The video was playing on the big screen.
It was a video that showed a massive line of fire approaching from a distance as it flew right above the camera, then a second, and then a third with roaring, thunderous claps. It was an eighteen-second-long clip.
"There is nothing of value, except for the sky," one of the researchers voiced his thoughts.
"Not quite. For a split second, at the very end, right before the video cut, you can see something," ATLAS spokesperson Julia Watson, who was also watching the video, pointed out.
After pausing the video at the very last frame, they could see what resembled a few building tops. The frame was very blurry, and nothing was clear.
"Well, isn't our job done now? We can hand over our current lead to the intelligence; they can do the hard work of finding the area from that blurry frame. It would only take a few hours," another researcher said.
The video continued playing in the background as the researchers discussed their next move.
"It is weird," Vikram, who had been watching the video, said with some doubt.
"It looks like whoever shot this clip knew exactly what was going to happen and was ready with the camera to record it. The clip is very high quality; it wasn't recorded on a phone. The image is steady—a professional recording?"
Everyone focused on the video again. It was true; the recording was too professional for an unforeseen event.
"This clip was uploaded by... 'rotargimsnart001,'" the female researcher who had originally notified everyone about the clip quickly pronounced the name, which seemed to be gibberish.
After a few minutes of rewatching the clip and pondering over the dummy account that was untraceable and seemed to be the primary suspect of being Anomaly 37, the group of researchers finally decided to get in contact with the intelligence and hand over their lead by providing them with the area that they had previously isolated.
It was also because, had they waited any longer, the masked man would have made similar moves on their behalf.
Just as they were going to do so, Dr. Vikram had spotted another clue—another potential lead!
He had his right hand's middle and index fingers placed by the side of his forehead, something he did when he was completely focused. The researchers knew it very well, and ATLAS spokesperson Julia Watson, who had witnessed this up close, was now looking at him.
Everyone was looking at Dr. Vikram. Even the masked man, who was standing at the corner observing every small detail but showing no motion as if he were an inanimate object, slightly tilted his head to look at him.
Everyone was patiently waiting for Dr. Vikram to speak. They knew that if there was someone in the room who could have a breakthrough, it was none other than him.
"I might have a solution to this problem."
"The username... the reason we have not found the original post yet... the professional video quality..."
He walked straight to the person in charge of finding the original post on the internet.
"Search for posts with the same username across all social media platforms."
The researcher did not waste any time. He looked through the internet, and the task was fairly easy—the name was so random and unique that if such a post existed, it would take no time to find it.
They had found it: a random forum post by the same username. A singular photo of the fire in the sky. The title of the post was filled with random cryptic symbols, and the description of the post was the same, full of more symbols.
The post only had two hundred views, and the location from which it was uploaded was untraceable—like the video that was uploaded on YouTube.
In addition to that, the post had a small set of dots and dashes hidden among the several cryptic symbols in the description. This was clearly Morse code. Upon translating it, it revealed a set of numbers—coordinates!
This was a drastic development, and it was achieved in mere minutes. Dr. Vikram's intuition was spot on. They had a new lead, a new clue, and were a step closer to successfully tracing the origin of the anomaly!
With this new development, the researchers were in no hurry to hand their newfound lead to the intelligence. They had made quite a lot of progress, and if they were able to accurately trace the origin point of the anomaly, they would get their long-awaited promotions and an increased budget. With this, the researchers were more pumped than ever.
"No wonder we weren't able to find the original post. But it is still weird how none of the other posts hint towards the original post. If someone had seen it, they would have some reaction to the cryptic symbols.
"It is as if someone has planned this and is playing mind games with us." Dr. Vikram concluded.
"So, we know the owner of the account is the perpetrator and cause of Anomaly 37," someone among the group said.
"Not quite." As Dr. Vikram said, the corresponding coordinates acquired from the post had been opened up on Google Maps as Street View.
Upon examination, they were able to tell that this location matched the blurry last frame of the video from before. On side-by-side inspection, it was clear that it was indeed the same location.
"As I expected. The location is the same as in the video. The problem now is that the rings approached from a distance. The location is not the origin of the anomaly. At least we know which direction to look in," Dr. Vikram explained.
"There is another problem here. We previously assumed that the original post was made near the origin point, but it clearly wasn't," one of the researchers pointed out.
Vikram was deep in thought. It was indeed strange, there were a lot of things that didn't add up. For example, why was it that the unknown user who seemed to have known about the anomaly did not cover the anomaly from the origin.
Why was it that no one had seen the anomaly at the origin when it occurred. Such a destructive event would attract a lot of attention and the people right where the anomaly manifested should have noticed it, yet the closest traces of any witnesses were the original post and the YouTube video.
"The person who recorded the video isn't the person who summoned the rings. So maybe there are multiple people involved?" Julia stated her reasoning.
"Probably, unless the person had set up the camera and went far away to summon the rings."
"But according to the angles, the video was recorded from ground level and zoomed in towards the sky, it is highly unlikely for someone to leave a camera stranded on a busy street."
The researchers were brainstorming together. The independent manalogy research hub was starting to look less like a research facility and more like a detective agency's quarters.
What would I do if I were the cause of Anomaly 37...
Dr. Vikram was rewatching the video for any clues. It was then that he noticed something. The sky was not clear. It was a little cloudy. The sun wasn't as bright. Given that the anomaly manifested at 6 AM the sky should have been more yellow-orange.
It was then that it hit him. The reason why such an anomaly would go undetected, the reason why the video recording was taken from a distance. He wasted no time and gathered the attention of his colleagues again.
"The user could have recorded the video clip from up close but he did not, not because he chose to but because he couldn't."
"The reason why the anomaly went undetected by the people is because it blended in perfectly with the surroundings. The anomaly manifested as rings of fire that produced a thundering sound. Why would no one look up at the sky? It is because it was raining!"
As the realization sank in, the researchers knew exactly what to do. Using the weather forecast details, they were able to find exactly what they needed. The origin of Anomaly 37—an area that was under heavy rain on the outskirts of Varanasi, a settlement of foreigners. They had managed to shrink down the radius to a colony!
"What would you do if you were Anomaly 37? Let's say you just realized you had such powers and by mistake were able to summon huge rings of fire in the sky," Vikram looked at a researcher and asked.
"Probably hide or leave the area," the researcher replied.
"Exactly! Now if only we had a way of checking for people who have left the area after the incident."
"There is a way," the masked man who had been silent the entire time finally spoke.
"I can permit you the use of the database."
The room was silent for a while. Sensing their doubts, he explained,
"As the name suggests, the database is just a database of people. A record of people in an area. More accurate than surveys. Although the coverage of the database in India is quite small, that particular colony is a part of the database. What this means is that anyone moving in or out of that area is under our radar."
The masked man did not go into details, nor did the researchers ask him any questions. All of them knew what they were about to witness was something confidential, a technology advanced enough to keep track of every human in an area. This was a matter that required clearance of a high level.
The masked man completed the setup and the database was up and running. The screen now displayed information about every inhabitant of the colony on the outskirts of Varanasi.
There weren't any who had recently moved in. There was a list of a few who had moved out. Out of them, three in particular had left after the anomaly. The big screen displayed the names and pictures of the individuals.
As the masked man glanced at the screen, his eyes were caught by the third individual—a blonde woman who had recently left the town for work-related reasons. The woman worked for Hypersonia, and her husband had died in 2016 in a particular accident.
Vikram frowned as he looked at her profile. It was because of how less detailed it was compared to the other two. It was as if someone had kept it vague on purpose, and the fact that this was on the database confused him even more.
Could this woman be hiding secrets related to the higher-ups?
The masked man looked at her profile. He thought for two seconds before turning back. As he straightened his striking red tie, he said,
"Congratulations. Keep up the good work."
The woman on the screen was none other than Sophia Velor.