Class Fives: Origins by Jon H. Thompson Read Free Book Online Page B

he went on, now warmed to his subject, his initial nerves forgotten, “Is to warn of any potential extraterrestrial threat to the planet Earth in the form of massive objects approaching from deep space.”
    He paused and glanced to where the officer was standing by the panel, and nodded. The officer turned and pressed a button on the panel and Marvin turned to see the large screen in front of which he stood suddenly flash with spots of light, and the image captured from the computer he had witnessed the night before filled it.
    “As you can see from this recording of the final virtualization of the data, there are two specific objects, NC1107H here, and KL4440R, here. NC has roughly the mass of a hundred story skyscraper. We think it is composed of lighter rock. It’s essentially brittle, subject to fracture. KL is the size of Texas and is composed primarily of iron. It is extremely dense. In fifty seven days, NC1107H will make a glancing blow on KL4440R. The impact will disintegrate NC1107H and the energy of the impact will be transferred to KL4440R. This will bump it out of its current orbit and provide enough additional momentum that the combined gravitational field of the debris around it will not be able to draw it back into a stable orbit. It will assume a new trajectory that will carry it on an oblique course toward the inner solar system.”
    He turned to regard them, his tone serious.
    “In one hundred and ninety six days KL4440R will traverse the orbit of the Earth. It will pass within one hundred thousand miles of the moon.  The gravitational field of the moon will alter its trajectory and it will slingshot past the Earth at a distance of less than seventy five thousand miles.”
    “How close is that in terms of effects on the Earth?” one of the men at the far end of the table said.
    “Damn close,” Marvin replied, unable to suppress a twitching hint of a grin. “It will at least have some kind of effect on tidal flow, maybe some shifting of tectonic plates resulting in minor tremors. The fact that it is primarily iron will increase its gravitational effect, it's got a substantial mass.”
    “Is there any danger of a collision?” another man asked.
    “No,” Marvin replied quickly. “And that’s a very good thing, because if it were to hit us, the effect would be the equivalent of shooting a watermelon with a fifty caliber bullet.”
    There was a long pause before a handsome middle-aged woman in a tasteful business suit finally spoke.
    “So what you’re saying, Dr. Henry, is that while this asteroid will make a close pass by the Earth, there is no danger that it will impact.”
    “No ma’am,” Marvin admitted.
    “Then,” the woman continued, “I fail to see the urgency of this meeting. Or the issuance of a heightened alert condition. At the very least, it seems premature.”
    Marvin’s face took on a tense expression and he shot a glance at where the bulldog-faced man sat, then directed his attention back at the woman.
    “That isn’t the reason for this meeting. It’s something else. Something very disturbing.”
    “And that would be what, Dr.?” the woman said with a bit of a challenge.
    Marvin nodded toward the officer who again pressed the button, beginning the second part of the presentation. Behind Marvin, on the large screen, the long lines that had been slowly extending toward one another reversed direction, now slowly separating. But Marvin kept his attention fixed on the woman, his expression now serious.
    “The software has a secondary application. It not only predicts a forward trajectory, it can also use the direction, mass and velocity of many multiple objects and track backwards in time to the origin of the motion, and beyond. It can use the known mass, size and composition of the objects to extrapolate earlier, unobserved collisions and show the trajectory prior to that collision.”
    “You’re losing me, Doctor,” a small, elderly man with a reedy voice seated toward