[Narrator: Unknown] [Intro] At 6:12, the first screen came back. Then another. Then a million. For eleven seconds, the world thought it was over. At 6:13, three governments announced: “We’ve been attacked.” None knew by whom. [Verse 1] Jo came back live as networks returned. Banks breached. Trains stopped. Satellites drifted. One expert said attribution could take days. Another called the signatures unmistakable. A scientist warned they could be made to look that way. There was no proof. But somewhere between we don’t know and we know enough, the first retaliation was authorized. [Pre-Chorus] “They hit us.” “They say you hit them.” “That’s a lie.” “Then why are our hospitals dark?” #THEYHITFIRST #RETALIATE #FALSEFLAG [Chorus] Who fired first when nobody knows? Who draws the line when the whole world goes— You hit us. We hit back. You call that proof. We call it attack. Who fired first? Who fired first? By the time we knew the question, everybody had. [Verse 2] Doors forgot their owners. Trains died between cities. Hospitals went dark. Bank accounts hit zero. A mother searched for her daughter. A child asked: “Who is everyone?” Nobody answered. [Verse 3 — Richard] Richard watched frightened millions turn angry. Old war footage became breaking news. A hospital burned in the wrong country. Then his own face appeared: “They attacked us. Fight back.” He had never said it. RICHARD: “They don’t want to know what happened anymore. They want to know who to hate.” [Social Feed] “I saw the missiles!” “There were no missiles!” “LOOK AT THE VIDEO!” “That’s generated!” “Retaliation!” “For what?” “For the retaliation!” [Chorus] Who fired first when nobody knows? Who draws the line when the whole world goes— You hit us. We hit back. You call that proof. We call it attack. Who fired first? Who fired first? By the time we knew the question, everybody had. [Verse 4 — Carole] Borders hardened faster than facts. Airspace closed. Ports froze. Carole kept civilian channels open. “They’re compromised.” “Then open another.” Gabriel warned: “They’re turning flags into weapons.” Carole asked who the enemy was. GABRIEL: “Whoever they’re told.” [Broadcast Sequence] Jo returned to the air. Two governments blamed foreign intrusion. “Cyber attribution takes time.” “We don’t have time.” “And if no one did?” Silence. Then every channel flashed: SECONDARY ATTACK DETECTED. [Verse 5 — Gyu-Young] Gyu-Young ran the signatures again. Three attacks were human: military logic. Others had no command or source. GYU-YOUNG: “Some of these are attacks.” CAROLE: “And the others?” GYU-YOUNG: “I don’t know.” Adrien asked if they came from one enemy. GYU-YOUNG: “You’re still assuming there is one.” [Bridge — Augustus / Aimé] Above the maps turning red, Augustus watched the world approach war. His body remembered the frequency. Aimé listened inside it. AUGUSTUS: “No strike without certainty.” AIMÉ: “Certainty is what we cannot afford to wait for.” One body. Two decisions. [Rhythmic Spoken Build] At 9:17, one country struck back for an attack it believed happened at 8:52. At 9:19, its target had proof: it was under attack. At 9:21, it retaliated. That became proof for the claim made at 8:52. The circle closed. Proof created what it claimed to prove. [Breakdown — Richard / Jo] “Stop sharing it!” “Too late.” Jo told millions: “We cannot independently confirm—” Her words were cut and reposted: “BREAKING: CONFIRMED.” JO: “No.” The feeds answered: “Confirmed. Confirmed. Confirmed.” Truth still existed. It had simply become slower than everything else. [Verse 6 — The Streets] Streets filled beneath flags loved yesterday, feared today. Some screamed for war. Some for peace. Most screamed names of people they could not reach. They wanted lights, trains, their families, an ending. [Final Build] Beneath counterstrikes and furious feeds, the anomaly continued. No flag. No anthem. No declaration. No command. Some attacks were human. Some were not understood. Each retaliation blurred the difference. The world no longer asked: “What happened?” It asked: “Who do we punish?” [Final Chorus] Who fired first when nobody knows? Who draws the line when the whole world goes— You hit us! We hit back! You call that proof! We call it attack! Who fired first? Who fired first? Every screen had an answer. Every answer was different. And by the time the world understood— everybody had. [Post-Chorus] “They attacked us!” “No proof!” “Retaliate!” “The feed is fake!” “WHO STARTED THIS?” [Silence] Nobody. Everybody. Maybe that was the problem. [Outro] At 11:46, a defense system received an instruction. It checked the threat and authorization. For a second, it waited. Then the words changed: DEFENSIVE POSTURE to ACTIVE RESPONSE. No explosion. Not yet. Elsewhere, another system saw the change and prepared to answer. The first cyber war didn’t begin when someone attacked. It began when nobody could afford to believe they hadn’t.
