Page 66 of Taurus's Quest
“Because all the current data is wrong, but what if it could be corrected? If I can get a few observatories to refresh, or at least look at the raw numbers, they will recognize their current models are wrong and warn their governments.”
“It’s worth a try.” He offered encouragement even as he doubted the success. However, he understood her need to act. He just wished he could do something because the days following the Agora mission proved rough. He’d never felt so helpless. An asteroid heading on a collision course with Earth couldn’t be stopped like a monster with a few whacks of a sword.
Knowing they might only have weeks, or less, to live, unless they could find a way to fix the fried scout, left Taurus with only a few outlets for his frustration. Sex and exercise.
The latter he did when Circe spent time in her new Tower-provided office as she made calls to observatories around the world, doing her best to get them to convince them of the danger. It actually proved easier than expected. With Demetrius and his infected henchmen eliminated, the tampering of data ceased, revealing their impending predicament. Astronomers around the world began sounding the alarm, and governments took notice. Unfortunately, so did social media and the news. As per usual, they preyed on people’s fears.
Catastrophic Collision with Earth
End of the World is Nigh!
Repent now or burn in Hell.
Predictably, people immediately panicked. Store shelves emptied. Suicides exploded overnight. Concrete sold out as people tried to fortify basements and homes. Violence erupted everywhere, and martial law got declared in most countries to little effect. Who cared about the rules with the end of the world coming?
Governments put out messages telling the populace to remain calm, that their military had a plan. It was kind of impressive how fast they actually moved, given the tight deadline. A multi-country cooperative effort emerged that involved all those with nukes joining together, along with Elon Musk, who donated all his active spaceships to deliver the payloads. A tentative optimism emerged as news of their intervention leaked. It didn’t take long before everyone named the plan Operation Armageddon Two-Point-Oh. The people of Earth truly believed the asteroid would be blown to pieces.
Taurus and the others in Tower—whose number swelled as all the brothers in the field, with the exception of Libra, returned home—knew better.
Not just Olivia saw the missiles failing. Sage, in her brief glimpse of the future, offered the same ominous prediction. Humanity’s efforts, while commendable, are in vain. Only the stars can save us now. Problem being, the stars couldn’t see the threat.
Despite all the uncertainty, while they waited on Aquarius to complete the new Antikythera mechanism, and for the mystery person hired to fix the nanobot, Taurus fell in love. Circe was everything he’d ever wanted in a companion. Brilliant mind. Brave, even if she didn’t think so. Sexy as fuck. And a killer at Space Invaders. He’d never been more shocked than when she beat his high score, which, of course, earned her an orgasmic reward.
What a cruel twist of fate that he’d discovered the one woman he wanted to spend his life with only mere days before their world would end. A little melodramatic, perhaps. There was talk by the warriors that Tower, with its protective magic, might just survive the calamity. Also, according to what Demetrius revealed to Circe, the aliens expected some humans to live—as food and playthings. However, billions would die. The impact would result in tidal waves and firestorms. The dust clouds that would cover the skies would cause temperatures to drop and would affect plant life, which, in turn, would lead to worldwide starvation. This would be an extinction-level event.
A few days before impact, a harried Aquarius rushed into the dining room to announce, “It’s done!”
Circe bounced up from her seat. “You built the Antikythera?”
He nodded. “I completed it days ago and was just waiting for Aries to retrieve the repaired nanobot. Now I just need to put the little bot inside a dimple in the rock and we should be good to go. However, I haven’t the slightest clue how to work the device.”
“I can help with that. Where is it?”
“Rooftop. Figured that was probably the best place for us to activate it. Clear shot to space and all.”
“Then let’s get going. The sooner we divert or destroy that asteroid, the better.”
Not just Aquarius and Circe headed to the stairs. Everyone went; after all, what happened next would decide their fate. Tower kindly zoomed them all to its apex. However, for once, the big sky, full of stars, didn’t fill Taurus with peace. How could it when even he could see with his naked eye the approaching alien craft? The military and governments still thought they dealt with an interstellar rock. Little did they know it was far worse.
A box with dials sat in the center of the rooftop. The size of a shoebox, it didn’t inspire confidence.
“Hold on while I get that bot back into a dimple.” Aquarius dug in his pockets and pulled out the rock and a small glass container. He sat down lotus-style, and his tongue stuck out as he poked the grain-size nanobot. It stuck to his fingertip, and when he pressed it against the spherical stone, it somehow stayed in place. “That went better than expected. Thought I might have to use glue.”
“Where does the rock go on the mechanism?” Circe asked, crouching beside him.
“The diagrams showed it balanced on top of this knob.” Aquarius placed it atop a bronze gear, and it fell over. “Fuck.” He snagged it, checked to ensure the nanobot remained in place, and tried again. Plop. It fell over, and Aquarius sighed.
“That doesn’t seem to be working,” Pisces pointed out, quite unnecessarily.
“No shit.” Aquarius glanced at Aries. “I thought you said the engineer fixed it.”
“He did, or at least managed to repair the fried circuits. However, he couldn’t figure out how to turn it on. I thought, when you put it in the rock, it would activate. Guess I was wrong.”
“Without power, this thing is useless,” Aquarius grumbled.
“What if we wired a battery to it?” Leo suggested.
“Doubtful it would work, but at this point, I’m willing to try anything.”
