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Table of Contents:
Front Matter
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue
Prologue:
USA, Planet Earth
Earth Date: 2153 AD
Dr Somers yawned and stretched his hands towards the ceiling as he did so. His work had been preoccupying him of late and it was starting to affect his private life. He had been at home less and he had even slept a few times in his office rather than in his own bed. His wife had, of course, managed to mention this only a few dozen times to him over the last month with visibly growing irritation. He couldn’t blame her, he thought as he finished his yawn and lowered his hands.
I have been exceptionally busy lately. But then again, this is an extremely important matter which could affect everyone on the whole planet. It deserves my undivided attention, he thought to himself.
For a moment he believed himself, then doubt began to slowly creep back into his mind.
Or am I just rationalizing my recent behaviour? I suppose I have been somewhat neglectful lately...
He eventually decided that no good would come from ruminating any further, so he returned his attention to the computer in front of him. He resumed entering data into the program that was currently running. His fingers danced over the keyboard with an agility that only comes from having done it a thousand times before. He tried to concentrate on the task at hand but he was dreading a vidphone call that was due any minute now. He had received data outputs from all the other teams under his supervision and there was just one team left to report in. Then, once that last data was entered, the program would run the simulation and give him the answer to the question he had been tasked with answering. He stared at the numbers on the screen in front of him as a wave of tiredness began to wash over him. His eyelids were growing heavy now and he fought to stay awake. Suddenly the vidphone on his desk made a loud, harsh ringing noise. He reluctantly pressed the “accept call” button and the screen flashed white, then resolved to a plain grey background with the words “No video signal. Audio only” in red letters.
‘Hello?’ he said expectantly.
‘Hello, is that Dr Somers?’ inquired a soft, feminine voice.
‘Speaking.’
‘Ah, hello Dr Somers. This is Dr Radlick. Sorry to bother you at this late hour but you said you wanted the data as soon as possible. And I’m additionally sorry that it took so long to collect, we had a bit of trouble getting everything set up here.’
Despite being apologetic she sounded surprisingly bright and cheerful, which was in direct contrast to Dr Somers’ mood.
‘Do you have the data for me?’
‘Yes, Doctor.’
‘Then let’s have it.’
She reeled off a long list of numbers relating to environmental conditions and atmospheric composition, including data on soil composition and the presence or absence of microscopic organisms as well. If not prompt, her team had at least been extremely thorough.
‘That’s the last of it,’ she reported with a slight sigh.
She felt as if she had been talking without stopping to take a breath for the last five minutes.
‘Fine. Thank you for your work. And...thank your team for me as well.’
‘I will, Doctor. Thank you. Good night.’
The screen flickered and the red letters vanished for a moment, before being replaced with the words “No signal” in blue letters. The room was once again quiet. She had hung up. Sighing, Dr Somers pressed a button and the screen of the vidphone switched off.
He slowly returned his gaze to the computer screen on his desk. He had typed the numbers into the program as Dr Radlick had been reading them out to him but had yet to press the “start” button, which would begin the simulation. For several long minutes he just sat there, the luminescent glare of the screen glinting off his glasses. He was afraid what the answer would be if he ran the simulation. All of a sudden, he was gripped by fear.
Then, in a low voice, he said to himself, ‘I’ve got no choice. I have to report these findings directly to the President himself as soon as I have them. The last thing I need right now is the White House breathing down my neck. I might as well get this over with,’ and with that, he pressed the ‘start’ button on the computer program.
The next day, a vidphone rang in the White House.
‘Yes?’ said a woman dressed in a business suit from behind her desk.
‘H-Hello. I-I need to speak to the President of the United States, please,’ said the pale and rather haggard-looking man on the screen of the vidphone.
‘I’m afraid he is unavailable at the moment. Who is calling, please?’
‘This is Dr...Dr Somers. I really need to speak with him as soon as possible. I’m afraid I have some bad news to report...’