The Apophis Paradox - Part 2

THE APOPHIS PARADOX - part 2

By Alex Martin



The day before Barry, Austin, and I would leave to mine on Apophis, our station received word that the Americans had surrounded Ahvaz and were moving in on the suspected region of the nuclear facility. They encountered heavy resistance, however, so their progress was slow.

Smirnov had left the day before to receive the shuttle crew of Sigma Phi 28, who had since returned from Apophis. Word reached us that they were able to obtain another fifty grams of Wroughtanium, (a seemingly low amount, even though it was a decent mass), which would be stored for research in Alpha 1. That brought the total to just over six-point two kilograms, enough, or so Smirnov thought, to restore over half of Chernobyl.

Blake met me and Barry outside the Quarters and walked with us as we looked for Austin, who was most likely in his Personal Living Area.

“So what are they going to do with the Sigma Phi stations? Except for 27, I think everyone in them are our own men. Removing the Brits from the CSA just isn’t a smart idea.”

“It might not be smart, but there is no other option right now, unless you want our supplies to expire and die because of no rations,” Barry started with another sigh. “As for what will happen to the stations, the Russians might hold them up until we can return, but that would be an extensive waste of energy and money.”

We walked in silence for a moment, and then Blake asked,

“How’s Austin doing? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“He’s holding out…he’s excited to be doing this when most Americans wouldn’t. I don’t know if he’ll stay up here after we’re gone, though,” I replied half-heartedly.

“That kid will be running the mining operation after Barry’s done with him,” Blake said with a grin. “Smirnov will have his first American sidekick.”

We arrived at Austin’s PLA and Barry knocked on the door. It opened several moments later and Austin greeted us.

“What’s going on?” he said quickly, rather tense. “Is the mission still –”

“Yes,” Barry said with a grin, “everything is still going as scheduled. We were just coming down to see how you were doing. Want to join us for some drinks?”

Austin relaxed.

“Well sure I would! Just give me a minute and I’ll be right out.”

When he returned to the door, we all walked down to the Quarters and drank a few mugs of coffee. It refreshed us more than ever and settled our nerves; I saw that it seemed to have the same effect on Austin as it did on me: We both noticeably settled down and relaxed.

Barry was the only one who didn’t seem to calm down: His bits of conversation were short, and he didn’t make much eye contact with any of us. Blake saw this change in his mood, too, but decided not to mention it.

“Long, you know what you’re doing. Just get them there, mine a few grams, and get back off. We will be in contact if you are out there for longer than twenty-seven hours, so make sure your radio stays online.”

-----

Lieutenant Clotner gave us his final speech before we departed.

“How long do you expect us to take, Lieutenant?” Austin inquired while shifting a glance over at Barry.

“Twenty-seven hours or less,” Clotner replied immediately, as if he had been waiting for the question. “The longest ever was Sigma Phi 11, who spent thirty-three hours out there, but they had one of the slower crafts.” He looked at me now. “Shaft, you will be in charge of the mining operation. You’ve done enough on the moon, so I expect you are confident working with the equipment required. Just follow the same steps; not much is different.”

I nodded affirmatively.

“Yes sir.”

He moved on to Barry, but paused at his expression.

“Is everything alright, Long? You don’t seem to be yourself today.”

“Everything is fine, sir. I’ve just never been to Apophis before, that’s all.”

Clotner shook his head slowly.

“I guess it can happen to the best of us.” He paused and looked at the Bowman 320 we were standing next to. “General Smirnov wanted to be here, but Sigma Phi 28 requested that he stay there for a few days.”

He stopped talking and we were all silent, so he said,

“Okay, it looks like that’ll be all.” He checked the time quickly. “You have four minutes until your scheduled departure, so go get ready.”

The three of us shook his hand and walked up the ramp into the Russian Bowman 320 Craft. Its hull had a space in the back that was designed to hold the deposits of Wroughtanium we would collect, and the engine’s fuel lines were located right behind that.

The interior was set up much the same way as in the simulations: Barry sat in the front chair with a joystick, and I sat behind him to the right. Austin’s seat was located on the wall facing sideways next to the exit.

Barry started the engines to the Bowman 320, and immediately we all heard a dull rumble as they fired up. I looked forward and watched as Barry prepared for the initial takeoff; behind us, Austin was setting himself so as not to miss his queue.

“Are you three set in there?” Lieutenant Clotner’s voice asked over the main radios.

“We’re ready,” Barry acknowledged as he grabbed hold of the joystick.

“Okay, you are cleared for full ignition at will.”

“Roger that.”

Barry raised a lever and the rumble grew louder. As we started to move forward I hit the ‘RELEASE’ button and Barry obtained control of the steering. Seconds later I hit the ‘EXHAUST’ button and he ignited the forward thrusters, at which point we began racing across the surface of the moon.

Barry tilted the joystick slightly so as to give us clearance, and we steadily increased in speed to the point where every crater and station we passed was a blur. When we were ten minutes into the flight we had almost completely flown around the section of the Moon that we needed to, and Austin prepared to hit the final thrusters.

“Now,” Barry instructed, and the Bowman 320 wobbled a bit as the final engines kicked on and we hurtled out towards Apophis. Barry set the flight pattern and hit autopilot, then turned around to face us. “Okay, now we just have to wait a few hours, we might need to maneuver through the Perseids, but other than that we’ll be fine.”

-----

The hours wore on, and an eerie silence had taken hold of us. I stayed awake, but both Barry and Austin fell asleep. The autopilot calculated a route around the Perseid debris, so Barry would not have to worry about flying through dangerous territory. What I did notice, however, was the large asteroid we were quickly approaching. The calculations of the on-board computers said that we would reach Apophis within a half-hour, so I decided it was time to wake Barry.

“Hey, Barry,” I said loudly as I shook him.

He sat up quickly and stretched.

“How much time do we have?”

“Half-hour, but probably a little less.”

“Austin, get up.”

Barry shook him awake, too, and all three of us sat upright again.

“William, on my mark I want you to disengage the primary thrusters. Austin, you will hit that button when he does, and I will do the rest.”

-----

The minutes flew by, and we watched the asteroid fill our field of view. It was almost five hundred meters long, and spun slowly as a result of its deflection from Earth’s orbit.

“Hit it.”

I pressed the button to release the main thrusters and Austin followed with his procedure. Barry tilted the joystick back and slowly lowered the acceleration lever to slow the craft. He engaged the reverse thrusters and slowed us even more, then began to pull up as he prepared to land.

“You’re going to feel this,” he exclaimed as he brought the craft down a little harder than he wanted to. A heavy tremor shook us, and the landing gears locked onto the rocky surface.

“And that’s that.”

I stood up and checked all the components I needed to before I turned to Austin.

“That lever up there,” I said as I pointed above him, “will engage the mining modules. Once you pull it, nothing else will engage. There will be no accidental launch, the thrusters cannot turn on, and the landing gears will not retract.”

“Should I pull it now?”

“Go ahead.”

Austin pulled the hand-size lever and a solid thud resounded throughout the entire craft. The gears locked and the vents to the thrusters sealed. All operations could be completed from my section of the cockpit.

“Begin scanning, Barry.”

He hit a button next to the onboard computer, and small ticks sounded every few seconds.

“Moving forward.”

Barry tilted the joystick forward and the craft began walking across the surface of the asteroid. The ticks remained steady on the computer, and our cameras on the bottom of the Bowman 320 showed no signs of Wroughtanium beneath us.

“Up ahead,” Austin said suddenly, motioning at a bright patch of rocks about thirty yards in front of us. “What is that?”

I amplified the scanners from my chair and the ticking noise quickened.

“That’s what we came here for,” I exclaimed with excitement in my voice; it was the first time I had ever seen the mineral with my own eyes.

We positioned the craft so that the tools and gears were located above the patch of Wroughtanium, and the cameras assisted me in scraping chunks of the mineral off Apophis. The bucket we were using quickly filled, to our surprise, and we brought it in for storage.

“Okay Austin,” I said, “according to Clotner and Smirnov this stuff will melt as soon as we get it in here, so get the containers ready.”

“Actually, I’ll do that,” Barry quickly insisted. “Why don’t you show him how to work the mining controls.”

Austin looked at me, but I nodded to him and told him to come stand next to me. Barry walked into the next compartment and started connecting the containment systems to the mainframe for storage and power.

“This lever here,” I grasped the handle of the vertical lever, “moves the entire system up and down. This one can move everything in any direction, but I don’t recommend using them at the same time. Depth perception isn’t too good with cameras, so it’s easier to hit something because the proximity counter only alerts about height from objects…. To start drilling and excavating, just press this button. The machine all works as one from here, so you don’t have to worry about controlling separate mechanisms at the same time. It shuts off after five minutes unless you disengage it beforehand.”

“Can I give it a try?”

“Once Barry has the containers set up I’ll empty the bucket and you can go ahead.”

Barry called to us from within the next room.

“It’s all set up! Go ahead and empty it!”

I pressed the button that would automatically dispose the bucket’s contents into the containers, and once it had finished I stood and let Austin sit down.

“Barry is going to move us to the next location and then you can mine from there.”

Austin nodded, and Barry walked back into the room.

“That stuff’s not heavy at all! I thought they meant like less than a quarter cup when they said it was only a few grams, but we only got fifteen grams and already one-third of the way full!”

We spent the next several hours scouring Apophis for Wroughtanium deposits. They were scattered far apart, and most only gave us five or six grams to collect. Barry was right: Although the bucket was almost full every time we went to empty it, it didn’t weigh very much at all, which surprised both Austin and me.

By the time we were done, all that was in the containers was a silver liquid that was less dense than oil. It threatened to splash over the edges if we moved too quickly, but we managed to keep it inside. We finally secured lids on top of the containers and sealed the power supply to them, then sat back down at our chairs in the cockpit.

“How long’s it been?” Austin inquired with a yawn when he fell back into his seat.

I checked the time.

“Almost sixteen hours.”

“And it usually takes twenty-seven to do this mission?”

I shrugged, and Barry said,

“Only when I’m not piloting.”

We disengaged the landing modules and lifted off the surface of the asteroid. Barry spun the Bowman 320 in a half circle and engaged the initial thrusters, but just as Austin was about to set the forward engines, Barry stopped him.

“Why?” Austin inquired, slightly taken aback. He looked at me for an answer, but I shrugged.

“Why Barry? It will at least twice as long to get back without them.”

He was silent, and didn’t make eye contact with us. Instead he turned around in his seat and grabbed the joystick.

“We aren’t going back to Smirnov and Clotner, not yet. Engage the forward engines when I say to, and only when I say to.”

Austin looked at me again, and I stood up to stand next to Barry.

“Where are we going?” He answered my question by pointing the Bowman 320 at Earth and setting coordinates for Ahvaz, Iran; I was stunned.

“What are you doing?” Austin said, his voice quivering somewhat.

“Don’t do this Barry. We are not fit to go there, you heard what’s going on…if you think that this will stop a war, it won’t.”

He faced me.

“It might not stop a war, but if we can do this we will stay on the Moon. I have no plans to leave that place. Let’s get our economy back up and running. Hit them now, Austin.”

I didn’t say anything against the order and Austin hesitantly pulled the lever to engage the engines. The craft shook again and accelerated forward, and once we were cruising at a steady speed towards Earth, I sat back down and put my hand on my forehead.

“Clotner is not going to like this Barry. Smirnov, especially. We will be lucky not to be kicked off the crew. This is basically going against direct orders. We are a mining crew, not the American Special Forces.”

“The Russians would have full control of the RBSDA and DNSA, William. We can’t let that happen. It is supposed to be mutual. If we aren’t here it will only be them.”

“The Americans are still here.”

Barry looked at Austin, who avoided his gaze awkwardly.

“Just one. Only one.”

“But it’s still a foot in the door for them. Austin has been up here the longest of any. It’s not his fault the rest of them are so concerned about themselves that they can’t handle the required diet and lifestyle. He’s proven to be the best so far, and nothing that happens in Iran will change that.”

“But what about us, Will? The British need to be up here. It has to be balanced.”

I didn’t look at him.

“So you’re throwing us into the most dangerous place we could be just so that the Three Powers are balanced? The Russians aren’t down there fighting. It’s the Americans. We have the right to stay out of it.”

“Do you want to see if this stuff is actually as effective as theorized?” He jerked his thumb towards the other room containing the Wroughtanium. “Nobody’s seen it work except for that man Viktor down there in Chernobyl three years ago. How do we know it actually does what he says?”

I was silent and didn’t press the issue further. Austin was falling asleep behind us and I was getting tired, too. Barry, somehow, didn’t seem to be, even though he hadn’t slept since the previous night.

“Shouldn’t you try to sleep, Barry? Put it on auto, I’ll make sure we get there.”

“No need, I won’t be sleeping after this anyway.”

I looked at him: His eyes showed the obvious signs of exhaustion, but his voice did not. His movements were noticeably slower, and he forced himself to make them. He was tired, and he knew it.

I sat back again. Earth was getting closer; I could make out the landmasses now. We would enter the atmosphere above Australia in about twenty minutes, and according to Barry’s program, we would circle the planet once before slowing down enough to have full control. The entire process would take just over a half hour from right now. I didn’t know how he could pull this off, and I’m not sure he knew, either.

“What about Austin?” I asked. “If anything happens…my goal is to keep him alive. He’s the only American we have and he’s young. There’s no reason why he should be thrown into this. He has no experience. I’m sure this isn’t what he wanted to do when he signed up.”

Barry showed no reaction to my words and only kept looking forward. I hoped I was getting to him, but at this point there was no telling.

“Wake him up, if we don’t he’ll only be more tired when he does…”

I looked at Austin; I didn’t want to, but I had to at this point. I got up and crouched beside him.

“Hey,” I said quietly as I shook him awake, “we need you awake for this. I’m sorry.”

“Do you guys have any guns on here? Anything attached to this craft?” he asked in a groggy voice.

Barry finally turned around again and answered the question.

“No, it’s just us and our fists…and the last time somebody remotely attempted what we are doing, they were shot down over North Africa.”

That didn’t help Austin’s nerves.

“That really helps, Barry,” I exclaimed, not looking back.

“Let’s just get this over with. When do we land?” Austin inquired, checking the coordinates on the front panel.

Barry looked him in the eye.

“We aren’t. Will is going to do a low flyover and I’m going it alone. Then you two are going back to the Moon.” I quickly looked at him. “Don’t start Will. It’s what has to happen.”

“We don’t even know where the facility is located! The chances of any success —”

“Stop, Will.”

He stood and walked to the adjoining room. I heard him detach a single container, and then he walked back into the cockpit. He grabbed his pack bag from a compartment in the front control board and placed it in. I could see how light it was by how easily he moved.

“We’ve got five minutes until we hit the atmosphere. Once we’re through it’ll only be ten minutes until I leave you.” He looked at me. “Get in my seat. Austin, sit in Will’s.”

My heart raced as we went through Earth’s atmosphere. I hadn’t been on the planet for almost four months, and I could feel the change when we broke through. We were over the ocean, and Australia was to our left, but within seconds we were flying over South Africa. Our velocity slowed considerably quickly, and it took another minute to reach the Americas. The heat we had seen erupting from the outside of the craft began subsiding, and then we were over the Pacific again.

The autopilot of the Bowman 320 turned slightly to the North, towards the Middle East. We quickly came over India, and our speed dropped drastically. Then a light flashed, signaling our approach to Ahvaz, Iran. We had one minute.

“Barry, I…do you know what you’re doing? We can stop, we have time.”

“How long will it take to find out if this stuff works if we don’t try it out? Smirnov probably won’t let it happen for years. We have to know that we aren’t wasting our time.”

Austin spoke up.

“Barry.” He looked at him. “Southeast of the city is a small village. The facility is subterranean; the entrance is in a bunker.”

The drop point was approaching, and the Bowman slowed even more as we entered the city limits of Ahvaz.

“How do you –”

“Go Barry,” Austin said.

The door to the craft opened and the wind rushed in. The Bowman 320 slowed to a near-stop, and Barry jumped the five feet to the ground, but not before looking at us one last time. As his eyes disappeared, I felt a twinge of agony: I’d never see him again.

“Take off,” Austin told me, and I fired up the main engines again; before we passed over the rest of the city, I saw smoke and gunfire rising up from below us: The fight was in full swing.

Then it was gone, but I had not yet set the course to the Moon. Something was keeping me from hitting the final keys. Austin noticed my hesitation.

“It’s your choice.”

“How do you know where the facility is?”

It took him a second.

“Three days ago, my sister was killed infiltrating it. She reported to her field commander where she was and to send on a message to our family. Since I am with you Brits and Russians in a military setting, I got the full report.”

I was silent.

“Austin…I’m…” I stopped for a moment. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks,” he said, tense; for a moment, we didn’t speak, and then, “So it’s your choice.”

I didn’t have time to respond.

“Long! What do you think you’re doing? Abort your trajectory and get back up here! That’s an order Long!”

Clotner’s voice echoed after it died off from the intercom; there was no way to hold a conversation before we did it. So I sent a message back.

“Lieutenant, this is Officer Shaft. I’m sorry, but Barry has already dropped into Ahvaz with the Wroughtanium. He is going to try to get it to the nuclear facility. He wouldn’t listen to us. I told him you and Smirnov wouldn’t be happy…but now Austin and I are going back after him, and we don’t expect to return. Even if we live there’s no chance of keeping the Bowman intact while a battle is raging over here. So I want to say thank you Lieutenant and thank you General Smirnov for giving me what you did while I was up there with you. It’s time I return to Earth.”

I sent the message and looked at Austin.

“Let’s go find him, Will.”

We slowed the Bowman back down and input coordinates for a destination outside Ahvaz to the southeast. As we made our descent I opened the door and prepared for the landing. Then we stepped out: The heat was intense; we started sweating, and I knew we would suffer heat exhaustion within the hour.

“There is no way we went unnoticed. We have to get out of here, and fast. Where’s the facility?”

Austin pointed at a cluster of small buildings to the north.

“My best guess would be there, it’s the only place for miles.”

“You think Barry’s near there yet?”

“If he is, he’s dead. There had better be some of our troops with him.”

In the distance, the echo of a Sonic Cannon boomed across the landscape, and we saw a dust cloud appear in front of the village. There was a battle near it, so we were in the right spot.

“Just try not to get shot.”

“I’ll do my best.”

We advanced at a slow jog. The village was only another mile away, but the heat made it seem a lot farther. It took us ten minutes to come within one hundred feet of it, and then we stopped.

“This is gonna kill us…I can’t believe we’re here.”

“Will, as soon as we get to the edge, get down and look around. Find the bunker.” Another Sonic Cannon erupted, and debris flew past us. “Get to those buildings now!”

We ran the rest of the way and dropped to the ground to catch our breath and scan the area. Guns blasted in front of us and we could hear heavy footsteps running in all directions. Soldiers and insurgents were yelling, and then the sounds were drowned out by another Sonic Cannon.

“At least we’re winning this,” Austin told me from his vantage point at the corner of the building.

“Do you see anything yet?”

He paused and continued looking around.

“Yes.” I snapped my head towards him. “Seventy feet out, to the northeast. Small hillside bunker with what looks to be a very thick steel door. It’s the only one around…”

“How many Americans are here?”

“Thirty or forty at least, but they are all coming from the northwest.”

More gunfire sounded, and a few bullets flew by us; I wasn’t sure if the walls of the building would protect us.

“We should move.”

“This is the only place we have for cover.”

“Then let’s make a run for the bunker.”

“You have a stopwatch? We can time how long it takes for us to be killed.”

As time passed, the fighting started to subside. The two forces had taken positions on either side of the village, and the insurgents were fifty feet from us. Austin and I moved to the far side of the building and sat in the shadow to keep from being burned, but with no water or food I could feel the energy draining from me.

“How long do we have?”

“There’s no way to tell, Will.”

“Can we try to get the Americans’ attention?”

He hesitated; obviously he didn’t want to take any risks.

“We could, but if any of the insurgents see us….”

I wanted to get this over with. The Americans had positioned themselves just over two hundred feet away from us, but they were nearly hidden from our view. Any attempts to get them to see us could prove difficult and fatal.

“Alright, here goes.”

Austin slowly stood and stayed away from the angle of the insurgents. He crept along the wall until he clearly saw the American forces, and then waved his left hand in a quick motion. I held my breath and waited, but there was no sign of any recognition. He did it again, but to no avail. I grabbed a small rock.

“Put it down Will. That will get us killed for sure.”

“There is no other way to get attention without drawing it to us. Just run when I do this.”

I braced myself and then hurled the rock towards the Americans as far and as high into the air as I could. Just before it hit the ground only ten feet from the position, I charged along the outer buildings, trying my best to remain low and out of view of the insurgents, but with the gap in the buildings coming up, that was going to be impossible.

The Americans started at the rock. A whole group of them stood and looked out at us, noticing our movement. From a distance of eighty feet, I threw my hands up and crouched, then waved for a short time. They didn’t shoot. They could tell we weren’t insurgents. And that’s when I heard yelling. I quickly turned around and saw that the militants had just now spotted the Bowman 320 off in the distance.

“Go!” Austin yelled to me, and we both took off running as fast as we could.

Bullets flew behind us as we took cover behind the last building, and then an American soldier walked up to us.

“What is this?! Who sent you down here?”

“We need to get our friend back…have you seen him? He –”

“He’s the one carrying the Wroughtanium I suppose? What the hell were you three thinking?! That bunker has not been easy keeping hold of. They don’t know it,” he gestured at the insurgents, “but our forces are in there right now. Your friend is with them.”

I was shocked: How had Barry managed to get here so quickly?

“Can we get in there?” Austin inquired quickly.

“That won’t be easy. It’ll require us to do some heavy damage in a short amount of time.” He motioned at the Sonic Cannon behind us. “This can only –”

-----

That’s the last I remember being in Ahvaz. Clotner told me a spray of bullets ricocheted off of the buildings and hit me and Austin and the soldier we were talking with. It had sent everyone into a crazy furor and the battle resumed. Austin and I went unconscious from blood loss; the soldier died with a wound to the neck. We were rushed back to Britain on a pair of Isis Hover Choppers, two steel helicopters with four separated rotating blades on the corners. I got out of the hospital two weeks later, and it took Austin a few days more.

The Americans finally gained control over all of Iran within the next two years, but at the cost of almost three thousand lives. Instability had ruled most of the country, I suppose, for small riots broke out every week.

The RBSDA disappeared four months following my mission; all of the British officers were removed from the Moon. It is now the Russian Confederation Global Space Program. They didn’t rely on the Middle East for funding or supplies, so it was agreed that the lunar and mining program be theirs. The British still work alongside them, but only from the ground. We haven’t launched to the Moon since.

What struck me hardest was what was lost that day. I thought about the incident over and over, for hours on end. I tortured myself; I should have stopped him, because he was wrong. We all knew it, but he needed to prove it. It’s all I could ever tell myself after I got out of the hospital. Wroughtanium didn’t have the affect we all thought it might. It couldn’t end a nuclear crisis before it began…it didn’t work like that.

Instead, Chernobyl has been fully restored. A permanent population doesn’t reside there yet, but workers are rebuilding the area, creating a town for a new population to reside. They removed the nuclear plant and spread the Wroughtanium across the area. It neutralized the radiation. Laboratories have been built to harness the element once it’s shipped down to Earth. The missions to the asteroid are long over. Wroughtanium made up thirty-seven percent of Apophis, but that was it, and the project was abandoned.

Barry was wrong, though. He had hoped that by doing what he did, he would save the British part of the space program. That’s what he was, though. He wanted the thrill…to be the hero. He thought he could change history, but that’s just it. It didn’t work. History is past.

I think I was always going to end up here, in Moscow, and Barry was always going to die there, in Ahvaz. Why was it, then, that I went through what I did? Why couldn’t I have just moved through it and skipped it all? My part didn’t help. My part didn’t change anything.

I looked up to the sound of a shuttle flying over my head. It was another Russian craft, the new Elite Hemming 12. It was soon out of sight, and I heard the boom as it broke the sound barrier and smashed through the atmosphere. I wanted to go back up there. It was my home, I realized. Here, in Moscow, I don’t feel the same thrill. Walking was too easy down here. I needed more time to do things. Everything was falling away from me.

------

2036. Apophis was supposed to hit Earth this year. Why didn’t it? I realized it wasn’t meant to happen. We had the tools to avert it, and used those tools to do the job. We changed what should have been. Yes, the nuclear threat still abounds, but at least there is always the chance for survival.

I looked up at the Moon again. Everything was backwards. Nothing was how I thought it would be today. I smiled to myself. Why? I don’t know. A thought just came to me. The British were off the Moon, and the Russians had assumed control over it. I laughed. Assumed control; why was it called the Russian Confederation Global Space Program if the active Commander of the program was an American named Austin Smith?

-----
THE END