“Whatever the center node is for, you’re really weak in it. The medallion is really strong at that frequency.”
“Well,” I replied, “whatever it is for, I presume we will find out once it becomes strengthened by the medallion.”
“Yes,” she said, “I know we will.”
She picked up the medallion and placed the necklace around my neck, smoothing my shirt down over the medallion.
“There,” she said. “My guardian.”
She placed her wrists on my shoulders with her hands gently touching the back of my neck. I looked into her eyes; she was looking back into mine. I glanced at her lips and back to her wonderful two color eyes. We leaned forward and kissed. It was a soft, gentle kiss, tentative, questioning and hopeful at the same time. There was a sense of mild electricity running through me, creating an excitement I hadn’t felt since high school. I looked into her eyes. From the expression on her face, she felt the tingle, too. She smiled. I couldn’t help myself; I smiled as well.
This was a huge step for me toward a real relationship. The excitement I felt was counterbalanced by the fear of being stretched too far out of my comfort zone. I instinctively pulled back. I could see the disappointment in her eyes, but I couldn’t stop the fear rising within me. I excused myself and left her room.
CHAPTER 14
The following day, after lunch I was sitting in my room, pondering the coming meteor storm. A gentle knock on my door pulled me back to the present moment.
“Carl? It’s Tia.”
I opened the door.
“John wants us down in the great room,” she said. “He has a new visitor that he wants us to meet.”
Her voice was cool, more business-like than before. I had obviously hurt her, something I never wanted to do. My inner struggle with the terror and darkness wasn’t only hurting me, now it was hurting her, too. Like it or not, I was going to have to deal with my inner demons. My only hope was that she would be patient with me long enough for me to overcome the fear within me. The other fear I had was that I was never going to be able to overcome the terror within, and I would lose her along with everything else in my life.
As we joined the rest of the crew in the great room there was a rather distinguished gentleman standing in front of the main windows. He was around six four and thin, with dark bushy hair, a neatly trimmed mustache, a goatee, and horn rimmed glasses. He wore brown dress slacks, a light tan dress shirt, and a brown tweed sport coat with soft leather elbow patches and brown loafers.
“Everyone, this is Dr. Hans Ublecker, astrophysicist and research astronomer from the observatory in Quito, Ecuador,” John said. “He has analyzed the information we have and has some important comments that can help people survive the meteor storm. Dr. Hans?”
“Thank you, John. Based on the information you shared with me, this is what we are facing. Some of the smaller meteorites will burn up in the atmosphere, but most of them will strike the ground. Many of the meteorites striking the ground will be the size of a pea or a marble and will be slowed down by air resistance. They are unlikely to cause any significant damage on their own. That does not mean they aren’t dangerous. They will be very hot from their descent into the atmosphere and are very likely to start thousands, if not millions, of fires.”
I glanced at Tia. She seemed intent on listening to Dr. Hans. She didn’t look at me or break her concentration on the presentation. I wondered if it was the information from Dr. Hans, or if she was just ignoring me.
“The largest of the meteorites will be the size of large beach balls. These meteorites will impact the ground at very high velocities and will destroy an area the size of most city blocks. Fortunately, meteorites of this size will not be the rule, but rather the exception. You can expect several thousand meteorites of this size. Because the surface of the Earth is two-thirds water, only one third of those impacts will strike the land.”
I quickly surveyed the faces of the group listening to Dr. Hans. These were skilled people with a greater understanding of science than the vast majority of people. They understood from the beginning that the meteor storm was going to be bad. But whatever they had imagined, Dr. Hans was bringing reality to their imagination, and reality was starkly worse than they had imagined.
“The bulk of the meteorites will fall somewhere in the middle, with the vast majority being the size of a hard ball to a soft ball. Because of their speed and density, these meteorites will penetrate every style of building currently constructed. Wood structure houses, common in this country, will be penetrated by all of these meteorites. The likelihood of a residential building catching fire from a single meteorite strike is very high. From the data I reviewed, the average home will suffer from four to seven meteorite strikes and will burn to the ground. Commercial buildings will not fare any better. The meteorites will penetrate all known roofing and wall materials, including cinder block and poured or prefab concrete. None of these structures will withstand the onslaught of the meteor storm.”
I began to understand what the ancient Rama civilization had suffered 63,000 years ago. As advanced as their technology was, it wasn’t going to save them from the meteorites. It’s no wonder our scientists believe there never was an advanced civilization in our distant past. By the time the meteor storm was over, nothing recognizable remained.
“The greatest danger to the planet will be the fires that will start from the meteorites. Every forest will burn, every field will burn and every wood construction building will burn. The fires will bring on an apocalypse the likes of which the world has not known in recorded history. The two primary effects of the fires will be smoke and a lack of oxygen. Smoke will be a tremendous hazard. Visibility will be reduced to less than one hundred feet. People with breathing problems will likely not survive the smoke. Fire consumes oxygen. Three to ten minutes without oxygen and we’re all dead. Fortunately, we can survive on less oxygen than is required to support a fire. So at some point, when the oxygen level falls below the amount required to sustain a fire, the flames will go out. Smoldering fires will remain, as will the extensive amounts of smoke, so some means of filtering the smoke out of the air we breathe will also be required.”
Piece by piece, I was putting together what had happened to the Rama civilization and the rest of the people on the planet. They were near the end of an ice age, so many of the meteorites would have landed in glaciers, quickly cooled and rendered harmless. As bad as the meteor storm had been for them, it was going to be a lot worse for us now. Our population was significantly larger and the amount of glaciers was profoundly less. The massive forests around the globe would burn, and with them the biological mechanism for replenishing the oxygen would also be gone.
“The structures that will survive will be hardened underground bunkers. You can build this type of structure in a few days from common building materials. First recommendation is to start with a corrugated curved or domed metal building such as the common Quonset hut. It doesn’t have to be large. In fact the smaller the bunker is, the higher the likelihood of survival. Second, an eight inch to ten inch thick layer of reinforced concrete needs to be added on top of the metal structure. Then, once the concrete has set properly, the entire structure needs to be covered with at least six feet of dirt.”
“Why dirt?” one of the computer techs asked.
“Dirt is plentiful, to begin with,” Dr. Hans explained. “But the most important quality is that it provides a deceleration zone for the meteorite before it strikes the concrete covering. Concrete is actually quite brittle and will shatter under such an impact. The dirt covering will limit the impact force the concrete sustains and hopefully keep the bunker intact.”