“We’re going to our latest FOB where we’ll give you directions to the next base. We’re your next stop, at the intersection of I-81. We’re the gate that leads over the rainbow. Once on 81 South, you are safe and sound, as long as you stay awake and alert. There’s still a bunch of crazies out there just waiting for a nice family like yours to venture into their web.” The Sergeant moved his hands like a large spider, “They’re waiting for you to get caught in their web. If they catch you, well, it’s better if you don’t know. We were waiting for you and then we’re packing up and heading south too. The colonel found some insulated trucks he’s loading with the beer, not to keep them cool, but to keep them from freezing. Why don’t you get something to eat and you can follow us to our base? We’ll be giving you some very tasty MREs…”
“MREs?”
“Meals Ready to Eat which is a lie. After you have one, you’ll never want another.” He laughed.
@@@@@
Most governments move with the speed of a crippled turtle. If doesn’t matter what the crisis is, they hold committee meetings, hearings, and of course a couple of people had to prove they were very important so they leaked the information about the asteroid to the media. The Washington Times broke the story of a massive rogue asteroid that was going to strike the Earth and kill everyone. When the reporter called the White House Press Secretary, the reporter was told the Press Secretary had no idea what he was talking about, which was the truth since the Press Secretary hadn’t been read into the situation and had no idea what the reporter was talking about.
The reporter then called NASA who also said they had no idea what the reporter was talking about since only a very small handful of very senior staffers knew about the asteroid. The reporter couldn’t figure out what was going on. He had received a tip from a very trusted White House insider and yet everyone else he attempted to get additional details from claimed to know nothing. The reporter had twenty plus years of experience. He prided himself on knowing when someone was lying to him and he felt the Press Secretary and the executives at NASA weren’t lying to him and yet he also trusted his source in the White House. The reporter’s next call was to the European Space Agency (ESA) who also told him they had no idea what he was talking about. The reporter shrugged his shoulders trying to figure out what was going on when his editor called him into his office, “Jake, with this online story of yours about some giant rock going to smack into the Earth, you’ve set off a fire storm. Please tell me you’ve got NASA or someone else in the White House or even the ESA who can collaborate your story because if not, not only are we going to have to withdraw it, but you’re finished.”
“This is the scoop of the century, I’m telling you this is real!”
“I need proof and I need it right now. Upstairs is screaming. Every broadcast network has been calling for details. Other newspapers are calling. The AP is calling and they’re all looking at me. I’m not going down due to your shoddy reporting.”
“What are you talking about my shoddy reporting? I got a tip from my source, from my best source in the White House and he’s never been wrong before, never!”
“Well without collaboration this story is coming down and you’re out the door. I’ll take your press pass and don’t bother stopping at HR. I called them already and they have prepared your paperwork.”
“I’ll sue!”
“That’s your option but remember this is a work for hire state. I can fire you at any time for any reason and this is for cause, making up stories and embarrassing the paper is all the cause I need. Now, get out of my office and of the building and don’t come back.”
While no one could or would collaborate the reporter’s story, his questions did ignite a mini firestorm of inquiries. The ESA began scanning the skies for anything unusual. Two months after the Washington Times had to apologize for the story, the Russian Space Agency reported to the Russian President that the story of the asteroid was real. They’d discovered it and the story was correct. The asteroid’s orbit was going to cross the Earth’s and their estimate was the rock was going to strike Northern Europe or Eastern Russia.
President Aristov was shocked, “What can we do?”
“Sir, nothing. The rock is over 3.4 Km long and it must weigh millions of metric tons. When it strikes, it will dig a hole larger than what killed the dinosaurs and the debris thrown up into the atmosphere will block the sun’s light from reaching the ground for many years, maybe generations.”
“What will be the result of such an impact?”
“Possibility the end of all life in the northern hemisphere and the end of most civilizations. Those who survive will starve to death and, of course, wars. Another issue we have to consider is the strike will most likely be the spark plug for another major ice age. Almost all of the Motherland will be buried under up to fifty meters of ice and snow.”
“The Americans knew and didn’t warn us? That’s an act of war if I ever saw one…”
“Mr. President, we don’t know for certain what they know or what they guess. If the rock hits as we’ve projected, they will be destroyed along with us, as will every country in
