The Spheres

Bhutan

#1

It was Tuesday morning, when I heard the news on the radio. Normally I do not listen to the radio, but the bus driver had it on. Because the bus was full I was stuck standing towards the front near the bus driver’s cabin, allowing me to clearly hear the radio. One of the passengers shouted at him to turn the volume up as they also caught the news. The report was about unidentified objects of the same size and shape entering our atmosphere and landing in different parts of the globe, including one of them landing here in Norway. The location was on the outskirt of Oslo and the landing happened around 30 minutes ago.

Being an ‘extraterrestrials encounters’ fan and freelance employed (getting paid for actual work done), acting on an unknown impulse, I decided on the spot that I had to see this. Most of the passengers had to get to work so they did not have this opportunity. I had it and for the first time in my life I seized it. The main concern of the passengers, from what I had heard on the bus, was the danger of the spheres and getting home as soon as possible to watch it (comfortably and safely) on the TV or internet. A growing concern on the bus suggested some passengers desire to not only be a safe distance away but even to hide. I knew right away that people, who have internet access at their workplace, would not work today but would spend all their time looking up the miracle which just happened.

So at the next stop, I got out and caught the bus heading in the opposite direction. Already this bus was full of excitement and some were heading to the landing sight as well. With the usage of a bus, train and taxi I got to the location quickly. The landing zone was in L⊘renskog (not far away from road 159) just outside Oslo.

By the time I arrived the whole area was filled with an enormous amount of people. I had never before witnessed anything like that in my life, and because of the turnout it was hard even to get a glimpse of the sphere. There was a massive crowd of people surrounding it, everyone trying to get closer to have a look. And the crowd continued to grow. Unfortunately some people were standing there motionless using their smart phones filming the sphere (or taking pictures) while others behind them seemed to be directing their devices in the general direction of the sphere. The huge mass of people surrounded all sides of the sphere, making it impossible top get closer. Due to this a group of police were shouting for the crowd to move back and to disperse. Some of the police were also trying to push their way into the centre of the crowd in order to attempt to push the crowd away from the sphere adding to the overall chaos. What was the police actually doing all of this time did not occur to me at all. It was apparent that the people in the crowd were in a trance-like state, not listening to the demands of the police nor making way for them. Reinforcements were constantly arriving and at the same time stopping people from entering the area.

I was forcibly pushing myself through the crowd very hard (lucky enough to get through the police line), not noticing the disapproving glances, blows and shouts from others due to this. Experiencing some kind of a ‘trance’ myself I could hear their swearing and feel their blows, but at the same time I did not truly hear, feel or notice them in a manner that would create a response. When I finally got through a police officer was standing in the way trying to reason with a few guys who did not seem to notice him at all. I shouted at the police officer to move, but he ignored me as he was busy arguing with many people at once. Fortunately some crazy guy broke through and ran to the sphere in hopes of touching it. The police officer that was blocking my view dove after him, creating an opening for me to finally see it.

At first glance I did not see anything due to the glare of the sun and the excitement. Something however was there and once my eyes adjusted it looked like a glowing ball. Of all the possible things that one would think at a moment like this I assumed the best time to see it would be once the sun went down (or at night). Before I could think of anything else the situation changed. The stunt that the guy pulled off in trying to grab it inspired others to do the same so the police quickly went from a reasonable and good mood to an increasingly violent and bad mood. The change in the police attitude ‘woke me up’, as the incredibility of what I am actually seeing had completely froze me. The pushing and showing got out of hand and with the police pouring in to finally establish order and I knew it was time to leave. Many had the same ideas and made leaving possible. Not that everybody wanted to leave.

I had seen it and that was a start. Anything else had to done outside this mass of people.

This was very unusual for Norway where people are calm and respect the instructions and orders of the police. Due to this sensation people simply got out of control and out of the blue it became worse then a Madonna or Michael Jackson. Systematically the Police were pushing the people out and grabbing anybody who was not willing to go as the ‘nice way to handle them’ failed. Police intervention did not take over the sphere arrival as the main attraction, but it was covered.

When I finally left the mass, which proved to be just a little bit easier than the opposite direction, I went straight home. I do not mind the crowds, but I did not like how the pissed off police were trying to physically move or pacify the crowd. I would find out all I needed later on when I checked the internet.

While I was walking to the train station all I was thinking about how badly I wanted to have a proper look at this thing, to see more of them was starting to burn in my mind. In all of this excitement I was already organizing to temporarily close down my business and use my outstanding holiday (quit the ob if necessary). To seize the opportunity to have a proper look at these things, not just this one. This might have been a prelude to the idea of seeing them all.

My feet did not mind my pace, neither did my lungs. I was home in no time.

My first encounter (experience) with ‘extraterrestrials’ was done. Was it done? Was that thing an ‘extraterrestrial’ at all? Was that an encounter? Questions and more questions were popping into my mind. After seeing all those movies, I was hoping for more. And it did not happen. Naturally I still wanted to go on and try to find/witness ‘the more’ in any form elsewhere. That transformed into the need to see them all. That however was all ‘the more’ there ever was, as I later found out.

Different sources and rumours spread, that it was this or that: alien spaceship, a probe, a bomb, a hoax, etc. And that was why a lot of people were afraid to approach it and others found it fascinating. In the ensuring chaos they created it was a chaos of its own.

I could not stop my brain producing excessive amounts of questions…

# # #

When I came home and finally opened my laptop, as I could not really do anything on my way home because I was stunned, the news channels and websites were full of the sensation. Not to mention the broadcast of every radio channel. Emotions were noticeable while going home using different means of transportation; the excitement was very high as everyone was talking about the event. The police intervention that occurred with it was forgotten for a moment even if being one of the biggest and brutal that ever occurred in my country. At this stage nobody will be allowed anywhere near the sphere, until a safety assessment is done the chief of police said to the news reporter. Those were the last things I checked before closing my laptop.

The police decided to make a 20 meters (65.62 feet) perimeter around the sphere with the riot police clearing out the scene. The contamination of the scene or the contamination of people from ‘the object’ (as the media called it) was not an issue at that moment. That included any hope of silently examining it was gone. Of course it was the news event of the century as I found out later with massive worldwide coverage.

After I checked the internet, most of the places where the spheres landed attracted massive amounts of people. Then the authorities moved in and got everybody out of the place. In some places they had to use teargas to get the people to disperse. Anti-biological hazard units of the Army and other security and protection units and agencies moved in at most of the places that were covered by the news reports. The panic of possible danger in some areas broke out together with the panic of curiosity in other parts of the world.

I packed my stuff and went to the train station to catch a train to Sweden, the location of the next closest sphere. Food, drinks, work, everything was secondary at that moment.

Still many questions were popping into my mind…

#2

The official ‘arrival time’ of the spheres (at the moment un-officially called ‘the objects’) was 07:34 Central European Time. However different parts of the world discovered the spheres at different times throughout that day, not exclusively in the morning like in Europe and Africa did. Even if the spheres were glowing, nobody saw them landing during the night. At least nobody came forward with the claim until now.

It is the second day (Europe) after their landing and 16 spheres have been reported, and with today’s discoveries the number continues to rise. The United States reported two spheres; one in Chicago and the other in Austin, Texas. Russia reported one, however did not disclosed the exact location. There was one sphere in Canada and also one near Iran and Turkmenistan (both claimed that it was ‘theirs’ as it was on the border). India and Australia were also landing sites for a sphere. There was also one in Mexico and Argentina. Europe was no exception: Sweden, France and Germany (two spheres). One reportedly ‘fell’ into the South Pacific Ocean.

Some countries knew about the spheres from day one, but did not report the event to the world straight away. The reasons for the delay were disclosed later on.

After the first 24 hours, most governments declared that the spheres pose no immediate threat (as most assumed any threat would have happened immediately after landing). That changed from the initial threat, but only in a few countries. Some countries claimed no threat after a few hours; after crowds of people viewed and approached the spheres. None of the accidents that happened were reported within the fist 24 hours.

Some countries remained on (high) alert, as there was no official timeframe which would state the time needed to fully assume it is safe or the exact number of things that needed to be checked to guarantee safety. Most locations surrounding the spheres were sealed off, people evacuated for public safety and contamination (and/or other danger) assessment.

The news footage from a helicopter was brilliant. There was more footage from the air of course, but this one from Sweden was particularly amazing. It was the first sphere that I had seen on the internet (I had missed it live as I was travelling) being filmed from the air. You could not see it properly until the camera zoomed in; it was truly amazing. The night footage was more than beautiful; it was simply breathtaking.

The sphere locations in Europe were overrun by reporters simply because it was the biggest sensation ever. The same happened with the internet; completely overloaded by the event.

# # #

First of all I wanted to get to the nearest sphere that landed in Sweden as I could not get to more then one at a time. The next morning on the 24th of April, after spending the night on the train I was extremely hungry. I grabbed something to eat and continued my journey from Umeå via a local bus. I went through Trondheim (where I had to wait four hours for a train), Östersund and Vännäs.

Apparently people here, and in Sweden in general, were afraid of the object, which is why only a few people dared to come and see it first. Not a massive amount anyways (being the only exception), as many were sceptical about it being fake. Due to what happened in other countries, Sweden was quick to react and people readily replaced fear with curiosity. It was not about forbidding people from viewing the sphere; it was more about avoiding chaos; mayhem really (which was the case in many places). Locals, for the most part, did not mind being inundated by visitors coming to see the sphere as long as the police maintained order.

People in cars and on foot were coming from all possible directions as the police tried to organize the traffic. After a certain point, many people abandoned their cars and travelled on foot to get near the sphere. The headlines were full of the brilliant organizational skills of the Swedish Police.

What surprised me when I arrived was the lack of people attempting to try and touch the sphere. TO get as close as possible. Also the organization of ‘the sphere sightseeing’ was interesting; it went very smoothly and nicely. The reactions of the locals were interesting as some farmers from the area continued in their work and did not mind the crowd. Their tractors did not stop because of the sensation.

The worst part of the situation was not the occasional arrests, but the cars recklessly parked about the fields. That was only one of the things that I had heard from a police officer as I came back from ‘relieving myself’ in the nearby bushes, while he was speaking to an English guy and his Swedish girlfriend. He was telling them about the people who disobeyed and ran to the spheres and also about the surprising low turnout yesterday, when the spheres landed. I interrupted him when he was describing how long it took them to restore order, asking about the number of ‘intruders’. He said that the numbers were nothing compared to Oslo or other places. Why? He did not know.

He said we could go there, but no further than where the other police car was parked. They will of course remind you of that once there he said. He did not forget to tell us, Then you are to leave, no standing around. For me it was clear after the experience in Oslo. The couple understood and we answered yes in understanding. From that point you will be arrested for not obeying instructions he added. The police officer at the latter point said the same, No going further! There were many people already leaving as we went there, many standing (‘sightseeing’) when we arrived and many more coming.

The sphere was there, standing/hovering silently and patiently; beautiful and magical. The guys standing next to me were so kind to lend me their binoculars for a few minutes, even though it already was nicely visible. To be perfectly honest I did not want to leave, even though nothing was going on and I had previously seen it in Norway. However I had to leave - ‘the call’ from the other spheres was increasing in strength.

On my way back the police were posting a larger sign (possibly replacing a smaller one) with the instructions on how to behave and what was allowed and what was not. The arrest fine was 1000 Swedish Kronor and 12 hours of detention, but because it was a country where there were less disobedient people (if any), than some urban areas where other spheres had landed, there were virtually no arrests made that day.

# # #

The day started like any other day. This farmer woke up, went to work on his field with his tractor as usual, when he came upon the ‘glowing’ sphere. Immediately he contacted the police.

That was the news report. The only police involvement was to stop any trespassing as it was private property. Why there was no perimeter fencing, I never found out. Maybe it did not present immediate danger and permission was needed from the owner. Or perhaps they know something that we do not. Land seizure is possible according to the constitution in war or other similar cases, but it does not cover a situation like this. Private property is highly valued and respected and maybe they were still looking for a way to seize it legally. Air quality testing (together with soil and water contamination hazard) suggested there was no danger according to the biological hazard unit that had come and did the necessary checks. They departed because there was no change in readings in the crucial first moments. That satisfied the farmer, but not enough to continue any work whatsoever. The farmers on the surrounding fields continued as if nothing had happened.

It is being treated delicately as we do not know what it is. The policy of the government rather is to stay back and observe than to touch (interfere) and possibly regret later if this was a non-human form of a (possible) living thing. It was confirmed again that there is no immediate threat to the population or security.

That was the latest news that I checked when leaving Sweden.

# # #

You know there is a time to make wrong decisions. The right decision would be to cover it up, destroy it, to test it and the wrong decision would be to leave it alone. The wrong decision is to leave it alone, as the risk of people getting hurt is there, but we have made a wrong decision. Others are doing the right decision right now; hurting it, testing it and so on. This is possibly another life-form, even if only a probe sent by it, and that’s the only reason I am making this decision. To be wrong and to leave it alone.

There might be a time in the future when another extraterrestrial life-form will land and the issue of right/wrong decisions will be called upon again. There might be a time when the decision of today will be judged and proved as wrong or raised and praised as the right one. However today is today. It’s the first opportunity in history of mankind that contact with an extraterrestrial life-form, even being just a probe which we don’t know at this stage, happened. The decision however has to be made!

That doesn’t include that it will not be tested for dangerous elements, like radiation, air contamination, viruses and so forth. It means to leave them alone. Treat them with respect, no fence, no moving and no weapons presence or testing.

That was the speech of prime minister of Sweden, Märtha Adlerstråhle, which was a part of the press conference that her administration held. Her speech was followed by the speaker of Riksdags. The King spoke last and announced the decision that the sphere located in the fields west of the town of Umeå, is the ‘problem’ of the town, which is in the vicinity of Västerbotten County. De facto the army was prevented from taking over and possibly harming the sphere. The decision was to leave it alone for the time being; doing what the scientific committee recommended.

Why they wanted to leave the army (expect its biohazard unit) out of this matter was widely speculated later on, however I did not follow it further.

# # #

After much consideration it was decided that it was a probe. Scientists (mostly) from all around Sweden, gathered at a conference about the sphere (the next day), accompanied by many others from abroad (via satellite) made this decision. They also decided to leave it alone and gave it as much information as possible as they agreed that an ‘extraterrestrial’ civilization would do the same if we would sent a probe.

The idea of installing a large screen with speakers playing history documentaries, music and pictures of art was dropped after the landowner did not give his permission. This was however possible to do in Germany. Sven Anderson the head of the Swedish Scientific Committee said that this idea was based on a conclusion of others doing the same - we were sending similar information into space. It was decided that it was a probe (not a spaceship which contained a life-form) and its main purpose was gathering information; even knowledge. And the token of goodwill would be to hand over the information. Naturally others, like China, the U.S. and Russia were sceptical about that. The first thing that Professor Anderson said was, The time is crucial. The first 24 hours and then 48 hours of the landing. If there is no action from the ‘objects’ after 48 hours there is no immediate threat. In reaction to the instalment of screens he said, There is no reason whatsoever not to do this. We are not revealing any secrets. If they can trace and read the signals (like internet) and possibly decode it, they can get this information themselves, including the secret portions. Hack into anything without us noticing. This way we are showing friendship, even if some don’t want it. They want a friendship created unnaturally, based on rules and it doesn’t work that way. And when talking on the news about the screens he explained, We can put up the screens later or elsewhere. First we have to decide what to show and what not. Or if showing everything without restriction, but still keep it in some logical order - simply to avoid misunderstanding and confusion. The more we hide the more hostility and misunderstanding we can create later.

# # #

After a proper sleep I had to get back to reality and had a peek at my work. I finished all the necessary jobs that I had to do and also called my family back to confirm that I was all right and that there were no riots or aliens running around in Oslo. My parents stayed at home full of fear. Maybe there is a riot and maybe there are aliens running around in Oslo, but I am not in Oslo. They were completely surprised when I told them I was in Sweden. My parents were a little bit afraid of ‘the objects’ and uncomfortable with me leaving Norway without any word. What was happening in the U.K.? I did not know and my parents did not have any news from my brother.

# # #

If they could find a way on how to disrupt the force-field that was around the spheres - that might allow them to study it. But all methods to do so have failed. But if the force-field would be disrupted, by sound, by some beam or by any other means, then the sphere would fall down to the ground as gravity would take hold of it. Then they might try to move it and look into with different scanning methods. Comfortably in a place built for such things; testing range of some kind. And maybe even open it up to have a look inside. The final alternative is that it will break upon hitting the ground.

The morality question came into the foreground when the idea of testing occurred.

Do we have the right to do it? Or is there a proper and excusable need to do it? If the morality question is not important in many things here on our planet like business or politics, it might be wise to consider it now; there might be a need for intergalactic diplomacy now or later on.

Do you wait until someone dies and then use his organs (with his or his family’s approval) and not take them while he is alive, or kill him because of the organs?

This was another nice remark made when this topic hit discussion on the internet.

The morality question is of course out of hand if they attack first or there are signs that they would. However nothing happened of that sort yet. And the force-field might be the life giver to them, so it would be taking a life for the benefit of the few.

Some people, like Maria Nibleleng (a renowned moral philosopher) tried to get this question out to the public, but as she could not produce any evidence that there was somebody actually attempting to do it and therefore she failed. The issue of morality of our actions came back into the spotlight after the first and got stronger after the second shattering of a sphere. Unfortunately her voice was ignored again. Politicians, governments and officials buried the morality question as they always do.

It was said simply and nicely: Nothing new here; not even the spheres had the power to change it.

# # #

None of the spheres landed anywhere near any of the places connected with the theory that our civilization (or previous civilizations) was created or influenced by aliens. Like the Mayans, the pyramids in Egypt (just like in that movie Stargate) or any other place; or a culture for that matter.

A few people travelled to these places hoping to find spheres there, some even claiming that the spheres had been there, even if actually they were not. After that, some of them argued that it did not mean anything and still believed in those theories. Others (from those groups) claimed that the spheres were a hoax, as they would have landed there if they were not.

#3

Within 24 hours of ‘the landing’ no detailed or specific information was known, except for the landing sites and the sensation. Now more than 48 hours after the landing, other countries were releasing news of their presence, even if they did not do so the first day.

More spheres were discovered on the 25th. Africa was not an exception, Angola and Nigeria reported spheres. Another one was found in Canada, one in the fields not far from the city of Sheridan (in Wyoming, U.S.) and one in Argentina. Russia had another one. Venezuela reported one, Australia discovered sphere number two. With the spheres, all kinds of happenings and events took place as well, like in Mexico and on the Iran/Turkmenistan border. Other events, taking place either on the first or second day had not been made public or I had not come across them yet. A sphere was reported in the U.K., but not officially.

Naturally there were spheres that were already discovered, but not reported to the rest of the world.

The general procedures were: areas around the spheres were sealed off, spectators moved (or pushed) away, spheres covered up, chain link fences raised around them, evacuation and traffic diversion. In many instances the areas around the spheres were immediately evacuated upon discovery due to the concern of potential biological contamination. Interestingly, at the same time these measures were not taken in some parts of the world, where the possible contamination would show. However it did not.

Tons and tons of reports, media coverage, footage, etc…

# # #

I could not just carry on, going from Sweden to Germany and so on; I had to return home to ‘regroup’. So I left Sweden heading home the same way I came through Östersund and Trondheim, travelling at night.

Once at home I took care of everything that needed to be taken care of and caught a bus (coach) to Rostock (via Copenhagen). From there I again used the train.

# # #

I spent as much time as possible (when I had the time and internet connection) during my travels sorting out the work that I had to do. I was keeping an eye on the news at the same time. When running on ‘emergency employment’ I could finish most of the work/projects that I had using my laptop. However I had to put a ‘closed down until further notice’ sign on my web shop. People will always have the need or interest to buy something, so I know I can reopen the shop later or start another business. Not having a job or risking unemployment was the furthest thing from my mind.

# # #

In the city of Neubrandenburg, Germany, there was a massive crowd of people and for the past two days the police tried to clean up the place. They were not allowed to use brutal force as it was not a violent clash or demonstration where it could be legal for them to interfere. The only problem was their insufficient manpower. The Biological Contamination Unit of the German Army was called in to scan the sphere for different types of possible biological danger and to check for any toxins and/or viruses in the air. They were also authorized to take blood samples on the spot (mostly from those claiming that they had touched the sphere even if they had not) without permission and naturally came after the order was given. People were asked and also forced (if needed) to have a medical scan which included taking a blood sample. They also scanned and tested many people for radiation or biological problems such as viruses.

While asking for directions from a guy heading there as well, he claimed the police had cleared part the scene for the army to come in the first day as a complete evacuation was not possible.

On the 25th just as I arrived, more people came to see the sphere. The ones that left were now coming back to see the screens being installed. Even though it was the third day after the landing there were still a massive number of people around. Some were even coming back for the fourth or fifth time.

Today the police were clearing out the place to put up the screens. The army however did not find any biological issues (I don’t remember any information of they actually found or did not found) and left the next day. The people heeded the police and moved back when the army came in, but once the army left (assuming everything is OK), the mass began moving in again. It was a chaotic scene as the police had full control in one place and no control whatsoever in another.

The roads were still jammed and that