<strong>Sunday, Day 0</strong>- 5:30 AM<br/><strong>Tokyo</strong><br/><br/>The sun rose over the horizon to bathe Tokyo in its light, much as it did every morning. It was, all things considered, an entirely ordinary sunrise, creeping slowly through the city, gradually melting away the shadows cast by the myriad skyscrapers. The city itself was already coming alive, streets filling with cars and pedestrians slowly filling its sidewalks.<br/><br/>An ordinary sunrise for an ordinary day; it was, if anything, less busy than usual, being a Sunday.<br/><br/>The last peaceful day on Earth began just like any other.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><em>"Director Kuzunoha! Incoming call from Director Crowley, sir," one of the technicians called from across the room.<br/><br/>"Excellent, thank you," was Jin's brisk reply, spoken as he crossed the distance to the control room's video conference screen. He switched the connection on before even coming to a stop, his other hand rising to wipe the sweat from his brow.<br/><br/>The leftmost display flickered to life, displaying an image of a blonde woman seated in the back of a car, her left ankle resting on her right knee in a way that was, he absently noted, markedly unfeminine.<br/><br/>"Sorry about the delay, they tried to cancel my flight." She wasted no time in getting started. "What's the situation?"<br/><br/>"The same as when you left, it's just gotten worse. We've cut all non-essential loads, but the Engine's support systems are still heating up. Peripheral temperatures are up to..." He glanced to his left, squinted slightly; he needed glasses. "Four-oh-two."<br/><br/>"Shut it down," the American answered immediately.<br/><br/>Jin blinked. "Shut what down?"<br/><br/>"The </em>Engine<em>. Shut it down, we can restart it once we've--"<br/><br/>"Absolutely not! Do you realize how long that would take?!"<br/><br/>"A few days," she answered coolly; if she wasn't the most knowledgeable of the three about the system, he would've asked if she realized what that meant--but he knew she did, and the tone in her voice confirmed it.<br/><br/>"Are you insane?" he shouldn't be shouting, he realized; it would, among other things, distract the technicians. Rationality, however, was not enough to help him contain his outburst. "Every day the Engine stays off would be condemning half a million people to death!"<br/><br/>"And </em>billions<em> will die if we lose it, Jin. The risk isn't worth taking, shut it down for now. If you don't want to make the hard decisions, fine, that's why I'm </em>telling<em> you to do it. So long as there isn't any permanent damage--"<br/><br/>"No! I refuse to accept that there's not a better way. I'm not going to have millions of lives on my conscience because we failed in the one responsibility we have. We are </em>going<em> to fix this, and we're going to do it the right way, but I need your help, Alicia. You understand more about the system than any of us." Shameful, but true. "...Please."<br/><br/>Alicia stared at him--at the camera on her end, really--for several long, quiet seconds before leaning back in her seat and folding her arms across her chest. "Fine. The first thing you need to do is restore full ventilation. It's a non-vital system, but at the temperatures you have insulation will start breaking down and releasing toxic fumes. Next, you'll need to..."</em><br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>12:06 PM</strong><br/><strong>Tokyo</strong><br/><strong>Tagged:</strong>All<br/><br/>It was a pleasantly warm day, the sky marred by only a few white clouds, and a gentle breeze meandering through the city's streets. Schools were closed for the day, so the younger generation was, for the most part, spending their time outdoors, while those who had spent the week working themselves into the ground were enjoying a well-earned day of relaxation.<br/><br/>They went out about their lives, and the sun shone as it always did, blissfully unaware as the world's few remaining hours ticked away.