2036 The Proof: A Thrilling Science Fiction Novel

by Speiser, Zvi

  “We’ve all seen the images from the surface of the moon, which is pitted with millions of craters, resulting from the impact of millions of asteroids over billions of years. Many theories have tried to explain the decrease in the frequency of strikes over time. The most popular among them is that the large planets, with their significant mass and high gravity, attract the asteroids that infiltrate the system and ‘sweep’ them away, thus preventing many collisions.”

  Will was fascinated. He liked to watch science shows, but only the more popular, accessible ones, and most of what he was hearing was new to him.

  Apparently, the astronomer had grown tired. The flow of his speech dried up, and he leaned back slightly, seeming exhausted by the effort. His listeners leaned back as well, also absorbed and tense.

  After a minute or so, during which he sipped some water and his breath grew less labored, Gerry continued. “The theory sounds so good that in fact, its feasibility has never been tested. There were plenty of other, more fascinating subjects to deal with.

  “Clusters of asteroids in the asteroid belt were chosen as a means of calibrating the new telescope array, the STA, in its initial stages of operation. As I’ve said, the variety of asteroids is immense, from the tiniest to fairly massive ones. Most astronomers had no interest in the photos and films shot, sometimes for several consecutive days. But I, of course, couldn’t wait to get my hands on this photographic material, and immediately proceeded to study and process it.

  “At some point, I noticed an asteroid moving within the inner part of the belt and heading toward the sun, a direction highly untypical of the belt’s asteroids. It looked like one of those that had managed to evade the giants’ ‘sweepers.’ Calculating its previous path showed that it had actually passed by Jupiter, which had diverted it inward, deeper into the solar system. The asteroid’s path toward the center of the solar system was clear; there was nothing in its way. Even the third generation of WISE, the telescope intended to locate asteroids that might strike Earth, hadn’t detected it yet.

  “Calculating its path indicated that it would pass by Earth at a distance that wouldn’t be dangerous, unless it was diverted by Mars on its way to us. Looking into the proximity of its path to Mars’s orbit showed that it would indeed be affected by the gravitational pull of the last planet before Earth, causing it to strike us with a probability of more than 95 percent. Taking its mass into consideration, the impact of the collision would be on the same scale as that of the asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. This realization made me shudder, covering my face with cold sweat. What to do?”

  Gerry surveyed the faces of those around him, one by one. Curiosity and tension were at a peak. None of them were leaning back leisurely in their chairs. Instead, they were leaning forward, perhaps competing over who would be the first to hear the all-clear. Every instant was crucial. What solution had the astronomer found to prevent the annihilation of the human race?

  Gerry cleared his throat briefly, sipped some water and continued. “I decided to let the subject go for a few days, and then ask for an observation directed at the asteroid, which I named ‘Hannibal.’ My calculations had been based on a short portion of its path. I was hoping that calculations based on a longer segment would yield more accurate results, which might indicate that all is well and that Hannibal would pass us by somewhere deep in space, without hitting Earth.

  “I remember the perplexed expression on Dr. Almog’s face when I made my request. The telescope team faced an endless list of tests, as well as a promised deadline for its routine operation, which the entire astronomy community was awaiting with bated breath. Just imagine… A space telescope that cost about two trillion dollars and which would allow us, for the first time in the history of humanity, to actually see planets located hundreds of light-years away, rather than just guessing at their existence based on minute variations of illumination in the suns they orbit. Meanwhile, I was bugging him about tracking a chunk of rock in our own little solar system. I was sure his immediate reaction would be a gesture of impatience and then completely ignoring me and my strange request, and I was already working on a list of arguments to convince him. But then, his perplexed expression gradually dissolved, replaced by curiosity and the adrenaline of pursuing a challenge. His bafflement turned into interest, and a desire to discover another layer in the delicate balance of life on Earth.

  “The first two days of observation out of the four I was allocated, carried out with a four-day gap from the next two, provided all I needed to accurately calculate the asteroid’s path. The result was horrifying and unequivocal. The asteroid would definitely strike Earth! I knew exactly where and when it would strike. The disaster facing humanity was utterly indescribable.

  “My first thought, of course, was to contact the administrator of NASA. But then, due to the scope of the discovery and its implications, I decided to wait and examine the last two days of observation in order to obtain further confirmation. The asteroid had nearly traversed the asteroid belt. There was no problem observing it, because the belt is quite sparse. Analyzing the final measurements indicated a minute deviation in the asteroid’s trajectory compared to the calculation based on the first two days of observation.

  “At first, I attributed it to the gravitational pull of other asteroids in the belt, although this should have been negligible. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and after a few days, decided to request—or more precisely, demand—another series of observations on the asteroid. I prepared myself for an immediate rejection from Dr. Almog. I composed a reasoned presentation justifying the observation that contained no reference to my main reason, the possibility of a strike on Earth. This wasn’t how I wanted to reveal my discovery. To my surprise, I didn’t need any of it. It turned out that the telescope crew wanted additional close, focused observations, of any kind, and Hannibal was the most appropriate option. Within several hours, I received the first observation, and additional ones began to flow every four hours.”

  A slight gesture by the astronomer activated a three-dimensional holographic projector aimed at the middle of the circle created by the attendees. The light in the room grew dim due to a gradual tilting of the room’s blinds. The entire event had been meticulously planned. As the illumination faded away, the holographic projection began to reveal more details, made up of tiny, luminous points of light.

  “First, to help those of you who aren’t astronomers, I’ll present our solar system.” The solar system was depicted from an external, perpendicular perspective, as it was traditionally portrayed in textbooks for beginners. The sun could be seen at its center, surrounded by four points of light representing the familiar inner planets, followed by a pale circle, after which Jupiter and Saturn were clearly depicted.

  “The pale circle is the asteroid belt, which is actually so sparse that it’s invisible to the naked eye. Now we’ll zoom in on a small section of the belt, which we’ll gradually expand.”

  The sun and the other planets dissolved into the margins of the hologram as it gradually focused on an area in which there were only a few points of light.

  “These are the images I received from the telescope,” Gerry continued. “This is Hannibal,” he noted, and one of the dots began to flicker lightly. “And now we’ll see a red line beginning above the asteroid belt and continuing up to Hannibal and beyond it. This is the path that I estimate Hannibal traveled after being diverted by Jupiter to the inner part of the solar system.

  “The extension of this line is the path Hannibal should have taken after it crossed the belt, and as I’ve noted, this trajectory would have brought it in close proximity to Mars, and ultimately, to crash into Earth. And now…” Hannibal began to move along a green line, which gradually diverged from the red line. “…the short green line that just appeared denotes Hannibal’s actual path.”

  “What’s going on here?” Dr. Almog interjected urgently. “What�
��s diverting the asteroid?”

  “Does this mean it won’t crash into Earth?” Rick asked.

  A pandemonium of voices filled the room. One by one, each member of the group realized they had just been spared a certain death. The structured technical lecture was replaced by a variety of voices, all expressing a combination of indescribable relief along with a barrage of questions directed at the astronomer. What had caused the path of the asteroid to change?

  Dr. Apexton allowed the voices to die down. But, once he seemed ready to proceed, Dr. Almog’s voice rang out. “To the best of my knowledge, none of the asteroids in the belt that are visible in this image are large enough to trigger such a change of course. Something here doesn’t make sense. What could have caused such a significant change of course in such a short time? What are you hiding from us, Dr. Apexton?”

  Everyone faced the astronomer, their expressions conveying a single emotion—tension, replacing the previous looks of fear.

  “Please allow me to finish,” he requested. “Here I should mention an element of chance. For reasons I can’t explain, I continued to receive observations documenting the trajectory of Hannibal’s path every four hours. In fact, it’s still going on as we speak. The continuation of the green line forming in front of your eyes right now represents three days of observation.” The emerging green line was gradually veering away from the red one. “It’s clear to all of us that Hannibal has been diverted from its collision path with us to some other trajectory.

  “There are two essential questions facing us. The first is what’s diverting it, and the second, most important one—what will its new path be? How close to Earth will it pass and, after it sweeps by the Earth, will it be diverted by it and come back to strike it?”

  “Why would it come back?” Melissa asked.

  “Passing in close proximity to us could pull it into an unstable orbit around the Earth that might gradually converge until it strikes us in the future,” Ethan replied.

  “What can we do?” Will asked.

  “Maybe the time we gain while it orbits around us will allow us to hit and destroy it?” Rick whispered.

  Their gazes turned to the astronomer once more. “Your concern is understandable. However, you’ve ignored the first question—what’s diverting it?” Gerry replied. “Maybe an in-depth analysis of the reason would provide answers about its future path.”

  Now that the fear of an imminent deadly strike had passed, his listeners were becoming more curious.

  “And do you have an answer to that question?” Ethan asked. A quick nod by everyone present confirmed their urgent need to find out the factor that had saved them.

  “Well, I’ve calculated the mass and the location of the attractor that caused the observable change. My base assumption, of course, was that this was caused by the gravitational pull of a massive asteroid in the belt.”

  In the hologram, a yellow line formed directly from the center of the green line’s arc to a very pale spot in the asteroid belt.

  “What immense luck,” Ramona called out. “Imagine what would have happened if it wasn’t for that asteroid. Life here is so fragile and precarious. As a believer, I’d like to pray now,” she concluded, her face glowing ecstatically.

  That sounds logical, Will thought. Apparently, somewhere out there was a heavy asteroid that was pulling at Hannibal. Everyone seemed cheerful and full of smiles, other than Dr. Almog. Will didn’t take his eyes off him. Something about the story bothered him.

  Slowly and quietly, Ethan said, “I don’t see a large asteroid at the end of the yellow line.”

  The smiles dissolved at once. Everyone focused on the hologram, attempting to see a large asteroid at the end of the yellow line, and when one could not be found, all eyes turned to Dr. Almog and from him to the astronomer. The euphoria and curiosity on their faces were instantly replaced with apprehension and a sweeping uncertainty. What’s going on here? their faces asked wordlessly.

  Gerry took a deep breath. He was enjoying every moment. After long months of work in secret, having no one with whom to share his discoveries, he was finally revealing them to others. And if the mysterious discovery wasn’t enough by itself, there was also his finding from the past few days, which had just happened to fall into his lap.

  “Friends, I’m only an astronomer dealing with discovering the mysteries of the universe. I don’t have answers to a lot of questions. In addition, let me pile another riddle on top of the previous one. As I’ve said, I received the results of many more observations, and you can now see Hannibal’s route for the next three days.” The green line grew slightly longer, veering more emphatically toward the asteroid belt.

  “At this stage, I calculated the new location of the attractor asteroid as it should be three days later, considering its orbital speed, its mass, and Hannibal’s effect on it. I expected, of course, to confirm further curving of its trajectory, as the observations indicate.” A short broken yellow line emerged from a point located at some distance from the initial yellow line. “But, to my surprise, the calculations did not match the observations.” The end of the broken yellow line did not reach the midpoint of the new arc.

  “In light of that, I performed a calculation identical to my initial one. I checked for the gravitational pull and location of any element that, in combination with the first element, could cause the observed deviation. You’re looking at the results.” A yellow line emerged gradually from the center of the line depicting the last portion of the asteroid’s path, ending in another pale spot located at a distance from the broken yellow line.

  That’s odd, and entirely unclear, Will thought. What else could attract Hannibal and divert it from its path of destruction?

  Apparently, the others were having similar thoughts, as they seemed to be waiting for further explanations from the astronomer. Gerry, meanwhile, had an odd smile on his face, and showed no intention of going on.

  He’s waiting for some question or comment, Will thought.

  The only one who was still attentively examining the hologram was Dr. Almog, who noted, “You have a few more days of observations. What did they provide?”

  The astronomer smiled.

  Apparently, this is the question he’s been waiting for, Will thought.

  “I’ll show you the last segment,” the astronomer said, and the green line continued to curve toward the middle of the asteroid belt.

  “I don’t want to bore you,” he continued. “Here, too, I found a new mass, the third to attract Hannibal and adjust its path to those of the other asteroids in the belt.”

  Will felt himself growing increasingly confused. What was going on here? What was this series of large masses that could not be detected by the most sophisticated of telescopes, and which was diverting Hannibal from its path of impact with Earth? Apparently, the others found the description unclear as well. Their querying expressions made this evident. Someone had to explain what was going on, and only Dr. Apexton and Dr. Almog were equipped to do so. Slowly, everyone’s eyes turned to them, awaiting their every word. They needed a terrestrial explanation for what was happening in not-so-distant space, and which had existential significance for life on Earth.

  The tense silence had a cumulative effect. Ethan cleared his throat and said, “Allow me to summarize what we’ve heard here. You’re saying the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, which contains thousands of celestial bodies that today, with the STA, we’re capable of seeing, also contains small bodies that still have a very large mass, and are capable of attracting large asteroids with tremendous destructive potential in regard to Earth, and diverting them from their path?”

  “I don’t know how many such celestial bodies the belt contains. I assume that if I continue with my calculations, I’ll discover a few more that are adjusting Hannibal’s speed and trajectory to those of the other asteroids in the belt.”

 
“What kind of elements could they be?” Will asked.

  “I have no idea what they are, or how many of them exist in the belt,” the astronomer replied with an impish smile. “And maybe all these celestial bodies are there just to save us from a big asteroid strike. Sounds very appealing, doesn’t it? What do you think?”

  Apparently, the implications were clear to everyone. No one spoke up. They all delved into their own thoughts, each in accordance with his or her own beliefs and education. Minutes ticked by in silence.

  “I’ve presented everything I know on the subject to you,” the astronomer whispered. “It’s clear that our planet was saved from a strike by this Hannibal. Calculating its new path indicates that it’s converging into the asteroid belt, where it could travel for many eons, so we can go on with our lives.”

  He concluded dramatically, “Until the next Hannibal, which will always arrive.”

  Chapter 32

  The Leading Gentleman

  Chicago, Thursday, July 24, 2036

  Aaron had no doubt. The man in civilian clothing who had entered his abandoned apartment with his gun drawn was definitely Detective Rick Heller, assigned to investigate the murder of the security guard at the university, as the media had noted. It had certainly been a good idea to leave the apartment immediately following the murder, after first concealing a motion-activated camera there.

  Apparently, he had left revealing tracks at the university, leading the investigator to him. Well, from now on, he would be unable to walk around undisguised, and in general, it was best to avoid exposure as much as possible. Cameras and new monitoring systems were capable of identifying people not just based on their features but also based on their frames, their gestures, and their manners of walking.