Escaping Yellowstone

by Larry LaVoie

  “I can explain,” Ashlar said. “It’s my fault. I thought it was important and you were not on site.”

  “I double checked the numbers and Ashlar’s numbers check out.”

  “Just so neither of you miss the importance of this, if you are correct, you are saying all the resources spent over the past twenty years have completely missed an asteroid larger than Icarus. How could that happen?”

  Icarus was .78 miles across and was discovered in 1968. It missed earth by 3.5 million miles. If the numbers were accurate this asteroid was three times the size and would pass within 250,000 miles, the distance of the moon from earth.

  “The orbit of this asteroid will not pass earth again for another two thousand and seven years,” Ashlar said.

  “It was a rhetorical question, Ashlar.” Lisa raised her hand to stop a response from Janice. “I want to see every piece of data and every calculation you made. When JPL calls me on this, I need answers.”

  “It’s not like we didn’t see this coming,” Janice said. “You were the one who said we needed more data.”

  Lisa glared at Janice for a moment before softening. “I’m sorry. We need JPL to confirm your findings. I shouldn’t have expected you to know how critical this information is. JPL has the info and we can go back to work. Get me the numbers.”

  The call from Marin came before the students left the room. Lisa motioned for them to leave and close the door before picking up. “Hello, Martin,” she answered.

  “I suspect you know why I’m calling.”

  “I’m just rechecking the numbers. I know this sounds impossible, but Ashlar Shari is a pretty responsible student. He sent the information out before I got to look at it, but I trust him.”

  “Homeland Security and FEMA both picked up the communication to JPL and blindsided me.”

  “The information was available to you at the same time,” Lisa said dryly.

  “I’m just saying a headsup would have been nice.”

  “I agree. I’ll call you back once I’ve gone through the data.”

  “No need. It’s already been confirmed and we’ve got Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico looking at it.”

  Unlike Keck Observatory’s optical telescopes, Arecibo Observatory had a radio telescope 1000 feet in diameter, one of the largest in the world. It was operated by the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center.

  “I thought Arecibo was put out of commission by the hurricane last year,” Lisa said.

  “It’s back in operation. They should be able to get a picture of it. We also have the Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone looking at it.”

  “Anything else you need from me?”

  “Let me handle the publicity on this.”

  “Of course,” Lisa said. “We’re going to keep refining its orbit.” She hesitated for a moment. “Martin, I hope you don’t think I intentionally left you in the dark on this.”

  “You’re a busy woman. I saw you on television.”

  She wanted to say, “what’s that’s supposed to mean?” but held her tongue.

  “I’ll keep you posted from here on out.” She hung up before he could respond.

  There had been very large asteroids pass close by earth, but they had all been discovered years earlier. Asteroid 3122 Florence with two moons was discovered in 1981 and passed 4.5 million miles from earth. This asteroid was as large and would be passing much closer to earth, perhaps as close as our moon. Any error in calculation, the measurement of speed and mass could be the difference between a safe fly-by and a catastrophic event. Lisa and her team would have to stay on top of this. Lisa went out on the mezzanine overlooking the observatory floor and called her team to attention.

  “Listen up, everyone. From this day out all of you will be tracking this asteroid. Any and all data will be given to me before it goes out of the facility.”

  Yellowstone Park

  On August 17, Cody got a call from Catherine at the Post Office. He had a certified letter. He must come over and sign for it. He walked across the parking lot and entered the back door of the building.

  “Cody, I know you’re busy, but I can’t give this to you without a signature,” Catherine said.

  “It’s okay. I was expecting it.”

  He signed the slip and looked at the return address on the envelope. It was from the Federal Courthouse in Cody, Wyoming. It wasn’t the letter he was expecting. He needed to appear as a witness in the death of the three family members who had died. The attorney for the plaintiff wanted him to appear as a witness against the Government. The blood drained from Cody’s face.

  “Bad news?” Catherine asked, looking at him.

  “I’m being asked to be a sympathetic witness to the plaintiff. I’ll be testifying against my employer. This could cost me my job.”

  “Maybe you should consult the park attorneys. They could block it.”

  “Then they would subpoena me as a hostile witness.”

  “Obviously, but at least you would be cooperating with your employer. They can’t fire you for being a good citizen and appearing when you’re ordered.”

  “I like your logic,” Cody said. He held up the letter. “I’ll take this to them.”

  The attorney Cody contacted didn’t seem too concerned. He asked a few questions and told Cody the matter had already been settled out of court. The impression Cody got was Yellowstone Park had enough problems without having to defend the death of visitors. Before he hung up, Cody asked the attorney if he expected a suit from Melissa Grainger’s parents. The attorney said he couldn’t discuss that with him.

  “Then there is a suit,” Cody said.

  “I didn’t say that,” the attorney said.

  Hawaii, Keck Observatory, September 7

  Ashlar Shari was surprised to learn there was a governing body that oversaw the naming of asteroids. You couldn’t just discover one and give it any name you wished. He filled out the form for the International Astronomical Union and applied for formal names for the two chunks of rock zooming toward earth. To be accepted, the names had to meet certain guidelines. They had to be pronounceable in some language. The rules didn’t specify any particular language, so he was certain his name had passed the first test. The next rule was the name had to be able to be written in Latin characters. He wasn’t certain about this requirement. His understanding of Latin was limited. The third requirement was the name must not be offensive. To whom? he wondered. The fourth rule, that it not be similar to an existing name of a minor planet or natural planetary satellite, would not be a problem. He would simply call the larger satellite Dark Angel and the smaller one Demon. He would let the governing body do the translation. In the comment section of the form he wrote, “I believe the name Dark Angel and Demon are appropriate in light of the potential danger they pose to the earth.”

  Dr. Lisa Wilson looked at the application and smiled. “Tenebris Angelas and Daemonium, I think there’s a safe bet neither of those names are already in use, but don’t be surprised if someone finds them offensive.”

  “In the world of political correctness, you think someone may think I am promoting religion?” Ashlar asked. “I could change them.”

  “Let’s leave them. I like them. I’m not certain I agree they pose a danger to earth. One is going to pass on the far side of the moon and the other on the near side. There is nothing for them to hit.”

  “There are many unknowns, do you not agree? We have never seen such a phenomenon in recorded history.”

  Lisa had more important things to do. The asteroids would be approaching in late December. In the heart of the Christmas holiday they may even go unnoticed by the majority of countries in the world that celebrated Christmas. She hoped that would be the case. If not, she would be asked to spend her holiday on morning talk shows, only to decline and refer them to Martin Downing, something she hoped to avoid.

  Lisa was reviewing data from another observatory that had been analyzing the companion asteroid. Each day they had ga
thered more data about the larger object, but today they were learning more about the shape and composition of the tiny moon traveling with it.

  “You look a little queasy,” Sandra, one of her students, said.

  Lisa tried to smile, but the best she could manage was a weak tight-lipped nod as she scanned the information on her laptop.

  Radar provided a clear picture of the size, shape, and speed of the object. The companion asteroid, which Ashlar had named Demon, was drifting closer to Dark Angel. In a month it would be within 25, 000 miles of Dark Angel, making it possible that it would, given enough time, collide with Dark Angel. Even now it was tugging at Dark Angel influencing its orbit in ways that would be impossible to predict as the two bodies came under the influence of earth’s gravitational pull.

  “Sandra, tell Ashlar I want him to run another simulation using the latest radar data. I want to see what happens when they reach their closest point to earth. And find out when those two asteroids are going to collide. That could make for an interesting holiday.”

  Ashlar ran the simulation. This time he had additional radar information from Goldstone Observatory in the Mojave Desert. He had combined his data with infrared emissions provided by NASA’s JPL Spitzer Deep Space Telescope and Arecibo Observatory data in Puerto Rico, information that had become available only in the past few hours. Dark Angel was starting to be noticed by the scientific community and NASA was suddenly all over it. Data that usually took months or even years to gather had happened in a matter of weeks.

  He called his boss over to view the simulation.

  The entire team gathered around Ashlar as he explained the changes in the simulation. “I used every bit of information we have and it changes the original orbit by about a hundred miles as the bodies approach the earth.” He shrugged. “So, we did well. The change in mass will accelerate Dark Angel as it approaches, but only slightly. The original prediction that it will impact the moon is even less likely. The numbers say it will miss the moon by three hundred miles, unless this happens.”

  Ashlar brought up another simulation. “Demon also accelerates as the earth’s gravitational field becomes the major influence on it. The combined attraction of Dark Angel and the earth at this point could cause the two asteroids to collide. It is impossible to know for certain if Demon will simply break apart and cause a debris cloud around Dark Angel, or simply combine with Dark Angel adding to its mass. What also compounds the problem is the strange rotation of Dark Angel. When Demon approaches within a few miles of it, both asteroids could be torn apart creating a massive debris field that could give the earth thousands of meteors as they enter the earth’s atmosphere.”

  “We think Dark Angel is primarily made up of iron,” Lisa said, “so it’s unlikely it will be pulled apart. Forward the simulations to the Planetary Defense Office and see if they agree. If your theory holds up we will have a busy fall and winter. I want the entire team dedicated to this project. Ashlar has the most experience and will lead the effort. Everything that goes out of this observatory will be cleared through me.”

  NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office or PDCO is responsible for early detection of potentially hazardous asteroids and comets whose orbits are predicted to bring them within 0.05 astronomical units of earth and are of a size large enough to reach earth’s surface. Converting 0.05 astronomical units to distance in miles equals 4.7 million miles. As for size, anything larger than a football field could survive the earth’s atmosphere and hit the ground. Dark Angel and Demon both fit that criteria.

  A second responsibility of PDCO is to provide expert input to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for emergency response operations should an asteroid be on an impact course or actually impact earth. If an impact is predicted to be probable or certain, the PDCO is responsible for providing timely and accurate information to the Government, the media, and the public. Unlike the movies showing a government at odds with the media and the public in the wake of an impending disaster, the United States Government has planned ahead. Unfortunately, instead of having years to plan for the impending disaster should Dark Angel hit earth, they had only weeks to assess the probability and the damage an impact could do. At this point they were certain an impact would not happen, but there were still enough unknowns to cause Dr. Lisa Wilson concern.

  Chapter 9

  Yellowstone Park, September 8

  Cody Street entered the Lake Hotel for a meeting with Park Director Jerry Adams. Adams had called the meeting late last night and Cody expected the worst. Rarely did the two speak, and in the few occasions they did exchange words, they were rarely pleasant. Jerry was driven by politics and had ties to the Washington bureaucracy. Cody, on the other hand was a straight shooter. If it was bad news he didn’t sugar coat it or consider how it would be received by those he was speaking to. Those who knew Cody well appreciated his candor, but the others found him to be one who saw the worst in every situation.

  Jerry was concerned about park attendance and considered Cody a nuisance rather than a help in that regard. The cancellation of the presentation regarding the rising ground in West Thumb Basin had caused Jerry to distrust the science behind the systems in Yellowstone even more. Of course, Cody had nothing to do with the cancellation. But knowing how Jerry would take it had Cody on edge.

  Cody entered the Dining Room and stood inside the wide double doors. September was the fourth busiest month for visitors at the park averaging nearly 600,000 visitors. Needless to say, the room was crowded. It was ten in the morning; the drive from his cabin near Mammoth had taken over two hours because of traffic. On the trip to the hotel he tried to think what had recently happened that the director would want a face to face with him. Three things that came to mind, all negative. The family who had died from gas in a low area, the death of Melissa, and the West Thumb false alarm. He spotted the director seated alone at a table that overlooked the lake.

  Jerry Adams was a tall man who dressed in a suit and vest like he had walked in from the finance district of New York. He looked completely out of place in the rustic environment of the park. In fact, Jerry had run a hedge fund from a Wall Street address before its collapse and his presidential appointment to Yellowstone. Further proof it’s who you know, if you’re in Washington, Cody thought. He reminded himself to check his cynicism at the door as he made his way across the room.

  “I hope you don’t mind, I started without you,” Jerry Adams said.

  I expected as much, Cody thought. He said, “No problem. I got stuck in late summer traffic.”

  Jerry preferred to stay at the Lake Hotel while he was in the park rather than at his office in Park Headquarters. He considered his office just down the hall from Cody’s beneath him and had rarely been seen there. For this reason, Cody had traveled a good part of his morning for the meeting.

  “More motorhomes than anyone should have to deal with in a lifetime,” Cody added. He pulled out a chair and sat. “What’s on your mind, Jerry?”

  “The Melissa Grainger case. As a part of the settlement, we agreed to terminate your position as Chief Scientist at Yellowstone. Nothing personal, you understand; just business.”

  Cody had started to pour a cup of coffee from the ornate pot that was on the table. The steaming coffee overflowed the cup and spilled over the saucer onto the white linen tablecloth. It took Cody completely by surprise. If he had known he was being fired, he wouldn’t have wasted his time on the meeting.

  “Goddamn it, Cody. You can’t say you didn’t expect it?”

  “You could have told me over the phone. Why the hell are you telling me anyway? Calvin didn’t have the balls. Is that why he cancelled his trip here?”

  Jerry smiled and shook his head. “Calvin is trying to keep a low profile. I drew the short straw. We want you to finish out the season, wrap up your business so a new geologist can come in next spring. You’ve got until the end of the year. It was the best we could do.”

  “I guess you’re expecting me to
thank you. Couldn’t the Government convince them it was an accident?”

  “I’m not going to rehash the trial. You were prepared to testify and we knew we were going to lose if it went to a jury. If it’s any comfort, you were not on the table in the first offer. We threw you in to sweeten the pot. The attorney for the Grainger’s said we replace you or there was no deal. You must have pissed them off.”

  “They lost a daughter. What could I say to them?”

  “Well what’s done is done.”

  “Yeah, that’s real comforting,” Cody said sarcastically, pushing away from the table and standing.

  “Then you’ll finish the season?”

  “It’s not like I have someplace to be,” Cody said.

  “I’d be glad to buy you breakfast,” Adams said.

  “I lost my appetite.” Cody crossed the room and stopped a waiter and pointed to the Park Director. “You know that man?”

  “Yes sir. That’s Mr. Adams, the Park Director. He eats here every morning.”

  “Is he a good tipper?”

  “He eats free. He doesn’t tip.”

  Cody got in his billfold and pulled out a ten-dollar bill. “I spilt some coffee. I don’t want you putting that on his bill.”

  The young man refused to take the money. “But his coffee is free.”

  “But mine isn’t,” Cody said. “I pay for my meals. Take the money.”

  The waiter took the bill. “Do you want change?”

  Cody laughed and walked off.

  Outside the hotel he stood for a minute looking at the lake. It was shimmering in the morning sunlight. He watched the ripples. We’re having another earthquake under the lake, he thought, even though he couldn’t feel the ground moving. He called his office on his cell phone and got Doug Jennings, the only person left on his staff this late in the summer. Everyone else had gone back to school.