Page 18 of Taurus's Quest
“Yup. Name of Leo. And so is that lady walking in. Meet Zora, now known as Ophiuchus.”
“Ooh, Taurus, what the hell? Did you wrestle a fire lizard?” Zora asked. She’d yet to shed her human name completely. Couldn’t blame her. Ophiuchus was a mouthful.
“I don’t know what I fought, but Aries needs to know shit’s taken a turn.”
“I’ll head up and inform him what’s happened. Expect Aquarius to ask for more details about the guy to see if he shows up in any databases,” Zora offered.
“Will do. One last thing. Protect Circe,” Taurus whispered.
The last thing he said before the intensity of the healing closed his eyes.
Chapter 6
What is going on?
Circe didn’t know what to think anymore. A dream that turned out to be real. A co-worker who went from flirting to attempted murder to self-immolation. And now, she had several overly large men and a few women eyeing her, expecting answers.
She’d been escorted from the room holding the bloodied and muddied Taurus—who nobody seemed to care had passed out—to an office where too many people had gathered. Daunting, and yet, unlike her own co-workers, none of them mocked her theory about the asteroid. On the contrary, they took her seriously.
“I realize this situation is likely frightening; however, you are in a safe place,” Aries said to start. “When we met last night, you shared with me your suspicions about the asteroid. Since I’ve not yet had a chance to fill in those present, I’d appreciate you briefing us on everything you’ve discovered thus far, including the incident that injured Taurus. Once everyone is caught up, we can get started on a plan of action.”
“I’ll be honest, I’m still not quite sure what happened at my place,” Circe murmured. She’d yet to process the insanity of Andreas’ attack.
“Just stick to the facts. Even the stuff that seems inconsequential,” Aries clarified, looking grimmer than the last time they met. “Start with the asteroid and your work with the Antikythera mechanism. Don’t leave any detail out, as it could be important.”
A seated Circe took a quick glance at all the watching faces before starting. “For those who aren’t aware, I’m an astronomer for the National Observatory of Athens. Not too long ago, our monitoring systems detected an interstellar object exiting the Milky Way and entering our solar system. They named the asteroid 8675309 Odyssey.”
A man who’d introduced himself as Aquarius snickered. “You’ve got to be kidding.” When he received blank looks, he sputtered, “Don’t any of you know the song about Jenny?”
“You know I don’t like that modern shit,” Leo grumbled.
The woman, introduced to Circe as Dr. Ruth Warmstone, snorted. “Because you’re old. I know the song.”
As did Circe, who’d looked it up and had a listen when their American colleagues mocked the name given to the asteroid.
“If you could continue,” Aries prompted, giving a stern look to Aquarius.
“The interstellar object is quite large, spherical in shape, the surface of it pitted and rocky in appearance. Spectroscopy determined it to be a solid rocky mass, therefore an asteroid, and not made up of ice and gas like a comet would be. What’s odd is it’s moving faster and at more variable speeds than expected.”
“Could it be a spacecraft?” interrupted Aries.
“A few days ago, I would have said doubtful,” Circe’s wry reply. “There are no visible signs of a propulsion system, such as exhaust. Most likely it’s outgassing or pushes from solar radiation pressure giving it movement. Computer modeling indicates it will pass by the Earth without harm. However, there is a possibility those predictions are wrong.”
“You think it will change course?” Aquarius prompted. “Asteroids and other space debris don’t usually do so without some kind of outside force affecting their path.”
“That is correct. However, in this case, there might be a problem with our data.” She took a deep breath and launched into her theory, bracing for the mockery that had followed the last time she’d done it in front of her colleagues. “I’ve been writing a paper on the Antikythera mechanism, which, for those who’ve never heard of it, is an ancient device for charting planets and other astral phenomena such as eclipses. Until recently, the results it provided matched our observatory’s planetary positioning perfectly.”
“What made it change?” asked Aries, who already knew the answer from their earlier conversation.
“I think it was the Ophiuchus constellation. For some reason, it began shining brighter, and I believe that’s caused the Milky Way to exert a slightly different force on our solar system, which, in turn, nudged the planets out of long stable orbits.”
For some reason, that comment led to those in the room looking at Zora, who murmured, “The increased activity of Ophiuchus most likely coincides with its Astraeus being released from the void.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Circe didn’t follow, even as everyone in the room nodded.
“We’ll explain later. Please continue.” Aries steepled his fingers and leaned forward.
“If the Antikythera mechanism is giving out accurate readings, then the shift in the planet’s location will affect the asteroid’s path. Rather than sailing past Earth, it would crash into it.”
