Pilgrimage (The New World)

by Kurt Winans

  A few weeks after that meeting, Ross would then request a closed door session of the United Nations assembly in New York City to address the delegation. His plan was to speak individually with the representative delegation of as many countries from around the world as possible before standing in front of the main body, so he could get a sense of how the news would be received. The hope was that each of the delegates would quietly get the word of the impending problem back to the leading member of their countries’ government, and then the leaders of the world could work together in a beneficial way with the limited time available to help save at least a fraction of the human race.

  It was a huge security risk without a doubt as some of the delegates would probably laugh in the face of the President, but it seemed the best way to get the information out globally. Ross and Jessica both knew that within minutes after the announcement the media would run with the story. It was inevitable that someone in the United Nations would leak the news, and that was not only something that couldn’t be avoided, but it was somewhat necessary. A large contingent of media would be positioned at the United Nations building, as was nearly always the case, but this time they would have the story of all stories.

  AS HAD BEEN predicted, the news of President Ross Martin’s shocking address to the United Nations general assembly spread like wildfire. It was now mid-April and a full six weeks had passed since his last encounter with the alien, so Ross informed the world that he believed the asteroid would impact sometime during August of 2022. That was only sixteen months away, and there was a multitude of decisions to be made, and projects completed, before that time expired. Ross had no proof to back up his claim other than the word of the alien species and his own as an honest man, but asked the people of the United States, and the world, to have faith in his prediction.

  Unfortunately it would be difficult to gain the peoples trust in this particular instance for two reasons. Firstly, due largely in part to the influence of movies, television, and the internet, the thought of alien life actually helping the human race instead of being a hostile and invading force was beyond most people. Secondly, at least in America, the media had done such a tremendous job over the previous half century of misleading the citizens into false fear, that they had become numb to the thought of another cataclysmic event. Although there were a multitude of examples of that persuasive conduct, a few hugely significant events instantly came to mind for Ross. The cold war with the Soviet Union no longer existed, but the media had a field day with the hype of, “The Russians are coming!” for decades during the conflict. The “Y2K scare” at the turn of the century had turned out to be nothing at all, because the computers throughout the world kept functioning. The “Weapons of mass destruction” that supposedly existed after the attacks of September 11, 2001 had in fact been fabricated as a way to scare the American people into backing a foreign war, and the media fueled the flames of that fear whenever possible. Finally, the Mayan calendar had reached the end of its most recent cycle in December of 2012, but the world didn’t come to an end as many had predicted. On a much smaller scale, the American media had even treated a winter storm as the potential end of days in some cases.

  Ross knew that everything the media did was based on sensationalism and the next big story, and now they would go after him. He felt quite sure that the spin of his announcement would be that the President of the United States had gone beyond the edge of reasonable thought, because that would sell the most copy and advertising. It was indeed pathetic, but the reality of the modern world media.

  Patty was correct in her assessment that Ross’ name and reputation would be dragged through the mud. His open admission to not only the belief in, but actual contact with, extraterrestrials on three separate occasions had damaged his image. The media was certainly less than kind to the President of the United States, and the Congress began to have serious doubts in Ross’ leadership abilities. On the positive side, there were people from various areas of the planet who believed his story, but they seemed to be few and far between.

  Soon after his announcement the numbers associated with the New York Stock Exchange such as the DOW and the S&P 500 began to slide downwards, and by mid-June of 2021 they resembled those that had not been seen since the late stages of George Bush’s presidency in 2008. Most Americans, whether they wanted to publicly admit it or not, were driven by money more than anything else, so with the dramatic downturn in the economy they began to lose faith in Ross as well. By the time the country celebrated its birthday on the fourth of July, Ross’ approval ratings had plummeted to the point of reversing his seven to three victory margin during his re-election of only eight months before.

  Life in the White House had become very difficult for Ross as well, because he knew that most of the staff was talking about him behind his back. They showed a measured amount of respect towards him as the current Chief Executive, but they now had little regard for the man. Very little was accomplished in the way of policy, because many in the legislative branch of the government were discussing the possibility of Ross’ impeachment. Ross was safe for the moment in that he hadn’t broken any federal laws, but the twenty-fifth amendment to the constitution could be invoked if he was found to be mentally incapacitated. To that end, Patty pleaded that Ross give up his crazy notion and return to the sane and stable man that she had known and loved for sixty years, but he would not yield.

  As the calendar turned to August, even Jessica began to waver slightly in her belief of Ross. She had always been his most loyal and staunch supporter throughout their entire life, but the external pressure from seemingly everyone around her was beginning to take its toll. She had part of the equation from their father’s story while he was on his death bed about their mother’s abduction, but she had not seen the alien that Ross had spoken of.

  Jessica began to wonder if Ross had somehow become delusional on the Moon when something had happened to Dennis, and had then parlayed the entire experience into some elaborate ruse. Had their father’s story of the events of Roswell in 1947, and then the abduction in 1957, become the catalyst to spur on Ross’ vivid imagination? Did Ross have such a strong emotional tie to Grandpa Hank that he would do whatever it took to justify his story of how the emblem and necklace had originated? For that matter, was her mother Janet accidentally, or intentionally, killed by her father Robert while on their overnight getaway? Had it been planned all along so he could get rid of her without anyone ever finding out? Did he bury her in the Texas desert, and make up the entire story of the car accident before changing that into an alien abduction?

  The final few questions made Jessica realize that her imaginative thoughts were quickly getting away from her in a completely negative direction. She knew from how the family looked in the old black and white photographs that her parents loved each other very much, and it was foolish to think that her father would have ever hurt her mother. There was still the question of Ross though, and she needed to satisfy her curiosity. Jessica decided that the only way to deal with the situation was to stare Ross straight in the eye and demand the truth, but that might be the straw that broke his back. She knew that Ross needed to know he had his sister’s faith more than anyone else’s, so she would need to tread lightly.

  The following day Jessica said good morning to Mrs. Patterson, and then tapped lightly on the door of the oval office before opening it. She found her brother busy as always at his desk and just concluding a phone call, so she stood quietly until he finished. When Ross hung up she said, “Can I have a minute of your time, because I need to say something to you that is very important.” Ross replied, “I have something important to say to you as well, but ladies first.”

  Jessica took a deep breath and began by informing her brother in no uncertain terms, “I believe in you no matter what anybody else on the planet thinks, and I always will!” She admitted that she had gone through a brief period of doubting him during the previous few days, but some soul searching had convinced he
r once again that Ross was an honest man of true integrity. She concluded by adding “If you say there’s an alien species that you have had contact with and they are trying to help the human race, then that’s what I believe as well.”

  Ross stood to move around the desk so he could give his little sister a much needed hug. He knew that she had been constantly bombarded with negative words about him, but was proud of her for not folding under the pressure. Many people had underestimated her abilities over the years because of the leg brace, but Ross knew her resolve was nearly unmatched by anyone else he had ever met. He asked her, “Do you feel better now? If you are finished, then I’ll tell you my important news.” A nonverbal nod by Jessica confirmed that it was his turn, so he asked, “Can you guess who that was on the phone when you came in?” She shrugged while shaking her head from side to side, and then noticed Ross was smiling from ear to ear. Jessica hadn’t seen him look like that for several months, so she begged him to fill her in. Ross said, “That was the National Science Advisor, and he was calling to inform me that during the last few hours several astronomers from around the globe had confirmed locating the incoming asteroid.”

  JESSICA SHOUTED WITH joy at the news, because she knew her brother would soon be vindicated by all his previous doubters. The asteroid had been discovered by astronomers just as Ross said it would, so there had to be truth in what he had been telling the people of the world all along. His critics, which literally numbered in the billions at this point, would have to eat crow for doubting him, but the joy of this particular victory would be bitter sweet.

  It took Jessica about fifteen seconds to realize that the entire human race would have been better off if Ross had been delusional about the upcoming horrific event, because now they faced possible extinction. To both Ross and Jessica it seemed only fair that news of this magnitude should spread as quickly around the globe as his announcement back in April had, but they also knew there was much to discuss among other world leaders before the news could be released to the general public.

  Just then, Mrs. Patterson knocked and moved through the door with a member of the secret service close behind her. She had heard Jessica shout, and they didn’t know if something had happened to her, or the President. Finding both Ross and Jessica standing near the desk in no apparent danger or discomfort, she noticed that her boss was smiling from ear to ear. Wendy had now known and worked for Ross for nearly eighteen years, and had known Jessica even longer from their days at the law firm together in Houston. She was well accustomed to reading the mood of both of them, and she could tell something had made them both very happy. Based on Ross’ current low point in popularity and faith from the American people, Mrs. Patterson surmised there could only be one cause for her boss’s mood. She looked directly at his smiling face and said, “Can I assume someone has located your asteroid Mr. President?”

  Within a few hours, Ross was back in the secure bunker under the White House with the Joint Chiefs. He wanted to find out what level of planning had been done by them all for the eventuality of the asteroid impact. Deep down Ross knew that none of them had believed him back in April when he directed them to come up with some ideas, but they were also very professional men who would have followed his orders whether they thought he was crazy or not.

  As he had figured months before, the military boys had devised some system to try and blow the giant rock out of the sky. Their plan was to wait until the asteroid had moved into a position that was very close to the Earth, and then have all the nations of the world with sophisticated rocket technology fire everything they had at the object. They also informed Ross that they would of course hold back some of our nuclear arsenals in reserve, just in case a rogue nation decided that was a perfect time to launch an attack on the United States.

  Ross thanked them for the input, and said it could be a consideration as a last ditch effort. He also informed them that their plan was limited in scope because a vast majority of the world’s nations could not help with the endeavor due to a lack of said sophisticated rocket technology. He concluded by adding that those few nations that did in fact have the necessary technology would probably surmise that we would hold back, and they would therefore inherently want to do the same. It seemed to Ross that with that mindset, the Earth would be throwing only half a nuclear effort towards a giant rock in space that could possibly destroy the planet. What made it even more ridiculous, was that we would be holding back on the effort because we still needed a way to destroy each other in the event that the asteroid didn’t.

  The leading military minds of the nation literally wanted to sit on their hands until the last few days before impact, and then hope their plan would work. Ross believed it was an insane thought process, but was well aware from his military background that it was somehow justified in the minds of the men with the stars on their shoulder boards. There had been no mention by the generals of an alternative plan to prepare for the worst in the event that blowing the asteroid to bits didn’t work, and that was not good news.

  Next in line to discuss their options were the folks who worked at places with initials to identify them like the CIA, DOD, and FBI. Their collective thought process seemed to be centered on saving only the Americans, as if that particular sect of global society was somehow more deserving than others. To narrow the scope further, they intended to incorporate blue collar labor to somehow provide the more affluent white collar citizens, including themselves, with shelters to “ride out the storm”.

  Ross couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He stood to move about the room, as he loudly boomed out his opinion of disappointment towards their collective myopic solutions to what was a global concern. The only aspect of what had recently been conveyed to Ross that made any sense at all was the word “shelters”. That would undoubtedly be the key to the survival of the human species, but the parameters of such an undertaking would need to be defined more clearly before they could move forward. As Ross continued to circle the room, he began to discuss the thought of shelters with the assembled group. It seemed to be a sound approach to the problem at hand, and it needed to be discussed at greater length with other world leaders. There may be other possible solutions, but building shelters could provide some of their respective citizens with a fighting chance at survival.

  After returning to his chair at the head of the long conference table, Ross made it quite clear to the Joint Chiefs that they all needed to start coming up with some sound ideas in a hurry. He knew they had collectively been caught somewhat off guard by this meeting, because they never believed in the asteroid or the aliens to begin with. Before dismissing them all from the room, Ross used his most stern tone when he said, “I really don’t care if any of you believe me about the alien species now or not, but you all better start thinking about the asteroid more seriously!” Although unsure of the exact date of impact, he knew that the Earth as they all knew it only had a year at the most.

  NEWS OF THE discovery spread like a wild brushfire with the ever present fanning from the media. Soon everyone in the world who wanted to know about the asteroid could find out what little was known about it at the present time. All of the leading scientific teams throughout the world were now locking in on the asteroids position so they could attempt to learn more about it. The most important information to ascertain would be the trajectory of the rogue object, as well as the overall size and composition. If the astronomers could confirm that it was indeed on a collision course, then how large the rock was could help them determine the possible catastrophic damage it would cause. Next would be attempting to determine the date of impact, but that would only matter if collision was imminent.

  In spite of a steady diet of spoon feeding throughout the previous half century via television and movies of the possibility of extraterrestrial life visiting Earth, the vast majority of the American citizens thought the announcement of the asteroids discovery was nothing more than a well-orchestrated hoax. Many people had lost a tremendous amount of
faith in the government over the years due to being lied to during such events as the Watergate Scandal, or the misguided extreme expense of a “War on Terror” to name a few. Each of those examples, and many others by individuals or groups of people, had brought shame to the United States in one form or another when it was discovered how much deception was involved. Some Americans believed the recent announcement was designed to provide the President with a way to “wiggle off the hook” for his outlandish claim of having met and communicated with an alien species. Many nations of the world felt that was true, but that it was also a ploy to make America look good in the world view once again. It was not beyond the realm of possibility that there wasn’t even an asteroid hurling in our direction, but just another lie by a fearful government that was well known for misrepresentation at times.

  Ross knew it would probably be sometime before the results of the astronomers’ inquiries came in, but he had little doubt of what they would reveal. If there wasn’t an impending problem, then why would the alien species bring it to his attention to begin with? With that in mind, he began to make plans for saving as many of the world’s population as possible.