Chapter 357: Another Shocking Announcement (2) (Bonus Chapter 4/4)

Similar conversations played out across every news channel. Experts struggled to explain. Analysts fumbled for frameworks. Everyone agreed on one thing: this was unprecedented.

Reddit exploded with speculation. The r/NovaGate subreddit, created just days earlier to discuss Nova Technologies, saw its membership surge from 400,000 to over 3 million in hours. Threads multiplied faster than moderators could organize them.

"They have to be using some kind of quantum communication system. That’s the only explanation for real-time solar system streaming."

"Quantum entanglement for data transmission is theoretical at best. Nobody has made it work for actual information transfer."

"Nobody except Nova Technologies, apparently."

"What if they’re not even human? What if this whole company is first contact?"

That last comment got downvoted into oblivion, but similar theories proliferated anyway. When technology advanced too far past the known baseline, people’s minds went to strange places.

Government agencies went into overdrive. In Washington, an emergency meeting convened at the Pentagon within an hour of the announcement. Military intelligence analysts presented what little they knew, which wasn’t much.

"Nova Technologies has demonstrated capabilities in advanced materials, artificial intelligence, consumer electronics, and now apparently space-based communications," a two-star general summarized. "They operate outside standard financial systems, maintain complete operational security, and have shown zero interest in government contracts or oversight."

"Are they a threat?" someone asked.

"Unknown. But any entity with this level of technological advancement operating independently represents a strategic concern."

In Brussels, EU officials held similar discussions. In Beijing, the Ministry of State Security compiled reports. In Moscow, intelligence services tried to piece together how they’d missed this development entirely.

Every major power faced the same problem: an entity had emerged with capabilities that exceeded their own, and they had no leverage to compel cooperation or transparency.

Meanwhile, on LucidNet itself, the reaction was even more intense.

Nova Technologies’ account’ now 720 million followers received the notification simultaneously. Within minutes, the announcement post had accumulated over 200 million views. Comments flooded in faster than any other system, except LucidNet’s could process them.

The thousand verified Lucid device owners—the Digital Aristocrats—went into a frenzy. Their exclusive access to LucidNet’s full features meant they’d experience the stream in ways ordinary users couldn’t.

"This is going to be insane," posted one verified user. "Full immersive streaming from actual space. I can’t even imagine what that’s going to look like."

Another added: "Everyone who said Lucid was just expensive VR can shut up now. This is actual space exploration broadcast through our devices. ACTUAL SPACE."

Gaming communities speculated about the implications. If Nova Technologies could broadcast from anywhere in the solar system, what did that mean for future Lucid content? Could they stream from space stations? From lunar bases? From Mars settlements?

Tech forums dissected every word of the announcement. The phrase "Lucid infrastructure" drew particular attention. What infrastructure? Satellites? Ships? Bases? The announcement implied Nova Technologies had physical assets in space, but nobody had seen them launch anything.

"How did they get hardware into space without anyone noticing?" one forum user demanded. "You can’t just secretly launch spacecraft. There are tracking systems, radar networks, amateur astronomers watching the sky constantly."

"Maybe they didn’t launch from Earth," someone replied.

"Oh, great. Now we’re doing ancient aliens theories?"

"I’m just saying—if they have technology this advanced, why assume they’re limited to conventional launch systems?"

As the hours passed, anticipation built to a fever pitch. News outlets announced they’d be covering the stream live with expert commentary. Universities scheduled viewing events in their astronomy departments. Observatories planned to point their telescopes at various celestial bodies, hoping to spot something during the broadcast.

The thousand people who owned Lucid devices became the most popular individuals on the planet overnight.

At SpaseX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, Elon called an emergency meeting with his senior engineering team.

"Find out everything you can about their propulsion systems, their communication arrays, their power generation. I don’t care if you have to work through the night. We need to know what we’re dealing with."

One engineer ventured carefully: "Sir, if they’re already conducting space operations at this level, they’re years—maybe decades—ahead of us."

"Then we need to catch up." Musk’s expression was grim. "Or figure out how to work with them. Either way, the space industry just changed completely."

Similar conversations happened at every aerospace company that had spent billions developing space technology. In one day, Nova Technologies had made their achievements look incremental.

As midnight approached on the East Coast, social media engagement reached unprecedented levels. #NovaSpace trended number one globally, with over 50 million tweets. #LucidStream followed at number two. #SolarSystemBroadcast took the third spot.

Memes proliferated wildly. Images of astronauts with Lucid devices photoshopped onto their helmets. Jokes about Nova Technologies casually having a space program while everyone else was still celebrating successful rocket landings. Speculation about what they’d show during the stream.

"Betting pool: what will Nova reveal first? A) Space station, B) Moon base, C) Mars colony, D) All of the above plus aliens"

"My money’s on ’something we didn’t even know was possible’"

In homes across the world, people made preparations. The thousand Lucid owners fielded constant messages.

"This is bigger than the moon landing," one commentator declared on a late-night talk show. "When Armstrong set foot on the moon, maybe a billion people watched worldwide. This? We’re looking at potentially four billion viewers or more. It’s the most-anticipated broadcast in human history, and we don’t even know what we’re going to see."

As the twenty-four-hour countdown continued, tensions mounted. Every hour that passed without additional details from Nova Technologies only intensified the speculation. The company maintained complete silence, letting anticipation build naturally.

In Times Square, the massive digital displays began showing countdown timers. Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing did the same. Piccadilly Circus in London. Every major city with large public screens turned them over to tracking the time until the broadcast.

The world held its breath, waiting for Nova Technologies to once again demonstrate that humanity’s understanding of what was possible needed updating.

Whatever they were about to show, it would be remembered for generations.