Apophis

Apophis

I am not sure what drove me to pursue a career as an astronomer and astrophysicist. As an adolescent boy, I aspired to become an athlete. I grew fast, became strong for my age, and had excellent conditions to advance my athletic skills. Taking first or top place in school competitions was the only thing that made me happy then. However, my life took a different path. Miss Mc Michael’s physics class is still well-remembered by me.

Miss Mc Michael, who was middle-aged and well-read, possessed a wealth of knowledge. She taught her lessons with passion and took the subject with extreme seriousness. Everyone knew that her marriage had ended because of a great tragedy. Her husband, a well-known alpine hiker, had died during a difficult winter ascent of one of the Alpine peaks. The young woman, overcome with sadness, dedicated herself to teaching her beloved subjects, Physics and Astronomy. She excelled in this task. In addition to laying out the required material, she frequently shared interesting things with us. During her lessons, even the biggest lazybones and enemies of the subject would sit quietly and listen to her speeches and arguments with rapture, as I recall very well.

I remember her talking about our solar system one day, which was one of the most important ones in my life. She abruptly left the main topic of discussion and proceeded to discuss asteroids. She was feeling agitated due to the recent discovery of the small asteroid known as Apophis. Most probably, her admiration for literature, especially Edgar Alan Poe, sparked her interest in this news. She mentioned reading his Gothic tales on another occasion and they surely captivated her by the power of the author’s imagination. In this case, it was obvious to me that she was thrilled by 'The Conversation of Eiros and Charmion' about the destruction of Earth by a comet. I do not need to mention that it was also one of my favorite stories. While describing Apophis and discussing its technical specifications, our teacher could not help but reflect on it personally. It was even more significant and fascinating because it happened to her so rarely. This time, however, she relinquished control. Her imagination took over, leaving her professional integrity behind. She told us about Apophis, the demon of chaos, an evil serpent who hated the light. This ancient creature was the mortal Enemy of Ra, the god of the Sun, and took the form of an asteroid. The monstrous incarnation of the ancient god would approach the Earth in fourteen years and threaten the existence of human civilization. Miss McMichael's narrative depicted Apophis as a living demon who represented all evil. She was sure that this rock was alive and poised to destroy human civilization. After hearing this revelation, we were terrified and some of us had already imagined a cosmic catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions. We did not even recognize when the lesson was over. Before departing the classroom, Miss McMichael paused her talk and smiled with a strange and peculiar expression.

For the remainder of my college years, I gradually forgot about my sports aspirations and took a profound interest in physics and astronomy. My family and friends were not surprised when I decided to study astronomy at university. After completing my studies with honors, I began working as a young astrophysicist at the Astra Institute of Astrophysics. Then my problems began.

I soon became disappointed with everything I was doing there. Even though I made every effort, my work did not satisfy me. I was creating theoretical models, gathering observational data, and performing computational simulations. I was using telescopes and other instruments to look at the sky with the hope of seeing something interesting. I was aware that my work was crucial in gaining a better understanding of the fundamental processes that shape the life of our universe. The routine and lack of advantages made this work tedious for me. I felt exhausted both mentally and physically, like a bricklayer performing mechanical and repetitive work. I had no objections to physical labor, but it was not something they educated me to do.

After five years of arduous and unsatisfactory work, when I had enough of it, finally, there was a breakthrough. On a beautiful evening, our team finally discovered a tiny and inconspicuous object that was 10.1 light-years away from our solar system. For many years, every expert thought that three planets orbited the star Lacaille 9352. But we proved everyone wrong. We uncovered the fourth planet, and it was extremely comparable to Earth! This exoplanet, which we referred to as GJ902, was exceptional. With a mass of around 2.4 Earth masses, it was bigger than our planet. Its position in the golden belt of the star system and its spectral analysis indicated the presence of water and carbon in the body and the atmosphere of the planet. The planet's equilibrium temperature was around 300 K, and its density and gravitational attraction met the human-friendly values, making it important. This was a significant discovery. Another life could exist in the universe and be close to our planet. If there was not a life on that planet, there could always be a possibility of colonizing it in the future.

Our revelation affected the scientific community. There was a significant amount of correspondence from both scientists and people who were not professionally involved in space research but were interested in these matters. Numerous articles and television reports appeared. The publishers barely managed to keep up with the production of scientific books and articles. The community of science-fiction writers also responded to the popular demand and produced many interesting books based on the contact with another civilization from planet GJ902. I recall reading a book from 2024 that discussed aliens from the exoplanet we had discovered contacting our civilization. The outstanding work's plot and quality instantly drew my attention. Despite some initial misunderstandings and a terrible war between the two planets, the outcome was positive. A bunch of evil politicians tried to enslave the people of both planets, but they stood up against them. By defeating the evil politician, they created a new, more advanced civilization. The Nobel Prize Committee awarded this book the prize in literature, which was a remarkable feat for its genre.

The most rewarding aspect of my efforts was not the discovery of a beautiful exoplanet, but the conversations I had with a reporter from the local popular science magazine. Janet, a charming and captivating journalist, was my conversation partner. Immediately, I felt a powerful sense of sympathy for her, and she felt the same way about me. In a couple of years, we got married and from that point on, we have had a happy life together. Jason and Lucy were two charming children that we had over the years. While my son was interested in sports, Lucy was exceptionally good at the exact sciences. While I was observing my children, I could see in them my split personality as a boy. My son was also incredibly talented at sports, just like me, and my daughter showed an early talent for scientific subjects, which made me proud and happy as a father.

It was unfortunate that our halcyon days of life were brief. Other important discoveries by astronomy teams quickly became newsworthy. Other teams of astronomers and astrophysicists soon found three more exoplanets with Earth-like conditions. The fact that our exoplanet had heavy radioactive metals on the surface and inside its crust made things even worse. This meant that life there, as we are aware of it, was not possible. In the years that followed, we had difficulty keeping up with other teams, equipped with more advanced tools, and having better luck than us. This situation made me feel unfulfilled and burned out at work. Finding new challenges in my life was necessary for me to avoid depression and a psychological breakdown.

As always, I could count on my beautiful and understanding wife and had the full support of my children, who were already very worried about me. With the backing of my family, I applied for a job at the Cosmos Observation Centre (COC), a prestigious institution that exclusively deals with a government project. I do not need to tell you that the financial rewards and other benefits would satisfy even the most demanding employees. But it was not the main cause of my change in work. You see, giving all your skills and energy and waiting for some spectacular discoveries could after some years become tiring. This is particularly true if the outcome of this agonizing labor is uncertain. At COC, I had the opportunity to receive the results of my work immediately and they were immediately satisfying, financially and psychologically.

The COC welcomed me as a new employee with open arms and without any delay. I could still benefit from my slowly fading fame as an explorer of cosmic space and the discoverer of the exoplanet GJ902. The new job has resulted in a significant shift in my responsibilities and work course. Working for the government in my case also entailed working for the military. It was our responsibility to maintain the good order of our satellite network, prevent satellites from bumping into each other, and ensure the integrity of the spy communication network. Monitoring all dangerous objects, whether natural or artificial, that could threaten Earth and its inhabitants was our final duty.

The beginning of April 2036 was an exceptionally busy time for COC teams. On Tuesday, which happened to be April Fools' Day, our instruments signaled the suspicious movements of a rogue satellite, which had started behaving erratically and haphazardly the day before. We were able to simulate its course by taking its new trajectory, which was a bad sign for the military. The hostile object was in a collision with the most advanced satellite in our country, NROL-65. We immediately alerted the Military Space Command, and they instructed us to destroy the hostile object. We quickly selected our innovative cosmic drone, Space Force Destroyer 11, for this purpose, adjusted its orbit, and calibrated its weapons. Two precise and powerful laser beams from the cosmic killer annihilated the attacker within seconds. I felt just as happy as everyone else on my team. I have never felt such a profound sense of satisfaction in my professional life, which is typically a result of well-done work. I do not have to tell you about our friends from the military, who were all delighted. As for me, I could now announce to my family that we would be going on a short, but wonderful holiday. With a clear conscience, I could take my long-overdue vacation.

It was Easter afternoon on April 13th, 2036. Although I was still asleep after working a long night shift, my family was already well-rested. Through the closed doors of the bedroom, I could hear the voices of my wife Janet, and my two children, Lucy, and Jason. They were getting ready for the family vacation that would start in a few hours. I could hear the agitated voices of my children. They strongly disagreed about something.

'What have you done, Lucy? You've packed your belongings into my backpack.’

‘You’re a boy and should help me take these things. Jason, you have more strength than I do.’

‘But you should take your silly dolls with you. I want to put more clothes into my backpack. I am not a porter for you. Jason’s statement was full of indignation.’

‘They are not silly!’ Lucy defended herself and her beloved dolls. ‘They are nice and bring me good luck.’

‘Oh, yeah. Who would have thought’ Jason sneered with contempt. ‘I’ll throw them off.’

‘Don’t do this. I’m warning you!’ Lucy remained firm.

‘Or what? What are you going to do about it?’

‘I will tell Mom and Dad that you were smoking cigarettes with Jimmy and Andrew on Friday after school.’

‘You are a disgusting little girl I will teach you a lesson!’

At this moment I could hear the sweet and pacifying voice of my wife. ‘Children! Behave yourselves. Your dad is still sleeping. After working all night, he must take a break. Please be aware that he will be driving us to the resort.

‘Big thing.’ Jason replied. ‘He'll be driving there for only an hour.’

‘Jason! You should feel ashamed of yourself!’ Janet reprimanded her son.

Just then, I opened the door to my bedroom and stood in front of my family. Can you tell me what's happening? Why are you making so much noise?’ I said in a conciliatory tone, smiling.

‘Daddy!’ Lucy and Jason exclaimed simultaneously. Their aggressive attitudes shifted at once. Their appearance has changed to one of calmness and happiness. There were no traces of the recent quarrel.

We had dinner in an hour and after eating a great meal, we started talking about the details of our upcoming mountain holiday. After lunch, Janet and the children proceeded to complete the final preparation for the trip, while I took a brief rest before the trip. I perched myself in a comfortable armchair in our living room and turned on the TV to catch up on the latest news. Due to the boring nature of political news, I switched the TV channel to one that focused on current events. The reporter's story immediately grabbed my attention. The subject of her talk was Apophis, a massive asteroid that was nearing Earth. The speed at which this rock, measuring three hundred meters wide, was heading towards the Earth was tremendous. As she finished the report, she assured everyone that there was no danger of an asteroid colliding with Earth. All scientists shared this statement and assured the public.

I listened to this news because of my professional interests, but I was familiar with the subject and did not expect anything new. At that moment, Janet was shouting to let me know that they were ready. After shutting off the TV, I left the house. My phone began ringing before I got into the car. I was afraid to answer the call, but after realizing it was on the secure line of the Cosmos Observation Centre, I knew I had no choice.

The voice of my colleague on the team caused me to feel furious. ‘What the hell are you talking about? I’m going on holiday right now.’

‘We have a situation here. It’s an emergency. Top priority. Come here immediately.’

‘OK, Harvey. I’ll be with you as soon as I can.’ I said completely resigned to my fate.

Concisely, I conveyed the situation to my family. They were disappointed, but they understood. ‘Don’t worry I’ll be back soon and tomorrow we’ll go on our vacation.’ Then I addressed Janet. ‘Please call the hotel and let them know that we'll arrive later.’

When I reached the COC building, it was already dark. There were many military and police cars parked around the building. I swiftly passed through security and made my way straight to the main observation room. Our team members all greeted me there. Harvey, my close associate, and friend met me briefly and promptly got to the point.

‘Listen, Mike. There is a situation here. It’s serious.”

‘Yes. I have a feeling that something is not right. What's happening, Harvey?’

‘Have you heard of Apophis?’

Hearing this question, I laughed.

‘What do you think I am? Certainly, I am aware of this rock. Why do you have concerns about it? It will miss Earth by about 30,000 km.’

‘No. You’re wrong. Two hours ago, it changed its trajectory and is now moving with enormous speed toward Earth.’

‘Impossible! It must have hit something.'

‘No. We’ve checked. There was no possibility of it changing its course.'

‘Are you telling me that the asteroid did it by itself? Somebody must be insane here!’

‘No matter what you think, it's true. All our instruments' readings confirm this conclusion.’

‘What is your plan for managing it? If Apophis hits Earth with the power of 880 million tons of TNT, it would be a major catastrophe. Our civilization can disappear from the surface of the Earth. It's all too big to comprehend.’ I said it firmly, still refusing to believe this news.

‘There's something peculiar I need to share with you.’ Harvey took a deep breath before proceeding. ‘Look at this. Apophis has sent this message directly to us. There were still more special characters in the message, but the transmission ended abruptly.’

I examined the large monitor located on the wall. It revealed something extremely unusual.

𓇋 𓄿𓅓 𓂧𓄿𓂋𓈎𓈖𓅂𓋴𓋴 𓄿𓈖𓂧 𓇋 𓉔𓄿𓏏𓅂 𓏏𓉔𓅂 𓃭𓇋𓎼𓉔𓏏

‘What is this? Egyptian hieroglyphs, am I correct?’

‘Yes. You’re right. Jeff, our cryptologist, has deciphered these ancient hieroglyphs.’

‘What do they mean?’ I asked, perplexed by the turn of events.

‘I am darkness and I hate the light.’

‘Is that all?’

‘There were more characters, but they were all blurred.’

Even though it was impossible, it seemed as if something supernatural was happening right before my eyes. Some hostile aliens have directed this giant rock to end our existence.

Seeing my shock and inability to express myself, Harvey continued.

‘We believe that the night lights on Earth are a bait and a target for the asteroid. It does not see the Sun because it remains in the shadow of our planet. But Apophis will move to the zone illuminated by the Sun in 6 minutes, as per our estimate. Instead of hitting Earth, it will change its flight path and move towards the Sun.’

'Brilliant theory. Let’s hope it’s true.’ The words came out of my mouth when I remembered my old teacher's prophetic and ominous words. What if Miss McMichael was correct and the word 'light' had an underlying symbolism? Even though I had this premonition, I did not say anything and just like everyone else here, I looked at the monitor as Apophis was speeding towards Earth.