[ WP ] A traffic jam in the year 2163 .

'Fuck' I muttered, as I watched on from inside my Tesla V2 as it began to pull onto the M6 Motorway near Manchester. Cars sat stationary in every lane for as far as the eye could see, and I was already an hour late for work due to a malfunctioning wake-up alarm system. I frantically barked a command at Navigator,'NAVIGATOR REROUTE. REROUTE. ABORT CURRENT ROUTE'. An artificial woman's voice seeped curtly through the front speakers,'I am sorry, I can not re-route from this point.' I slammed my fists against the dash, muttering an expletive under my breathe and leaning back into my chair, accepting my fate in a sulk.'I ca n't believe this shit' I hissed through gritted teeth. My car had pulled to a dead stop in the left lane, and I looked across to a man in the car next to me, who seemed to be angrily shouting at his Navigator. I could see him slamming his dash, and when I caught his eye he just kind of shrugged and shook his head in tired exasperation. Sitting back in my chair I let out a big sigh and pulled my iphone 53-slim lite from my pocket.'Read mail' I said, and listened as my phone rattled off spam emails regarding performance enhancing drugs and new models of'adult' androids.'Read News' I interrupted, and the pretty news lady with the short black hair from North West Today appeared in front of me, projected on to the front window of my car. 
 
'... the mysterious Object that has been hovering above the Nevada desert for two and a half years now.' I sat up, stating'Pause. Volume increase to 85'. The news lady stopped suddenly mid sentence. America and the'Object' had held the attention of the World Community ever since the day It had appeared mysteriously. Everybody could tell you where they were when the Object appeared.'Continue' I stated, leaning in and clasping my hands together. The news lady continued. 
 
'As you all know, the Object appeared sometime around June of 2061, and despite our best efforts we have never since been able to determine its purpose or origin. Spanning a massive 20 mile area, the spherical object has hovered 100 feet above the desert for over two years now. Despite the rigorous analysis of the World Community's top scientists and intellects the Object has remained a complete mystery. Until today.' I looked across to the man in the car beside me who had been shouting at his Navigator earlier, and it appeared that he, too, had decided to turn on the news; I could see the news lady projected on his cars front screen, his face hanging agape in an expression probably not very different from my own. I turned my own attention back to my screen, where the news lady continued, 
 
'The Object, which up until now has shown no sign of life or movement, today began to open.' The picture changed from the news lady to an image of the Object, which then slowly began to peel open quite like the sections of an orange might open, with each section peeling out from the middle. Suddenly from the middle of the newly opened Object a great explosion of light, like from some kind of quazar, erupted out toward the sky in a continuous and violent beam. The news lady appeared again whilst the footage of the Object simultaneously played beside her.'This footage, recorded live just 37 minutes ago, shows the Object emitting what has been confirmed to be a beacon toward space. Minutes ago the purpose of this beacon was confirmed when several thousand objects, suspected to be vessels of some kind, were suddenly discovered to have appeared in orbit around Earth.' The footage of the Object was replaced with satellite video footage or several specks of light suddenly appearing around Earth, until all around it was twinkling and bright.'The purpose of these vessels is yet to be confirmed' the news lady continued,'however until authorities and the WCG have established the nature of these UFOs we are advising everybody to stay indoors, await further instruction and most importantly, remain calm. Bless You All.' The news lady flickered from the screen, and then the projection ceased. 
 
 I sat for a moment in silence, suddenly becoming aware of the traffic around me, where I noticed upon looking that the other drivers appeared equally as dumbfounded as I felt.'Open door' I stated, and the door of the car slid open with a quiet hiss. I staggered from my car, where I noticed many others doing the same thing. Everybody stumbled around like zombies for a moment, looking toward the sky, some exchanging a word or two with one another, some just leaning against their cars. I looked up for a moment, exchanging a brief look with the driver next to me who had also gotten out of his car, and I left my car there on the M6 to begin the short walk home.
