The unbelievable happened in a flash. A bolt akin to a coronal discharge from the sun blasted off of the moon and wiped out all life above the surface of the earth. Humanity disappeared in an instant. The massive network of space stations either roasted or tumbled to the planet in the wake of the blast. Only a tiny sliver of high orbit stations remained, nearly all unmanned automated units, a blinking testimony to the civilization that once was.
Questions swirl in the cooling ether of the dead planet.
What was that?
Why did it happen?
Could it be stopped?
