Jubilee Year: A Science Fiction Thriller (Erelong Book 1)

by Gerard O'Neill

  He stopped and took a deep breath.

  “One possibility is a change in the planet’s tilt, but what could cause such an unlikely event? Possibly—just possibly—a giant body has appeared. Such as the arrival of another star. It has to be an extremely dense object. Reports are coming from various sources and locations, including some bizarre observations made by the Inuit in the Arctic Circle and these are supported by the findings of scientists as far away from the Arctic as Belgium.”

  “Evidence pointing to the presence of an intruder star,” Karl said.

  Michael nodded his head. “Yes, I agree with you. And it is, perhaps, much closer than you think.”

  “Do a lot of scientists know about this?” Storm asked him.

  “Unquestionably, but the pressing question is, are they hiding information critical to our survival? Is there data that certain layers within the government and scientific bodies are withholding from scientists?”

  “This kind of discovery would be difficult to keep under wraps,” Karl said.

  “True. Then again, professional astronomers are told to shut up or else!”

  Penny put her arm around Storm. “Tell Dad what you and Pete have seen.”

  “Yeah. What a weird coincidence.”

  Michael chuckled. “Coincidence? The first rule of astronomy is that there are no coincidences. None! Period!”

  The astronomer fixed his gaze on Storm. “So, tell us what you saw.”

  Storm expected the men to laugh as described to them the strange objects in the sky he had seen the morning of his run. Instead, they listened without interrupting. When he had finished his story Michael was quietly for a while.

  “Finding the location of whatever you observed is tricky. You need to ask yourself this question. Were the objects inside our atmosphere or beyond it? It could be a strange kind of weather effect like lightning.”

  “Objects like you are describing would be seen by telescopes,” Michael said. “Unless we are all looking in the wrong places when they are flying by.”

  He took a long drink from the fresh can Storm had brought him.

  “Now—only because I’m at least halfway drunk am I going to tell you this. These days, it’s often not the professional astronomer like me who make the big discoveries. It’s the amateurs.”

  “I agree,” Karl said.

  “Astronomers like us tend not to aim our telescopes at the horizon,” Michael said. “And we do most of our observing when it’s dark. But if this object sits at a very low angle on the horizon and near the Sun at certain times… we would not easily pick it up. If it emits only infrared light as we think is the case, then that almost certainly rules out an amateur astronomer observing it. So you see, you not only need to know what you are looking for, you also need to be in the right location, and have the right equipment!

  “And why have they not directed us to search for an intruder star? Just imagine the government tells us a star is about to pass close enough to the Earth that the planet will succumb to its magnetic influence and as a result undergo pole shift!”

  “What’s that?” Storm asked.

  “Well, to put it simply, a pole shift is when our poles travel to a new location. It’s a little more complex than that though. There’s what is known as a magnetic pole shift and then there’s a geological pole shift. It’s the second I am talking about. The crust of the planet moves with great rapidity and violence. Continents ride over one another and mountain building occurs. The continental plates rise at one end and they drive down below sea level at the other—that is how Atlantis, if such a place existed, would have sank below the waves.

  “The oceans of the world slop about like coffee in a cup knocked by a giant hand. The tsunami travels across coastlines, perhaps more than a hundred miles inland. Earth’s rotation is affected. If the planet’s spin were to slow or pause, the atmosphere does not. It continues to rotate and blow over the surface with unimaginable ferocity.”

  “I’ve never heard any of that!” Penny interjected, her eyes wide.

  “Except in a Hollywood blockbuster,” Karl said. “It’s almost like the powers that be want you to know, but only so they can say afterward that you were warned.”

  “Scientists issue warnings, but corporate news services rarely carry those stories,” Michael said, warming to the subject. “Part of the reason is the fear of panicking the population. It would do nothing good for real estate values. If there was a general announcement that we face a pole shift in our own lifetime, people would leave all coastal areas and cluster inland. Most of the world’s major cities are located next to the sea. The world economy would collapse in days.”

  “They definitely don’t want an overnight collapse of the banking system,” Karl added.

  “All because of one star?” Storm asked.

  “Absolutely,” Michael replied. “And it doesn’t have to be very big. Size is only one factor when you’re talking about stars. Density is the other.”

  “We would expect some pre-warning, right?” Karl asked provocatively. “Perhaps a dramatic increase in fireballs as well as changes to the orbital and the spin axis of Earth.”

  “A little like we are getting now?” Storm asked.

  “Right.”

  “You mean, that’s actually happening?” Penny asked incredulously.

  How come Dad never mentioned any of this before, she thought?

  “You lot mind if I join you?” Stephen asked. He had seen the intensity of the discussion from outside and felt compelled to discover what it was all about. If it was about astronomy or the affairs of the academy, there would no doubt be many valuable insights he could offer, he thought. He hurried inside and pulled over a chair.

  “So, we would never see a dark star if one was moving closer to us?” Storm asked. “Even with a telescope?”

  “Relax, mate. It’s not like it’s orbiting between us and the Sun.” Penny said with a laugh. “Right, Dad?”

  Storm noticed a shadow cross Michael’s face. The small muscles around his eyes appeared to tighten. He had never seen Michael look so tense before.

  “Apart from the anomalies in our solar system we have always been aware of, there’s mounting evidence the thing is not only real but it is heading our way,” Karl said, gazing around the group. “Look at what’s been happening since at least 2011. The increasing number and magnitude of earthquakes, as well as the increase in volcanism, the sinkholes, super hurricanes, freak winds, temperature extremes—both hot and cold—not to mention the increasing animal and plant die-offs. Many of these extreme changes have been observed right across our solar system.”

  Stephen chuckled derisively in his chair. It wasn’t quite what was he expecting to hear. It was beyond him how some of these graduates were selected for the Ph.D. program. Perhaps Karl was one of those students who came from a wealthy family. A family able to pay for their son’s doctorate? He shook his head at the thought of a free thinker like Karl embarking on a career in Astronomy and chuckled again.

  Karl ignored the laughter and continued. “We know for certain near-Earth asteroids are increasingly common. There’s been an upsurge for over fifteen years. Once, it was only the odd flyby. These past few years we have seen thousands. Officially, we are told the numbers peaked in about 2000, and that they have eased off. In fact, the number of fireballs sighted has picked up! There’s also been a record number of impacts on the Moon, Mars, and Jupiter—and—I’ll tell you a secret.”

  He leaned forward, affecting a stage whisper.

  “It is quite possible they hide data from us.”

  Stephen had stopped laughing. His face fixed was fixed in a frozen smile, his fingers tapped the arm of his chair like rabbit feet might drum the ground to warn absent colleagues of approaching danger. If Karl was being serious, then he must surely be suffering a mental breakdown.

  Behind Stephen, Franchette and Adrienna had moved inside. They had, had enough of the breeze that had sprung up and was blowing dust
up the path and into their drinks.

  “Who’s hiding things from us, Michael?” Franchette asked.

  “And those fireballs are not the gone-in-seconds meteors we have grown up with,” Michael said, choosing to ignore Franchette’s question. “The kind we see in the past three years tend to be large and slow-moving.”

  “Where do they come from?” Penny asked.

  “Well, they appear to originate from a vast field of rubble called the Kuiper belt that more or less surrounds the solar system,” Michael said. “Something big has bumped them in our direction.”

  “Well, there’s nothing new about the idea of a planet orbiting beyond the fringe of our solar system,” Stephen said, after clearing his throat.

  “Yes, but we’re talking about a planet-sized object or something larger traveling heading our way,” Karl interjected.

  “I think that’s nonsense,” Stephen said, his face reddening with annoyance. He pushed himself out of the chair and stood up with a quick glance in Adrienna’s direction, and he saw that she concurred with his thoughts.

  “Must be time to head off,” Stephen said.

  “So soon, Stephen?” Franchette asked in surprise.

  “Yes, I suppose it’s time we were off,” Adrienna said, smiling wanly at Franchette. “Stephen and I do need to be on the road early in the morning. Thank you, to you both, for your wonderful hospitality.”

  After the men brought the clutter of the barbecue into the kitchen, Penny watched in horror as her mother shooed them away from the pile of dishes. She knew when Franchette was about to lumber her with a request.

  “Are you heading back to town tonight?” Franchette asked when the last male vanished from the kitchen.

  “Yes,” Penny said with a sigh. “Is this going to be about Storm and me?”

  “Oh, for goodness’ sake, Penny! No-no. It’s about your graduation.”

  Penny was stunned to see Franchette’s eyes tearing.

  “I’m on call at the hospital and I can’t possibly attend it. You know how they run such a tight ship. They have scheduled me on every single evening that week.” Franchette shook her head. “It’s such bad luck.”

  It would have been better if Michael were present, Franchette thought. But he’s such a coward when it comes to having conversations like this with his own family. He should have told Penny ages ago. When he found out the date of his symposium. He could be so trying.

  “Mom! Didn’t you put in a request? Dad is going to be there—right?”

  “Michael has the symposium to prepare for,” Franchette said, biting her bottom lip when she saw Penny’s reaction. “I overlooked requesting leave.”

  Mayne that wasn’t quite true. Work was always so busy. She really couldn’t remember which came first, the work or the decision.

  “I’m awfully sorry,” Franchette continued. “But I have booked you a beautiful room for three days at a wonderful hotel right beside the Opera House. Why don’t you ask Storm if he wants to go with you?”

  Her suggestion caught Penny by surprise, and despite her disappointment, she felt herself blushing.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Of course. You are both adults. He’s almost nineteen, isn’t he?”

  “Sometimes he seems much older,” Penny admitted.

  “Yes, he does,” Franchette smiled.

  “And sometimes not,” Penny added.

  Franchette looked at her daughter. “Well?”

  “I’m pretty pissed off, you know? It wasn’t like either of you didn’t get plenty of warning.”

  “The demands of our work is often beyond our control, my dear. If we were living in our Sydney home, it would be very different. But, sadly, we are not.”

  Penny pulled herself together. She was going to have to take it on the chin.

  “I’m not sure if I am ready for such a relaxed mother.”

  “Not relaxed, darling. Liberal!” Franchette said the last word with a raised eyebrow and a knowing smile.

  “Okay, my liberal mother, I forgive you,” Penny said. “Should I tell Storm it was your idea?”

  “I don’t mind,” Franchette said with a smile, relieved her little talk with Penny had gone over better than she could have expected.

  Killer Riders

  “It’s a dead wombat,” Penny said and closed her window. Storm gazed into the rear vision mirror at the still form of the marsupial lying on its back, all four feet rigid in the air and bloated with gas to the size of a fattened calf. “I told you not to do that. It stunk up the car.”

  “The poor thing,” she said. “They don’t move fast enough to cross a busy road.”

  She watched lightning leap across the line of jagged hills that ran like a row of broken teeth along the horizon.

  “I wish we were home,” Penny muttered.

  “Why? Are you afraid?”

  “I usually like storms,” she said adding emphasis on the last word.

  She glanced at him and smiled before turning back to stare through her side window at the peaks, which for all the world looked to be lit by flickering spotlights.

  “I’ve had quite enough of the kind we’ve been getting lately.”

  He tapped a beat on the steering wheel, rapping broken and yet familiar lyrics.

  “Riders… killaa…”

  “That sounds strangely familiar,” Penny said, giving him a pained look.

  “Didn’t you ever play Need for Speed?” he asked in reply.

  “I know the game. It has Snoop Dog’s version of the song by Jim Morrison and the Doors.”

  “Never heard of that group, but, yeah, Snoop Dog is da man!” He said and he began singing again.

  “Has Stella got anything good to listen to in here?” She said, opening the glove box and fossicking around inside.

  “Wait-wait! I’m getting to the best bit.”

  “Hell no!” She protested. “Anything but your singing.”

  “Try this one,” he said, reaching past her into the glove box and pulled out a disk. “You like them, right?” He waved it in front of her.

  “Hey! Look out!” She yelled, grabbing the steering wheel from him, turning it to miss the animals in their path.

  “Bloody useless roos!” Storm exclaimed as he braked hard.

  The back wheels locked on the loose metal of the verge, sending the vehicle spinning across the road. When they came to a stop, they found they were facing the opposite direction.

  He breathed in deeply, knowing how close he had come to rolling the car.

  “Shit, Storm!” She yelled. “We’re really lucky no one else was coming down the road when we did that.”

  “Why were they on the road?” It was a lame attempt to distract her from continuing the attack, and he knew it.

  “I suppose they must have been spooked by the lightning,” she sighed, pulling her fingers through her hair as she often found herself doing habit under stress. “God!” She said, angry all over again. “You know, you almost killed us!”

  Storm felt his face redden, but he didn’t reply. He started the engine and turned the car around.

  “Looks like one of them wasn’t fast enough,” He said, peering into the side mirror.

  Penny opened her window and looked at the road behind them.

  “The poor thing,” She said and turned to glare back at him once again. “What is wrong with you?”

  “I’m sorry—Okay?”

  He unfastened his seat belt. He knew it wasn’t okay at all. That he had almost killed the two of them, and the thought horrified him.

  “You’ve been acting aggro ever since we left Dad’s,” she muttered.

  “No, I haven’t,” Storm replied as he got out of the car.

  He could see the animal lying in the grass a short distance from the car, its back legs twitching.

  As he crouched down beside it, the young roo gave a plaintive bleat.

  “At least its back’s not broken,” Penny said, peering over his shoulder at a blo
odied muzzle. “How do we pick it up?”

  “What?” He stared up at her in surprise. “We are not!”

  “We can’t leave it here. You can put it in the boot.”

  “And take it where exactly, Pen?”

  “To the Animal Refuge.”

  “They’ll be closed.”

  “I’ll ring Kay Wilkins,” she said as she reached down to touch the soft fur. “She’s a friend of Mom’s.”

  “I don’t know Pen, but sometimes it’s better to…”

  But he looked up and caught the familiar warning flash in her eyes. It was pointless arguing with her. She would lift it up herself and get kicked for her effort. Then they might be heading to the hospital instead of the veterinary clinic.

  “I’ll go back to the car and get the blanket from the back seat,” he told her.

  He covered the head of the injured animal to calm it and gathered it up in his arms, groaning with the weight of the well-muscled youngster.

  “Were you able to reach her?” He asked as they drove off.

  “Yes,” she told him. “She’s about to close for the night but she’s going to wait—you never answered my question, did you?”

  He shrugged.

  “Well, was something Mom said to you at the party?”

  “No, I enjoyed the party,” he said, and he remembered how Penny had freaked him out when she gave him the same wink he got from her mother. “The things your dad talks about are really interesting.”

  “Dad likes you,” Penny replied. “They both do. Dad wants me to bring you up for an evening so you can see the telescope in use.”

  “Cool,” Storm replied.

  “So what’s been bugging you ever since we left?” She persisted.

  “It’s nothing, Pen. I drank too much. I shouldn’t be driving.”

  “That’s true. Mom thought I was driving us back.”

  They drove on in silence for many minutes, watching forks of electricity dance over the broken hills, black against the incandescent sky. When he spoke again it was without warning and she jumped as if a bolt struck the car.