Copyright 1997 by Rob Perry
All Rights Reserved
EXT. WHITE MOUNTAIN LABORATORY - DAY - 1400 HR'S INT. WHITE MOUNTAIN GEOPHYSICS LABORATORY Dr.'s Brady and Hunter are reviewing a seismic printout representing the LONG VALLEY CALDERA GRID. Scott, Basso and Tara are looking over their shoulder, then look around for a place to sit. BRADY It looks like the Caldera is ready to let go. HUNTER Tara, what time did they tell you they would arrive? TARA They said midnight, right here in the Lab. SCOTT Why do I feel we need to have the FBI SWAT team here. BASSO Insecurity, what else. The view from this Lab is stupendous, with visibility running about two hundred miles. Mono Lake and the cinder cones look like another planet. The outside temperature is running about 48 degrees and the auxiliary diesel Power unit is running at full power. The inside temperature is about sixty-eight degrees. SCOTT This place is like a bunker, how thick are the walls? BRADY Looks like about, two feet more or less, why? SCOTT Just curious ....... It would be suicide to try and go down this mountain at midnight. BRADY We have three bedrooms here, so the boys can take on and the ladies the other. BASSO And the Aliens the third? SCOTT Yeah right! BRADY I'm responsible for the Explorer, so I think I'll pull it inside the large metal building where they keep the snow vehicles. HUNTER (Laughing) Good grief doctor, you don't think someone is going to steal it, do you? BRADY No, of course not, but it looks like we have some rough weather rolling in and I don't want the thing snowed in. TARA Snow, ...... are you sure? BRADY About 90 per-cent sure. HUNTER He was listening to the weather broadcast in the back seat when I was driving. TARA Oh, I thought he was a meteorologist SCOTT I'm really hungry, maybe we should break out the sandwiches. Anyone else hungry? WHITE MOUNTAIN LABORATORY - DAY - 1800 HR'S The shadows are now starting to fall in the upper owns Valley and the look of total isolation is now the present environment. BRADY Is it just me or do I feel, like ..... HUNTER Like we are isolated on a distant planet? BASSO Yes that's it ..... this place is really creepy. SCOTT I think we need to put a plan together, just in case something goes wrong. BRADY Like what can go wrong? If they don't show we go to sleep and leave first thing in the morning. SCOTT No, I mean wrong, like .... they try to abduct us or harm us. TARA Agent Scott, you have been watching too many science fiction movies about the alien monsters. BASSO Tara, we are trained to always have a plan in mind, just in case things get sticky. BRADY Under the circumstances we are committed, right wrong or indifferent, we're committed. Face it, we're on top of a eight thousand foot mountain in an isolated Geo. Lab with no way out but down. SCOTT My director wasn't too happy about letting us come up here without backup, but I convinced him I would have control of the situation. HUNTER Agent Scott, it's not like we have a monster or monsters coming to visit us, Tara has contacted them and I don't think we will have a problem. WHITE MOUNTAIN LABORATORY - DAY - 2400 HR'S Snow is falling and a blizzard condition has started, and the only outside lights are the lights over the front and rear entrance and the large metal shed holding the truck. SCOTT Tara, did they say how they will arrive? TARA I didn't ask them. BASSO Probably by dog sled. SCOTT Did they say how many would greet us? TARA Two, and an Android. SCOTT A what? BASSO A robot? TARA They told me their K-2's as they call them are indistinguishable from them. SCOTT Will they be armed? TARA I didn't ask them, I didn't think it was necessary. HUNTER Listen, I THINK THERE IS SOMEONE AT THE SIDE DOOR! ...................... The construction of the building is of maximum reinforcement where all entrances are into a waiting room first to lessen the heat loss. There is a closed circuit TV camera at the outside entrance. Brady moves the control knob on the camera and they all see three persons standing near the door, clothed in heavy garments. BRADY Well it looks like they're here, so ..... what's the plan folks. TARA Is there a speaker at the door? BRADY Yes there is, let me activate it. He presses a button and outside intercom is crackling with sound from the blizzard now in full force. Tara speaks into the microphone. TARA Melik, this is Tara, Identify yourself. MELIK (on TV Screen) Yes Tara, this is Melik. Roan and our K-2, will you please open the door, were freezing to death. In one glancing motion from Tara, Scott see's her nodding her head in a yes gesture. The outside door opens and the party comes through and they all stand in the waiting room, and proceed to take off their heavy coats. The outside door closes and the inside door opens. The party walks into the main room. The tallest visitor is about Six-four and in all appearances resembles a white Russian in his early twenties with slightly slanted eyes. The second person is a female about five-four again looking very Slavic with also slanted eyes and white skin. MELIK (TALLEST) I am Melik and this is my assistant Miss Roan and of course our K-2, Jon. All shake hands and sit down. The surprise is apparent where the Earth crew was expecting to see a party not looking anything like Earth people. BRADY My pleasure. We just brewed some fresh coffee, may I interest you in some. MELIK Yes of course. Tara it's so nice to see you again, it has been awhile. SCOTT You two know each other, excuse me I thought your only association is by mental telepathy. MELIK Oh, Tara, you didn't tell him? BASSO Tell us what? TARA They are my people. I'm sorry I misrepresented myself, but under the circumstances we felt the interface would be much better if you started with me. Their K-2 keeps glancing at both Scott and Basso, then whispers something to Melik. MELIK (looking at Scott and Basso) I'm sorry, but my K-2 is very nervous because both of you are armed. Could you please neutralize your weapons so we can proceed with our visit. Scott and Basso remove their Sig semi-automatic pistols from their holsters, then remove the chambered round and the clip. They place the weapons in their large jock bags. SCOTT Is the K-2 armed? MELIK Jon, our K-2 or any of us are ever armed. Elveren-7 is a peaceful Planet and weapons of any kind are not necessary. The intensity of the blizzard has increased considerably and the wind driven snow is banging against the roof. The group is now comfortably sitting around a large table and the conversation starts. BRADY Melik, why are your people visiting our planet? MELIK My people were here once before when we inhabited your planet with our species, several thousand years ago. HUNTER We, .....are your species? MELIK Of course, can't you see our resemblance to you? SCOTT I thought maybe you had masked your appearance to make you look more familiar to us. BRADY What is the name of your star and where is it located. MELIK Our star is the same star as yours, the star called sun. You see we share the same Sun but we only come close enough to visit you every four-thousand years, and this is the closest we will be for another four thousand years. ROAN We have technology to share with you and of course we will be on hand if you need help during the crisis. SCOTT/BASSO What crisis? MELIK Oh I'm sorry, I thought Tara told you. When our orbit carries Elveren near your planet, it causes natural disasters to occur, I'm really sorry but we have no control over this. BASSO What was the extent of the damage the last time your planet came by? ROAN Your planet had a great deluge ....... BASSO Noah and his Ark. MELIK My people tried to help, four thousand years ago but it was too late. We want to help if you have any trouble. HUNTER Where is your craft located? MELIK Our Starship is in a cloaked orbit around your planet. HUNTER I'm speechless, ...... this is like a dream and I keep hoping I will wake up. BRADY Do you have an estimate of what kind of damage we can expect? MELIK Our scientists have produced mathematical models of your worst case scenario, and we ........ Miss Roan will tell you about this scenario. Miss Roan. ROAN We think we are about 97% correct in this prediction. The entire west coast of the United States, Canada and Alaska will cease to exist. Also, the entire eastern seaboard. HUNTER Oh my Gosh, and when will all this happen? ROAN In the next twenty-four to thirty-six months. BASSO What can we do? MELIK Move all of your coastal population to the center of the United States, and of course the same for your neighbors to the North and South of you. SCOTT This is an impossible task, people will not leave their homes on a prediction made by Aliens. Our people are doomed! MELIK We have established communication encounters with other people from other countries and they are attempting to warn Earth people of the impending disaster that will befall you in a very short time. TARA When my people saw this was going to happen, they sent an emissary like me to earth and try to lessen the blow of a face to face massive encounter. BASSO Tara, how long have you been here? TARA Two of your Earth years. SCOTT (Scott looks at Melik) Do you have an estimate of the loss of life if we do nothing? Melik and Roan look at each other with questioning glances, then look at Scott. MELIK I'm sorry, ..... Agent Scott did you say what is the estimate if your people do nothing? SCOTT Yes. Melik and Roan have a private discussion and remove what appears to be some kind of calculators out of their pockets, then they run some numbers and come to an agreement. ROAN That kind of a scenario was never proposed because it's unthinkable, how could you let all of your people perish like that? BRADY Earth people are very free spirits, no one can tell them what to do, they are very stubborn. People that live in Earthquake zones continue to live there no matter how many devastating quakes they have. People that live in Hurricane zones, Tornado zones and flood zones continue to endure disaster year after year, and no they never move. ROAN In answer to your question, Melik and I have computed a figure of 50 to 60 million casualties if you do nothing. HUNTER Oh my Gosh we are doomed. ROAN We are not all of your problem, we are only part of your problem. We have a very large Asteroid near our orbit that will be much closer to Earth than we will be. BRADY NEAR. ....... HUNTER EROS II will come closer than the orbit you are in. SCOTT What are you talking about? BRADY The NEAR (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) spacecraft -- the first asteroid orbiter of the Space Age -- was launched in February 1996 aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, FL. SCOTT Was the launch classified? BRADY The launch was not classified but the mission is. NEAR will rendezvous in 1999 with asteroid 433 Eros, the smallest solar system body to be orbited by a spacecraft. SCOTT So what is classified about that? BRADY The payload is a W80 Warhead, ..... BASSO The W80 war-head is a killer satellite, that's at least 100 Kiloton, what are they going to do, mine the Asteroid? SCOTT No, they plan to use it as a proximity device if necessary, right? BRADY The instrument payload includes an X-ray/gamma ray spectrometer, near-infrared spectrograph, laser rangefinder, magnetometer, radio science experiment, and multi-spectral imager fitted with a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) imaging detector capable of photographing details on Eros' surface as small as 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter. ROAN I don't see why you need a nuclear device to explore an Asteroid? What is the physical size of the war-head? BRADY Actual size, 31 inches long and 20 inches in diameter. Weight, 290 pounds with a 50 to 150 kiloton yield. MELIK Don't you see my dear, they plan to destroy the Asteroid. ROAN Why? HUNTER Our government thinks that Eros II will cause problems with Earth. BRADY So what you have said, about that you are only part of the problem. HUNTER NEAR will arrive in the Eros vicinity in early 1999. Beginning on Jan. 9, 1999, a sequence of rendezvous maneuvers with the main thruster will slow NEAR by 2,123 miles/hour (949 meters/sec) to achieve a relative velocity between the spacecraft and Eros of just 11 miles/hour (5 meters/sec). BRADY The spacecraft makes its initial closest approach on the asteroid's Sunlit side at approximately 310 miles (500 kilometers) altitude on Feb. 6, 1999. During that close flyby, NEAR will obtain preliminary estimates of physical parameters for rendezvous navigation purposes. HUNTER The spacecraft will then be maneuvered into orbit around the asteroid, using its small hydrazine-fueled thrusters. Mission controllers will direct NEAR into an initial high orbit of approximately 125 by 250 miles (200 by 400 kilometers), then gradually circularize the orbit and tighten its radius as parameters are determined with increasing precision. BRADY By the mission's official end on Dec. 31, 1999, NEAR will provide the first comprehensive picture of the physical geology, composition, and geophysics of an asteroid. High- resolution imagery will yield detailed maps of craters, grooves, and other landforms. Other analyses will determine if Eros II is a threat to Earth, and if it is..... MELIK You will then set the fuse and destroy Eros II. BRADY (defensive) Many bodies have struck Earth and the Moon in the past, and one widely accepted theory blames the impact 65 million years ago of an asteroid or Planet at least 6 miles (10 kilometers) in diameter for mass extinction's among many life-forms, including the dinosaurs. HUNTER On June 30, 1908, a small asteroid 330 feet (100 meters) in diameter exploded over the remote region of Tunguska in Siberia, devastating more than half a million acres of forest. One of the most recent close calls occurred on March 23, 1989, when an asteroid 0.25-mile (0.4- kilometer) wide came within 400,000 miles (640,000 kilometers) of Earth. Surprised scientists estimated that Earth and the asteroid -- weighing 50 million tons and traveling at 46,000 miles/hour (74,000 kilometers/hour) -- had passed the same point in space just six hours apart. MELIK Your saying then, that your government has knowledge that EROS II will come very close in 1999. Why haven't you given this information to your people? SCOTT (Visibly upset) Not even the FBI was told about this! HUNTER It was cloaked under National Security. ROAN I don't understand why your government keeps information like this from the people. BRADY Our people get very nervous when a rocket launch has a nuclear weapon on board. HUNTER The target of the NEAR mission is 434 Eros II, the first- discovered near-Earth asteroid and the second-largest. Eros also is one of the most elongated asteroids, a potato-shaped body with estimated dimensions of 25.3 by 9.1 by 8.8 miles (40.5 by 14.5 by 14.1 kilometers). Its size qualifies Eros as one of only three NEAs with diameters above 6 miles (10 kilometers). . BRADY There is no air and no evidence of water on Eros. Daytime temperature is about 100šC (148šF), while at night it plunges to -150šC (-238šF). Gravity on Eros is very weak but sufficient to hold a spacecraft in orbit. MELIK Has your government considered the extent of the collateral damage destroying Eros II will effect. SCOTT Collateral damage, I don't understand? MELIK Our Solar System enjoys a very delicate balance and this kind of an event could cause more problems than you can imagine. At the very least you will cause a very large area of radioactive contamination. SCOTT What is the worst case scenario? ROAN Collision ....... You have thousands of asteroids in the asteroid belt, it could cause a domino effect. Remember it has taken millions of years for our solar system to stabilize and this could cause major, major problems. What is the plan? BRADY Beginning on Jan. 9, 1999, a series of four rendezvous maneuvers with the main thruster -- spaced seven days apart -- will slow NEAR by 2,123 miles/hour (949 meters/sec) to achieve a relative velocity between the spacecraft and Eros of 11 miles/hour (5 meters/sec). HUNTER The rendezvous burn sequence is targeted to put NEAR into an initial slow flyby trajectory, with closest approach to Eros scheduled for Feb. 6, 1999. NEAR will fly by the asteroid on its Sunward side at a distance of about 300 miles (500 kilometers). This first pass is expected to provide improved estimates of Eros' physical parameters, which are critical for navigation. Goals include a mass determination to within 1 percent accuracy, identification of several hundred surface landmarks, and a vastly improved estimates of Eros' spin vector. MELIK I assume you need all this data so you will know how and when to detonate the weapon. BRADY Two days after closest approach, the NEAR spacecraft will be maneuvered into an initial orbit around Eros, with a maximum radius of approximately 600 miles (1,000 kilometers). By Feb. 21, 1999, mission planners will have gradually circularized the orbit to a radius of 125 miles by 125 miles (200 kilometers by 200 kilometers) and will begin tightening the radius to as small as 22 miles (35 kilometers). At this time the President will make a decision. ROAN The decision being the termination of the Asteroid. What is your error factor? HUNTER Since the mass and density of Eros are presently unknown, and shape and rotation pole estimates are uncertain, it is not possible to plan a detailed "tour" of Eros far in advance. Tight orbital plane restrictions are required to maintain instrument fields of view of the asteroid, communications antenna coverage of the Earth, and solar illumination of the solar panels. BRADY When data are to be downlinked, the spacecraft will be slewed if necessary to point the high-gain antenna at Earth. The instruments face 90š from the direction of the antenna, so they can point at Eros as the spacecraft rolls in its orbit. All or any combination of the instruments can operate simultaneously, taking data and storing data on the solid state recorders. The spacecraft also can take data and downlink data simultaneously, although the instruments can be pointed at the asteroid for only a small portion of the downlink periods. HUNTER Navigation constraints at Eros are designed to permit the spacecraft to orbit as low as possible for as long as possible to accomplish scientific objectives. MELIK Don't forget the Military objectives. TARA Don't be so hard on them Melik, they are not responsible for the decisions made by their government. A large bang is heard outside and several men are seen on the outside video cameras. TARA (Upset) You all promised me this would only be only the five of us, what is this? SCOTT (Concerned) Only my Director knew we would be here. A group of six men in heavy SWAT uniforms are seen on the video monitor. SCOTT (Cont.) I think it's the FBI hostage rescue squad from Quantico Virginia. BASSO Shit, that's all we need. The leader is seen pushing the intercom button on the outside door. SWAT LEADER This is Agent Woods from the FBI SWAT Team, open the outer door now or we blow it open with C-4. SCOTT This is Agent Scott, hold on the door is opening now. The outer door opens and the six men move into the warming room and start to remove their outer clothes. AGENT WOODS Now open the inner door. The inner door creaks open and the men come in. The door slams shut and assault rifles are drawn by the FBI SWAT Team. SCOTT I'm Agent Scott and I need to know why you are all here, we asked for no help at this time. WOODS We are here under the request of your director who after many attempts to contact you called us. Are all of you Okay? SCOTT We are fine, will you please tell your men to secure their firearms. The FBI Agents secure the rifles and assume a parade rest position. WOODS I'm Agent Woods the Hostage rescue leader. SCOTT I'm Special Agent Brian Scott and this is my partner Barbie Basso (pointing to Basso) This is Dr. Hunter and Brady the Scientists in charge of this project. (pointing to Hunter and Brady) And to my left here is our visitors from the Planet Elveren-7, Tara, Melik, Roan and their Android Jon. The look on all of the SWAT Team members as they are being introduced to the Aliens is total shock. WOODS (Aghast with surprise) I'm having a difficult time making the adjustment to Aliens that don't look like Aliens. SCOTT Don't feel bad, we had to make the same adjustment. MELIK Agent Woods, will you please have your men secure their side-arm, armed men make my k-2 very nervous. WOODS Of course, men secure your side-arm and relax, we have everything under control. The apparent mass suicide of 39 people whose purple-shrouded corpses were found lying in a California mansion seems to have extended a macabre string of ritual self-destruction by cult members. Someone has made Project Bright Star public and Cults all over the world are committing suicide. SCOTT (shocked) People are committing suicide just because of an approach of an unknown planet? WOODS Doomsday prophet Luc Jouret, head of the Swiss-based Renewed Order of the Solar Temple, was blamed for the deaths of 53 of his followers in Switzerland and Canada. BASSO They found out about the space shape following the Planet? WOODS We believe they had been waiting for a sign and the unknown planet and the space ship following it was considered a very strong sign. HUNTER Things happen so quickly in this generation, twelve hours ago the mass suicides didn't exist, now it's history. How extensive is it? WOODS Five more believers in the Temple -- an international sect that believes death by ritualized suicide leads to rebirth in a place called ``Sirius'' -- killed themselves in Canada last night, bringing the death toll among members and their families to 74. SCOTT I thought it was an isolated incident when in 1993 when David Koresh gathered his Branch Davidian followers in a compound in Waco, Texas, and sent 70 men, women and children to their deaths in a fieryshoot -out with government agents. BASSO And I thought it was an isolated incident when Jim Jones led 913 followers into the Guyana jungle and persuaded them to commit mass suicide by drinking cyanide- laden Kool-Aid in 1978. He told them they were going to heaven. TARA Now do you see why we wanted to make a very subtle contact with your people, we knew you had cults on Earth who were on the edge, waiting for such an opportunity to use us as an excuse to commit mass suicide. HUNTER Experts say there is a thin line between a cult and a respected religion. BRADY Your right, look at the Jehovah's Witnesses were informed to await the end of the world in 1914. World War One looked like a start. The Seventh Day Adventists were born from the chagrin felt by many evangelical Christians when the world failed to end in 1842, an event referred to as the Great Disappointment. HUNTER The Bible predicts the end of the world and birth of a New Age when the Messiah comes. WOODS The FBI has estimated there are thousands of cults spread around the world, with more than 500 in Britain and 2,500 in the United States. I think it's a mix of Christianity, science fiction and apocalyptic millennialism. I have been ordered by my superiors to arrest the Aliens and bring them to area 51, as soon as possible. SCOTT (very upset) Why, they haven't done anything. WOODS I'm sorry agent Scott but those are my orders. They can come with us peacefully or we will handcuff them. MELIK Meeting like this was a mistake, I'm sorry but we will have to terminate this visit. I was told by my superior that this would be a waste of time. Your Race is just too violent. We will all leave now and I hope you all survive the disaster. WOODS (reaching for his backup gun) I'm afraid you will not be able to leave .... Men place them under arrest and handcuff them. MELIK If you attempt to restrain us my K-2 will be forced to protect us. WOODS (Yelling at his men) Handcuff all of them, now! As the SWAT team attempt to handcuff the visitors, the K-2 raises it's right hand and a Laser Beam melts the handcuffs, the SWAT team scramble for their side-arm and the K-2 melts all the weapons. MELIK (Somber) We will now leave, if a physical attempt is made to restrain us my K-2 will immobilize all of you! The SWAT Team leader Woods is glaring at Melik in a tense face-off but in one swift move dives at Melik. The K-2 directs a beam of a Red Laser at Woods and he grabs for his legs, and falls short. The team one by one dive at Melik and are stopped in the same way. SCOTT (In extreme shock) Melik, you have just hurt all my people, I thought you came in peace! MELIK I'm sorry it ended this way, but we were only defending ourselves. Your people will recover in forty-eight hours, with no after effects. I see we are truly wasting our time here, .... Tara, Roan, ......Jon, we will now leave. Melik removes a small communicator looking like a cellular phone and speaks into it. The Visitors group into the warming room and dress themselves for exiting the bunker. MELIK Agent Scott, please open the outer door. Scott pushes a button, the outer door opens and the Visitors leave. BASSO (Very upset) We are in deep shit now! CUT TO: EXT. F.B.I. HEADQUARTERS WASHINGTON D.C. INT. F.B.I. SPECIAL UNIT - OFFICE Agent's SCOTT and BASSO are reviewing a report with Director Smith. DIRECTOR SMITH Both of you are off this project and will be assigned to other duties, but as of right now you two are on thirty-day leave. SCOTT (Very upset) This is bullshit, you sent the SWAT team up there not us, so why are we taking the heat for it? SMITH (Yelling) You are way out of line Agent Scott, way out of line! I told you the policy for a remote encounter was full backup agent Scott ....Full Backup!!!!! You disobeyed me so you will take the fall for this, and if you don't back off I will file more charges against you, do you hear me loud and clear? CUT TO: EXT. CHIEF'S OF STAFF WASHINGTON D.C. INT. PROJECT BRIGHT STAR COMMITTEE. Agent's SCOTT and BASSO are addressing a special congressional meeting with emergency advisors. Director Smith is addressing the group. SMITH Scientists are firing four arrow-like rockets beyond the outer reaches of the atmosphere to help solve the mystery of the phantom planet and possibly yield clues about the level of threat to Earth. Each rocket is carrying a different set of instruments, the sub-orbital rockets set for launch over the next two weeks will collect data on the Planet's composition, including gas emissions and dust particles, which could tell scientists age and origin. The first was launched yesterday night. Telescopic equipment that can provide a clearer picture than possible from Earth are designed to parachute back onto the missile range shortly after takeoff. The rockets won't reach orbit -- the highest will only go 240 miles high and provide only five minutes of data - but scientists hope the encounter with our visitor will bring back information they could never get otherwise. The Phantom planet is roughly three to four times larger than the earth and It last passed us about 4,000 years ago. GENERAL COLLINS (In his late fifties) If the telescopic images do show that the Planet contains an atmosphere and could be inhabited does that change our strategic objective? SMITH Like I stated in the report for Project Bright Star, Agents Scott and Basso have had a meeting with the people of Elveren. GENERAL COLLINS I'm sorry, but do you expect us to believe this wild ass story about meeting with two aliens and their robot. When I think we all agree they were probably terrorists! We have spent a lot of money launching the two-stage Black Brant sounding rockets, ten launches costing ten million each. We will wait until our scientists tell us what this Phantom planet is all about, and if it's a threat we will nuke it. Professor James from MIT will you shed some light on this please. PROFESSOR JAMES (A man in his late fifties) You watched the movie. You read the news reports. You know The truth is out there. In a real-life metaphor of "The X-Files," many of us are just now learning what government and science have known for decades: our planet could very well be wiped out by a giant rock from outer space. The only question is, when? Scientists aren't saying. But doomsday astronomers- mostly amateurs-and students of prophetic revelation say the time is imminent. Some say a cosmic collision will fulfill end-time predictions from various prophetic sources: the Bible, Nostradamus, modern psychics, or the Virgin Mary. GENERAL COLLINS Professor, do we have a threat here to our planet? PROFESSOR JAMES Recent real-time events have turned the heat up on humanity's astral powerlessness, and even the Pentagon is making statements about the issue. The Phantom planet is being watched, and earlier this month a new asteroid was discovered trailing this planet which is large enough, and near enough, to worry astronomers. "Every astronomer considers the Earth a target, and there are things flying through space, and occasionally Earth's going to run into them. I think that the chance of such an event in our lifetime is "quite slim. However, it's not infinitesimal." Depending on the size of the impacting body, a collision could cause anything from localized damage to total obliteration of life. GENERAL COLLINS So your saying the chances of a collision are very slim, professor? PROFESSOR JAMES Exactly, I'm not concerned so much in the case of a collision as I am with the collateral damage. Combine these scientific discoveries with a smattering of ancient prophecies, and the current spate of Blessed Virgin Mary sightings, and you have what the doom seers call "the end of time." Some avidly follow predictions from alleged apparitions by the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Last September's discovery of PW 1996, an unidentified object that could be either an unusually large asteroid, or a Planet, inspires some to suggest a connection between certain religious prophecies and science. Dr. Eleanor Kelin at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is tracking the object. "(The object's) significance stems from the biblical accounts in Daniel 10 and Mark 13, and many more recent revelations given by the Blessed Virgin Mary, since 1917. GENERAL SMITH Professor, explain what you mean by, collateral damage? PROFESSOR JAMES Well, I believe the proximity of the planet in passing the earth will be like a giant aircraft leaving a wake turbulence. According to some of our concerns are, A piece of the trailing asteroid or Planet will break off and strike the sun, creating an explosive, blinding flash throughout the Earth that will occur at sunrise sometime this year, according to the director of Our Lady of the Roses Mothers Shrine in Flushing, says the message came from the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1994, but was embargoed until January this year. GENERAL SMITH Do you believe that fairy tail? PROFESSOR JAMES Then on Feb. 1, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Observatory in Hawaii announced discovery of a huge asteroid (1997 AC11) coming too close to Earth for comfort, although it is not expected to impact. And last weekend, scientists drilling core samples off Florida announced discovery of "the smoking gun...proof positive" that Earth suffered a huge asteroid impact 65 million years ago-the same time the dinosaurs and 90 percent of the planet's species disappeared. GENERAL SMITH The Pentagon assembled this working group to investigate what possible future threats there could be from asteroids hitting Earth and looking at ways ... for possibly dealing with these. We are not here to give credence to wild ass old wives tales. PROFESSOR JAMES Many people enjoy speculating about Doomsday and all the predictions that we're about to come into Armageddon. On one hand, it forces some people to take a look at their lives and make changes. On the other hand, it feeds into that pleasure that people get watching or thinking about disaster. People who are prone to negativism frequently pick up on whatever the current doomsday focus is, Once a panic sort of thing gets started, it becomes almost a mob response to it. One exception, scientists who lose sleep over federal foot-dragging on development of an astral defense system. SENATOR JASON (A young man in his late thirties) Are you saying, professor that we are dragging out feet? PROFESSOR JAMES What I'm saying is that our leaders may know more than the government is willing to publish or investigate, and that would fall into the category of a realistic fear, for a scientist. But what can we do about it? SENATOR JASON Professor, tell us more about the object that is following the Phantom Planet. PROFESSOR JAMES We think it's an asteroid, but we can't take a good look at it because it keeps hiding behind the Phantom Planet. SENATOR JASON (laughing) Hiding? is someone maneuvering it? PROFESSOR JAMES Wrong choice of words. The object is obscured by the planet. Asteroids are solid bodies of rock and metal which orbit the sun about every five years, mostly in a broad region between Mars and Jupiter called the asteroid belt. The 200 known asteroids- more than 2,000 are out there-vary from boulder size to mountain size. This asteroid is now on the same "freeway" as the Phantom Planet! GENERAL SMITH (Very upset) Unless I missed something or what, but it looks like we're all SHIT CANNED! PROFESSOR JAMES A magnetic cloud blasted from the sun headed toward Earth this year packing radiation with the potential to disrupt communications satellites and power grids. But the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's latest readings indicated the center of the energy burst, traveling at more than 1.5 million miles per hour, would miss the Earth, robbing it of the power to cause major problems. GENERAL SMITH You see this is why we're all so paranoid, you people in the know don't tell us a fucking thing! PROFESSOR JAMES The center of the storm will miss the Earth, but it could be broad enough to affect Earth's space environment and could cause increased auroral activity, Northern and Southern lights at high latitudes. Some solar storms had affected spacecraft in orbit, short-wave communications and power grids and may have caused the failure of a $200 million AT&T Corp. communications satellite. SENATOR JASON You have to understand Professor, you and all your colleagues work with this on a daily basis and items like this don't upset you, then when this planet X and it's companion are spotted, it's a great panic, so you can see it takes us a while to spin up to your level. GENERAL SMITH What the hell is that suppose to mean, don't pussy foot around with him, goddamn it if they don't tell us these things how the hell are we suppose to react to it when we are brought in during the eleventh hour. So what else is going on that we have not been clued into. PROFESSOR JAMES Well this storm is large in size. However, it is moderate in strength compared to many others that have reached the Earth in the past. This is clearly a big solar storm and when the interplanetary storm struck the magnetosphere - Earth's protective magnetic cocoon the Geo.-tail satellite, a joint Japanese-NASA spacecraft, would be ideally positioned to observe activity. GENERAL SMITH So, is there any danger because of this Sun problem? PROFESSOR JAMES The chief threat is to satellites, generators, power grids and other systems that depend on electro-magnetic energy. These events have been impacting the Earth for a very long time, the vulnerability we have ... is that we are becoming increasingly dependent on satellite communications. Power companies in the United States and Canada are bracing for the possibility that the solar storm could knock out generating and transmission systems. In January 1994, a multimillion-volt solar storm knocked out Canada's main television broadcast satellite, Anik E2. The storm damaged the momentum wheel, leaving the ``bird'' spinning aimlessly in orbit until it was recovered six months later. GENERAL SMITH So let's cut out all the nutty professor bull-shit and get down to the real nitty gritty ...... will the damn planet and companion cause the earth any damage? PROFESSOR JAMES Yes, I think we will have major, major problems!! CUT TO:Go to Part 4
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