Man in a Fishbowl

    Plop.
    Wow, would you look at that, there's another one just like me!  Whew, I thought I might get lonely staying cramped up here for the rest of my life.  Oh, look! Another one!  They say three's a crowd, but I say, the more the merrier.  Well speak of the devil, there's another!  Wait a second, there's one last one.  I'm surrounded.  Let's move a bit to the left- okay, that was just a coincidence.  To the right.  I'm getting a little freaked out now.  Dash left, forward flip, spiral, back down, left again, and a fake to the right.  Impossible!  I guess I am stuck after all.  Quit following me!  I don't get it, though.  I can see for miles, but these body guards just keep getting in my way- I can only move a few feet before they shove me back.  C'mon, let me go explore!  Sheesh, how boring- why won't you guys even talk to me?  Maybe if I mind my own business... and then make a break for it!
    Ping.
    Ow.  That hurt.  I just don't get it.  Wherever I go, they're there guarding me.  Whoever hired these people knew who they were looking for.  Maybe if I just take it easy.  Oh look, here's some good eats.  Mmmmm!  Tasty.  Go in a few circles.  Stare at my opponents a bit.  Well, at least they're not invading MY space.  Just keep yourselves over there, and I'll stay over here, and we'll all be happy.  Capice?  Now let's sit still for a minute.  Hmm, these blue rocks sure are funny looking.  Oh well.  Ah, that's relaxing.  Hey, you! Quit looking at me!  Hmm, this is getting bothersome.  Maybe if I try to jump over them...over the top.  Yeah...let's try that.  Go!  Faster, faster... oh no!  They're catching up!  Faster!! 
    Splosh.
    Whoa!  Complete scenery change.  What happened!?!  Where'd everybody go!?!  Uh oh...that ground sure looks awful far away- and getting less far.  Hmm, this is fun.  It's not this falling part I hate...it's the landing I'm worried about.  I sure don't see anything soft.  Well, I don't know.  That might be soft.
    Flump.
    That wasn't quite so bad.  Squirm squirm.  Hey, why can't I get anywhere?

    "Stupid fish.  Why won't he just stay put so he won't kill himself?  Maybe if he actually thought about what he was doing...  Do you think fish think about anything?"
    "I dunno, but you'd better get that thing back in there before it runs out of air."
    He scooped the goldfish up off the carpet and plopped it back into its tank.  "Maybe we should lay something on top of the tank so he can't jump out again."
    "Probably a good idea."
    He picked up a sieve and set it over the opening of the aquarium.  "There, that should keep him in.  Hey, c'mon, let's go do something else.  I'm getting sick of playing with this boring fish."

    "...And it was big and round and lights were blinking all around it and I saw it beam up one of my sheep with some green laser-looking thing.  I'd bet it was one of them new-fangled gov'ment operations that they was doin', but that's when I seen it come closer and saw those sensitive eyes- all three of them- through that window up front!"
    "And ma'am, when did you see all this?"
    "Just the other night!  Hold on."  Over the radio you could here the scratching of the lady moving her hand over her phone's receiver to muffle her voice.  Still, you  could hear her yelling to a companion in the room.  "What's that you say, Earl?  You said it's 'secretive' and not 'sensitive?'  Well, Earl, if I say anything about it now, then they'll know..."
    Before the lady could finish her sentence, there was a click, and a momentary silence before the news anchor took the attention back form the laughing local radio audience.  "And there you have it folks- from what we initially thought was a first hand encounter with the strange lights from last week, we now know it was simply a hoax.  We still await confirmation as to what last week's mysterious lights really were.  We apologize for the inconvenience and for not catching on to it earlier."
    The "On Air" light switched off in the news anchor's room after he had announced they were leaving for a short break.  He burst out laughing.
    "Can you believe that!  Sensitive eyes!  What sort of idiots are out there?  Here we have a dilemma on our hands- possibly the signs of a world-wide catastrophe, and people have the nerve to jeopardize the truth to the entire matter at the cost of all our lives!  I hate this town.  I have got to move elsewhere- I need intelligent life.  Alright, enough rambling, have any of you found anything on any astronomy sites?  Have you called up NASA yet asking them what's going on?"
    All that was returned were five blank stares and three head-shakers.  The eight-person research team was turning no new leaves in their search for an answer to the mysterious light.  They had been hoarding as many research materials as they could find- any link to possibly revealing the answer.  They had dug up phone numbers to international space organizations and anybody that could have been tied to the local airspace at that time.  Phoning through interpreters, going through every procedure possible to uproot the information- and nothing could be found out about the light.  The only news of any sightings had been local- but they all agreed something odd was afoot.
    "Alright people, we can't delay too much longer- people are getting sick of this story.  We need something new.  Hurry it up, we're running out f material to work with."  The anchor turned to see one of the technicians trying to get his attention telling him he was going to be on the air in five, four, three...
    "Welcome back, and on the international front, Palestine has formally abdicated all rights to any land in the Middle East to the adjacent Arab nations, who in turn have agreed to leave it be to Israel and their God..."

    Leaning over the map of the world, the scientist pointed to all of the highlighted areas.
    "The light was quick- it was only seen by this portion of the world populous.   If it had been slower, more people would have seen it from around the globe.  And, since observations were made nighttime and day, we can assume it had to have been of a magnitude less than negative six.  Anybody else want to add?" he addressed the others in the room.
    "Well, this is a somewhat less technical opinion, but I thought it looked a bit like a meteor."
    "I'd love to agree with something that simple, but the fact of the matter is that no meteor can be seen in broad daylight.  None.  We've got something very odd on our hands- and we need answers."
    "I suppose we need to start off with what we know.  What all can be visible during daylight?  Start listing these, would you.  Let's see.  There's the sun, obviously.  The moon on occasion.  Iridium satellites...  Hey, is that a possibility!?  What if one of these iridium satellites was knocked off course, accelerated in the atmosphere, causing a flare visible across the daytime sky.  You, go call up NASA and ask about their Iridium Satellite program- ask if one's missing."
    "No- stop right there.  What are you thinking!?  Were it an iridium satellite, then instead of this brad range of sightings," he motioned towards the map, "there would be a thin band of witnesses."
    They all sat back down, delving deeper into multiple possibilities.  "Is there anything else that might be seen in daylight?"
    "Moving that fast, no."
    Silence entangled the room once more as concentration became more intense.
    "What abou..." the man's speech was cut short as all attention was averted to a man rushing hurriedly through the door with a padded manila envelope in hand.  The man with the package fumbled with the envelope excitedly as he found it difficult to open the package with one hand and motion another person with a TV into the room.  He let out a faint chuckle as he resumed opening the package with both hands.  He found another way to multitask successfully- he began to address those seated.
    "Here I have a tape.  Somebody in North Carolina was tape recording an air show illegally and was able to catch this mysterious light on tape."  He produced the tape from out of the package.  "This person won't be prosecuted simply because of the value of this evidence.  Lucky him.  Now, let's observe closely."
    On the screen was a crimson Pitts S-2S careening through the air seemingly moving in random directions.  Without the slightest thought involved, the plane swooped upwards not affected by the gravity as its overpowered engine pulled the hull upwards effortlessly.  Black smoke began pouring out if the plane's exhaust as the TV related the engine's choking for oxygen- something was starving the engine from feeding the gas.  The plane slowed its climb as there were gasps erupting from the audience.  Screams of terror could be heard.  The plane slowed a bit more bucking the nose downwards.  Flash!  The camera hardly picked it up for speed- but that was unmistakably it.  The black smoke quit pouring from the plane, but the plane's decent seemed much less controlled than before.  The engine's start was delayed from before.  The pilot had been dazed for what he saw- almost blinded from being too concentrated, but his focus had been broken.  What was next in his performance?  Oh yeah, engine!  The engine clanked back on as the plane lurched towards the ground faster and faster.  Distance was closing quickly and the nose was pointed flush for the ground.  The pilot's reactions were plain from the awkwardness of each step.  Finally, the elevators snapped downwards, heaving the tail of the tiny biplane towards the ground.  Horror flooded the crowd's faces.  Was this part of the show?  The nose rose, but too far.  The plane was level, but still fell below.  There was too quick of a response.  The elevators lurched upwards again, lowering the nose slightly, before the elevators were again pulled downwards, slowly this time.  Control of the plane was won- with not a second to spare.  The plane leveled off feet hardly above the heads of the audience.  Click.
    The scientists gathered together heaved a sigh of relief for the avoidance of an accident.  "I figured you might enjoy a smidgen of suspense to help you escape your quandary.  Now, let's look at this with fresh minds."  He rewound the tape just to where the Pitts began spilling and belching black smoke.  The flurried lines on the screen stopped showing that the tape was going to play through again.  Click.  The tape proceeded to play, but in slow motion.  "Now, this will still be fast, but I think I have this timed..." Click.  "...right."  the screen was paused on a glowing ball of light in the sky behind a biplane just beginning to pitch downwards.
    "Now," he continued, "the important piece of information in this shot is not completely noticeable in this still frame, but let me help."  He picked up a meter stick from the table to use as a pointer.  "This 'light' was moving from right to left."
    "Are you sure.  Judging by that tail, shouldn't it be traveling left to right?" interrupted on of the seated.
    "Precisely.  As this person had videotaped the plane's descent, you can see certain landmarks.  At this time of day, the camera was pointing a slight southwardly direction.  Since this was in the afternoon, the sun was off to the west.  This 'light' was traveling towards the sun.  With a tail always pointed away from the sun, despite the direction, what might this be?"
    "A comet," responded everybody else in unison as a wave of realization spread over their faces.
    They sat there grinning with a sense of self-accomplishment.
    "Now, get to work."
    "Get to work on what?"
    "Did you forget that video already?  That comet was quite sizable.  And we've never noticed it before.  What if the next time around, it was closer to Earth?  What if it hit the Earth? We need to know when to expect it again- and where in the solar system it is.  If we lose track of it, that means almost certain doom for the human race."
    "Well, why didn't you say so?"  He pulled out a map of the solar system on top of the world map.  Different views on the paper showed the dimensions of the solar system and a large area beyond, depicted other major celestial bodies.  They quickly began working, compiling every bit of data possible.  Everything from times of sightings to reference points in the sky on the video.  They calculated the size of the comet and its geography.
    "Wow.  Something that big, traveling that fast would really send us for a spin if it hit us, wouldn't it?"
    Diligent work continued onwards as they then calculated the mass of the comet and how its momentum would depreciate the effects of the sun's gravity on it as it traveled around the sun.  Only a few hours passed before every bit of data had been compiled and processed.
    "Well, as far as we see it, the comet won't be back until 5093 AD.  Nothing to worry about."  He pointed to the newly highlighted trail on the map of the solar system.  "It seems that the next pass this comet makes, it'll give the other hemisphere a gander at it's magnificence- from a slighter further distance.  The comet will slowly back away from our orbit, so there's no need to worry at all."
    There were more grins of self-satisfaction as the data was organized to be sent off to be published.

    One of them drove the information to the archives.  He knew every bit of information in that folder beside the driver's seat.  He was no stranger to the physics of the cosmos, especially this case.  Nothing had ever been quite so puzzling before.  That was one fast comet.  Back in only a few thousand years?  Impressive.  Nothing was too difficult for his team though.  They could solve any problem of space.  And so precisely, too.
    Flash.  Skid!
    He lost complete control of the car as his hands went limp on the steering wheel.  He blinked a few times.  This couldn't be happening.
    Bang!
    The car came to rest with a tree impaled into its side.  This could definitely not be happening.  A dream?
    He looked beside him.  The papers were still there.  The folder was intact.  At least the important documents were safe.  Wait, but what was that?  He fumbled with his cell phone to dial back to headquarters.
    Busy.
    They must be flooded with phone calls- good.  I wasn't the only one that saw that.  He stepped out to examine the car.  No damage to the wheels, engine, or gas tank- it would continue to run fine.  He buckled back up and crept back onto the road.  A sense of disbelief still dominated his actions.  He moved sluggishly, tossing multiple scenarios back and forth in his mind.  Well, this time, it was directly overhead, but it was unmistakably identical to last week's comet.  Another comet?  Impossible.  Could it have been the same comet?  No, it wasn't sue back for another few thousand years.  He continued to throw different scenarios through his mind.  Maybe I should try to call again.  He fumbled with the phone once again.
    Ring.
    "Hello, this is Fred speaking.  I just saw another flash- and I take it I wasn't the only one.  Of course, I wrecked my car in the process, but that's not the point.  What was that, anyways?"
    "We're on top of that already.  Thankfully, we had some recording devices pointed straight up a the time, and caught it again."
    "Again?"
    "Yes.  We immediately compared the video for last week's observance to today's comet.  It's unmistakable- they are one and the same."
    Fred's jaw dropped and the car swerved across the other lane before he got a hold of himself.  He slowed and pulled onto the shoulder of the road.  "Well, then these are useless then, aren't they?"
    "Afraid so."
    "Well, alright.  I'll be right back."  Click.  He hung up.
    The car continued to run, but he unbuckled to reach across the car.  With one hand, he grasped the folder, and with the other, he opened the glove box and snatched a book of matches.  He slowly walked around his car and a little way into the woods adjacent the road.  He brushed off a patch of ground with his foot, and dropped the folder onto the clear ground.  He hunched over and ran a match across the starter strip on the book.
    Phssst!
    The stick burst into flame, and he carefully laid it atop the folder.  The hard cover at first seemed unaffected.  Then the area around the burning match head turned to darker shades as it faded to brown, then black, then the white of ashes.   Flames erupted atop the organized mass and crept down below, destroying every ounce of work put into the project.  At it's peak, the emanating warmth was enough to make him step back, and then the flames began to die down as all that was left was a small pile of grayish powder and few patches of scorched, but not yet burned, paper.  He returned to his car, and started slowly back to headquarters.

    He felt defeated that night.  He had put so much work into that project- such intenseness- and it was all a waste.  He just couldn't understand what was happening.  Everything he had ever known seemed to be falling to ruins.  What went wrong?  His group had never made an incorrect assumption about any floating space debris that they had.  He tossed this thought around his head a bit more- at least they had no idea that they were wrong in the first place.  Nobody was going to be around to tell them they were, in fact, wrong.  But, at any rate, their calculations had been correct.  Any simulation showed that their predictions were solid, so there was no reason to doubt their outcome.  But what went wrong this time?
    The thought continued to plague his mind- sleep would not find its way into his room at all.  He tossed in his bed over and over.  What went wrong?  No, I mustn't think about that.  I need to go to sleep.  Sleep, be still.  I'm tired, I want to go to sleep.  Try to wipe my mind clean.  Think about nothing.  Clear every thought away.  But what thoughts?  No!  Quit asking questions.  I need to go to sleep.  But it just isn't happening.  Why not?  I must be thinking to much.  But about what?  Oh yeah, what went wrong?  No, don't think about that...
    The pattern continued for hours.  He could not get comfortable at all.  Hmm, I just need to do something to relax myself.  He looked across the room and noticed the rather bright moonbeam illuminating the entire path into the hallway.  Yes, star gazing might do the trick.  Relaxing, surprising, and awe-inspiring all in one.  He was guided over to the closet by the moonlight.  He opened the door quietly.  As the light flooded into the closet, consuming the darkness, a telescope was revealed.  One he had had since his childhood.  In fact, the one that had inspired him into his current profession.
    It was rather large.  Sizable for a telescope, anyhow.  The four foot long black barrel was still as sleek as when it was new.  The only visible age on it was the reddish joints of the base and of the latitudinal and longitudinal knobs.  Even so, the rust had been polished off, leaving every bit of the telescope in smooth working order.  It was simply a residual stain from much usage.  The important thing is that it had been cared for these many years.  He had had to take it apart before to clean out the dust from on the mirror when he had neglected it once many years ago.  Ever since, he cared for the  instrument as if it were a child.  He gently removed the lens cap.  It always pleased him to stare down into it and see a larger image of himself staring back.  Whoops, too dark.  Still, he gave a gentle puff of breath to stir up any molecule of dust that might have meandered into the deep and wide shaft.  He bent down and hoisted it up by its legs and carefully found his way to his back deck.  It was nice having woods surround the back of the house.  It kept the area nice and dark- perfect for the stars.  He lengthened the legs for his own comfort in peering into the eyepiece.  Everything was calibrated.  Now for the fun to begin.
    He loosened the joints and manually turned it towards Orion.  He reengaged the latitudinal and longitudinal knobs for more precise movement.  He peered through the sights and aimed right below Orion's belt.  There.  He swiveled his head to peer through the eyepiece.  A colorful spangle of dust littered the sky with miniscule white dots peeping through.  It was always relaxing to see such wonders of the universe.  He wondered if anybody had ever caught a glimpse of a passing satellite with a telescope.  If any at all, it sure must be a rarity.  He tried to guide his way around to view Vega solely by navigating with the knobs.  He kept his eye to the eyepiece as he scrolled across the horizon.  Black, black, black, dark shades, black.  Whoa, what was that?  He stepped back and rubbed his eyes for a second.  Were his eyes playing tricks on him form sleep deprivation?  He shook his head to get a bit more blood flow to the region.  He sized up the telescope- pointing almost straight up.  He peeked back into the lens.  Slowly, he moved backwards from where he was.  Blackness, something else.  There.  What was that anyways?  He could barely make it out- but it was something he had never noticed before.  He pulled out a slightly more powerful lens and slipped it into the eyepiece.  He looked back into the mystery.  What if this was that "fast-moving" comet?  Wow, I might get some sleep after all!  He rested his hands on the focus knobs.  He rotated it slightly.  The blurry image began to materialize.
    He wasn't even partially prepared to see what he saw next.
    He stepped back and looked around.  Odd, there was nobody around.  Maybe somebody's tricking me.  He shook his head around a bit more.  He blinked his eyes a few times.  He must be imagining things.  He needed to get some sleep.  Maybe one more look.  He glanced back in.  He saw a dark outline- almost mechanical.  The only thing that hinted that it wasn't just a satellite right above him was that around it wasn't simply black- there was a shade to it- and nothing behind it.  That, his trained eyes knew immediately.  Oddly, though, there seemed to be some movement on it.  Just a slight bit of movement off to the side of it- what seemed to be an arm of this mechanical device.  Hmm.  He ran inside to grab some paper and a pencil.  He jotted down everything he could remember about it immediately.  Then he copied down the coordinates of the object.  Due up.  He had something important to do at work tomorrow.  He glanced back into the telescope one last time.  Still there.  Good.  Maybe it'll be there in the morning.  He picked up the telescope and took it back to his closet.  He replaced the lens cap smiling.  He laid back down in bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

    As he walked into work, he knew he had things to do, equations to figure.  It was only a short distance from his house to work, but there would be some degree of deviation.  Straight up over his house would mean an upper-eighties degree digit from a telescope at work.  And then he had to calculate the angle.  It wouldn't take much time.  He wouldn't be bothered by anybody else- he went straight to solving his problem.
    It had only taken an hour, even after he had mapped out where this mysterious object was.  Perhaps it was somehow linked to the recent comet.  He practically ran to the observatory with excitement.  If it had anything moving on it, it had to have been close enough to be seen in daylight with a telescope.  It wasn't too far away.
    He maneuvered the massive telescope around to the coordinates he had figured.  Okay.  He opened up the massive ceiling doors.  He looked back at the computer screens that displayed what the telescope was looking at.
    Nothing.
    Hmm, odd.  He slowly moved the machine up and down, along a vertical line- where the object should be.  Nothing to be seen anywhere.  His esteem still wasn't quashed.  There were a number of things that could have happened.  Either, it itself had moved.  Maybe his math had been incorrect.  He didn't after all, have anybody to check his work.  The daylight might have even obscured his view despite his assumptions.  It would just have to wait.  He closed everything back up and went back to doing what he normally did.

    When he got back home, he ran straight back up to his closet to grab his telescope.  Even though every bit of evidence he had pointed to the object's moving, he wanted to give one last try.  Even from his childhood, he had a strong desire to make a major astronomical discovery.  This was his chance to shine.  He wanted to make sure that every facet of finding this object again had been exploited before he would give up.  Every single one.
    He laid it down on the deck where he had it last night.  He double checked the coordinates with the readings on the telescope's gauges.  It all matched up.
    It had a pompous look about it, pointing straight up like that.  As if it were boasting of some achievement, and that it was in the final stages of reaching a new status.  It stood majestic clinging to the tripod like the shuttle ready for launch.  Perfection.
    Sweat had begun to gather on the palms of his hands, so he wiped them off so he could focus the lens without slipping.  It was the moment he had been waiting for all his life.  He lowered his head down to peek inside the eyepiece.
    Only the telescope itself could judge his expression.  With his face pressed up to it so, it masked anybody that might see him from glimpsing his reaction.  But the telescope saw his entire face.  For the brief second, his smile had dropped to a quizzical frown, and to an overall face of disgust.  Simultaneously, his eyes had been squinting, to squinting harder to make out every detail of what he was staring at, to batting back and forth with every piece of logic his consciousness could match with the situation.  His nose didn't do much in that time span, but his face did manage to wrinkle up slightly before he simply slipped sideways into unconsciousness.

    Upon awaking hours later on the hard surface of the nailed-in planks of the deck, he had no idea what to make of the situation.  But, of course, little could he make of the situation now and forever more.  What he had seen had ruined his life.  But he did not quite know this yet.
    He only moved the telescope in out of the elements, not worrying about carefully placing it back into its haven.  As it was bedtime, he was physically tired and knew he needed to rest.  He could feel how mentally tired he was as well, but his brain continued to chug along as it pondered it's decryption of his eyes' optic signals.  He stared at his ceiling all night, not once drifting near sleep because even with his eyes closed, he experienced what he had seen again.  He could not escape this now.
    When the sun had peeked just over the horizon, he knew it was almost time for work.  He began to get ready despite of his fatigued condition.  He drove to work oblivious to his surroundings.  It was a wonder he hadn't killed anybody, but he was genuinely dumbfounded.  He called upon his fellow workers.
    Already, they were skeptical of what he might say.  His bloodshot eyes and inanimate condition lead them to believe something was wrong with his state of mind.  As he began his case, the emotion in his voice took a leave of absence.
    "Yesterday, I thought I had come across something amazing.  Even my flighty imagination prepared me for the most extravagant possibilities to my endeavor.  Still, I was ill prepared.  Never in my dreams could I imagine something so wondrous and mysterious, yet fear has overwhelmed my being.  What it is, I do not know.  All I can say is that when I looked into the heavens yesterday afternoon, I didn't find any celestial body- but I did find a body- my own body.  I found myself, standing beside my telescope, gazing into it, and looking at myself. I..."
    Before he could continue, somebody began to pat him on the back as they made some motions to some other person.  he felt comforted for a few minute- until the police entered to escort him away.  From there, he traveled to the police station where which his course was directed towards a mental institution.  Something was going on.  Something was very wrong.

    News is a most curious thing.  The simplest stories gain the ability to reach into multiple homes.  From there, the most curious of minds can be stirred, causing a wondrous fascination in realms unknown.  All it takes is a single curious mind to transport the information onto a new frontier of truthdom on a broader scale.  And then, the seeming simplest of news can become the most global of problems.  All it takes is one.

    Had the town been much bigger, the story wouldn't even have made the air, but times were dull, so it gained a few seconds of popularity.  Just long enough for somebody to wonder if there was anything more to it.
    This time, the results were moderately expected.  A lone soul that had heard about another's misfortunes decided to test the relevancy of the situation.  A fair amount of logic was applied to the possibility of such an occurrence.  As he had been a personal friend, the grapevine delivered a few extra details that others would never have received.  The basis of his friend's mental case rested on the basis of his muttering of seeing himself in the sky- and acting non too normal.  In order to see any reflection of yourself, you must stare straight into the reflector.
    He pulled out his telescope from a dusty old box that he hadn't regarded in years.  It might finally be of use.  He set it up quickly and took it outside.  He added a moderate power lens to the eyepiece just to make sure he didn't miss anything.  He swiveled the telescope around in random movements, keeping his head braced to the eyepiece.  Minutes passed without result.  As he lost interest, he lost his balance and fell into the telescope, knocking it off course.  As he sat and cursed the entire situation, he took a final peek into the telescope.  There he was, legs sprawled out- inside the lens.  He took one arm and waved it around, keeping his eye to the telescope.  The figure inside waved a salutation.  Straight up.  He noted the position of his telescope.  Without any type of respect for the instrument, he loaded it up and headed off for the local astronomical specialists.
    As with all news, if you take it to the right people and convince them, it will be able to work its way to every nook and cranny of the planet.

    Not a single space program was left out of the loop.  It had only taken a matter of time before the new celestial curiosity had gripped the entire world into the anticipation of a new frontier.  Every one scrambled their engineers from working on the banal tasks of further research in a weightless environment, to discovering what it was- this shroud that had caught everybody's interest.  Each and every program was going to be the first to find out every detail about it.
    It was to nobody's surprise that every preparation had been made in three months' time.  Each program was ready, separate from each other.  Nothing was going to stop them from launching immediately.
    Though it may seem a coincidence, the launches were most surely not.  Many flocked to the launch areas to see history be made- mankind's leap to yet another frontier.  Despite how each program had their launch timed, once the first ignition had taken place, word quickly spread- and every rocket was soon on its way carrying its satellite probe to explore this curious matter.  From every corner of the globe, many bodies became flared with an exceptional feel of nationalism as they competed to be first- the first to solve the mystery.  Rocket engines pounded towards the ground as if trying to contest the cheers from below.  The cheers crescendoed as the rocket began skyward, but with the gathering distance from Earth, the engine's grumble died away- as did the cheers.  There was still a sensation of accomplishment in the air everywhere for each individuals own nation.
    It was a very proud day.

    In a matter of minutes, in accordance with their design, the rockets shed their outer skins as the more fragile insides were revealed, carrying its precious cargo deeper into space.  More and more fuel was spent with each mile gained from their home planet.  With a final sigh, the satellites broke loose from their vehicles and began a silent ride into the unknown.  Nobody knew how long it'd be for them to reach their destination- everybody had perceived differently.  Was the material gaseous or solid?  Perhaps it was liquid.  Assumptions were made and were passed into factuality without solid basis.  All anybody could do to find the truth was to wait.  Until what?

    It was only two hours into the campaign.  The excitement and bustle of Mission Control in Houston had quickly faded into routine and methodical monitoring of the satellite's status.  It was calm and silent with a mild-toned conversation taking place.  Each member was concentrating on their monitor in a half trance knowing that most of their vigil was vain.  Nothing would happen.
    All at once, everybody jolted into full consciousness and began screaming back and forth for confirmation.  Nothing could be understood amid the sudden chaos.  Every monitor had flat lined.  From where they had had a satellite at one moment, there was now none that registered on their instruments.  Immediately, hypotheses were formed.  An attack?  By whom?  Too many people had had launches on the same day- it could have been anybody.  A collision?  An alien?  Thoughts raced through every mind.  Thoughts that all disappeared into the air for no rationality could be found.  They were all mad though.

    That very same anger was shared- worldwide.  Every monitor for every launch that day had ceased to acknowledge the existence of any satellites within a matter of minutes.  Trillions of dollars were thrown away.  It had all disappeared.  And the first thought of anybody was, "Who did it?"
    Within no time at all, pointing fingers were being directed across international phone ties.  International leaders were being notified of terrorist activities in orbit by some adversary.  There was foul play at hand.

    There's a certain beauty to private operation.  At some points, it can be shadowed by the matter of funding, but grants have their way of shedding light into the darkness.  The most beautiful part of it all is its freedom.  Within its own rights, the operation is free to move in any way in which it pleases- something that can rarely be done when there is any tie with the government.  For the government not only creates bindings itself, but in being affiliated with it, many of the government's problems soon turn into stumbling blocks for those that rely on it.  Freedom is quite a beauty.
    It was a real shame that every nation was crying, "War!"  It threw a wrench into most every aspect of prosperity.  Once again, unprecedented finger-pointing back and forth tossed blame from one to the next, all while a little company based on the western coast of the island of Hawaii took more rational action.  A soon as the first satellite disappeared, they began building yet another one to serve a completely different purpose.  It was a tremendous amount of money to be used on their own part, but the heads of the company took into account the financial surplus they had transporting civilian company products into space.  They had plenty to put into another satellite- but they didn't have enough to simply throw away a project.  They simply thought of the first accident as a down-payment to the furtherance of mankind- and a unique opportunity to eliminate any competition.  Everybody else was busy acting like children!
    With a completely different plan in mind, there wasn't as much need to throw on a bunch of fancy information gathering equipment.  All they had felt was necessary to include on this launch was a satellite that had enough fuel to maneuver itself around marginally and a video relay back to mission control.  It took all of three weeks to get everything assembled.  Because if the light load, they didn't need any top-grade rocket.  Only something  big enough to throw it into the big unknown.

    With no evidence to prosecute any supposed perpetrators of national defense, most international hostilities died down to a slight murmur.  Especially in contrast to the next big story.
    Some unknown American space agency had launched a rocket recently.  Immediately perceived to have been carrying a warhead, many radars were tracking its whereabouts just in case this was the evidence of the foul play from the satellite massacre.
    Inside the mission control, Riptide Orbital Transport and Exploration technicians watch the rocket deliver its cargo more slowly as well as monitor the surrounding airspace.  The CEO of ROTAX had called  the FAA just a little earlier to gain clearance for the airspace needed for an extraplanetary launch.  ROTAX gained the clearance, but the FAA hadn't had very much time to publicize the warning for the area, causing much of the international panic.
    Thankfully, before any extreme measures were called upon, caution was looked to in asking the US government what it was up to.  It was not like a straight answer could be given, but it established enough belief to postpone the launch of any ICBM's just yet.  So far, it seemed that this rocket was just careening upwards.  Zero threat.

    ROTAX kept careful watch of their precious satellite- this was it.  If anything were to go horribly wrong this time, they could no longer pursue this mystery- much less any other extracurricular activity.  With the failure of the last mission, a financier nearly revoked his entire investment.  Fortunately, he was talked back into the matter with the explanation that everybody else had the same problem and that plans were already being drawn to remedy the failure.  It was time.
    The final stage of the rocket separated, exposing the delicacies of the satellite.  While it currently was on a straight path away from its home, it would eventually find a place to orbit slowly, exploring the entirety of the above extravagance.  A small cloud erupted from the bow of the craft.  It's speed slowed.  The sensors told so, and the specialists inside ROTAX Mission Control noted that everything was going according to plan.  The cloud continued to spill out as the craft barely began to crawl on its path away from Earth.  The velocity had to be reduced quickly in order to ensure the instruments' safety- the distance from the crash sites was unknown.  Somebody should have been keeping tabs on distance somewhere around the world, but for such an early stage in the mission for craft traveling at such speeds, a specific passage of time and space was difficult to judge.  The instruments indicated a velocity of eight kilometers per hour and the valve was turned off to the frontal gas-release.  It was traveling at a brisk walk as far as any human was concerned, but to heavy, fragile machinery, it was pushing the comfort factor.
    Better safe than sorry, the cliché goes.
    One of the technicians sitting in the instrument room began to daydream as he stared at a picture of his family.  Why, when he was as old as his son was now, he remembered looking at new houses with his parents.  They had been looking for a new house, and had visited a few.  He chuckled as he reminisced about going to one of the houses that was currently occupied.  They went for something of a tour of it when he had gained the whim of going out the front door and checking out the lawn.  He wandered away from his parents and twisted the handle of the wooden door- the vast yard unfolded before him.  All of the splendid shades of greens danced in his eyes accompanied by a few hues of brown in the tree bark.  So much yard!  It had been overwhelming to his young mind.  He took a step outside.
    Bam!
    Slightly startled with a sore nose, he had stuck his arm out and found the glass door.  So embarrassed.  He had been a klutz from day one...
    Blip! Rrrrrr!
    He snapped back into the present as his focus returned to the panel in front of him.  The satellite's velocity had abruptly changed form the brisk walking pace to a steady nil.  That was the blip from his own monitor.  From all around, steady high-pitched hummings were emitted from other screens while a few alarms warned all the occupants of some damage to the craft.
    The manager of the mission called role to compile the status of the satellite.  Wounded, but not destroyed.  It no longer had the ability to maneuver around, though it could roll around to view the situation.  Camera was operable, as were communications- obviously.  That was all that was important.  They silenced the machines that continued to distress over some damage to its relay, and all was silent.  There were a few commands as a video screen was illuminated on the wall at the front of the room.   The imagery shown was that of the satellite's view.  More commands were tossed about to roll it around slowly.  The camera shifted.  Halt!  The screen stopped moving as stars composed the entire screen in a symphony of hues and intensity.  The aesthetic view calmed every nerve in the room.  The view began to zoom into the vastness. A dot soon appeared that grew.  Details of the object began to jump out as the lens inside the satellite began to focus itself.  The technicians began to cringe in their seats.  Something horrible was afoot.  The majestic scene of the heavens and its endless expanse of celestial bodies was now replaced fully by a grotesque wad of metal and machinery that could hardly be made out to be a mangled and maimed satellite launched only weeks before.  A few even stood to pay their respects to the broken machine for it had been destroyed in the line of duty.  The camera zoomed back out and began panning across the diamond studded blanket of black.  The large blue orb of Earth filled only half the screen without any zoom, giving the viewers an idea of how far away their baby had stopped.  Without pause, it continued around.  Nothing else was to be seen.  It kept moving around- and then the entire screen swept into an utter blackness.  Not even a star shone.  They thought the optical systems on the satellite had failed, even though the data said it was in optimum condition.  The satellite was rotated a bit more- there were some stars.  Everything was alright- so what was this?  It was rotated back into complete darkness.  The command was given to open the frontal gas release.  The command was sent to the satellite.  No response.  The control surface was dead.  Blast! They had gotten too close to the mystery.  Now they couldn't tell exactly what it was, but the footage from scanning across the vastness would give them an idea of distance allowing for a rescue effort to be made by living beings and experiments could be implemented.
    The tape was copied and immediately rushed into the mail for urgent delivery to NASA headquarters for further reviewing.  ROTAX would finally be recognized internationally!  They had done what no one else had done and saved the world!

    Everything was calm- the same type of calm that follows every calm.  The tumult beats down upon the earth, purging it of the evils of the dry, stagnant air.  With the passing of the clouds, everything seems renewed.  The freshness is absorbed in everything, giving all the surroundings a feel of purity unmatched by anything else.
    In that freshness, a dark speck grew smaller and smaller amid the vast blue tint of forever.  He lay in the early morning grass upon a blanket staring upward, following the speck to its unknown destination.  Most everybody else just watches the launch and leaves, but today, she felt a new sense of freedom, of detachment from all the problems of the world.  Why he felt that way, he couldn't much say, but his overall contentment made him want to watch it all- until the dot couldn't be seen anymore- until the vapor trail was lost in time.
    Perhaps he had places to be, but he didn't much care at the moment.  He just let his mind roam.  As far as he was concerned, his imagination was right there with the rocket, right at the limit of sky and space. 
    He just sat, basking in his surroundings- so peaceful.  There was nowhere else he would rather be.  His mind was blank, joining in the surrounding tranquility, adding to it.  He heaved a great sigh, wishing he could always be like this.  Life was always so hectic.  Other peoples' problems being thrown at him, his own problems to deal with- the basic idiosyncrasies of life.  But this, this simple time of relaxing and doing nothing- not a single worry- this is his sole enjoyment.  Loneliness.  On occasion it can be a horrible thing.  But not always.  Sometimes, it's what you need.  Some time to yourself, to let everything go.  Getting away from it all.  But it wouldn't last- he knew that.  Soon, he'd have to get up and slide right back into his normal routine.  But, what about now?  Savor the moment.  He closed his eyes.  Darkness.  There was another thing that most people had a misconception of.  Darkness is the realm of the unknown- that's what scares most people.  But it always reminded him of space.  The darkness, the spangles of light.  He could almost feel himself just lift off the ground and glide along with the breeze from his lack of weight.  Darkness wasn't something of which to be scared, it was something  to explore.  He loved to delve right into the unknown with the hopes of figuring it out.  He loved his adventuresome spirit.  In fact, he had always wanted to be an astronaut.  That was the great unknown.  That's where he wanted to be, his niche.  But one of the lucky few he wasn't.  He could only land a job here on Earth.  He thought it with an almost despicable tone.  Earth- everybody has set foot on Earth- but not everybody has set foot on the air- not everybody has set foot on nothing and floated still.  He enjoyed the ranks of the few.  Always.  At least he had landed a job with aerospace.  It was close to his niche.  In fact, so close, he didn't mind it so much.  He thoroughly enjoyed it.  Still, he had an innermost longing for space.  The white conical column seemed to widen as it dispersed.  Only a little left.  That was all that intruded on the solid blue.  Almost gone.  Just like his life.   Sure, he had quite a few more years- but that wasn't so much to go.  There were still many more things to be done, many more goals to accomplish.  Even those that he had set for himself since his childhood.  Well, the whiteness was gone.  He sat for a few minutes still, enjoying the uninterrupted blueness.  Soothing.  Aww, back to work.

    Back to work has a thousand different meanings.  For some who are enrolled in careers completely opposite their interests, it has the absolute worst feel about it.  Every letter of the syllable oozes discord and harshness.  And then there are those who work for what they love.  They revel in the job and have an utmost loyalty for their overseers and the highest esteem for their accomplishments.  Finally, there are those who simply fear their jobs.
    All seven of them were deployed in a tin can to go check out some invisible thing a few thousand miles above the earth that had only caused numerous routes of destruction for any attempt into its exploration.  They felt that same air of destruction beating on their chests as they grew ever closer to their goal.  Nobody knew what to expect.  None of them really had much of a hope in getting back home.  It was all gone.  They were enthusiastic about being able to go up again, but the shadiness of the future cast a veil over all their joy.  What had they gotten into?  Morale was severely lacking, but they had their mission ahead of them, and everything was planned out thoroughly.  Well, so said the engineers who planned out their entire route.  All seven of the crew members had no reason to believe anything the preflight briefings had pumped into their skulls.  Though that was the information they were going to abide by throughout the mission, in the backs of their minds still hung a disfavored opinion of the entire idea.  More tests should be done before risking lives.  But no, NASA had to continue headstrong into the matter, as if the Cold War was still in full swing and the Soviet Union was in competition for some acclaim found in the heavens.  More detrimental to the thoughts of these seven was that it wasn't just any life being put up for ante in a childish race, it was their own.
    They were in the upper atmosphere, so they had taken apart most of the safety harnesses gluing them to the chair during liftoff.  They enjoyed a few seconds of free floating before getting down to serious business.  Their goal was so close that they had no time to relax- immediate action must be taken in order to save any of their lives.  Together, they maneuvered the rocket around to slowly approach the airspace above Hawaii.  The main goal of their mission was to repair a few of the wounds of ROTAX's satellite in order to use it to perform most of the operations in examining this barrier.
    They were supposed to be getting fairly close to the satellite, so they took to the proper measures to slow themselves down to a reasonable docking speed.  As the satellite came into view and grew quite large in view, one of the members operated the docking arm, assuring the proper alignment of the two floating objects.
    The shuttle gave a shudder as the alliance was made.  Oops, the shuttle had almost passed by the satellite, but before any contact with the invisible shield could be made, one of the astronauts was able to notice the shuttle's movement and halt it.  The mission was carried out with the utmost precision so far- the satellite and shuttle were both equidistant from the earth.  Now to implement procedures.
    Already, a few of the astronauts were suiting up for extravehicular activities.  It would take quite a bit of work to repair the satellite to an operable status- and that work needed to be quick.
    Soon, a swarm of astronauts attempted an attack on the malfunctioning parts of the satellite.
    Attempted.
    They clambered towards the satellite with the appropriate gear, taking care not to hit the satellite too hard.  Four of them were swarmed around it, beginning to make their way around to the side facing Earth, where the control unit was located.
    Thump.
    To them, it seemed as if the satellite was lying down on some surface, keeping them from getting to the control area.  But, logically thinking, they knew it wasn't lying on something- but there had been something that moved in right underneath the satellite after they had positioned the shuttle.  All four lined up on the invisible wall, pounding on its surface.  It soon dawned on them that were locked out of home.  There was no getting back.  The four astronauts participating in the EVA quickly guided themselves back to their ship.  They needed to do something quick.  Telling Houston sounded like a good idea.  Let their engineers figure it out.
    Within minutes, an answer found its way back.  According to logic, the barrier must be rotating.  ROTAX had even reported moments ago of some visibility window that opened up temporarily- where they could see stars where before was only darkness.  Also added by ROTAX was the fact that the hole closed up again after several minutes.  There must be at least one hole in the wall, one right there that the astronauts had found.  Along with the rotation, the hole had moved elsewhere.
    Along with the fear of losing their lives, the astronauts grew into a stage of desperation and panic.  If they sat still, they would surely die- they figured it must be best to take a chance and try to find the hole.  They radioed to Houston asking for which direction the hole might have moved.  The only answer that could be given was that nobody knew anything.  The size of the hole was unknown.  The speed of the rotation was unknown.  The direction of rotation was unknown.  The satellite was just too close to the wall to get any accurate readings.
    Complete dismay now cluttered the thinkings of the astronauts.  They floated around, discussing what their next course of action might be.  They could try and sit around and wait for the next round of the hole.  Or maybe the rotation was slightly out of kilter, meaning the hole would never revisit that spot.  Scratch that idea.  Perhaps they could pick a random direction and conquer the probability of choosing the direction identical to that of the rotation.  A one-in-three hundred sixty chance didn't sound all that appealing, either.  Finally, it was suggested that they move away for a bit, and then burn the engines to try and gather enough momentum to break through the barrier.  This way, if things did go other than planned, they would be sure of a quick, painless death.  They all agreed- at last they had a chance of survival.  They scrambled to their stations, preparing to commence their plan.  They ran the plan by Houston, who voted against its implementation- they were not ready to lose one of their multi-million dollar craft at the expense of a whim!
    For a minute, the astronauts considered the reply- but decided it was still not logical to wait.  What could Houston do anyways?  If they survived, then they will have saved one of NASA's precious shuttles.  If they died, they would go out in an effort of survival, never having to suffer any consequences for perhaps being wrong.  What real control did Houston have over them anyways?  None- all they could offer was suggestions.  They initiated the attempt by engaging rear thrusters, launching them away from earth.  After a minimal burn, they disengaged the thrusters, letting themselves just glide away endlessly.  For the next while, their ears were filled with reprimands from Houston, telling them the fault in their decision.  All seven of them took turns mocking their overlings on earth.  Pity there wasn't a manual override installed on the shuttles!  Alrighty, they agreed they had gone far enough.  They worked a few simple calculations regarding the burn- ensuring that they left enough fuel to correct their heading in case of a success- so they could get back home.  A thirty second burn should suffice.  They all strapped in, already bracing for impact, hoping for the best.  They were pointed straight towards earth as the captain held a shaky finger over the ignition button.  They all did a countdown together- and everybody's fists clinched as they were shoved into the backs of their seats.  One of them kept time, waiting for the moment to disengage.  Wait, wait, wait- now!  Just as he lowered his hand to disengage the engines, there was an awful shake as something seemed to caress the outer hull.  It wasn't that of the barrier shattering, but of something hitting their back end, sending them off course, at an angle to the earth.  It took a second for him to regain his bearings before halting the burn.  They were spinning slightly, not straight for the barrier, either.  Defeat.  As the craft slowly careened around, they caught a glimpse of another, older satellite from many years before.  Apparently, it had collided in its orbit, knocking them away.  Impossible luck!  Nothing was this bad!
    They should have hit the barrier by now, so they began to brace for impact.  Anxiety burned inside them for such a turnout to their plan.  They should have been finished...  They were all slung around with an abrupt change in velocity.
    Hmph.  More dismay was displayed as they found that they were neither dead nor past the barrier.  It became apparent that they had hit the barrier at an angle that had only launched them back into space.  Without much fuel, either- it would be impossible to correct their course now.  Doomed.  They unstrapped again, knowing that nothing else could possibly get in their way.  They did a check on their systems, seeing exactly to what degree the satellite and invisible wall had torn the craft apart.  Severed wing, general computer failure, power failure, oxygen leak, fuel leak...  There was no way that life could be supported much longer.  Nobody needed to tell them that.  Even if they had something to work with that might save them, they still hadn't the ability to radio to Houston asking for some type of verbal assistance.  They were all deeply depressed.  Almost nothing else could be done.  Their only consolence was in their knowledge of the survival of their cyanide tablets.  Slightly grim- but better than watching each other starve and suffocate and freeze...etc.  They began to solemnly pass them out as they each agreed to go climb into their respective sleeping bag and go to sleep.  At least to look like they were only going to bed.  They were all ready to end this mission.  They were all convinced it was doomed form the beginning, and now they had proof.   They all turned around and began heading towards their sleeping quarters.  As they crawled into their beds, a light began to stream in through the opposite window.  The light grew in intensity until they were certain it couldn't be the sun.  They all crawled back out to investigate, but were rather surprised to find themselves fall to the floor.  There came a pounding on the door.  Curious.  With a screech of defeat, the metal on the side of the craft gave way, allowing even more light to stream in.  The astronauts squinted as they tried to make out the figures working their way towards them.  They appeared humanoid.  The seven decided to give up on everything they were sensing and drifted out of consciousness.  The last thought of the captain as he drifted away: "Horrible thing, hypoxia..."

    "...And on the local scene, the space shuttle believed to have been lost in space was recently discovered in the backyard of a local resident.  All seven were found to me excellent physical condition, though mental state had declined considerably.  Each was found with a cyanide tablet in hand.  It is hard to say exactly who was more surprised, the astronauts or the homeowners, but the entire incident has cast a shadow into the matter.  Inspections will be conducted later this evening into the belief of a conspiracy involving the homeowners and NASA.  According to critics, this may lead to the uncovering of a giant government scandal that utilized NASA to raise funds for government use- other than use on any type of space project.  In essence, it is a severe possibility that this incident, though joyous, may lead to discovering the secrets of a country-wide hoax that has plagued our society over the past many years..."

    He shook His head.  "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?  Would you discredit My justice?  Would you condemn Me to justify yourself?  Do you have an arm like God's and can your voice thunder like His?  Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.  Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low, look at every proud man and humble him, crush the wicked where they stand.  Bury them all in the dust together, shroud their faces in the grave.  Then I Myself will admit to you that your own right hand can save you.
    "Look at the behemoth which I made along with you and which feeds on grass like an ox.  What strength he has!  He ranks first among the works of God, yet his Maker can approach him with the sword.  Can you pull in the leviathan with a fishhook or tie down his tongue with a rope? If you lay a hand on him you will remember the struggle and never do it again!   No one is fierce enough to rouse him.  Who then is able to stand against Me?
   " Everything under heaven belongs to Me."

-Keith Smithson-

Author's Note: That last paragraph took a LOT of thinking to do.  I wanted a message that was powerful, spoken by God- but I knew I needed to avoid any realm of         blasphemy.  But, it simply popped into my head my favorite passage- from Job- that conveys exactly what I was trying to convey.  I think I still retain the meaning of the entire story and avoid any blasphemy.  I took it from Job 40-41, with a bit of skipping to take what I needed.  I do not believe I have altered the meaning of the verses- as the context between the Bible and this story remain quite parallel.  But, if anybody does in fact spot any misgiving, please notify me so that appropriate measures can be taken.  Oh, and final word, the last paragraph may seem detached, but really ponder every aspect of what is being said- and through that, you'll understand the entire story.