Photo by Simon Fitall on Unsplash
Amy ran downhill until she reached Key Bridge. She ran across, sweating already in the morning sun. On the Rosslyn-side of the Potomac, she turned left and picked up the Mount Vernon Trail. It descended in sharp twists and turns until reaching the level of the river. The parking lot for Theodore Roosevelt Island was already full, and she ran past families, tourists, and a group of bicyclists locking up at a bike rack. She hopped over an electric scooter, which had been strewn haphazardly across the path, and she continued on, over boardwalks and under bridges, ignoring the roar from the George Washington Parkway.
Technically, it was still springtime in Washington, but with highs in the 90s and sticky humidity, it felt like summer. By midmorning, runners found themselves soaked in sweat after a single mile. But despite the swampy heat, Amy enjoyed D.C. at this time of year. It felt more relaxed. Full summer had not yet descended. August might feel miserable. But for now, she enjoyed the greenery and the activity in the parks. The Mount Vernon Trail was mostly shaded and the slight breeze coming off the river cooled her.
Even after many years in D.C., Amy still loved running along the Virginia side of the Potomac and gazing across the water at the monuments. Unlike many other natives, she liked seeing throngs of tourists: the school groups in the spring, the vacationers in the summer. This city never failed to impress her.
She ran down past Reagan National Airport, past groups of frisbee players and onlookers watching the planes fly in over their heads. She continued down the trail until she came to Old Town. When she arrived at the Alexandria waterfront, she paused near the torpedo factory and gazed across the water. Then she walked up King Street for a few minutes to find a coffee shop. Returning to the waterfront with iced coffee in one hand and an overpriced bottle of water in the other, she watched as the crowds shifted around an oblivious couple who had stopped momentarily on the walkway. The man dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring. His girlfriend acted surprised, but Amy wondered whether he had not already proposed in private and whether this might not be staged. From the way she kissed him excitedly, Amy figured the answer must have been yes. She supposed this was as good a place as any to propose.
When she finished her coffee and water, and found a recycling bin, she headed over to Oronoco Bay Park for some quick dynamic stretches before her run back. The morning dew had evaporated, but the ground still felt cool as she lay on her back in the grass and alternately pulled each knee to her chest. She gazed up at the sky and noticed some thicker clouds moving in, although most of the sky remained blue. The wind had changed direction and the clouds drifted towards the northwest. Another Saturday in Washington in June.
After finishing her stretches, Amy started her run back towards Key Bridge and Georgetown. She ran along the trail for a while, lost in thought. Passing near the Pentagon, she remembered that the DOD was scheduled to release that unclassified version of the report on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (a euphemism for UFOs) any day now. Earlier in the month, she had read some details from the report that had leaked to the New York Times. While she found the information unsurprising, it dissatisfied her. Basically, it sounded like the report was a nothingburger. Yes, the Pentagon admitted the existence of mysterious objects in the sky, reported by pilots and recorded by FLIR cameras, but they had no idea what those objects were. The government was just as in the dark as everyone. Oh, and by the way, they did not have any alien vehicles in secret Lockheed Martin black facilities.
Amy could have written it herself. The true believers would no doubt assume that the government was lying and they did have alien tech lying around. And the public would know nothing more than they already knew. For at least the past 20 years, Navy and Air Force pilots had seen these Tic-Tac-shaped phenomena that appeared to defy the laws of physics. Among other sightings, pilots from the Nimitz had seen them in 2004, and had recorded them on FLIR cameras. These “craft,” or objects, seemed perhaps to be attracted to nuclear technology (nuclear powered aircraft carriers among other things), or quite possibly not. Nobody knew what they were. Some people did not want to talk about them. Some people wanted to talk about them too much. Some people were sure they were probes from an advanced alien civilization in possession of faster-than-light technology. Others were sure they were explainable by more mundane phenomena, including faulty instruments.
Amy thought that they might as well have reported that bears relieved themselves in the woods. She decided she knew as much now as anyone did, and that, while it was all very interesting, the hubbub would die down again in a few months.
Her mind still on the UFOs (or UAP, if that was what everyone called them now), Amy continued running upriver. She gazed across at the National Mall, admiring the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument’s spire. Her first sight of the Kennedy Center would signal she was nearing the home stretch of her run. Eagerly anticipating it, she watched the thick clouds which had now moved over the Mall. Amy decided they were the same clouds she had noticed while lying on her back in Oronoco Park. They shimmered slightly in the humidity.
And then, quietly, without warning, and with a strange and spectacular majesty that blew away all her previous self-certainty, swarms of Tic-Tac-shaped objects detached themselves from the cloudbank and descended towards the ground. They appeared to head straight for the White House, but then a cluster broke off and made for the Capitol.
Amy stopped running. She stared. There appeared to be hundreds of them. All around her on the path, people halted. Some dropped the leashes on their dogs. Almost everyone was silent. They gazed up at the sky and watched as another cluster detached itself from the cloud and came across the Potomac towards the Pentagon. The craft made no sounds, but all over the city, cars could be heard screeching to a halt. Amy waited for the sounds of fighter jets sent out to intercept the craft, but she heard nothing. Surely there would be a response. But no jets were scrambled and no activity came from the Pentagon. She saw no missiles, no anti-aircraft guns. Where was the government? Where was the military? With all the satellites in the sky, how could they have missed this coming?
Amy waited for the U.S. response. And then it dawned on her that there was no response.
Looking forward to the sequel to this one.
Decided to take this one out from behind the paywall, since I think it's fun and timely.