The Day it came Crashing Down

The Following is the Accident Report from Chief Inspector E. Howard, regarding the Chanceyville Disaster. Logged via voice recorder on the 14th of July, 2037. 

Intended for use by Clearance Level 2 personnel within the Center for Abnormality Control.

Report begins.

I honestly have a hard time knowing where or when to start with this investigation. Usually there is an immediate factor to discuss, or major headway to report on, but in this case? Well, we did our job. That I can say for certain. Now, it wasn't easy, and that was partially my own fault. With an incident of this nature, of this scale, delegating its investigation becomes a mystery in and of itself. All the same, as Chief Inspector, I will take all responsibility for any unintended overlap between my task forces' accounts or data, but regardless I believe all measurements taken to be legitimate and the product of proper procedure.  

Christ, I sound like I'm in the army. 

Okay. Let's go. Who knows if anyone is even going to hear this. I doubt it. Okay. 

Let's try again.

My name is Eugene Howard. For the last twenty or so years I have worked as a Land Surveyor here in Nebraska and its adjacent states. First for a few private firms and then more recently with FEMA and a few contractors. I have, one might say, a season ticket when it comes to natural disasters. Tornadoes, mostly. A couple oil spills. I was at a few of the California fires, but I'd rather not say which ones. I'm the guy sent in with a doctor's coat on and a shovel. I had a friend once compare me to the Men in Black, but honestly I'm just a lab rat who works outside. 

Anyway, my job is to identify aspects of the damage done to the land, recommend pathways to reverse the damage, and conduct any initial on-site measurements. We're just the first wave, mind you, so it's important to move fast. I'm not meant to stay at a location for long periods of time, and this role typically works in groups of 5-10, to maximize efficiency. Up to a dozen, if the project calls for it. Which is why I was initially surprised to hear that the task force for this particular event would be more than double that amount. In addition, it was not through my usual networks. At the time I assumed it was an error, but now? It was a warning.

Granted, I've been approached by third parties before and it's always a little ominous. A lot of government work goes through private firms, especially nowadays, so when I heard that some corporate disaster relief group called the C.A.C. wanted me somewhere north of Ogallala covering some kinda… what did they think it was? An earthquake? A hail storm? Sure, it was a bit X-Files, but what the hell? My only question was 'when do I leave?' Honestly, I probably still would have gone if they'd given me the full picture, but I understand why they didn't. Hell, even now I have a hard time explaining it, and that's my whole job. But here goes nothing.

To the best of my knowledge the entirety of Chanceyville, Nebraska has been destroyed, with the debris from the initial Crash (as we have taken to calling it) impacting with the earth three miles west of its Town Hall. As corroborated by initial reports, the incident was preceded by an immensely loud cracking sound, with some from neighboring Keith County comparing it to the sound of pasta being broken in half. The CAC– true to their word– had managed to deviate all traffic in and out of Chanceyville, thus creating a quarantine zone roughly twice the size of the town itself. From the quarantine's base camp our group was directed to a small hill, where we first took in the true magnitude of this event. 

The town was rubble. But not rubble as I had ever seen before. It was scattered, and ugly, and battered. It was like the whole town had been sandblasted away, with layers broken away by some unknown force. Well, I say unknown, but the source of the damage was obvious. Even from miles away we could see it in the grass. Small, reflective, nearly translucent material. Like tiny pieces of glass, or plastic; look, it was brittle and translucent. That was our initial impression. I immediately assigned Doctor Ian Malcolms to the task of identifying the material, and joined the rest of the team in proceeding onward.

And by the way, small note. In the future you may want to hire more grunts or have a steady stream of interns on file. You got the best of the best, and I appreciate it, but doctors have some really strong egos and there were a lot of them for me to handle. Anyway.

The first issue was air quality. Upon entering the area my colleagues and I immediately began to have trouble breathing. Normally there is a procedure for that issue, but only if you know what exactly is in the air poisoning you. That was the reason for the initial delay. No, it was not because of any internal divisions. Everyone on site was unified in this. 

Eventually, Malcolms got back to us about the material. 'Heavy condensate,'[1] he called it then. I'm sure you'll be thrilled to know that name has been shortened to H-Cs or Heavies. It's kind of ironic given how light a crumb of the stuff is, but hey. When has the truth ever made sense?

That gave us a better idea of why the air conditions in the region were so foul. Upon running a few more tests to confirm Malcolm's hypothesis we found that the air around Chanceyville held an extraordinary amount of irritants in its lower atmosphere. I could name the exact numbers and measurements, but just know that it was like you stuck your head into a warehouse after someone set off a canister or two of tear gas. I think I heard once that tear gas is just tiny bits of glass suspended in air particles? If so then maybe my comparison isn't too far off. I've assigned Doctor Susan Nguyen the unenviable task of developing a practical filtration protocol, but until that can be achieved we've been forced to use traditional means of entering the quarantine zone.

By the way, the guy you got running base camp? Larry? Great guy. He got us some gas masks, no questions asked. I think he was excited to use them, truth be told. That being said, he needs to learn to smile more.

After that I got to work on locating the center of the impact site. A lot of time had already been wasted waiting around for Malcolm's report, and we were itching to get going. So, I sent Doctor Lucy Smith east, and Doctor Alfred Hickums west. My expectation was that the two would stick to the outside of the impact site and meet somewhere in the town's northern border. See, that made sense to me at the time, and it still does, but also now that I know more I don't understand why that was my first thought, you know? But, I'm sorry I'm getting ahead of myself.

I mentioned before that we identified the material that crashed into Chanceyville that day, but it was another thing entirely to see it up close. The unique kind of destruction that each natural disaster can cause is truly fascinating to behold. No two are quite alike, and this was one hell of a unique disaster. Everything was covered with this fine powder. Not much. Nothing more than a light snowfall, but then you saw the big impacts. Where huge chunks of the stuff had collided with a building, or dug itself into the earth. Where it broke apart it jutted out at odd, sharp angles. Kind of like thin plastic, but also like glass. I know Nat– I mean, Doctor Natasha Bell cut herself on a shard while handling it, but as far as I know there has been no sign of infection.

As I stated previously, the primary point of impact was three miles west of town hall, on the roof of what was once the local butcher shop. I could tell it was the primary impact site due to the size of the H-C shard that had collided with the ground, and the direction of the debris flung from the area. It all centered on that point. However, that's when I noticed the angle.

As I said, looking back it seems obvious, but it struck me then that an H-C Crash's trajectory is likely affected by wind currents.[2] From there I recognized my error and recalled the border team from their survey. Over supper that evening we went over our findings and concluded that the border would more likely than not form from wind patterns during and after the event, especially considering the uneven distribution of H-C fragments around the area. Following this, we were able to map out a full picture of the area affected by the crash, which extended further northwest than initially expected. This corresponded with NOAA intel from the time period. However, this also exposed a potential secondary disaster for us to consider; as, this estimated wind current dropped the path of the drifting particulates directly into the soil surrounding Grahams Lake, and even indicated that the lake itself could soon become saturated in the particulates.

This was especially troubling given that Grahams' Lake provides much of the water for the Keith County Airport further north, and acts as a habitat for several local water birds. Even if the H-C particulates proved insoluble in liquid, that level of heavy metals introduced into any habitat will wreak havoc. As such, I promptly assigned Doctors Julian Craey, Kevin Xie, and Penelope Ambrose to take whatever tools they needed to establish estimates at that secondary site, while I continued surveying the initial impact zone. I understand that since then they have made multiple requests for additional aid, and though I have approved each one of these requests, no additional aid ever seems to appear. Thus I feel I must remind the CAC that ecological disasters are not in fact a one-day job. You can't just drag the bodies out and get back to business. 

But I know you're not going to listen. Not to me. Anyway.

By this point our survey has begun to enter its second week, and we're all getting more than a little spooked by what we're seeing. Jokes are being made about the sky literally falling, but you know how it is. We're all trying to laugh because something was bothering us. The one question. The big one.

Why?

See, we knew 'what' had happened by that point. An H-C Mass the size of at least three Yankee Stadiums had impacted with the ground. Smaller chunks broke up before impact and shredded everything it touched during descent, etcetera, etcetera. But why? If Malcom's theory was true then these H-C Masses are typically quite light. Sure, they're basically floating patches of crystal clear razor blades, but they're light enough to be carried by the wind. How could one fall? And not only that, but fall so rapidly that it shreds the ground below it? How do parts of it not break into powder, while the rest does? It just wasn't making sense. So, that's why we were laughing. I know the press made us look like goons with that one, but we were nervous, you know?

Anyway, it was, uh, Doctor Bell who suggested checking the intact pieces for composition. By then Malcolm had tested these things every way a man with a field kit could, but he was a good sport about it. We took the pieces back, broke them apart for analysis, and yeah they looked a bit odd. Darker, I guess. Like stained glass, instead of regular glass.

You want to know what we found? Fat. Animal fat. Burnt. Cooked. Turned to smoke, then trapped for God knows how long in the air currents. Eventually the bits and pieces get caught amidst the nooks and crannies of H-C masses, and that high in the atmosphere the lipid molecules can cool and stick to the side of the crystal structure. Enough lipids build up, and the crystals begin to grow heavy. Not heavy by our standards, but certainly by theirs. Heavy enough that they get weighed down. They sag. And when they sag they pull all the adjoining crystals with them. 

Until, snap. One big chunk falls free. Or, a lot of little snaps all at once. That would explain what the witnesses heard.[3]

So yeah, it turns out there's probably a lot more H-C out there than we first thought. Just last week, Doctor Collborough managed to identify a set of air currents that may point towards the main H-C cluster drifting west towards Cheyenne, with its total size believed to be somewhere between the size of Connecticut and West Virginia.[4] 

But let's get back to Chanceyville. If you're wondering if there's anything left to salvage, I have bad news for you. The local infrastructure has been leveled, down to the piping. There's nothing left. Even the soil is toxic. I wish I could tell you more than that, but that's the issue here. We're dealing with a whole new kind of ecological disaster– and no, not a natural disaster either. There's nothing natural about this. 

And, for the record. It was not 'an act of God,' either. I'm sick and tired of hearing that, even as a joke. It's ridiculous. It's disrespectful. I mean honestly, what sense does that make? Who did this even punish? This was a town of five-hundred people. God fearing people. Just old folks and farm workers. Why would God punish them? For what?

I mean, the local jail was still standing. That's something, right? 'That must be God's work,' they say. Oh, 'check the jail! There's survivors in there, and they're hiding them from us!' But– Thing is, I saw the jail. I saw the wreckage. It was empty! No one was even manning it that day! It did not help anyone! There were no survivors! End of story. And anyone who claims otherwise should not be trusted. 

Now then. I apologize for my lapse in professionalism. Where was I?

Though there is no hard evidence for this as of yet, it is still my gut instinct that H-C Masses are ecologically-locked events, or otherwise extraordinarily rare outside of steppe, prairie, or other grassland biomes. H-C complexes require reliable air currents and even topography to properly form in the upper atmosphere, and adjoining mountain regions aid in trapping the H-C material in the local airspace. They are not, and I feel I must repeat this, not the wrath of God. 

To that end, I have currently recommended surveys be done over the skies of several neighboring nations, and other nations with similar biomes and pollution levels. As you may have heard, this list includes both allied and hostile nations alike. After taking the time to think on the matter I have chosen to hold to my recommendation, as I feel such a move necessary to gain the insight required to prepare against future H-C Crash events, or prevent them entirely.

I understand that some may disagree with me on this matter. I am also aware of the media's less than favorable opinion of me, and how it negatively paints our efforts as a whole. And so, to punctuate my point, I have chosen to– effective immediately– resign from my position as Chief Impact Surveyor of the Chanceyville Containment Zone. I have therefore recommended Doctor Natasha Bell from the Soil Composition Team to replace me. Given that the remainder of our efforts will be aimed towards better understanding the damage done to the soil,[5] I can think of no one better to lead the charge than Doctor Bell. She and Larry have formed an understanding, and she will send the appropriate message to the Corpos if they ever get insistent.

And with that, I think that's it? Yeah, that about covers it.

This is the former Chief Surveyor Eugene Howard signing off. Now, how do I turn this thing–

Report ends.

Footnotes:

[1] Heavy Condensate Masses, as defined by Dr. Malcolm's extended research, are a heretofore unknown atmospheric phenomena in which aerosoles, particulates, and other, heavier substances suspended in the upper troposphere form into complex, crystalline structures akin to ore veins. Though research into the phenomena is still ongoing, all known Heavy Condensate masses remain lighter than air, and invisible to the naked eye. 

[2] This aspect of Heavy Condensate Crashes has proven true in controlled simulations. Though some have already begun to label this insight as Howard's Law, the CAC's Board of Directors has remained firm in their belief that further research is needed. As it stands, the trajectory of the initial crash may have also been a result of irregular weight distribution within the greater H-C Mass's structure, as speculated by Doctor Baron Shaw.

[3] This process, known as The Bell Cycle, has since been proven true under controlled lab conditions and is currently the only known way for H-C Masses to break off in this manner. Of the animal fats tested, cow, pig, and human fat were all deemed capable of creating the conditions for a rapid Crash scenario. From this, it is currently believed that the lipids that caused the Chanceyville Disaster arose from the smokestacks of Western Nebraska Federal Penitentiary. All further requests for comment by the prison authorities have thus far been met with swift rebuttal.

[4] Further observations have all but confirmed this theory true. Currently, the Collborough Mass maintains a steady migration pattern over the Central Great Plains region. Measured at 19,023 square miles in total, it is believed to be the largest H-C Mega-Cluster currently held within the continental United States. That said, trace wind patterns near Fargo, ND suggest that a rival Mega-Cluster may exist further north.

[5] All current projections regarding soil toxicity do not recommend lifting the quarantine until 2189. Though it is true that Lake Graham is expected to return to original conditions by 2055 that difference is only due to the extraordinary efforts of Doctor Ambrose to prevent further contamination and not an indicator of an alternative timeline.