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The Nambib Spectrum
(or)
EarthStone
Oct. (Octelar) 7,
2050. Another frigid day had ended.
Listless to the point of exhaustion, Vessa was ready for a good night’s rest.
Pausing in the hallway, before retiring, she caught a glimpse of herself in the large oval viewtron (a 3-D electronic
mirror). Suspended beside the viewtron, was a portraya (a holographic portrait). Reflections of herself, her older brother, grandmother and Vessa’s deceased
parents, smilingly gazed back at her… her family. Vessa stared back at
the portrayal and viewtron with mixed emotions.
“I still can’t believe it!” she mutters to herself, as the gray-green eyes, study her
altered appearance. Shaking her head, the svelte, young woman walks back to the
kitchen to tidy up a bit. She finishes drinking a cherry liq. The half-eaten,
solitary dinner of gravy-smothered brisket, synthoid veggie balls, and protein loaf, lay discarded on the countertop. She had opted for a nutrient wafer instead.
Vessa hadn’t had a good appetite since the disaster… When it
happened…
“One freak catastrophe had changed everything?” her audible thought brought back memories…
Art Courtesy of: FantasyArtDesign.Com
`Ten years prior, a Dr. Andre Kann, a professor at
UCLA (University of Cosmogonous & Licensed Astrophysics), had discovered that an asteroid of massive proportions would
intercept the planet’s orbital path.
Although, this was alarming news, Professor Kann and his colleagues over at the World Alert Co-Op., assured
the populace, “There was no need for panic”. They guaranteed
the Terran Shield, (a magnetic barrier of space-debris deflectors) would protect the surface of our world from most of the
bombardment.
The Terran Shield Sentry
(also known as TS-S), acted as betatronic inductors/reductors on an approaching object’s bulk. The consumer prototype – TS-H, was a less-powered home version for levitating smaller items.
The TS-S was considered a technological triumph. Its
inception was in the year of 2032, by Dr. Galaris Terran, the inventor, for whom the device was named.
The TS-S sympodial network,
was interspersed between the North and South poles. It was operated by most of
the affluent, developed nations. The cost of operations per country is an estimated
$860 trillion a year. Now, the taxpayers would get to see some results for their
annual support.
But of course, the unexpected
happened. The ‘Kann Asteroid’
had fragmented into three parts upon entering our solar system. And the asteroid
was larger than the scientists had first deduced.
Two, star-sized chunks
of the meteor was pulled by, then burst into our own sun!” Whatever the
elemental combination had produced, it triggered a horrific chain reaction. Vessa grimaced and shut her eyes at the recollection. It was still too vivid…
… She and a co-worker
had been outside on lunchbreak when the phenomenon occurred. Vessa recalled,
how she actually felt a sensation like the ground being squeezed beneath her feet. Then
everything stopped. - It was no ordinary stillness - It was total cessation.
Then as she looked up, Vessa saw thick, storm clouds forming across the horizon. And
the sky blurred with a dazzling, multi-hued vortex. Then, bam!… the world
was wrapped in total pitch darkness!
Sheer terror shot through
Vessa. She felt the heaviness of gravity, as she fell to her knees, as though drugged.
The air temperature blasted icy-cold. She was disoriented. All around her people screamed and stumbled about in compressed, slow-motion. As the planet’s surface continued to heave and quake, some folks on the ground, like Vessa, searched
and clutched at stabilized trees, anchored transit-benches… or each other, for leverage.
Then, just as startling, amid all the confusion, an eye-searing flash occurred, Vessa recalled her grandmamma’s
old-time prophecy and thought… “this is it – God’s Day!”
“Suddenly –
again, there was a barely perceptible land shift, a contraction, then firmness was restored. The dimmest of shadowy light
began to reappear. Equilibrium was slow in coming, but Vessa and others finally regained their footing. Their relief was short-lived however, due to the confused aftermath of their survival, because now, everything
in sight had a dull, gray tinge; the land, the sky; even the people! There was
no color anywhere. It was as if all hues had been sucked out of the air! Just visions of varying shades of gray remained; and a freezing, bitter wind. Their world, the beautiful prism sphere, as they knew it… was gone! Then to make matters worse, the third section of the asteroid finally hit the Terran Shield.
At the moment of collision, the air grew thinner, leaving everyone gasping for breath. The TS-S held up against the mass of the impact by reversing the gravitational pull
to the 810 negative. In effect, the TS-S, acting like a polarized
trampoline, propelled the giant rock back out into space. But the abrupt turnabout
or jounce, caused the asteroid an acute phase of vibration. It split yet again!
The next occurrences
seemed like a figment from the Phobic Confessions’ magazine. Except this was real! The broken bits
of meteorite, though smaller, still posed a considerable threat, as they hurled back toward us. The tremendous strain on the TS-S, when it had boomeranged the magnetic pull on such a humongous force,
had depleted its power source. In plain talk, the TS-S choked!
The meteor shower, penetrated
the axis as if on target. Its trajectory filtrated to the East Continent and
the newly-formed, socialist State of Nambib… and its nuclear modulator. “Even remembering
the outcome was painful.” About one third of the world’s population was gone. Vessa shuddered in futility and
said another heartfelt prayer for the vast majority now dead.
The whole planet was
in a perilous state of ruin. For the unknown substance in that space rock had
tripled the blast power of Nambib’s solar modulator and started a chain reaction.
Many lives on the East Continent had been wiped out in one breathless flash.
Nuclear winds swept across the globe in record time. And matching the
fiery onslaught, a strange form of liquid nitrogen swirled in its wake. An atomic,
ice-age had dropped down to hold civilization in a frozen grip. It was a fragile
time for sanity.
For 31 months, this dreary and frightful situation lasted. Vessa,
along with her grandmother – Nanna Ti and Vessa’s brother – Auggie, were among those, who huddled 3 kilometers
below ground, in clinically sealed, emergency sanctums. It felt like a living
entombment. Outside, the barometric pressure was near to collapsing. Everyone was fearful in this nuclear-winter. The radiation
levels kept rising. The temperature kept dropping. Pure chaos. But amid this struggle for survival, came hope.
Mysteriously – and most amazingly to the experts - after only 3 years, the high levels
of radiation started tapering off. The physicists had also informed, that our
orbital alignment had shifted a .4 millimeter closer to the sun. Eventually (perhaps
even in our generation), our home would thaw out, reverting back to its previous climes.
The scientific community was mystified, yet exuberant.
The consensus was, the sun’s transformation, (it now shone a fiery green), and the
nuclear fission of Nambib, coupled with the unidentifiable matter of the asteroid (termed KN-240) – when all these conditions
merged together, they dissipated or shut down the radiating process. Another
hypothesis was; the KN-240 produced a thoron-rich environment that changed the normal rules of habitation as we know it. And incredulous as the explanations seemed, one couldn’t argue with this: Mounting evidence showed… our planet was in a stage of metamorphosis and possibly the occupants along with it!
Of course, all the other educated-guessing made Vessa and others begin to suspect that no
one really knew what was going on. But, it had been confirmed that the KN-240
element, was in fact, rapidly absorbing the detrimental gases out of the atmosphere.
Repeated experiments and monitored studies had been conducted on every planetary level. Amazingly, after the first horrendous fatalities, both plant and animal organisms
thrived, (though somewhat mutated).
Finally, with the dissipation of the radiation, there was no significant basis to stay restricted
beneath. But as a precaution, it took another three years, for the surface to
be pronounced liveably safe by the authorities. Before being allowed to return
above ground, Lab Techs indoctrinated the multitudes to build up a tolerance to any dregs of toxicity still remaining. And at last after eight apprehensive years, the entire group of survivors returned
topside.’
Vessa, giving credit to where credit was due, certainly admitted, “The specialists
had done everything in their power to ensure the continued, safe existence of our species.” `Yes, favor had smiled on
us. Many acknowledged, whatever the reason for the reprieve, (we were alive!) it was a welcome one.’
After Vessa had finished
tidying up, she sat, still meditating. She was thankful that the worst was over. Her next reverie brought a faint smile to her generous lips…
`Through all these monumental events,
hovering fears and challenges to our lives, only one incident had been greeted with joy and tears of relief… It was
when, over in Nambib, the murky grayness of clouds and ash faded. Then the pale
visibility focused and grew in strength until… colors returned to us!
Radiant, glowing, colors of life!
