There was no warning. The guys at SETI were just getting a few games of League in, there were no sirens, no flashing lights; the radar screen was blank, and no replies came from the endless messages being sent into blank space. One moment, all was natural. Not peaceful, just natural. And then, Vancouver was gone.

Nothing was left. There was a perfectly circular crater. Water was pouring into it from where the mouth of the Fraser used to be, and all the sewers and sub levels could be seen exposed the edge.

There was no explosion, no warning. People swarmed to the edge of the crater in stunned silence. No one could say anything for minutes.

"What's that?" One of the bystanders broke the silence on the east of the crater, pointing directly at the middle. If the crater made a full sphere, it would be at its very center. It was humanoid, but lights were glowing all over its body, slowly dimming, as if they had something to do with the vanishing of Vancouver.

Then it, too, disappeared, without a sound.