Just like countless people around the world whose news broadcasts and other TV programs had suddenly been cut off.
The students at Stanford University in America's California had also gathered around every television in classrooms, dorms, and even the cafeteria, staring blankly in disbelief.
On the screens, two fleets faced off in the vastness of space, seemingly in orbit beyond Earth—a scene straight out of the incredible space battles in the hit movie Star Wars.
"You've got to be kidding me. This is a hoax, right?"
Buzz!
Across the American Continent, the sky was covered by an endlessly vast curtain of icy blue light, visible to everyone who looked up. Countless purple-red shockwaves bombarded it, bursting into brilliant ripples of energy.
The ensuing vibrations swept almost all the clouds from the sky. In an instant, the sky above North America became a flawless, pure-blue sapphire.
And then, after this celestial spectacle visible to all humanity, the television footage appeared a dozen or so seconds later.
The white Space Fortress surrounding Earth's orbit and the long, blue-black rectangular warship were bearing the brunt of the Kree Empire's expeditionary fleet's barrage. Blue energy shields flared around them, protecting Earth.
The students on Stanford's campus fell utterly silent. No one questioned whether the footage was real anymore. All that remained were flushed faces and the sound of people swallowing hard.
After a long moment, a gaunt Black student with a Queens, New York accent dropped the spoon he'd been holding over his onion soup and stammered:
"Aliens... Earth... Oh God, Earth's being attacked by aliens?"
As if seeking support, the skinny young man instinctively grabbed a fellow student by the shoulder and shook him. The two were both pursuing doctorates in materials science and applied physics. He asked the white student again, almost