by Bob Goddard
“Jesus Christ, Ginny! What are you thinking?” He brushed his hand over his short-cropped scalp in exasperation. “There’s a freaking great comet about to hit the Earth and you’re sitting in the top of a tree? Why the hell didn’t you go with my mom and dad to the Barstow shelter. It’s deep underground, you would be safe there from whatever falls out the sky!”
“You know your mother doesn’t like me, Will. She never has. Imagine being cooped up inside a hole in the ground with her for days on end. Her telling me I’m wasting my life and how I’m not good enough for her son…” She looked away again.
“My dad loves you, Ginny. You know he pulled in some big favours to get you a place inside Terra Vivos where you’d be safe. Sure, Mom can be a real bitch sometimes, but she’d want you to be inside the shelter, not perched in the top of a freakin’ tree where anything could land on your head.” The call timer blinked in the corner of his screen. Two minutes left. Dammit, there was never enough time.
But Ginny was smiling now and rapping her knuckles noisily on the side of her hat. “Got my helmet on, Will. And the trees will look after me. I always feel safe when I’m in the sequoias. I feel like I belong here, not in some underground bunker where I’d get claustrophobic.”
She was leaning towards him now and Cooper could see her green eyes sparkling in the dim light of the forest canopy. “And I’m over six thousand feet above sea level, Will. Nothing’s gonna get me up here. It’s you who’s gotta take more care, honey. Make sure you keep plenty of air with you up there. Stay safe and come home to me, first ship you can hitch a ride on. I miss you so much, Will.”
VIDCALL – 1 MINUTE REMAINING
“I miss you too, babe. Sure as hell hope you’re gonna be safe.” There was so much more he wanted to say.
“Communications could be out for a while after the meteoroid storm, Ginny. Some of the satellites gonna get hit. Don’t know when we can talk again, and time’s almost up for this call. So please stay safe for me, Ginny. Couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you. I love you Ginny...” his voice turned to a croak.
“I love you too, Will. I’ll be waiting here for you, honey. Right now I’m looking up at the sky and feeling a little bit closer to you, Will. It’s cold up here, but it is beautiful with a clear blue sky and the sun slipping down toward the horizon.”
She moved and dappled sunlight lit up her face. “I can’t see the Moon yet, but I know it’s gonna be a bright one tonight. So I’m wishing on a star and sending you all my—”
Her words froze in mid-sentence. A small window opened in the middle of her face
VIDCALL TIME ELAPSED
12. The Comet’s Valentine Kiss
Moon, 2087: Friday, 14th February
Compared to the festival atmosphere that preceded the deflection mission, Armstrong Base’s gathering for the impact of Comet Santos was quiet, reverential, fearful. Colonists filed into the Lunar Lunchbox, queued for their drinks and a narcotic patch from Doc Rozek, then shuffled down the tubular confines of the canteen. This was no ordinary St Valentine’s Day party.
They jostled for the best positions in front of the huge window screens. However traumatised they may have been by the horror speeding towards planet Earth, none wanted to miss its final, fiery descent and the unimaginable chaos that might follow.
It was hard to know how to behave. The optimists were putting on a brave face and cracking jokes to cover their fear. The pessimists had no such sanctuary and stood in silent groups, hollow-eyed and hopeless. For those from Europe, North Africa and the eastern Americas, the ragged exodus of their countryfolk had already tormented them.
While they waited the crowd was listening to the commentary from ISCOM in Australia regarding the status of Earth’s thousands of satellites and the two space stations.
Already a handful of communications satellites had gone offline, and many had registered hits. Both space stations were recording damage to their solar panels, antennae and exterior tanks. The International Space Station had sustained two major hull breaches already and the bulk of the meteor storm was yet to come.
Takemo Nakashima was ushered in, flanked by two engineers. His eyes were wide and wild, searching through the throng, but if it was Lian he sought, she would not be found. She was still under sedation in her plastic cocoon in the sick bay, watched over by the ever-vigilant Doctor Rozek.
Tamala and the tall New Zealander arrived. She spotted George Niarchos, the elderly shipping magnate who had become such a source of calm and inspiration to her of late. She took Darren over to join him and discovered he was chaperoning a furtive-looking Andrei Lanimovskiy.
A few minutes later Nadia Sokolova entered the canteen and was greeted warmly by everyone she passed, most stopping her for a word and a smile regarding her mother’s recent scare. Tamala watched the elegant Russian approach and realised how much these people respected and loved their Governor. If only they knew, she thought, what Nadia had done for them this past week, they would be in awe.
As she came near, Tamala saw that Thijs Jansen was trailing in Nadia’s wake. Maybe they are secret lovers, like Darren and me, she thought, but somehow it seemed unlikely. When Nadia and the astronomer joined them, Tamala noticed that Andrei Lanimovskiy shrank behind his Greek companion.
“Don’t worry, Andrei,” said Nadia with a smile. “I won’t bite you. Not just yet, anyway. Well done for completing your first shift. We’ll make a man out of you yet.”
Addressing them all she said, “Thijs here has just heard that the Chilean observatory footage has shown it was an asteroid that hit Comet Santos two weeks ago. Nothing to do with the Chinese mining operation. I expect they will announce it soon.”
Right on cue the ISCOM broadcast cut to an excited presenter in an Australian newsroom. “Breaking news!” he gushed. “The Big Bad Comet Santos was nudged onto its collision course with Earth by a one-in-a-billion chance impact from an asteroid, not by a Chinese mining blow-out.”
The picture cut to a fuzzy image of a bright lump in the blackness of space.
“This footage – captured two weeks ago by a Chilean observatory – only came to light today.”
The lump sprouted a searing flash on its upper left side and a bright stream of material jetted from it.
“Expert analysis has shown this is the moment that Comet Santos was knocked out of its safe orbit on to a new and deadly path. And if you look carefully at it in slow motion you can see the culprit.”
An even fuzzier close-up showed a stop-frame image with a small circled object approaching fast from the upper left side.
“That’s the asteroid in the circle.”
It met the comet and the bright flash appeared in growing steps as the footage clicked slowly forward.
“Detailed analysis shows this was an asteroid. A collision between comet and asteroid was originally discounted. It was thought too remote a possibility to account for the comet’s change of course, which left the Chinese carrying the can.
“They protested their innocence in the face of international condemnation. This new evidence shows they were right all along. Here’s what Australia’s Chief Astronomer, Troy Stewart made of it…”
A slender man with old-fashioned glasses appeared. “The chances of a comet and an asteroid colliding outside the Kuiper Belt are a billion-to-one. But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Once every billion years this comet is going to get hit by an asteroid and that’s exactly what happened to Comet Santos two weeks ago.
“Unfortunately for us, the impact and the resulting jet of out-gassing material from the comet was enough to push it on to a new course. One that crossed planet Earth’s own orbit around the sun.
“This footage proves conclusively that the Chinese mining of Comet Santos played no part in its change of course. An asteroid impact was the culprit.”
There was a buzz of conversation among the colonists and a cry from one which made everyone turn to look. Takemo Nakashima had his face turned up to the
ceiling with his mouth wide open in a prolonged wail.
Tamala turned to Nadia with shining eyes. “This will be wonderful news for Lian. She was tortured by the thought that her country was responsible. I hope she will be okay, Nadia.”
“She is in good hands. We will have to wait and see.”
“Look!” said Tamala, standing on tip-toe and waving excitedly, “here’s Will!”
The Californian, hair still wet from the shower, looked groggy as he moved slowly through the crowd. He was stopped by everyone for handshakes, slaps on the back and praise. Word of his heroic rescue of Lian had spread through the colony like wildfire. There had been much speculation over the cause of her surface-suit leak, but they were agog to hear he had given up his own air to save her life and had almost lost his own in the process.
By the time he reached Nadia and her group he was holding two drinks that had been forced upon him by well-wishers and sported a bright red smear of lipstick on his cheek. He looked bemused and flustered by all the attention.
“Hey, what’d I do?!” he said with a half-smile.
“You’re a hero, Will!” said Tamala, who threw her arms around his waist and hugged him. “That’s twice you’ve saved Lian in one week!”
“Sure hope there won’t be a third time,” he grinned.
Darren shook his hand firmly. “Lucky it was you out there, man. No-one else could’ve done what you did.”
“No, no. I almost screwed up – taking out a buggy with a half-flat battery.”
“How is Lian?” asked Tamala.
“Still sleeping. Doc Rozek is keeping an eye on her and she’s still sedated. Guess we won’t know for a while.”
Will turned to the astronomer. “Hey, Thijs. Can you tell me something?”
“I will try, Will. What do you need to know?”
“Would someone be safe in the top of a tree – a giant sequoia tree – in California right now?”
Thijs frowned. “This is your partner, Ginny, I am guessing?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s she doing in a tree, Will?” asked Nadia. “I thought she was going with your parents to their five-star shelter.”
“Yeah, so did I,” he said grimly. “Turns out she had another plan. She an’ my mom don’t get along. Couldn’t face being shut up with her for days on end. The trees are her sanctuary.”
“Well,” said Thijs, “A tree wouldn’t be my first choice, but California is a long way from the main impact zone. There is a smaller piece of comet due to land in the eastern Pacific, so there is a tsunami risk on the coast…”
“She is well inland,” said Will, “and at six thousand feet, that’s almost two thousand metres.”
“There may be some falling debris,” said the astronomer, “but she would have to be very unlucky to be struck by that. The big unknown, Will, is the risk from earthquakes. No-one knows for sure how the seismic shock waves will propagate through the Earth’s crust and mantle. But…” he nodded to the nearest window screen where the countdown to impact now read 6 minutes, 25 seconds, “we will find out soon enough.”
Nadia leaned towards Tamala. “Want to say your piece now, Tamala?”
Tamala nodded apprehensively.
“Fellow colonists,” said Nadia, looking into her comm. Her face appeared on the window screens, her voice replaced the ISCOM commentary in their ear studs. “Tamala, our Head of Personnel, has a few thoughts for you.”
Tamala’s face appeared on the screens. She coughed nervously to clear her throat.
“Well,” she began, “in my country, when we are feeling scared or emotional or we just need some comforting, we find someone nearby to hold hands with. It really helps when you are feeling all alone.
“So, I am going to suggest that we each find someone’s hand to hold over the next few minutes. It will help us feel better while we witness this awful assault on our lovely planet Earth.”
There was a murmur and some shuffling among the crowd, then smiles as people found a friend to hold hands with.
“We all feel a long way from our families and loved ones right now. We all need some reassurance, some comforting.” She smiled and turned her head. “I have found the lovely Darren Griffiths to hold hands with.”
She turned her radiant grin back to her comm. “So I urge you all, don’t be shy, find a hand to hold and life will feel a little less scary.”
Will was looking at Tamala’s smiling face on the screen when he felt a small, cool hand slip into his own. He turned to see Rachel Lim looking up at him with wide, imploring eyes. He smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
Doctor Rozek appeared at Nadia’s side at that moment. She gave the tall Russian a brief smile and clasped her hand in both of hers.
“You too, Nadia,” she said.
“Oh. Of course, Yasmine,” The Governor smiled, wrapping her long fingers around the Egyptian woman’s coffee-coloured hand. “Thank you. How is Lian?”
“Lian is fine. She is sleeping more peacefully now and her breathing is good.” She lifted her comm for Nadia to see. There was Lian’s face surrounded by numbers and symbols.
“I have rigged a cam so I can keep an eye on her and if any of her biometrics change I will be alerted.” She tapped her right ear.
“Good,” said Nadia. “I’m pleased you could join us.” She gave Yasmine’s hand a welcoming squeeze.
“Two minutes!” The news commentator’s voice had raised an octave. “And we have one of the smaller comet pieces entering the atmosphere now.”
The split screen showed Comet Santos – now in Earth’s shadow – as a dull misty ball of dust, plus a smaller, tumbling lump growing brighter by the second.
“This is Santos B1, as it’s been designated, glowing as it rips through the atmosphere en-route to the North Atlantic just south of Greenland.”
The murmur of voices in the Lunchbox faded away as everyone turned to the window screens in morbid fascination. A drone cam followed the fiery ball as it burned a fierce trajectory all the way to the dark surface and disappeared in a colossal waterspout. A communal gasp escaped the lips of the colonists. Will felt Rachel’s grip tighten and her other hand clutched his arm.
“And here’s Santos B2.” The screen showed a second comet piece spiralling Earthward in a glowing stream of debris. “This one will land in the Sahara Desert.”
There was a gasp as the colonists saw B2 split into fragments in a brilliant burst of light.
“B2 has fractured – exploded you might say – as we expected these smaller comet pieces would. There will still be ground impacts, according to the experts, but less destructive.”
A stream of bright streaks plunged into the night-time desert and produced blinding eruptions of light. More gasps from the colonists. Will felt Rachel trembling against his shoulder and wrapped his arm around her.
“B3, B4 and B5 are entering now.” A cluster of rotating, streaming balls of fire filled the screens. “And Comet Santos, the main body, is now entering Earth’s atmosphere!”
The screens showed images of the same object from three different perspectives. It was glowing fiercely at its leading edge and looked, thought Will, like a marshmallow held too close to the campfire and caught alight.
The similarity vanished as the whole of the comet became a blinding orb of incandescent light. Clouds vanished as the heat struck them, evaporating everything in an instant over a radius of hundreds of kilometres.
“Oh my word…” was all the commentator could say.
There was a scream from one of the colonists, followed by oaths and curses in a variety of languages. Nobody had imagined this.
“Jesus H Christ,” muttered Will as the streaming fireball plunged towards the surface, illuminating the dark sea and lighting up the coasts of Portugal, Spain and Africa. One of the images blinked out as the heat melted the drone, despite being hundreds of kilometres from the incandescent comet. A second image went blank.
“Mankind has never witnessed a s
cene like this.” The commentator’s voice was shaky. “May God have mercy on us all.”
The remaining image, from a satellite high above, captured the moment Comet Santos plunged into the eastern Atlantic. The searing light dimmed for a second and was replaced by a vast spout of erupting brilliance as a trillion tons of sea floor turned to molten magma in an instant.
Another scream and more gasps and oaths replaced the commentator who appeared to be struck dumb. No-one could tear their eyes away from the eruption of fire. It continued undimmed for what seemed an eternity as the comet burrowed deep into the Earth’s crust and ejected a million cubic kilometres of it high into the atmosphere, some of it into orbit and beyond.
The fiery fountain slowly widened into a funnel of light, the centre now ominously dark and spreading as a vast cloud of debris grew above it.
Tamala could hear someone sobbing pitifully. With a shock she realised it was herself. She looked up at Darren, but his face was like a stony mask, eyes locked on the screen, tears rolling slowly down his rugged face.
Further fireballs could be seen plunging to the surface, but after the enormity of the main comet, they seemed irrelevant. The ISCOM news presenter remained silent. There was nothing more that he, or anyone, could say.
If the truth were told, many who had no family in immediate harm’s way had been secretly excited by the prospect of a comet crashing into Earth. In a life fed by the media’s idea of news – celebrity, prurience, racism, misplaced morality and religious hypocrisy – the idea of a world-shattering event to shake up mankind’s decadence was appealing. But the full horror of the catastrophe unfolding on their home planet swept away such thoughts.
Will tore his eyes away from the screen at the sound of retching. A Scandinavian woman was pushing through the crowd, hand over her mouth. He looked at the horror on people’s faces, could hear screams and moans of distress. Some, like the Singaporean girl clinging to his chest, were whimpering quietly, stunned by the unimaginable might of this ultimate natural disaster.