Anniversary Press Conference
The press conference was scheduled in the White House Rose Garden so as to allow for the maximum number of reporters and officials. Still, it was an overflow crowd that awaited the President - speculative chatter among those present only going silent as the President appeared.
President Luthor looked intense as he approached the podium. He made no pleasantries before starting his prepared presentation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, its been a decade now since Superman disappeared. As you know the US government has coördinated a years-long search for him - or for an answer as to what happened to him. The UN, the Justice League, Interpol and a host of other agencies and groups have worked with us to bring closure to the mystery. I'd also like to personally thank Lois Lane-Kent of Planet Communications & Entertainment for providing complete support as well as resources to help in the investigation."
The President continued.
"Today, I can announce that we think we have finally solved the mystery."
The crowd of reporters and others erupted at those words. Their noise drowned out everything else in the Rose Garden. It took the President's Chief of Staff ten minutes to quiet the crowd and he was only able to do so by threatening to have anyone who interrupted the President evicted from the press conference.
"Eight days ago CADMUS satellites picked up an unidentified object in the Ethiopian desert outside of Addis Ababa. After confirming that the object hadn't been present 24 hours earlier on the previous scan of the area, CADMUS used high-definition imaging to determine the object was artificial and likely of alien origin. There appeared to be no activity around the object. CADMUS used the latest scanning technology to attempt to see through the object and into its interior but that effort proved fruitless."
"CADMUS informed us of the situation and that they had dispatched a team to Ethiopia to carry out an on-site evaluation. We've had direct ongoing contact with their investigative team. The initial assumption was that the object was an extraterrestrial craft that had crashed in the desert. Though the curiosity was that CADMUS's Earth atmosphere monitoring satellites hadn't registered any ETs at the time."
"The CADMUS team arrived onsite 6 days ago. Their external examination of the object confirmed the it was an alien craft that had apparently crash-landed on the desert floor. The side of the object - craft - had a gaping hole not picked up by the satellites. There was no sign of activity around the craft though the sand storms plaguing Ethiopia these past months would have quickly erased any tracks or signs of external activity."
"After confirming it was safe to enter the craft, two team members went in. They found two beings inside and the craft was seemingly intact. At this point CADMUS informed us and also contacted the Justice League requesting Batman come to the site. The CADMUS team waited for the hour it took Batman to get to the crash site. Lois Lane-Kent, CEO of Planet Communications and Entertainment, agreed - at Batman's request - to immediately dispatch the head of their International News Division to Ethiopia. He flew out of Metropolis for Addis Ababa within an hour of Batman's request. He and Batman, with my consent and that of CADMUS and the Ethiopian authorities, have taken on overall control of the investigation. All of the information I am giving you today has been vetted by them for accuracy."
President Luthor continued ... "The two beings inside the craft were both ....
