2084 The End of Days (26 page)

“Well, it is a big ask, but I’ll do my best. I feel as if I’m treading water with two fingers in the air. I hope the third component doesn’t swamp me entirely.”

Beth looked across to Gupta-Chaudry and he felt as Chair that he should continue.

“Doctor Venters – Marcie – the third stage is, as you call it, a really big ask. You see, there are multiple criterion that we have had to lay down concerning the selection of the twenty five thousand, supplemented by first and second reserve lists, the details of which will be supplied to you. The key criterion are that men and women will be selected in equal measure between the ages of 16 and 45 and that they have also been screened for fertility. Some of the – can we call them applicants – will already have their DNA results on your super-storage database, but not all of them. We need you to lead the programme to select the most fertile and healthy humans on the planet. All electronic data required to be kept on all three stages will be co-ordinated by Gary Mackintosh who is leading the team to transfer computerised data to Mars –“

Gary raised his hand.

“It’s called NOAHSARK, Marcie, but I can see by the look on your face that it’s no’ the time to explain that acronym!”

Marcie forced herself to speak.

“Mister Secretary-General, genetics is not some kind of a game. What you are asking me to do is play some kind of experiment akin to what the Nazis did during World War Two in the death camps. I don’t know if I can do what you are asking.”

“Marcie, we know it is a terrible responsibility. However, unlike the Nazis, the selection process will, as far as possible, ensure the survival of every race, colour and creed on the planet on a proportional basis with no fear or favour of political interference. This is purely down to one thing, Doctor Venters – giving the human race its best chance of survival. Will you do it on that basis?”

In her minds’ eye Marcie saw herself raising that dreaded third finger
as her head sunk beneath the waves of confusion and consternation metaphorically drowning her.

*

Earthdate: 18:45 Monday November 2, 2082 EST

In the en-suite washroom he was as sick as a dog. In fifteen minutes President Josh Trueman had to address his nation and the world nations on 3DTV and to make the most dreadful announcement that any world leader has ever had to give. He thought to himself that due to the secrecy surrounding the impending event, that even his wife Dalia and his two grown up children Jak and Karolina would also be hearing it for the first time. Boy, was he going to hear it tonight from Dalia, his greatest confidante, for keeping this one from her! He looked at his watch and thought it was time that he made his way through and after a quick mouthwash to get rid of the bilious taste, Trueman stepped through into the Oval Office, where he was immediately greeted by the White House broadcast director Tony Coccio.

“Are you feeling okay, Mister President? You look a little pale?”

“Ah’m feelin’ fine.”

“Maybe I’ll get make-up to put a little colour back in your cheeks, Mister President?”

“Just you tell make-up to go take a hike. Trust me - this speech won’t need any special effects!”

The speech indeed worried the broadcast director, mainly because he had not seen it and because it would not be played on the normal autocue. It was being transmitted to a specially constructed autocue on the President’s desk from a secret CIA office in Langley, Virginia.

“But you see Mister President, the lack of autocue on our side of the camera presents a problem, regarding panning in and out on your face at appropriate moments.”

“Look Tony, ah am stuck behind the Oval Office desk. Ah aint gonna be jumpin’ about the room. Just play it by ear an’ everthin’ will be fine.”

Trueman took his seat at the Presidential desk and fiddled about with the dummy notes on the desk in front of him, straightening them up to compose himself. They were only there for effect and he would be using the transparent autocue sitting at the front of the desk, which would be out of the camera shot. He thought about all the other world leaders around the planet who would be making similar simultaneous speeches and tried to think how they were feeling. A few minutes passed and then Trueman saw the red ‘On Air’ light flicker on and he watched Tony Coccio count down the last few seconds with his fingers and then point at the President to go.

“My Fellow Americans – and my fellow citizens of the world – in February last year I announced to you all the news that scientists had discovered a new comet named Schenkler HMM2, which had passed through the Kuiper Belt and had entered our own solar system. Calculations at that time suggested that the comet would come spectacularly close – about half a million miles – to our planet and that the Earth would suffer significant collateral damage from the comet’s passing tail. Our key scientists have been employed on a 24/7 basis in tracking the comet’s trajectory and only in the last few days Schenkler passed about 100 million miles from the surface of the gas giant Jupiter. I have been informed by NASA that the gravitational pull of Jupiter was strong enough to deflect the trajectory of the comet by the smallest degree. I now have the gravest duty of announcing to the world that the trajectory of the comet has been put onto a direct collision course with Earth. The outcome for the planet and everything living upon it is almost certainly one of complete annihilation, predicted to be on 26 May 2084. I can assure you that it is with a heavy heart that I have to deliver this news to the world. However, I can assure everyone that world leaders have been planning ahead of this worst possible outcome. We have recently launched a joint mission aboard Oceanus II carrying the most powerful interspacial nuclear missiles. These will be launched from platforms orbiting Mars as soon as the Schenkler comet comes within striking distance of the Red Planet. Our fervent hope is that we can deliver enough nuclear blast to deflect the comet just enough to bypass Earth. But, realistically the joint world leaders have agreed that we need a Plan B and that is for the survival of the human species in the event of the expected total impact. The plan is to take as many men and women along with selected livestock and food crops on a mass immigration to new settlements being constructed on Mars even as I speak with you. Our limited resource capabilities plus the hostile environment of Mars puts a heavy constraint on our ability to send as many humans as we would like and thus there will have to be a stringent selection process. Tonight is not the time to discuss this and the details of the process will be provided by every nation’s government, in conjunction with the UN and the LOIN, very shortly
to you all. Tonight is, however, a time for prayer and reflection. Most religions have predicted such a terrible event, whether it be the Day of Judgment, Armageddon or the Yawm ad-Din. It would appear that such a day is now upon us, but I can assure you that we will work night and day to stave off such a calamity occurring, and especially to do everything in our power to ensure the survival of the human race. It is my belief that God gave us the brains and the know-how to comprehend our Universe and that ultimately one day we knew we would need to venture out into our solar system and beyond in order to ensure our survival. That day has now come! What we need to do is to keep a clear vision, not to panic and for us all to pull together for the survival of our species. My thoughts and my prayers extend to you all on this fateful evening.”

The autocue finished with ‘Good night and God bless you all’ but Josh Trueman did not have the heart to say it as he felt there was nothing good about it. He sat staring at the camera until Tony Coccio indicated they were ‘Off Air’. Trueman quickly pushed himself out of the Presidential chair and his intention was to find his wife and two children as fast as he could. As he brushed past the young TV director who was standing dumbly and looking a ghastly colour of grey, he joked darkly.

“Ya look a little pale, Tony. Want me to get make-up to put a little colour back in your cheeks?”

*

Minutes later standing in front of another camera in the NASA press room in Houston, Jill Geeson prepared to announce the breaking news to viewers on the Sky News channel. Her heart was thumping with the surge of adrenalin, even though she was one of the few people who knew that this day would come. She heard the anchor in Sky’s London studio announce her.

“And for more on this breaking news it is over to our Houston correspondent, Jill Geeson. Jill?”

“Tonight in Washington the President of the United States has just announced to the world, news of the greatest calamity to ever face mankind, which will befall us in less than a year and a half. In short, barring a miracle, our tiny blue planet Earth is about to be destroyed by a freak comet which has inadvertently stumbled into the solar system. I have with me the Scots scientist who first discovered this comet and who has been working closely with the NASA team to follow the comet’s path, Doctor Ewan Sinclair. Dr Sinclair, am I right in stating that you were the first man to discover the
Schenkler HMM2?”

Ewan, standing a little awkwardly with mic attached, quickly glanced at Aaron Eckler and Beth O’Donnell, a few feet away out of camera. He had been warned to be as guarded as possible with his answers.

“W-well, I would not like to be overly credited with the discovery on my own. It was really joint team work between myself and others in the UK, along with the Israelis at INSACC, such as Ari Schenkler, who captured the first images, and also the team working at NASA here in Houston.”

“Would you accept that it was your original theory that predicted that the comet was going to fully impact with Earth rather than the original near miss theory?”

“Well, again, although I may have made some early predictions, it required months of detailed work by myself and Ari Schenkler to plot out the trajectory of the HMM2. We had to await the recent bypass of Jupiter and the effect of the Jupiter pull before we could state categorically that the comet was on a direct collision course.”

Jill caught her director state into her earpiece: 30 seconds, Jill, one last question.

“Dr Sinclair, do you believe that anything can stop the onslaught of this comet from destroying the Earth?”

“We have got to hope that we can. You have just heard the President announce an interspacial nuclear strike to try and deflect the path of the comet –“

“And are you an expert on nuclear missile technology, Dr Sinclair?”

“Umm, no –“

“We’ll have to leave the discussion there for the moment. This is Jill Geeson in Houston. Back to the studio in London –“

Before the cameraman could even announce they were ‘Off Air’, Ewan blazed at Jill.

“Christ’s sake, Jill. You made me look a bit silly there with that nuclear missile question –“

“Ah was just doing my job as a reporter, Ewan. Ah’ve been holding all this back for a long time now and it just, sort of, came out.”

Beth O’Donnell pounced in on the scene.

“Jill, you were a bit out of order there. The bottom line is that somehow we have gotta let mankind cling on to some kinda hope. Otherwise we risk total anarchy.”

“Hope! Christ, Beth, we are all kidding ourselves on here. If we are lucky, only 99.9% of the human race is goin’ to be obliterated, including you, me,
Ewan and Eckler over there. Where is the hope in that?”

That same evening Marcie Venters had arranged to stay a couple of nights with her unmarried sister Ruth Esther Bloom, who still lived in the Bloom family home in downtown Brooklyn. After listening to Trueman’s speech with Ruth on the 3DTV and after they had hugged and cried together, Marcie walked the few blocks down to the new B’nai Jeshurun Synagogue next to the cemetery where her father was buried. She entered thinking that many distraught Jews would be dragging themselves here to pray for deliverance, but it turned out that the synagogue was empty. Marcie had not brought herself here for deliverance, but to try and seek guidance on what she perceived as an awful and impossible task. A door creaked noisily and an old wizened rabbi entered into the main hall of the synagogue. He spotted Marcie, head bent in prayer, and he walked quietly over to her.

“My name is Rabbi Israel Moss. Have you heard the news?”

“Yes, Rabbi, I do believe the Messiah is definitely on his way this time!”

“You sound a little cynical about it all?”

Marcie gave a short false laugh.

“Rabbi, what have we Jews got to be cynical for? We’ve had it cushy for the last three thousand years and then God tops it off by wiping us all out.”

“But surely there is hope that this is not the end of the human race. The best people on the planet will be working to ensure the future survival of mankind –“

“Rabbi Moss, is it? Well Rabbi, you’re looking at one of them and I’m not sure that I want the job!”

“What do you mean, my daughter?”

“I mean that today I have been chosen as one of those best people to select who lives and who dies. Rabbi, did you lose any ancestors in the death camps?”

“I believe so. It was such a long time ago.”

“Well, my father Ezra etched every ancestor we lost into my brain. I became a doctor like my father before me and our ethos was to perform our duty to our fellow man diametrically opposed to the creed of those Nazi butchers. But taking on the responsibility of saving the so very few at the expense of so many is such a terrible burden, that it makes me feel like one of those Nazi camp doctors.”

“Daughter, this has been such a horribly confusing evening for me that I do not quite comprehend what you are talking about. However, from what I have read the Nazis systematically planned to wipe out the Jewish race. This they failed to do so and you and I are testimony to that. From the little you have said, I seem to understand that you will be working to help with the survival of the human race. However little that you save, one thing is for sure. If you fail then maybe there will be
no
human race. Surely that puts your task still diametrically opposed to the Nazis and something your father and your God would agree on?”