Pangea's massive and explosive growth continued for two weeks, reaching a billion users without any decrease in the trend showing at all. At the same time, it managed more concurrent users than any of the major social media sites.
Though it wasn't like that growth hadn't caused any problems. Facebook, Twitter, and İnstagram were all trying to figure out how Pangea was growing so fast. Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Adam Mosseri were all flustered and had been on hours-long conference calls every day trying to figure out a way to stem the outflow of accounts from their platforms. With a billion registered users on the upstart app, and a little more than half of those being active at any given time—as reported to Aron through the ALM (Active in the Last Minute) metric of Pangea—the three social media giants were beginning to appear desolate. It was a downward spiral the three CEOs were trying their hardest to stop.
Some people were even discussing the reason why they were panicking when a few different social media sites had already been just fine existing alongside each other, but the irony was that the discussion was taking place on Pangea.
The consensus was that it was due to the app having the ability to port the data from their previous social media accounts and upload them in the new app without any compatibility issues. That meant people had no need to return to their previous social media platforms, since their followers and people they followed would automatically be consolidated on Pangea from every one of their existing social media accounts. It also had a new, cooler, and more aesthetically pleasing appearance, not to mention a better discovery algorithm that ensured the media they saw in their Panthalassa was tailored to their interests. Thus, the time people would normally spend scrolling through multiple social media platforms was now all dedicated to one: Pangea. (Ed note: Like Pangea was the name of the mega continent in the past, Panthalassa was the name of the combined ocean that surrounded it. So, like Facebook has a wall and Twitter has a feed, Pangea has the Panthalassa)
Also, ads being nonexistent was another factor, as not a single ad came from the app itself; only advertisements posted by normal people were present, resulting in the users being able to scroll through the posts without being annoyed.
At the end of the second week of the app being live, a rather... unique live broadcast was climbing to the top of the trending page. What made it unique was that it was being live-streamed by the Eden Defense Ministry. It had two hundred thousand viewers, and the number was climbing as the livestream rose through the trending topics.
Pangea users weren't the only ones watching, either. Millions of people were watching the same footage, just on different platforms. Even more millions were watching it on television. The live footage was being simulcast by multiple channels in multiple countries, much like the Olympics are broadcast every two years.
...
Edenia, the capital city of Eden.
In the country's capital city, a newly constructed city square was completely silent. It was an odd situation, as there was an entire ARES infantry division on it.
The division was standing completely still without moving an inch in the middle of the road, arranged in rows of five abreast and columns of ten, separated by exactly three feet of space between each group. If someone were to walk past with a measuring tape, they would find it exact to the inch.
Following the last box formation was row after row of military vehicles, like tanks, armored personnel carriers, and cargo trucks carrying different military hardware was behind them. There were many of them, all parked with the same precision as the soldiers at attention, their drivers standing on the side to present themselves for inspection.
Contrasted against the still, silent soldiers and vehicles was the Edenian official parade band, formerly of the Edenian military. They were playing the Edenian national songs, like the call to colors, and many newly composed music for the military, among others. People almost wouldn't be able to believe it was being played by a military marching band, as those who knew music would discover that every single note being played by each instrument in the band was in tune. The former military band could rival the best orchestral bands in the world, like the London Symphony Orchestra or the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
Everyone was waiting for the president of Eden to arrive to begin the ceremony.
The international guests began arriving first. Many countries had sent their ministers of foreign affairs, while others sent a member of parliament, but many developing countries had their presidents or vice presidents in attendance. The nations from the UN Security Council—America, Russia, China, France, and the UK—only sent junior diplomats, or none at all. The ones who didn't send anyone to participate in the celebration still sent letters of congratulations and some flowery apologies for being unable to attend.
Once all the guests had arrived, a motorcade pulled to a stop near the podium where the international guests were already sitting, and the waiting honor guard opened the door of the center car for the president to come out.
The moment Alexander stepped out, the citizens attending the event live went crazy, shouting their approval to the president, who turned to them and waved before being escorted to the stage that was made for him and the foreign dignitaries. When he reached them, he greeted a few before taking a seat as the military band played the last song before the program officially started.
After the music ended, there were a few moments of silence before John took to the podium and ordered, "Parade rest!" His authoritative voice was immediately followed by the sound of the soldiers' boots hitting the ground as they moved from attention to parade rest.
"Attention! Present the colors!" he ordered, and the military band began playing again. Together with the music, the sound of a few synchronized marching steps came as the Edenian color guard took the field. (Ed note: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vHzDyrhVvc )
Their steps were calm and neither fast nor slow as they marched toward the stage in front of them and presented the Eden flag.
"The color guard is responsible for carrying the flag," said the emcee of the event, which caused people to wonder where he was. After all, he was nowhere on the stage. "Please stand for the Edenian national anthem," he continued.
The color guard reached the stage and presented the flag, then held their positions while the band played the national anthem.
As the first notes of the song echoed out, John came to attention and ordered, "Division! Present arms!" n0velusB.c0m
The entire infantry division, as well as the drivers of the vehicles and John himself, raised their right hands in the Edenian salute.
After the national anthem finished, John ordered, "Division! Order arms!"
Every participant in the parade formation lowered their arms and resumed standing at attention.
Then, the next order came. "Division! Parade rest!"
Everything was being caught by the cameras that had been placed all over the field, then sent to the different channels' broadcasting boxes. The precision impressed quite a few people around the world, and ignited the patriotism within nearly every Edenian viewer's hearts. Some of the international viewers, though, thought the country was being smug and showy before the parade had even started.
