Meadows nodded. “So how much advanced warning do we need to deflect one?”
“Well, that’s what we need to talk about. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take much to nudge a comet or asteroid so that it misses us, if we catch it early enough.”
Meadows said, “I’ll bite, what’s early enough?”
“Eight years or more.” She paused while the team absorbed this. “Most deflection concepts require a couple years to intercept the comet with a spacecraft, and then mount a small rocket motor or other propulsion mechanism to it. Then, it takes several more years to push it off course. The shorter the time to impact, the more push it takes.”
Meadows frowned. “But we won’t have eight years if it’s a new inbound comet.”
“That’s correct.”
There was some discussion around the table.
Meadows said, “Can we just vaporize it with a nuke?”
Chandra shook her head. “That makes for good movie special effects, but it’s not as simple as it sounds, and even if we succeed, we might create a bigger problem. Instead of one big comet, we could have many smaller ones. We trade a rifle bullet for a shotgun blast.”
Meadows nodded. “Are there other intercept options?”
“Yes, we can fill a rocket full of nanoparticles and release them just before impact. The collision of the tiny particles across the surface of the comet should impart momentum without fragmenting it. If we hit it with enough of them, we can change its trajectory.”
Meadows nodded. “Sounds like slowing down a semi-truck with spitballs.”
Chandra shrugged.
Meadows took a deep breath. “OK, let me summarize. An intercept mission requires at least eight years, so it won’t help with a newly discovered comet on a collision course. Nuking a comet is probably a bad idea, so that leaves shooting rockets filled with nanoparticles?”
Chandra nodded. “Nanoparticles should work if the comet’s small or far enough out that we can hit it with multiple rockets. If it’s big or within a couple years of impact, it would require hundreds of rockets.”
“Are there any other options?”
She smiled. “Yes.” She paused, looking around the room. “We might be able to hit it with an extremely intense beam of focused energy.”
Meadows smiled. “Vaporize it with a giant laser beam?”
Dr. Garret Cho laughed. With his booming voice, he said, “That would be totally awesome. Unfortunately, we’re a long way from Darth Vader’s Death Star. There’s nothing — even on the drawing board — with a tiny fraction of the power needed.”
Katori, smiling, added, “Yeah, but it would be fun to try.”
Katori and Cho started an animated conversation.
Chandra laughed. “What is it with guys and blowing things up?”
Meadows said, “We pretty much come out of the womb that way.”
Chandra sighed dramatically. “I know. I have two sons.” Like a kindergarten teacher trying to corral boisterous children, she said loudly, “As fun as I’m sure that would be — and aside from the fact that it’s not even remotely possible — there is a simpler, more elegant solution.” She paused for effect. As the conversations quieted down, she said, “We don’t have to vaporize it. All we have to do is nudge it.”
Frowning, Meadows asked, “How can a laser nudge something?”
She smiled. “Good question.” She looked around. “We melt a tiny part of the surface. In a vacuum, liquid goes straight to gas, which creates a small gas plume or jet. That jet acts like a tiny rocket motor. If we hit it enough times, we can slow the comet down.”
Cho added, “I worked on a NASA project to remove space debris from low Earth orbit using that technique. Hit the junk with a powerful laser pulse and the tiny plasma jet slows it down enough to reenter the atmosphere.” He shook his head in disgust. “They canceled it because some countries thought we’d use it to take out their satellites.”
Meadows frowned. “I see how it might work on space debris, but a comet?”
Chandra said, “Captain, the earth is a moving target. It orbits the sun traveling 30 kilometers per second. If we can slow the comet down by just a few minutes, the earth won’t be here when it arrives. To do that, however, we have to hit it with an intensely focused beam at extreme distance, and we have to keep hitting continuously for a year or more. The bigger or closer it is, the more energy we have to hit it with.”
Meadows said, “Can we do that?”
Chandra nodded to Katori and sat down.
Katori stood up and said, “As you remember, this is the same general problem we were trying to solve with the Ballistic Missile Defense Program. The idea was to burn an ICBM in flight with a laser. As difficult as that is, it’s child’s play compared to what we’re talking about here.”
“Why?”
Katori nodded to Cho. Cho, leaning forward in his chair, said, “We can hit a one-meter target from a hundred kilometers, but hitting a one-kilometer target from a million kilometers requires ten thousand times greater accuracy and more energy. It’s like etching your name on the head of a rifle bullet ... after it’s been fired at you from London.”
Meadows shook his head. “Doesn’t sound possible.”
Cho smiled. “It’s theoretically possible and a wicked cool engineering challenge.” He paused. “But it ain’t gonna be small.”
Meadows raised his eyebrows in question.
Cho said, “The beam collimation — sorry, the accuracy — is directly proportional to the diameter of the beam generator. This sucker’s gonna have to be pretty big.” He smiled. “We just need good people and lots of supercomputer time.” He paused. “A blank check wouldn’t hurt.”
Meadows looked directly at Katori and Cho. “Seriously, can we do this?”
Katori glanced at Cho. “We need to crunch some more numbers, but ... I think we can.”
Nodding excitedly, Cho said, “I know geniuses in the field that’d give their right arm to play. Throw in a critical deadline, and we’ll pull in the best and brightest.”
Under his breath, Josh said, “Be careful what you ask for.”
20
FUNDING
Josh knew that soon, very soon, his team would need real money. There was no faster way to get unwanted attention than diverting government funds from existing programs, but he had no idea where he was going to get the funding. Trying to think positively, he had a flash of illogical insight. He caught Lopez after the meeting and asked her if they could talk privately over dinner.
They found a good Italian restaurant near the airport. Between delicious butter and garlic infused pasta, he asked, “Sheri, how did you become a famous psychiatrist?”
She smiled. “As a child, I was a competitive tomboy. Then I grew up, and ... nothing changed except the label. I was a highly motivated, task-oriented individual. For women, they often shorten that to one word that begins with a ‘B.’” She gave him a wry smile. “I studied psychology, like many, to figure out why I was different. Being competitive, I graduated at the top of my psychiatry class and started a private practice.” She shook her head, laughing. “I quickly discovered I had to work too hard to be sympathetic. I wanted to tell most of my patients to stop whining and deal with it.”
He enjoyed watching her eat, suspecting she approached life the same way she attacked food — with gusto.
Wiping butter from the corner of her mouth, she continued, “Anyway, that’s what took me into psychology of the masses. It was just as fascinating but a lot less messy. My books became bestsellers, and it catapulted me into the spotlight. I honestly don’t care what people think of me, but fame does open doors, and I’ve been able to work with some fascinating people.”
Josh said, “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you. In addition to your insight, you’re obviously well-connected.” He paused, frowning slightly. “Sheri, you’re the only one on the team who’s not part of the government or the military-industrial complex. Speed is of the
essence here, and some things we have to do can be done better and faster outside the government.”
She nodded as she chased the last shrimp around her plate.
“Can you think of someone in the private sector who might have resources, influence and a particular passion for our cause?”
She looked up grinning. “Like a risk-taking billionaire who’s into space stuff?”
Josh smiled, nodding.
“Actually, I know just the guy — Elton Musk.”
Looking surprised, he said, “Seriously?”
“Yup, he’s perfect. He’s a brilliant entrepreneur and inventor, and of course, owns the most successful space access company. Musk’s got guts and loves a challenge, and ... he’s kinda cute.”
He gave her a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, we were a thing many years ago. We’re still friends.”
Josh frowned. “Isn’t he too much of a public figure?”
She gave him a meaningful look. “Josh, not everyone in the public eye is superficial.”
“Sorry.”
She smiled. “We both know how to keep a secret. I’ll call him and see if I can get you two together.”
“That would be awesome. Thank you.” He paused. “Sheri.”
“Yes?”
“Could you do me another favor and not mention how we, uh, met to the rest of the team. I’m not trying to hide anything but—”
She finished, “Discovering that the source of our comet information didn’t know who he was a few months ago might not instill the greatest confidence in the mission?”
He nodded with a half-smile.
She put her hand on his arm and winked. “Your secret’s safe with me.” Still holding onto his arm, she added, “But, someday, I really want to know what happened to you.”
With a slight smile, he said softly, “Me too.”
On the drive back to his apartment, Sheri called.
“Just got off the phone with Elton. Told him he had to see you. Said it was a major secret that I couldn’t discuss over the phone. That just made him curious. Can you be in New York City Tuesday?”
“Absolutely!”
“I’ll text you the details.”
“Sheri, you are amazing!”
She laughed. “I know.”
Josh returned to his apartment. He normally avoided talking about anything program-related over the phone, but it had been an incredible day. He was excited; he had to share it with someone and called Elizabeth. Being careful not to talk details, he said, “The meeting went extremely well with a cast of incredible people. I’ll fill you in when I see you. Plus, I just had an awesome dinner with Lopez. She arranged for me to meet with Elton Musk!”
“Elton Musk? That’s great.”
“It really is! This could be just what we need. Sheri knows everyone. She’s an absolutely amazing woman!” I don’t know what I’d do without her.
Elizabeth said, “Yes ... yes, she is amazing.”
Thinking of all the work he needed to do before the meeting, he said, “Well, I better go. I’m scrambling to get my cost estimates together, but I just wanted to share that.”
She didn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry, Elizabeth, how are you doing?”
“I’m doing fine, thanks.” She paused. “This is all very exciting.” She paused again. “Well, I ... I better let you go.”
As he hung up, he frowned. She hadn’t sounded as excited as he thought she would, but he didn’t have time to worry about it right now. He needed to schedule a flight and prepare for the meeting.
At the Northrop Grumman lab in Redondo Beach, California, the Top Secret program briefing began. Dr. Jackie Jones saw that the young engineer giving the brief was clearly nervous. It was his first time to brief the billion-dollar spy-satellite program’s status to her — his corporate manager and vice president. This next generation of satellites would use pulsed laser illumination, similar to a camera flash. If it worked, it would help them capture extreme high-resolution pictures and even video. Their goal was nothing less than facial recognition from orbit, and they had the most brilliant laser physicists and engineers working for them. If they couldn’t pull it off, no one could.
Jones listened to the brief intently. After the young engineer finished, she said, “Conner, you did a great job, but where’s Dr. Cho?”
“I think he’s in St. Louis. They called him in on some special project. He said he’d probably be back in a week or two.”
With surprise, she said, “A week or two!”
21
PLAN
It was one week after the first team meeting. As Josh and Meadows entered the conference room, they found Smith and Lopez in an animated conversation. Correction, Lopez was animated. Smith, as usual, appeared emotionless. He reminded Josh of Spock. As they joined them, Lopez, with obvious approval, said, “Did you know Tim has a master’s degree in psychology from UCLA?”
Josh thought there was clearly more to Smith than met the eye.
Within a few minutes, the room was full. They had added several more players. Chandra introduced everyone to Dr. Drake Wooldridge, an astrophysicist and professor at Berkeley who specialized in comets. In his early forties, Wooldridge was tall and slim with a neatly trimmed beard and reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. He looked like a professor, except for his clothes. He wore an obviously expensive suit.
Josh sensed an underlying excitement and an air of expectancy from the group. Meadows started the meeting by turning it over to Steve Katori, introducing him as the Chief Engineer.
Despite his diminutive size, Katori had a strong voice. “Working with Dr. Chandra and her staff, we’ve got a better feel for the power and accuracy needed. We’ll be handling energies that we’ve never had to control before and with a huge increase in accuracy. This isn’t cutting-edge technology; it’s bleeding-edge.”
“All right.” Meadows smiled. “You’ve done the proper disclaimers. Can we do it?”
Katori and Cho exchanged grins. Katori, looking like a three-year-old with candy, said, “Yes, by God, I really think it’s possible!” Then the engineer returned. “But it would help to know where we’re going to build this.”
Meadows nodded. “Excellent.” He turned to Chandra. “So, where do we put this thing?”
Chandra leaned back in her chair. “Well, we have a two-body problem. Not only is the comet moving, so are we. The perfect solution would be to put it in space, preferably at an orbital Lagrangian point. That way, we’d have a stable platform that we could point in any direction.”
Meadows asked, “How long would it take to build this type of space-based laser?”
Katori said, “Well, in space, the energy source is the biggest issue. We need thousands of times more power than what even the biggest solar arrays can provide. It’ll have to be nuclear. Since there are no space-based, nuclear reactors of that size, we’d have to scale up an existing design.”
Meadows said, “That’s going to be a lot of weight.”
Katori nodded, looking down at his tablet. “To boost these components into orbit will take the biggest rockets out there. Even if we commandeer all of the world’s heavy-lift capability, it’ll still take a couple years.”
Josh spoke for the first time, saying quietly, “We don’t have that long.”
All eyes turned toward him, and Chandra asked, “What do you mean?”
He realized it was time to make a statement that he couldn’t back up. “What I’m about to tell you is highly classified and must never leave this room.” He paused. “We believe we may have less than two years to a possible comet impact.”
Dr. Drake Wooldridge said, “How can that be? There are no known comets on an intercept course with Earth.”
Josh said softly, “No known.”
Wooldridge continued, but turned to Meadows, “Captain Meadows, I think I speak on behalf of all of us, when I say how excited I am to be part of this project, but I’m an astrophysicist; c
omets are my specialty. I have access to the biggest and best observatories in the world, and I have extensive connections to the amateur astronomy network. I’m sure I’d know about this kind of threat within hours.”
Josh couldn’t afford to alienate his astrophysicists by challenging their expertise. “Dr. Wooldridge, you and Dr. Chandra are renowned in your field, and we’re honored to have you on the team.” He needed, first, to establish some credibility. “The threat has been identified as a low albedo comet.”
Meadows interrupted, “A comet with low sex drive?”
There was some muffled laughter.
Wooldridge, with obvious disdain said, “Albedo, not libido.”
Josh said, “Dr. Wooldridge, would you mind explaining the concept?”
“Certainly.” He automatically slipped into lecture mode. “With cometary objects numbering in the hundreds of billions, we knew we should see hundreds of times more comets sweep through our solar system than we do. About 15 years ago, Dr. Bill Napier and several other astrophysicists proposed a solution. As Dr. Chandra mentioned, comets are dirty snowballs, composed of ice, rock, sand, and in some cases hydrocarbons. As they make trips around the sun, they boil off their surface ice leaving the ‘dirty’ part of the dirty snowball. In other words, they end up with a fluffy shell of grit and tar that can be as black as fresh asphalt. This suggests that there may be a large population of dark comets zipping by us unseen. The theory wasn’t generally accepted until they used actual atmospheric impact data from the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty’s monitoring system. We quickly realized the impact rate was 10 times higher than we thought.”
Chandra added, “Plus, new research suggests the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs might have actually been a comet.”
Nodding, Meadows said, “But the dinosaur impact was over 60 million years ago.”
Impact (Fuzed Trilogy Book 1) Page 12