Tsunamis of staggering force swept over the whole planet, washing away anything and anybody that was still standing or buried under that mass of dirt and debris, even if they were still alive.
There were so many deaths, largely due to the natural disasters produced by the incredibly strong winds, and the horrifying impact of solar radiation on the human body. Phenomena which would go on for a further twenty-four hours. It was terrible - a massacre and a return to the Paleolithic era.
Nobody in the world could have imagined such devastation, and even less so when the first contact we had with solar storms were the stunning Aurora Borealis. The phenomena happen due to solar induction and they normally occur in regions near the North Pole, but in this case they were observed as far south as Spain, Italy, Cuba, Hawaii and Greece.
“Mr. President.” It was one of the few scientists who had remained loyal to his orders and stayed at the control center. “We still haven’t managed to make contact with the satellite, but we can keep trying.”
“Do you know anything about the spacecraft?” he stammered.
“No, but according to our calculations the operation should be over by now. If not… there’s no hope for us. The storm burned all our systems, we wouldn’t be able to protect ourselves from an attack like that.”
“God help us!” cried the President, bursting into tears for the first time that day.
Chapter 99
Seventeen hours later, it happened. It was a weak signal which almost passed unnoticed to the tiny group of loyal engineers who were still present in the communication room of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. They were working with equipment which had been recently installed but was obsolete, having been stored in the basements of NASA. The signal arrived to much noise due to the solar storm which, although it had died down considerably in the last few hours, was still proving to be a headache.
“Satellite in orbit,” read the message.
After a few minutes, a new message popped up on the monitors which had so far survived the storm. It read: “This is lunar space center. Satellite in orbit. Can anybody hear me?”
One of the scientists rushed to reply before communication was severed. “This is the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. The situation is horrific, millions are dead. How are you?”
The reply was immediate, almost without delay.
“We’re sorry, Houston. The solar storm has affected us slightly. We will position the satellite in orbit as soon as we repair the damage.”
“Do you have any news on the spacecraft?”
There was a long, almost torturous silence.
“Haven’t you heard? The operation has been a complete success, all the asteroids have disappeared. We’re saved.”
When the technician read the response aloud, a deafening noise broke out around the room. The twenty or so scientists, the Administrator of NASA, the President of the United States and Richard and Lily, who had been taken to the center for their own safety, began to jump around with joy and hug each other tightly.
Richard couldn’t help but think how much he wanted to embrace his friend and congratulate him on his bravery and determination. He wanted to see him as soon as possible.
“Could they put us in contact with the spacecraft?” asked the President, full of euphoria.
The response was quick but negative. They were too far away to communicate with such an out of date system.
The President snatched the keyboard from the computer technician and he typed something for himself. “This is the President of the United States. How is the crew? Please give them my heartfelt congratulations. The whole world is indebted to them, especially to Mr. Oldrich. He has shown remarkable integrity and mental strength, his is an example to be followed. Please pass on my sincerest thanks to him.”
The screen remained black for over two minutes and they eventually began to feel uncomfortable. Finally, a heartbreaking message appeared.
“Mr. President, we regret to inform you that there is no trace of Mr. Oldrich anywhere. The spacecraft has spent the last ten hours searching the exact place he was in when the black hole was being created, but we haven’t found him. The system has failed to detect his communications equipment. He has disappeared with the Trifariam.”
Richard rushed to his feet after hearing the message from the President himself. “They have to keep looking! They can’t just leave him there!”
A new message appeared on the screen.
“According to Mr. Carpenter, there was a massive explosion when the black hole vanished, and that outburst of energy probably reduced the professor to particles, as well as the Trifariam which was of extraordinary hardness. We are one hundred percent certain that Mr. Oldrich is dead.”
Richard couldn’t contain his anger and desperation, and he violently brought his fist down on the desk in front of him. “He has to be alive! Keep looking, for fuck sake!”
The President walked over to the paleographer. The room had been plunged into a tomb-like silence. Even though they were all happy, they were mourning the death of the professor who had given up his life to save theirs.
Lily wasn’t aware of what was going on. They had kept her to one side, sitting in a wheelchair and staring blankly at the one of the photographs on the wall which showed the first time man landed on the Moon.
“You have to be strong, Richard. The world needs men with your courage and knowledge more than ever before. Many people have died, not only James. Millions of people have suffered the consequences of the solar storm firsthand. Millions of families have been ripped apart. Look at Lily! She is the daughter of your best friend, the man who gave his life to save ours. Don’t throw away what you have. You’ve been given a second chance, grab it with both hands. Enjoy your life like James would have done.”
Richard reflected on what the President had to say and nodded his head. James had sacrificed his life for them and, as he had promised him, he would take care of his daughter until she was able to look after herself. He would enjoy life like never before and help to build a new world in which moral values, ethics and kindness come first. It would be a world reborn in which selfishness, evil, cruelty, inequality and war would be stamped out immediately. A world where James would have been happy. A world which should have come into existence many years ago, freeing us from having to experience such a terrifying apocalyptic situation, where our very existence was in serious danger.
Epilogue
Present day.
A thirteen-year old girl, with dark skin and Afro-American features walked along the corridors of the White House as she hummed along to the melody of one of her favorite songs. Her hair, eyes and strong facial features were so similar to those of her mother. The pair of them was like two peas in a pod. It had just turned two o’clock in the afternoon; Sunday mass had finished half an hour ago and everything was set out in the main dining room for the lunch which would shortly be taking place.
Malia had decided to go to her room to get herself out of those formal clothes that she hated so much and only wore because she had to. For once, her father had no visitors that weekend and her mother had given her permission to change into something more casual.
Just as she was about to go up the stairs, her eyes settled on the door which was slightly ajar, leading to one of the rooms where her father met with the most important heads of state in the world. Malia had often wondered just how many millions of books those rooms could sell if all the secret conversations that had taken place inside could be condensed into one single novel. She felt inclined to close it, but she was surprised to see her father sitting on one of the many sofas inside. He had a laptop on balanced on his knees and his eyes were red, as if he was about to shed a tear.
“What’s wrong, Dad?”
Her father didn’t answer. He had goose bumps, and seemed really emotional.
Discarded on the floor was a book with a title that the young girl was unable to properly understand - Trifariam: The Lost Code
x. It was open on one of the last pages, where a mass of numbers about halfway down caught her eye.
They were grouped in columns and sets of three.
Malia wondered what could have possibly caused her father’s ever-cool exterior to change.
“Nothing, darling. It’s just a video I’ve seen. The author of this novel must be fanatical about hidden messages and secret codes. He encoded an internet web address using groups of three numbers, where each set represents a letter within the novel itself. To find the solution, you just have to use the book and the numbers.”
“What?! I don’t get it.”
“Malia, it’s real easy. The set 13-13-1 represents the letter ‘w’, because - “
“Can I watch the video?” interrupted the girl.
Her father smiled. Obviously Malia couldn’t care less about the method of encryption used by the author of the novel. Her father took the laptop over to her and pressed play.
The video had been recorded over eighteen years ago, during a UN conference on development and the environment. Malia was astonished to see a girl of roughly her age make a speech which lasted for over six minutes. Minutes where she made the whole world listen.
Trifariam, The Lost Codex (2012) Page 55
