Hi Bob!
Chapter 3 – Swarm
“What do you think this is about?” Lois asked as she leaned in close to her husband. They had been in the process of getting out the door this morning when they’d gotten a call from the Planet. EPRAD had called an early morning news conference and Perry wanted the two of them to cover it.
Asteroids. A whole bunch o’ ‘em.
“It doesn't,” she replied. “That’s what has me worried. But I have no idea what else this could be about. I can’t believe that there could be another Nightfall-like asteroid. Last time they said that it was a once-in-a-million years type of event.”
Yeah, you see, the impact of Superman with Nightfall caused a rip in the fabric of spacetime and linked some of the other dimensions to this one and now all their Nightfall asteroids are coming through to this dimension.
“I’m General Isaacson. The scientists at EPRAD have discovered a cloud of asteroids heading for the Earth.
ANUBIS: When at first you don’t succeed…
They're approaching from the direction of the Sun, and will be here in approximately two days.
Oh, okay. So, not asteroids but a Kryptonian invasion fleet hiding in front of the sun as to surprise the military defenders of their designated new home planet.
We are still developing data, but we already know that there are at least forty-seven of these bodies between one hundred and three hundred meters in diameter.
So, not good then, huh? But hey, Superman now has a new cover story – he was out there, crushing and accelerating asteroids towards Earth.
As I said a moment ago, these happened to have followed a sun-skimming orbit and they're now heading back with all of their original, post-impact velocity.”
“What is the government doing about this?”
For starters, they will cancel any and all Superman-rescues-the-world statues due to his role in Earths impending doom.
From a science POV, I’m wondering, wouldn’t the impact of a small projectile that burst the asteroid apart *not* have send the pieces backwards around the sun or accelerated them all that much. Most of the kinetic energy should have gone into the concussive force that broke up the rock and what remained, into driving the pieces apart.
His best guess was that Lois wanted to ask if Superman would be able to make a difference if he was still alive.
He’s always been a smart one, huh?
“I don’t think that’s possible,” Bernie countered. “Setting up the equipment alone will take several people most of a day.”
“What if you have one person who is both super strong and super-fast?”
“Oh… I guess I won’t need as much help as I thought.”
Do you think that you're going to be strong enough to do a second trip?
Well, he’s be exposed to unfiltered yellow sunlight during the whole time, so, yeah, he should be a go for a whole night with Lois or a couple of thousands of asteroids.
“Superman, you may have super powers, but I don't. I will... well, I'll need to use the rest room.
There was a whoosh, and suddenly a bucket was standing next to the control console.
And I worry about getting tired.”
Another whoosh and a 2 gallon bottle of Caf-Pow appeared, with an extra long straw.
There was a rushing of air and suddenly Clark was in the room in his Superman suit.
So, last night send-off with a Superman fantasy?
“Yes. I let people down last time, and now it feels like it’s going to happen again.”
Actually, he was assassinated last time, but who’s counting.
“But I have to start back with an hour and a half of air. In the time it will take for me to return I could divert hundreds of rocks.”
What if he takes the second one with him, outfitted with a beacon and leaves it about 600 000 km from the estimated meeting place. That way, he can pick it up when the first one runs dry. He’d need a homing beacon, of course…
He looked at her sheepishly. “I guess I'd better make sure I come back.”
“Yes. You better make sure.”
Plus, statistically speaking, Lois is probably pregnant by now.
Michael
