The unimaginable happened. Five planes were hijacked by ... who? We don’t even know. Two of the planes struck the World Trade Centers in New York City. Low estimates place the number of people in the buildings at the time at 50,000. Fifty thousand. I cannot imagine that number of people. A few escaped, but not many. The collapse of the twin towers caused six (so far) neighboring buildings to fall in upon themselves. Of the tens of thousands of people who were trapped inside, only seven people so far have been rescued. Seven, out of tens of thousands.

Another plane hit the Pentagon, killing an estimated 800 people in the process. I walked through that building. I can still see the green tile on the floor, the walls, the doors, the press rooms. I went there in my Junior year of high school. It is very difficult to superimpose my memories of the building with the footage I am seeing now, of a broken building. The news reported that they’ve called out cadaver dogs. That thought just sickens me.

A fourth plane seemed to be aimed at Camp David, although some say it was turning to attack Washington. We will know eventually.

A car bomb went off in front of the State House in DC.

And nobody knows what happened to the fifth plane. It hasn’t been heard from since it disappeared. It could still be flying over us, or it might have landed, or crashed, and nobody knows.

I have been hearing the voice of Delenn in the back of my mind ever since the first footage was shown on tv. "They struck without provocation! There was no reason! Animals! Brutal! They deserve no mercy. Strike them down. Follow them back to their base and kill them all! Dead! All dead! No mercy!" and I fear those words will come true.

The astronauts aboard the International Space Station were able to see the clouds of smoke from the collapse of the WTC. It’s just unbelievable. I cannot imagine what could possess someone, or in this case, a GROUP of people, to do something like this. It seems like it could only happen in fiction, yet I saw it with my own eyes.

I did not visit New York, but one of my best friends, Thomas, lived there for two years. I can only imagine the shock he is going through right now. I haven’t been able to get a hold of him yet, but I will continue trying. I know he’s safe here in Omaha, but he knew people that worked there, who went there every day, and who knows if they are even still alive?

I went to sleep late Monday night - It was actually Tuesday morning around 630 our time. I got a call at 10, 3 and a half hours later, from Derek, asking "Do you know what’s going on in the world right now?" He described the events, and I knew he had just seen a Tom Clancy movie, or The Siege with Bruce Willis. But no, he was right. He told me to turn on the tv and watch. What I saw brought countless tears to my eyes.

I think the most shocking part of it all came mid-day. I had to take Derek out for an errand, and on my way back, Air Force One flew over my car. It could not have been more than 100 feet away, and was surrounded by war planes.

I don’t know what’s going through the President’s mind right now, but I can say this: he did far better yesterday than I ever gave him credit for. He did NOT bow down, he did NOT back down, and he did calm the American people down better than I thought he could.

In closing, I ask you to pray. Whether you believe in the Goddess, the gods, God, spirits, who or whatever the case may be, I ask you to pray for those victims and their families. They will need it. Thank you.

"Now it starts." - Dukhat
"Yes" - Kosh

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