of the device opened like a shutter on a camera lens.
A blue ghostly figure appeared to form from the blue light. It took the form of a female and just hung motionless in the air.
“What the hell is that?” Moorer said.
The Figure focused her eyes on him and he felt a chill run down his spine as the pale blue eyes made of light looked directly into him.
“Do not be alarmed people of earth.”
The room was astonished. “Shit she can speak?” Wilson said.
“Quiet, please let the lady speak.” Chimed the men in black.
The figure looked at her audience.
“Please listen, you do not have much time to save your planet. Please do not ask questions as my responses are limited.”
My name is Alia in your tongue. I am the leader of the Aryan government on our home planet.
The device that you call Die Glocke is in fact as an interdimensional gateway that our race has used to investigate earth on many occasions.
The figure paused, “The man that has brought his Aryan forces to attack The United States of America. Advisor A as you call him is actually the former general of our forces. His name is Atlantis.
Atlantis came to earth many thousands of years ago and set up an outpost which he named after himself. This outpost becomes ingrained in your mythology as the lost city of Atlantis. This analogy is wrong as the city was a military base. Atlantis was tasked by our leadership to explore Earth and document the planet. If there were no sentient life forms then he was to harvest the resources of Earth to further the development of our species.”