CLOSE PROXIMITY

by Marshall Huffman

  “Oh Amiée, this is terrible. What are we talking about as a percentage?”

  “I’m not exactly sure but maybe as much as 5 percent of the total mass of the moon may be ripped off.”

  “Five percent? That…that’s, oh dear. Massive,” Abby said sitting down on the bed.

  “Yes it is. I will keep you posted. We are hopeful it will correct itself as it gets closer to the Earth. All we need is a few degrees.”

  “Alright Amiée, thank you for letting me know.”

  “I’ll be in touch,” she said and hung up.

  Abby just sat there looking at her phone. Five percent of the moon would change life on Earth forever. It had the potential to possibly wipe out mankind.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Dan parked his car in front of the entrance to the hotel and had the desk let her know he was in the lobby. He had just started to sit down when she strolled off the elevator.

  “Well, that sure didn’t take long,” he said.

  “You said six-thirty. It is six-twenty nine right this moment,” she said looking at her watch.

  “Shall we?”

  He held the door for her and pulled out, heading toward the White House.

  “Are you okay?” he asked after a few moments of silence.

  “I guess.”

  “What? Did something happen?”

  “Amiée, called while I was in my room.”

  “Amiée? And she is?”

  “Director of the NTT in Chili.”

  “Ah. And what did she tell you?” Dan asked, blowing his horn at some jerk who had just pulled out in front of him.

  “That the wobble of KA5 is worse and is affecting the path. They now believe it may hit the moon a little harder than projected.”

  He was quiet for several seconds.

  “And that means what exactly?”

  “Amiée thinks as much as five percent could be broken off by the impact.”

  “Five percent? That doesn’t sound too bad.”

  “It is horrific. The amount of rock and debris thrown off would cause huge problems on earth. It could even change the moon's orbit affecting everything on earth.”

  “Five percent?”

  “Absolutely.”

  They pretty much drove in silence the rest of the way. Abby was so busy processing the results and what it could mean that she didn’t even realize it was time to get out of the car until the guard opened the door for her.

  “Are we in the same place? It doesn’t look familiar,” Abby asked.

  “No. We are all the way across the White House in the West Wing.”

  “Really? That’s pretty cool,” she said.

  They were escorted down the hall to the Oval office. Abby gasped as they were admitted.

  “Oh my. I can’t believe that I am really here in the Oval Office.”

  “Yeah, kind of neat isn’t it?” Dan said.

  “Kind of? Kind of? Oh I forgot Mr. Big Shot Secretary.”

  He stuck his chin up and said, “Yes I am, aren’t I?”

  “Aren’t you what?” the voice of the President said from behind him as he slid into the office.

  “Honored to be here sir,” he glibly replied.

  “Right. Doctor Montgomery, thank you for coming.”

  “It’s an honor Mr. President.”

  “Well maybe, maybe not. That could depend on whether the world is destroyed on my watch or not.”

  “It certainly wouldn’t be your fault Mr. President.”

  “Please have a seat,” President Strong said, indicating the couches that were in the center of the room in two rows, “The others will be here in a couple of minutes. Can I get you something to drink? We have food coming in a few minutes. I know Dan warned you not to eat, right Dan?”

  “I may have mentioned it in passing.”

  “You are being especially slippery tonight Dan. Any particular reason?” the President asked enjoying putting Dan on the spot.

  Dan was saved by the door opening and five men and two women entering. Three of the men and one woman had on a uniform. The others were in civilian clothes. Abby was happy to see they had on much the same thing she did.

  Introductions were made and the President pulled his desk chair around so that he sat facing the group.

  “For those who were not at the briefing this morning, this is Doctor Abigail Montgomery. You are looking at the person who discovered the asteroid we call KA5. I ask Doctor Montgomery to be here to answer a few more questions that I had and to discuss possible solutions to the situation that could soon develop. Let me preface this by saying that the data that her team came up with is verified and accurate. There is no need to debate about the ‘but what if you are wrong’. Doctor Montgomery and her team demonstrated quite adequately that what they are telling us is indeed fact. Having said that, would you mind giving them the overview, but please, leave out the math, it made my head hurt,” he joked.

  “Yes sir Mr. President. Here is the situation in a nutshell. And I might add some new information has come to light since I briefed the President just a few hours ago, that’s how fluid the situation is.”

  “Here’s what we currently believe will happen with the latest information that came in from Santiago, Chili just two hours ago. The object we call KA5 has continued to wobble. That means it is tilting more and is less stable than before. This is bad because it changes how the asteroid interacts with the gravitational pull exerted by the planets. The latest figures show KA5 not grazing the moon, but hitting it substantially hard enough that as much as five percent of the moon could be ripped off.”

  A few gasps, sharp intakes of breath and even one little yelp followed the announcement. The President sat up in his chair, not nearly as relaxed as he had been.

  “Now five percent may not sound like a great amount but it will throw millions and millions of tons of rock and debris in the air. Fortunately some will not reach terminal velocity but as much as eighty percent of it will,” Abby said.

  She paused to let that sink in before going on.

  “What that means to the Earth is fairly devastating. We will have meteor storms like we have never seen before. Some will be of such size that they could potentially affect our environment. Out tides will change radically, millions of people will die as a result of the meteor impacts, animals will lose their ability to navigate, satellites will be knocked out of the sky and that is just the short term picture.”

  Everyone was mesmerized by what they were hearing. The President was now sitting forward in his chair with his elbows on his knees. The Generals were glancing at each other and yet no one said a word.

  “I know this is difficult to assimilate but it is a real possibility and it’s looking more probable every day. In a few months KA5 will pass the earth and only a short time later will impact a section of the moon. How much damage we will suffer both short term and long term is impossible to predict. We can come up with a long list but the truth is, we really won’t know until it happens.”

  Stunned silence filled the room. No one seemed to want to or was able to speak. Even the President was at a loss for words.

  Finally he said, “How accurate is the information from Chili? How good is their equipment?”

  “The absolute best. We have nothing in the states that even comes close,” Abby told him.

  “What can be done to keep this from happening?” one of the Generals asked.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know anyone except Mr. Fowler and the President.”

  “General LaForge, US Air Force.”

  “Thank you. The honest answer is I haven’t a clue. We are talking about an asteroid almost as big as a planet. This won’t be like in the movies where you send up a bunch of people and they somehow majestically shove it out of the way. It will never happen. Trying to destroy it will do more damage than doing nothing. If we did manage to break it up somehow, much of it would smash into the Earth killing billions. It essentially would end life on Earth. Would
some survive? I don’t know but they sure wouldn’t have much of a life,” she told him.

  “Could a laser or something like that move it?” another person asked.

  “No. That simply isn’t possible with an object this size.”

  “Doctor, Admiral Kincaid. Are you telling us that we can’t do anything but sit here and let it happen?”

  “Admiral, I don’t have the answers. I just lay it out and what is done about it is not my area of expertise. I can give input to the various options you may come up with but that’s all I can do. I didn’t create it, I just found it so please, don’t kill the messenger,” Abby replied.

  “We are all just taken aback by this doctor. The Admiral didn’t mean anything that was directed at you,” the President said.

  The next hour and a half was taken up with people tossing out various ideas but the end result was that little had been accomplished.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Dan drove Abby back to the hotel and walked her to the elevator.

  “I’m sorry I can’t at least have a drink with you. The President will be waiting along with the other military people. I don’t know what he thinks we can really accomplish but he is my boss,” Dan told her.

  “I understand. I’m sorry you have to rush off as well but an important guy like you is in high demand,” she said, trying to keep it light.

  “Look, I’ll call you and maybe we can figure out a way to spend a little time together if you are interested,” Dan said.

  “I would really like that. Tell the President if I have any additional news I will pass it along immediately. Good or bad.”

  “I’ll let him know.’

  He leaned in and kissed her on the lips and she put her arm around his neck, pulling him closer. She knew they had to break, they were in a very public place. She finally let him go.

  “That was a lot better,” she said.

  “Yeah. I could stand some more of that,” Dan replied.

  “Go, before you get into trouble. You can’t hold up the man,” Abby told him, wishing she was wrong.

  He finally turned and walked away. He stopped at the door and waved just as she was stepping into the elevator.

  **

  CNN –

  CNN has learned that a special briefing took place at the White House yesterday about the asteroid KA5. The President was in attendance with Doctor Abigail Montgomery leading the briefing. One source close to the White House said that the President appeared rather grim at the end of the two hour session.

  No details have been released about the meeting but it is believed that Doctor Montgomery painted a rather bleak picture. There is widespread speculation that KA5 could possibly be on a course to intersect with Earth.

  Doctor Milton Crain told CNN that it was more than just a possibility; it was almost inevitable that KA5 would indeed hit the Earth a glancing blow and spin off toward the sun.

  We also learned a special late night briefing was held by Doctor Montgomery for select military and civilian leaders along with the President.

  **

  All of the kids were talking a mile a minute about what they had done last night and how cool it was to flash their White House passes. Abby was pensive. She had read the paper that the hotel had delivered to her door and was both amused and appalled at the way the story was reported.

  What disturbed her most was where these experts were coming from. Was anyone even checking to see if they had any credibility? Did it even matter she finally decided? There was nothing she could do about it.

  The flight home seemed to take longer than the one to Washington and she was more than ready to say goodbye to everyone and go home and unwind. She thought about the President. Does he ever get the chance to say, I think I’ll just take the day off and stay in bed. Probably not.

  And then there was Dan. What to do about that. She wasn’t a spring chicken any longer but she wasn’t over the hill yet either. At forty-three, she still had a lot of good years in her. She really liked being with him but did she really want to have a serious relationship? And how would that work out with her in Arizona and Dan in Washington? A long distance relationship hardly ever worked out. It was too much of a strain on both parties. She would have to think about that seriously before she got really involved.

  **

  When Abby came in to her office the next morning her secretary looked like the Cheshire cat with a huge smile plastered on.

  “Good morning boss,” she said.

  “Uh..okay, what’s up?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Give me.”

  “Really, nothing. I’ll just pop down and get you a Diet Coke,” she said rushing down the hall.

  Abby shook her head and opened her office door. Two huge bouquets of flowers sat on her desk. One on either side. Abby’s mouth dropped open. She hurried over and opened the card from one. The envelope had the seal of the President of the United States on it. She carefully opened and read the handwritten note.

  Abigail,

  It was such a pleasure to have you here at the White House.

  I wanted to personally thank you for the way you conducted the briefing. It was a privilege and delight to meet you in person,

  Thomas Stone

  “Wow, you must have really impressed him,” her secretary said, setting the coke on her desk and reading the note over her shoulder.

  “He was just being nice. I’m sure he does this all the time,” Abby said.

  “I doubt it. Who is the other one from?” she wanted to know.

  Abby was pretty sure she knew but she wasn’t anxious to share the information with her secretary. She reached over and took the card off the plastic trident.

  Abby,

  It was so good seeing you again. I’m sorry I had to rush off at the hotel but duty called. I look forward to seeing you again. We hardly got to talk and I look forward to spending more time together.

  Affectionately,

  Dan

  “Affectionately Dan,” her secretary said.

  “Oh give me a break. It’s just an expression,” Abby said, becoming flushed.

  “Sincerely is just an expression. Affectionately has a personal meaning,” her secretary replied.

  “Don’t you have work to do? Fill the staplers; bend some paperclips or something useful. Go. I have things to do without you trying to reading something into my card.”

  “Sure boss. Would you like me to get ‘Dan’ on the line so you can thank him?”

  “That’s it. Out you twit,” Abby said, pointing to the door.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  As more and more pundits weighed in on the arrival of KA5, the public became more restless and agitated. Runs on survival equipment had reached epidemic proportions. Everything from batteries, MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat), and bottled water were becoming impossible to obtain.

  Grocery stores couldn’t keep canned meats, peanut butter and nutrition bars on their shelves. Online stores had to tell customers they were out of stock and it would be at least a month or longer before they could ship.

  It wasn’t a full scale panic yet but it was approaching one with each passing day. The news carried a non-stop array of so called experts who predicted everything from KA5 hitting the Earth to it crashing into the Sun as it got closer.

  Theories had become big business for many by selling excess junk at unheard of prices. Of course scam artists cropped up selling everything from special space debris damage insurance to special medical treatment kits that showed an incredible array of emergency goods but were nothing more than a bag full of everyday goods you could pick up at any pharmacy.

  Army/Navy Surplus stores were overwhelmed with business and many had lines from opening until closing. Other businesses that traditionally were doing well, suddenly saw a loss in revenue due to the shift in purchasing. For the first time in recent history, boots outsold tennis shoes.

  **

  Universities and Colleges saw a marked drop in e
nrollment. Abby was shocked when she received her class roster. Her ASTR 300A course was down almost twenty-five percent. Worse was her ASTR 400A class that was almost always overloaded. Only eighteen students were enrolled in a class that often bulged to fifty or more.

  She was walking across campus and happened to see the University President on his way to the Admissions Building.

  “Doctor Dulles,” Abby said, as she caught up to him.

  “Ah, Abby. How nice to see you. Getting ready for the semester to begin?”

  “Yes and that is what I wanted to see you about.”

  “Enrollment?”

  “Why, yes.”

  “Terrible isn’t it? We are down twenty-three percent across the board. Everyone is so caught up in this KA5 thing that the future suddenly doesn't matter,” John replied.

  “But I just assumed that enrollment would skyrocket, at least here. I mean with all the new interest I thought just the opposite would happen. I never dreamed it would drop. We have said all along that the world isn’t going to end. Earth will not be in the direct path of KA5.”

  “Well sometimes things don’t go as you would like or expect. This is the largest single drop that the University has had since I have been President here,” he told her.

  “Is this all my fault?”

  “Absolutely not. You are not responsible for KA5, you just found it. It is just good you did find it when you did. It would have caused much more panic if it just suddenly appeared. At least people know that it is coming and that it will not hit the Earth. Think about that a moment,” he told her.

  “Yes but I insisted we get the University on record as the finders. Maybe that acted adversely. Maybe I should have let the JPL take credit.”

  “Sometimes when we get what we wish for it doesn’t always turn out the way we had envisioned. Oh, I meant to tell you. I got a letter from President Strong. He thanked the University for loaning you to him and he gave a glowing report on you and the team. It really was quite flattering. I’ll have a copy sent over if you like,” John said.