Then, the world stopped.

Then, the world stopped.

It wasn't a mechanical failure. Every clock in the chamber ceased its tick at the exact same millisecond. Outside, in the streets of Manhattan, the chaotic cacophony of sirens, horns, and engines vanished. A profound, unnatural stillness blanketed the earth.

From the vaulted ceiling of the Assembly Hall, the light began to change. It did not stream through the skylights; it emanated from the very molecules of the air. It was a luminosity that held no color, yet contained every spectrum of existence. The delegates stood, their microphones dead, their devices turned to glass.