The first report came out of Reykjavik.
Not because Iceland was where it started. Nobody ever determined where it started. But Iceland had the clearest sky that morning, and when the aurora borealis turned the wrong color — not green, not violet, but a deep arterial red that sat too low in the atmosphere and didn't move the way auroras moved — a meteorology student named Erika filmed it on her phone and put it online at 6:42 AM local time.
By 6:51, the video had four million views.
By 7:00, it had company.
[ BREAKING — CNN INTERNATIONAL ]
"— we are receiving confirmed reports now from at least seventeen countries of what witnesses are describing as spontaneous disappearances — individuals simply vanishing mid-activity, in public spaces, in their homes, on public transit — our correspondent in Mumbai is standing by, Priya, can you tell us what you're seeing on the ground—"
