Maintenance on the global DNS root servers had crippled the internet, sending public discourse around the world back to the age of television and newspapers. Without the internet's information explosion, governments actually had ample time to respond to the chaos and manage public opinion.
For the first time since 1990, traditional television ratings surpassed those of new media. Unable to vent online or dredge up history, many people were pacing in frustration.
Two hours after the "Houston meteorite" crisis.
In Washington, the White House press secretary stood behind the familiar podium.
On the other side, a spokesperson stood in the Blue Hall.
At the same moment, both sides read out the same statement. Apart from changes to the subjects of the sentences, the two were virtually identical, as though they had been handed mirror copies of a script.
Regarding the fall of the "Orion return capsule" and the explosion of two intercontinental missiles above Houston, the White House press secretary offered the following explanation:
"At 7:42 a.m. Eastern Time, the early-warning system of the North American Aerospace Defense Command detected an unidentified meteorite entering Earth's atmosphere at an abnormally high speed, with a projected impact point in the Gulf of Mexico. An assessment of its size and mass determined that it posed a risk of causing a major disaster in densely populated coastal areas."
"Within three minutes of receiving the briefing, our great President Vance made the decision to launch a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile to destroy the meteorite through kinetic interception. Meanwhile, a friend of the United States informed us through a military hotline that one of its strategic nuclear submarines patrolling the Gulf of Mexico had also observed the same target and was willing to coordinate an interception..."
"..."
In short, a meteorite had come hurtling out of the sky, and two responsible major powers, acting out of concern for all humanity, had conducted emergency land-based and sea-based interceptions.
As for why the other party's nuclear submarine had appeared in the Gulf of Mexico, never mind that.
Halfway through the interception, both sides suddenly discovered that the supposed "meteorite" was actually the return capsule of the Artemis Moon Landing Program's Orion spacecraft and immediately called an emergency halt.
The two missiles self-destructed at an altitude of approximately 42 kilometers. The explosions produced enormous fireballs that left the citizens of Houston with psychological scars they would never forget.
To certain witnesses who had seen the "return capsule accelerate" with their own eyes, however, this explanation was riddled with holes.
Quite a few people wanted to make the truth public.
But Houston's residents soon discovered that maintenance on the global DNS root servers had left the internet almost completely paralyzed. They had videos and photographs, but no way to upload them.
It was easy to imagine that, by the time the internet recovered, the authorities would also have had ample time to arrange for these newly uploaded videos to be blocked.
People around the world following the incident could only obtain information through live television broadcasts.
Seemingly to bolster the statement's credibility, the White House press secretary also took the opportunity to condemn the other party's submarine for secretly lurking in the Gulf of Mexico without prior notification.
How was that any different from planting mines outside someone's front door?
The United States, Mexico, and Cuba all held certain sovereign rights over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Mexico's exclusive economic zone accounted for 47.67% of its area, the United States' for 44.75%, and Cuba's for 5.23%. In other words, only 2.34% of the entire Gulf of Mexico was actually recognized by the United Nations as high seas, or international waters.
And the Jin-class nuclear submarine just happened to be hiding in that tiny patch of "international waters."
In principle, the Jin-class nuclear submarine was exercising its right to freedom of navigation.
In practice, however, given the balance of national power, the entire Gulf of Mexico had always been regarded as an American inland sea, Washington's backyard. Cuba and Mexico could step aside. It all belonged to the United States.
On the basis of those facts, the Pentagon expressed strong condemnation and dissatisfaction toward the other party involved in the submarine incident.
The latter merely reiterated the legal fact that its submarine had remained within that 2.34% of international waters from beginning to end.
This rather familiar-looking war of words actually lent credibility to the official account of the "Houston meteorite" incident, convincing many members of the public beyond doubt.
See? When a meteorite came crashing down, everyone would still set aside their differences and unite against an external threat.
At the end of the White House press conference, the press secretary also stated, "After the missiles self-destructed, the return capsule passed through the blast area in a close call and splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico. Recovery operations are now underway."
There were also many unusual witnesses in the Gulf of Mexico.
Compared with what the witnesses in Houston had seen, the scene witnessed in the Gulf of Mexico was even more surreal.
On a cloudless morning, a waterspout a kilometer tall suddenly rose from the sea's surface, which was shrouded in a thin white mist. The waterspout slammed head-on into the blazing meteor, which showed no sign whatsoever of slowing down. The two collided, tearing into each other and bleeding off each other's momentum, finally producing what the official account called a "safe splashdown."
Not even a parachute. Very safe indeed.
These witnesses included, but were not limited to, officers and sailors of the United States Second Fleet, Cuban fishermen, and Mexican fishermen. Even tourists on the coastline dozens of kilometers away had caught faint glimpses of the waterspout towering as though it would topple the sky.
It was easy to imagine what an uproar this would cause once the internet recovered.
During this campaign to control public opinion, American imperialism displayed an astonishing will to dominate.
Large numbers of American troops forcibly boarded boats and physically destroyed-smashed-the Cuban and Mexican fishermen's recording equipment. They then deleted footage from coastal residents' recording devices.
Even a Mexican warship was not spared. American troops forcibly boarded it and smashed all its camera equipment.
Even footage filmed by the officers and sailors of the Second Fleet themselves was forcibly deleted by American military police.
What was imperial hegemony? This was.
When the United States got ruthless, it did not even spare its own people.
Afterward, the Second Fleet concluded its negotiations with the submarine. The submarine firmly refused the American demand to board and inspect it, locked torpedoes onto the lead vessel, and displayed its remaining eleven submarine-launched intercontinental missiles, giving off a distinct air of, "Fuck it, I'll take you down with me."
You had to be brave enough to say "No!" to a bully!
God only knew how many of those remaining eleven intercontinental missiles carried nuclear warheads.
The Americans could only settle for the next-best option, demanding that the submarine leave under United States Navy supervision. The latter agreed without hesitation and obediently sailed out of the Gulf of Mexico. As for the other party's subsequent "victim narrative" reports claiming that "our submarine was subjected to an arrogant and unreasonable expulsion and surveillance by American destroyers while conducting normal navigation in international waters," that was another matter entirely.
Only after the submarine had been expelled did recovery operations for the Orion spacecraft's return capsule officially begin.
Once the return capsule had been hauled out of the water and pried open.
The NASA recovery team and the other rescue personnel were also forced to confront that astonishing fact.
All four astronauts were actually alive. They had merely passed out.
Before you continue