The Scientist

08:37 a.m. April 18, 2073, Wasington DC

NASA's Near Earth Object Wide Infrared Survey Explorer Detected an icy comet on a flyby course with the earth. The scientists were currently commemorating the 300th year after Justus von Liebig's death and his contribution to the development of modern telescopes and so they decided to name the comet "Liebig's comet."

Nobody knew why the NEOWISE failed to detect the comet earlier. Strangely, the scientists couldn't find the reason why a comet as big as a city suddenly showed up. It was a comet that has already zipped past the sun and is now heading out of the solar system but that reason alone is not enough to explain its sudden appearance. They decided to throw it at the back of their minds and worked on tracking, studying, and conceptualizing unmanned crafts designed to mine the asteroid for resources.

The comet was roughly 57 kilometers long, the biggest recorded comet to achieve a close orbit with the earth. It is predicted that it will be 9 and a half times the distance between the Moon and Earth at its closest point.

The icy surface of the comet was abnormally smooth and reflective, more reflective than previous ones. The moment this comet passes by Earth, it will shine even brighter than the sun.

Nobody knew who gave the title first but scientists and the media regarded the upcoming flyby as the "Most Beautiful Cosmic Event of the Century", greatly surpassing the flyby which happened during October 26, 2028.

People around the world became hyped with the news. Although the flyby will happen close to 5 years from now, it didn't stop people from anticipating how beautiful the flyby would be.

Little did they know, that the beauty they were most looking forward to, was a beauty that will destroy civilizations.

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2 years before the flyby, Washington DC

By this time, the people's anticipation for the flyby has finally died down. Common people resumed their daily lives but the scientists all around the world were still busy tracking the comet.

Outside the premises of NASA, a crippled middle-aged man was strolling back and forth. The security team noticed him but since all he carried was an old book and a portable speaker, they released him after their inspections.

When the 12:00 bell chimed, the middle-aged man straightened up, turned on his speaker, placed his eyeglasses and opened his book.

He took the microphone and shouted:

"It is written in the scriptures! The time has come! The End is near! Repent! Repent!"

The security team was alarmed by the noise. They headed outside and found the same old man they had apprehended before.

"For the second Angel blew his trumpet! And something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea! So a third of the Sea became blood! A third of the living creatures in the sea died! And a third of the ships were destroyed!"

Two officers rapidly approached the cripple.

"The third Angel Blew his Trumpet! And a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the heavens! the name of the star was Wormwood! And a third of the water became Wormwood! So many people died from the waters! Because they had been made bitter!"

"Sir, you are causing disturbance, it's best if you put down the mic, surrender yourself and follow us," one of the officers gently said after switching off the portable speaker.

However, the crippled man not only ignored him but still kept on preaching.

"When the day of the Lord comes, the sun will be turned to darkness, and moon to blood! And everyone who calls in the name of the Lord shall be saved! For in Mount Zi --- bzzzzzz," the crippled man failed to finish the verse as the second officer used his tazer to knock the crippled man unconscious. The first officer then carried away the troublemaker.

An old man past his fifty's was on his way out to have lunch when he noticed the commotion. "What's happening here?" he asked.

"Director, we caught this cripple preaching outside the premises, don't worry chief as have this under control," although the second officer talked straight, his tone was somewhat shaky.

"His voice was clearly heard from the parking lot and it kind of irritates me a little. Make sure this doesn't happen again," his tone was quite domineering. He gave one last glance at the officer, rolled up the windows of his car then drove away.

*sigh* The officer gave off a breathe of relief. The current NASA director was not a fan of religion. A few years ago, the director fired a newly hired scientist from his position because the latter was caught praying during dawn. Just a few weeks ago, he reprimanded a researcher just because his paper contained "God's Particle" instead of "Higgs Boson." Luckily, the director didn't take it out on him this time. He silently thanked God for he was able to keep his job.

As he turned back, he saw a scientist running to the gates. The scientist's face was filled with sweat, his breathing heavy, and his knees wiggling slightly each time he took a step.

"What happened to you? You look haggard." The officer gave him a handkerchief while pulling him to a shaded area.

"The director... The director... I didn't make it. They shouldn't have sent a shut-in researcher like me to chase a man driving a car." The researcher kept on panting for a while. As he looked at the security officer, an idea came into his mind.

"The director...the director... The directory hahahaha quick give me the directory, i need to call the director. Give me the director's number." The researcher quickly dashed to the guard house and started rummaging thru all books that may seem like a phone directory.

Meanwhile, the officer was at a daze. "This must be how mad scientists look like. A minute ago he was panting heavily but now he's rampaging like a wild baboon," he thought to himself.

The researcher finally found the directory and hastily dialed the director's number.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

The director pulled over to the road side and looked at his phone. An unknown number, it was strange since he didn't give his number away except to the closest of friends. He was about to ignore the call but his curious mind betrayed him and chose to answer the call instead.

"Director! Oh thank God the call went through."

The director's eye twitched out of reflex. By being 'objective' through out the years, he ruled out the idea of a God and focused more on facts and formulas. Just hearing something related to religion will make parts of his body twitch out of reflex. Still, thru the tone of the caller's voice, he deduced it was something urgent so he chose to let it pass this time.

"Omit the details. What's the situation?"

"Projected velocity was off by a few centimeters per second. Numbers are not yet final but 45% chance of Code 8, 45% chance of Code 9, and 10% chance of Code 10."

The director quickly started the car, made a U-turn and stepped on the pedal. A few minutes later, he arrived at inside NASA, he didn't bother to park his car as he swiftly ran towards the tracking station

"How are the numbers?" He glanced at the big screen before him and found the new trajectory to be very disturbing. He looked at the department chief saying: "It's on a collision course with the Earth?"

The department chief which controlled the screen switched it to a bird's eye view while saying "Not with the Earth Sir. It will collide with the moon."

For a moment, he didn't know if he should be happy of the news. "Tell me the result of the simulations. What is the extent of damage to Earth." He had his thoughts on what was bound to happen but he still chose to listen carefully to the should there be extraordinary circumstances and sure enough, there really were some abnormalities.

The department chief began to explain. "The first complication is that the point of impact will be near Mare Serenitatis. The impact will trigger a chain reaction among the major faults and cause the..."

As the department chief continued his report, he felt a feeling similar to a deja vu*. Midway thru the chief's report, the director could be heard murmuring "Coincidence" in a low voice.

When the chief's report was done, the director's could only be described as 'unpaintable'. He didn't want to believe what he has just heard. "Wormwood," he thought to himself. As a sort of final test this chain of coincidences, he asked: "The biggest debris from the comet... Where will it land?"

The department chief worked back on his computer. After a few seconds, he gave an answer "It would be somewhere near Moerai, Iles Australes, French Polynesia"*

The Director also checked on his phone and after a few seconds, he replied:

"That's enough, gather all the brightest minds we can gather. Let's think of ways on how to deal with this apocalypse."

A few minutes later, hundreds of outgoing calls were made to several space agencies and respected institutions all over the world.

The NASA director was also dialling a number in his phone. It was not his wife, not his children, nor his parents. The person he was calling to, was none other than his asset manager.

"Hello, did your patent finally got approved? Or do you need something else?"

"I need you to do a job for me"

"What is it?"

"Sell all my properties outside the country, and also everything except my principal residence... And most importantly, buy a piece of land in Jerusalem, no matter the cost!"

[| deja vu - the feeling of having already experienced the present situation despite it being your first time|]

[|Moerai, Illes Australes, French Polynesia - the antipode of Jerusalem. Antipode means the direct opposite. Supposing you had a globe and decided to pierce a stick from Moerai passing thru the globe's center, the stick would most likely end up at Jerusalem|]