Part I: Radio Silence in Afforess Note: Open to all nations. New New York International Airport: Control Tower C *static* Hello, this Chen Landon. I'm a foreign affairs correspondent for the Afforess News Network. We have landed in Afforess ... and this is my story. I was returning to Afforess following an exit interview with Jesse Jackson, former head-of-state of Kaputer. My flight was scheduled to fly back last week, but the flight was delayed due a tropical storm. Our flight left today, and it went smoothly until we crossed the Afforessian-Fastercat border. On our approach to New New York City, the pilots were unable to raise the control towers. The pilots flew the plane in a holding pattern while they tried to establish ground communication. After an hour of unsuccessful communication efforts, and low on fuel, the pilots decided to land without assistance from the ground. From my window I did not see anything unusual, New New York City looked like it always had. The pilots tried to keep the passengers calm, explaining that either something had malfunctioned in our plane equipment, or perhaps the airport was experiencing a localized power failure. The landing went smoothly, and no other planes appearing to be taxing while we landed. Reaching the terminal, no shuttles greeted our arrival. The flight crew opened the emergency exits and helped the passengers down, and as a group we made for the terminal ground entrance. There were several hundred passengers, mostly tourists and Afforessian nationals returning home. When we reached the terminal, we didn't know what to expect. It certainly wasn't what we found. The terminal was well lit, computers and people-movers operating normally. But there was not a single sole. No one was visible, and our loudest shouts attracted no attention. There was no visible signs of looting, but the absence of people led some of the more enterprising of the passengers to begin breaking down vending machines. In the background, there was a loud but distant humming. Some investigation led us to find the airport had backup diesel generators, and they were currently running. We were uncertain how much fuel they contained, but the tanks showed 2/3 full. Most of the passengers stayed together in a group, although some brave soles set out to explore and leave on their own. Urging the remaining passengers to stay together and stay put, myself and my cameraman followed the two pilots up to the control tower complex. We did not see anyone in our journey across the airport, and the control towers were unmanned. The emptiness disturbs me profoundly. In the control tower, the pilots began checking out the transmitters, but were unable to raise anyone on any frequency. They did find a signal though, an automated distress several miles north. We walked the long distance back to the passengers to discuss what the best plan was. I could already tell some of the passengers had left or wandered off, there was only about 150 people left waiting. After some discussion, most of the remaining passengers agreed to find transportation and investigate the distress signal. After conferring with the pilots again, the four of us agreed that we should set up this automated broadcast in case we are not able to come back to the airport. This broadcast will be repeated on as long as the airport has power. *static*
