The US government found themselves in a situation they had never imagined possible.
Though, while Whitlock had given them advance warning, but even with the head start, the shock hadn't lessened when midnight arrived.
Especially when Nova Technologies dropped the Studio announcement first, then went silent for more than ten minutes.
Like the rest of the world, they'd never considered the possibility of two civilization-altering announcements in one night. The assumption had been clear: nanites next month, maybe. One major reveal per cycle. That was the pattern. Or at least, it should be.
During those ten minutes of silence, some officials had begun to wonder if Whitlock's information had been wrong. Maybe he'd misunderstood. Maybe Nova Technologies had changed plans. Maybe they'd worked themselves up over nothing.
