by James Duggan
He called Charlie and Molly into his office for an update. They arrived within minutes with Annie in tow. She had only got back from Hawaii the previous evening, but Charlie had felt the need to immediately brief her on the situation. The Asteroid Belt was her field of expertise and though they had established the target was indiscernibly getting bigger they were no further advanced regarding an explanation.
Buck listened carefully as between them they gave him what little they had established. It was Charlie who outlined their findings so far.
“Well Mr Buchanan, we’re confident it’s not a speck of dust on any of the equipment either here or on board the ‘scope. We made comparisons between our images and those taken of other segments since we identified the problem. None of the other images show what we are seeing.”
Buck seemed relieved at that conclusion, but knew there was more. He beckoned Charlie to continue.
“The hypothesis that a wayward microbe might have somehow found its way onto what would in effect be a giant Petri dish seems highly unlikely since it’s not growing in the normal way of such things. It’s far too slow; and anyway where could it possibly have come from after all this time?”
Buck was visibly relieved it was unlikely to be an equipment failure, but a frown creased his brow on the realisation that it could be something more disturbing.
“So what then? An asteroid?”
Annie chipped in.
“It seems the most likely scenario, but for it to appear unannounced like this is worrying. There hasn’t been any unusual activity in that area in the last six months; at least none that we’ve noticed. It will take a couple of more days of data to confirm it.”
Buck shifted uneasily in his chair. Things like this don’t just happen out of the blue. With all the radio and visual telescopes throughout the world and beyond constantly monitoring every quadrant of the night sky it seemed improbable that an unexplained object could suddenly appear without warning; yet there it was.
He stood and paced back and forth for a minute or so while he collected his thoughts.
“Okay, Annie I want you and your two sidekicks here to put everything you’ve got into this. I want to know what it is, where it’s come from and more importantly where it’s headed.”
Buck ushered them out of the office.
“Go to it. You know what to do. Come back when you have answers. You’ve got two days.”
***
Buck passed an uncomfortable forty-eight hours. On the one hand he knew asteroids were as common as dust on his mantelpiece. More often than not they were spotted early by JPL’s Asteroid Watch team in Pasadena California when they came within range. They were tracked constantly once they were established as a Near Earth Object just passing by into oblivion.
He was well aware the planet was struck several thousand times a year by what was essentially outer space debris or even man made space junk breaking away from decaying orbiting satellites. Most of that which reached land was no bigger than his fist and was of no concern unless you happened to be struck directly; which was virtually unheard of. A lightening strike was thought to be more likely.
The larger stuff would burn up on entering the atmosphere and disintegrate harmlessly before reaching the surface. They were the proverbial shooting stars. The very large bodies tended to be rarer and passed by harmlessly.
But there was something about this sighting which made him uneasy, especially as the JPL team had not yet reported its existence. They were usually on the ball and most asteroids were relatively close in space terms before they were spotted. Whatever this was it was still far out in our solar system so it had to be big. There was serious cause for concern.
***
The allotted time passed without any developments causing Buck to call for an update if only to ease his anxiety.
“Well guys, what have you got for me?”
The three of them shifted uneasily on their feet and passed hesitant glances back and forth. It was clear none of them wanted to be the one to announce their findings.
“Okay guys. I’ll help you out here.” said Buck, displaying an uneasy smile.
He paced back and forth as he spoke.
“Let’s see now. I’ve got a feeling you’ve got some good news and some bad news; right? The good news is you know what it is. It’s an asteroid; larger than normal, but an asteroid nevertheless. The bad news is it’s heading our way and will possibly strike.”
Still there was silence from his small team of investigators.
Buck thought he had nailed it and this was going to be an above average asteroid strike. He sensed their anxiety and wanted to ease the pain they were obviously feeling.
“Hey, come on you guys we’ve had damaging asteroid strikes before and dealt with them. It can’t be any worse than the Tunguska Event…can it?”
He was referring to the largest recorded such event in history which occurred thankfully in a remote central area of Eastern Siberia in Russia. An asteroid thought to be only about two hundred yards in diameter flattened nearly eight hundred square miles of forest. Miraculously there were no recorded deaths as a consequence, but he imagined the devastation and toll on human life if it had happened in an urban conurbation.
He looked deep into the eyes of each of his team. He sensed there was more and it wasn’t going to be good. He was getting no reply from any of them and was becoming impatient.
“Okay. Come on let’s hear it.”
Molly looked hard at Charlie, but got no response. She nudged Annie who reluctantly took the hint.
Annie didn’t want to be the bearer of bad tidings, but it was time for someone to grasp the nettle and get it all out into the open. She spoke hesitantly; obviously greatly distressed at what she was about to reveal.
“You were partly right Buck. There is some good news. We have identified what it is, but…there’s also some bad news; some very bad news. In fact it’s devastating. I think we’d all better sit down.”
Buck was struck by an uncontrollable feeling of doom. These people were all professional scientists, not given to using sensational language unless there was good cause. They sat reluctantly around a small conference table in his office before Annie collected herself sufficiently to clarify their findings.
“Annie?” said Buck encouragingly, but unable to hide his exasperation.
She was visibly shaken by what she was about to divulge. She chose her words carefully; almost syllable by syllable.
“You were right. It is an asteroid…but it’s not just any old asteroid.
“What is it then?
She hesitated. Annie was still having trouble finding the right words. Finally she blurted it out.
“It’s Ceres.”
“What do you mean ‘it’s Ceres’? That’s the largest thing in the Belt. They’re still trying to decide whether it’s a dwarf planet or simply a very large asteroid. For Christ’s sake it’s six hundred miles in diameter. How can it possibly be heading in our direction? It’s all too much. Your data must be screwed.”
Charlie finally felt he had to make a contribution.
“Well we’ve carried out a thorough search and Vesta is missing.”
“What do you mean Vesta’s missing?”
Buck’s feeling of impending doom was rapidly becoming a reality as he tried to get his head around the implications of what they were saying.
“Vesta has a diameter of about 375 miles. How in the name of Pegasus’ butt can it just be missing? Has it fallen through a black hole or something?”
Buck’s flippancy was a failed effort to lighten the seriousness of what was rapidly panning out to be a potential disaster which had the potential to make the extinction of the dinosaurs look like a minor earthquake. Charlie continued unperturbed in true Japanese fashion.
“Well we think the most likely scenario is that there has been a…a sort of coming together which went undetected. Vesta has gone off on a tour of the outer solar system, whereas Ceres has been
nudged in our direction. A billiard player might simplify the event by calling it a cannon.”
“Jeez, a cannon? That’s some fucking cannon.”
Buck glanced apologetically at the two girls and stretched out his arms in desperation. This was not the sort of language they were accustomed to hearing from him. But this was an exceptional development which left them all lost for more suitable and socially acceptable words. This was no situation for the faint hearted. They both shrugged their shoulders in abject helplessness and acceptance of his lapse.
“How in hell can something this big not have been anticipated sooner? We have eyes here there and everywhere…how?”
Buck was desperately searching for a lifeline, clutching at straws and hoping there had been a mistake in the calculations. He knew better than most the seriousness of the situation. Charlie was unfazed by the circumstances they now found themselves facing.
“Listen Buck, we all know we’ve come on leaps and bounds in the last seventy five years as far as space travel is concerned. The moon landings opened up a new horizon and encouraged our endeavour. But as for our understanding of the universe…well we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface. Who knows for sure what goes on up there or what caused this incident? The reality is it’s happened and we have to deal with the consequences. No amount of inquisition after the event is going to change the fact that Ceres is heading in our direction.”
It didn’t go unnoticed that Charlie had called him Buck. Here in the midst of what was developing into a cataclysmic battle was a minor victory. It seemed to focus his mind.
“Do you realise that this ‘incident’ as you so lightly call it could cause serious damage world wide if it hit us and have implications beyond our wildest anticipation?”
Buck paused for a moment as a thought occurred to him.
“Annie, I’ve jumped to the conclusion that this thing is actually going to hit us. Tell me that’s not so.”
“I’m afraid I can’t. It’s early days yet, but initial calculations indicate a head-on collision. The only doubt is where and we won’t be able to figure that until it gets a lot closer. But where it hits is irrelevant.”
Buck was stunned by her observation which seemed to him to be a flippant ‘couldn’t care less’ attitude.
“How so?”
“Well, you’ve already mentioned the Tunguska Event and we all know what happened there. May I remind you also that the dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago by an asteroid thought to be no more than ten miles in diameter? Ceres, as you said yourself, is 600 miles in diameter. I don’t really need to spell it out do I? You know in your heart what this means. We all do.”
“The death of the planet.” Buck murmured, solemnly.
***
THE DAWNING.
THE door opened as the impact of Buck’s last remark hit them. It was his secretary.
“There’s a call for you Mr Buchanan on the red line.”
“Not now Christie. I’m kind of tied up here at the moment.”
“I think you should take it Buck. It’s Pasadena, Jim Clarke. He sounds agitated.”
Buck knew immediately what he wanted. It was unlikely they were the only observers in the world who had spotted the situation developing out beyond Mars. Though it was equally unlikely anyone else had reached the conclusions they had. For now he and his team were ahead of the game. He wanted to keep it that way until they had consolidated their thinking.
There was still a minute, but unlikely, possibility they could be wrong and an unnecessary worldwide panic would bring untold criticism and doubt down on NASA’s activities, not to mention the impact it would have on future funding. Buck composed himself as best he could. He decided to try and play it cool and act naturally.
“Hi Jimmy. What can I do for you on this fine day? How’s the wife and young Sammy and Sarah? We’ll have to get together sometime and chew over the state of the world.”
Buck cringed as he said it realising there might not be a world to chew over if what they had been discussing proved to be correct.
“Oh they’re fine Buck. We’ll have to do that some time. Right now I’ve got something you might be interested in. Some of my people have spotted a bit of an anomaly out near the Asteroid Belt. At the moment it looks like something has become dislodged. Can you throw any light on it?”
“Yeah, we spotted that too. We were just discussing it. My team are looking into it. If we find anything significant you’ll be the first to know. Give your wife a smacker for me and the kids too. I’m sorry but I’ve got cut you off. Another call coming in. Be in touch.”
He hated being so abrupt with his old friend, but in the circumstances he just didn’t know what else to do. This whole thing had been more than a bit of a bombshell and he needed time to think and work out a strategy. The door swung open as Buck killed the connection.
“It’s Jodrell Bank this time. Same line.” said Christie, tersely.
“It’s started already.” said Buck, dejectedly.
Her eyebrows rose up questioningly.
“What has?”
“Oh, nothing Christie. Just chewing a wasp. Put them through.”
He flicked the receiver reluctantly.
“Hello Buck. What’s happening with your equipment? We seem to have an interloper up there.”
“Hi Barny I think I know what you’re referring to. We’re looking into it. I’m in a meeting right now discussing it. Can I call you back when we’ve reached some solid conclusions?”
“Of course you can Buck, but make it soon. It looks a bit ominous to us, even with our antique equipment here in Cheshire. It might be old, but it still does the job. I sure would like to know what it is ASAP.”
“You’ll be the first to know.” replied Buck, unconvincingly.
“Okay, look forward to hearing from you.”
The line went dead. Buck leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin ruefully.
“I think by the end of the day I’ll have quite a call list. The word is getting round and we are helpless to stop it.”
He looked at the faces around him. Their expressions were pleading for guidance.
“Annie, are you absolutely sure about this? There couldn’t be any mistake? A miscalculation…anything?”
Annie looked at him reproachfully without responding.
“No, I suppose not.” Buck murmured, ruefully.
The door swung open yet again.
“What’s going on boss? I’ve got the European Space Agency on now. They want to speak to you urgently.”
“Christ the ESA in Paris has got a sniff of it now. There’s twenty two member states in that lot including the UK. We’ll never keep a lid on this beyond today.”
Buck was trying desperately not to panic, but he knew he couldn’t let the cat out of the bag just yet. It was way above his pay grade. He needed to pass it up and let others take the strain. He tried to sound unconcerned.
“Okay Christie put them through and come straight back in here without speaking to anyone else.”
His instructions only served to rouse her curiosity, but Christie complied without question and took a seat around the table. She listened intently as Buck fielded the enquiry from Pierre Bourbon the Director of the ESA.
He spoke perfect English with only a hint of his Swiss origins. Buck was glad of that. Languages were not his strong point and he certainly didn’t want discussions with such world shattering implications going through a translator. He grimaced at the thought of the phrase ‘world shattering implications’ in the context of their impending discussion.
“Hi Pierre. Good to hear from you. It’s been a while. What have you been up to?”
Buck was trying to sound relaxed, but he wasn’t sure if his efforts had been successful. He knew he’d failed when Pierre spoke.
“Good morning. Good morning Monsieur Buchanan.” he repeated.
There was sternness in his salutation which alerted Buck to the fact he would not be
able to hoodwink such a powerful man into accepting some glib response. Pierre got straight to the point.
“We think we’ve spotted something rather disturbing approaching from the Asteroid Belt. I presume it has not escaped your attention. Can you add to what we already think we know?”
Buck hesitated, but he knew there was no point in keeping up some insipid pretence.
“Well Pierre I want to tell you the news is good, but I’m afraid it’s not. You’re not the first to call which only confirms our worst fears. It’s Ceres heading in our direction. We’re not certain it will strike us. The probability at the moment is 99%. Where and when is something we have yet to calculate.”
There was a deathly silence on the end of the line.
“Pierre. Are you still there?”
“Yes Buck, I’m still here…for now. I don’t have to spell out to you what this means do I?”
“Regrettably no. The great extinction was caused by an asteroid five thousand times smaller than Ceres. If it hits it will not just wipe us off the map…it will destroy the map itself. The planet will disintegrate to become just an inner asteroid belt around the sun.”
Christie squealed at the revelation. She had suspected something serious was afoot, but this was beyond serious. She still had her whole life ahead of her.
Buck accepted her reaction as being normal in the circumstances. There would be a lot of screaming and hand wringing from here on in. The line crackled mildly from some static above which Pierre could just about be heard.
“What was that? We’re not getting fragments already are we?”
“No Pierre. Nothing to worry about. My secretary has just caught her finger in the drawer.”
He glanced at Christie and shrugged his shoulders as if to imply ‘what else could I say’. Her uncontrolled outburst triggered a train of thought which made his blood run cold.
‘If this is how just one person reacts when presented with impending doom, what panic might be set in motion around the world when the news breaks, as it surely will…and sooner rather than later?’
He remembered Pierre still hanging on the line.