Chapter 1: Revelation

***

I heard the pilot, "We're here. Mr. Nerezza, please disembark now." There had been a blackout earlier at the airport, causing a little delay in the landing of the aircraft. I quickly moved down the steps to find a car waiting. "They've authorised us to get you straight from the airport landing strip. Planes aren't landing here for a while," a man nearby said. I already knew everything was not as it should be, so I followed on.

***

"You know what the mission file said?"
"Yeah," I replied.
"Forget about it. That's not your mission. And the second thing is that Dr. Cardino is already waiting for you."
"Huh? But..."
"Here's your new mission."
He handed me a new file.

***

I read through the file intently, finding its contents a little odd. It said that an electromagnetic pulse surged through the city earlier, causing blackouts in some places. They pointed it towards an outcome from the Spindark project that Reito was running. It also showed that Sulegna's prototypes failed considerably because it required certain conditions to function and that the government of Reito would not allow the project to recreate those conditions. "The Spindark and Sulegna projects were moving at amazing speeds until they both ground to halt for the same conditions. The Spindark team members did their own unauthorised search for the key resources by using the Spindark project," said the person next to me, who indetified himself as Ty. He further explained, "The project works immediately as soon as the human component is within range and partially aware of what's happening. The problem they had was that there were scanning when that human component suddenly became active and caused the project to activate, removing all electrical functions from all devices. Most Reito residents have been told that it is a normal blackout caused by simple lightning storms blasting power stations."

I looked out the window to find the rain pouring heavily. We pulled over in front of what appeared to be a lab complex. I could barely make out the signboard, but then I was told that the signboard was fake. We walked in. Time was moving quickly. I glanced at my watch and it showed 10pm. Since Reito was a neighbouring country, it was interesting to note nothing was becoming simpler.