Associated Press World News - 06/21/64 (Afraid of a Shadow)

Breaking: Over 200,000 Missing after Unexplained Incident in Turkmenistan
Ashgabat, USSR - Without any warning, anarchy has taken hold over a large area central to the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). As of 3:15 PM local time, all towns within 100 km around the city of Merv have gone figuratively dark. Although many refugees continue to report to local authorities and international press, the greater part of 200,000 Soviet citizens in the region remain unaccounted for. Local emergency response teams from the state government have already proven impotent to stem the tide of the current bedlam, and as a result a dispatch of the Red Guard has been sent from Moscow to contain the situation. Due to the extent of the current destruction, injured and maimed individuals are having to be sent hundreds of miles to the nearest hospital, some of which are in dismembered states or suffering third-degree burns.

At 12:36 PM local time, the entirety of the region around Merv, including the cities of Mary and Yoloten, went literally dark. Previously considered a scientific impossibility for centuries, the sun disappeared from the sky in the middle of the day. First, people reported the sun growing unusually dim, just like a regular overcast sky. Within the span of 15 minutes, however, the overcast quickly went to complete darkness, as if Earth's monologue in the spotlight had unceremoniously come to an end. Confused by the sudden switch from day to night, the air was filled with otherwise-nocturnal creatures, including moths, crickets and fireflies. As a result of this, mass panic ensued everywhere, which quickly devolved into mob mentality.

No one could see where they were going or what they were doing. Some walked out in the middle of streets and were struck by cars. Others accidentally walked off of buildings, plummeting several stories to the ground. Desperate for sources of light, people resorted to setting things on fire: trees, buildings, cars, and in some rare cases each other. Some people would light their wallets or hand-mirrors on fire as well, as a makeshift torch, just to get their way through the madness. Even household pets were not safe, as some ventured too close to the sources of fire. Some people felt this was simply the end, and took to suicide rather than having to face whatever fate the darkness aludes to.

As mysteriously as it came, the light came back on gradually around 3:15 PM local time. By this point, however, the entire region had fallen into what can be presumed to be a state of anarchy. The mob mentality had completely taken hold, and once again human inhibitions took a backseat in favor of personal gain and survival. Dozens of stores and personal homes have already been reported as having been robbed and vandalized.

The exact causality rate of this incident, as well as its greater impact on the stability of the Turkmen SSR in general, is difficult to say. What can be certain is, the scientific community from NASA to the Royal Society are already in a frenzy to pinpoint a scientific explanation for the catastrophe.