outside, hoping to close the door on the world’s problems and
his outside too.
He made himself two ham and cucumber sandwiches, selected a Bounty
chocolate bar and poured himself a glass of Diet Coke. Using the remote device
he turned the TV on and leaned back in the one-seat sofa and went through the mundane
motions.
The rugby match which according to the week-old TV guide was due to be on
had been replaced by a special news programme titled ASTEROID HITS EARTH!
Perkins couldn’t quite understand the BBC’s logic of drowning the
enervated hope of those poor souls who still prayed and crossed their fingers
that they would be spared and that the prophecy wouldn’t be as cataclysmic as
predicted.
Why, he wondered, could they not just show a film?
His equanimity was forever duelling with his vexation, and details –
although trivial – such as striking more fear into the hearts of the nation and
the world was the reason if Perkins was a gambling man would wager vexation
would win.
Knowing my luck if they did put a film on it’d probably be Armageddon!
He couldn’t be bothered to change the channel. Other programmes listed
had most likely been altered too; it wasn’t singularly the BBC, he supposed.
In the newsroom the presenter was facing a man in a dark suit with spiky
grey hair wearing expensive looking spectacles. Perkins used the remote to turn
the volume up, chastising himself for doing it, but doing it anyway.
‘What viewers want to know above all else, is there a chance of
survival?’
The man in the suit who worked for something called the PDA, an analogy
for Potential Devastation Asteroid, shifted in his seat.
‘I wouldn’t like to say for certain, as no one quite knows what the
impact will have. However, I am an optimist by nature and truly believe that as
long as we take proper precautions then a great number will survive.’
Gail Summers, a dark-skinned, anchorwoman with high prominent cheekbones
gave her full, undivided attention to the expert. ‘But this is an unprecedented
occurrence, wouldn’t you agree? I mean, no asteroids have ever struck the Earth
before, have they?’
The gentleman shook his head and raised his index finger. ‘That’s not
true, actually. Lots of asteroids have been detected to have entered the
planet’s atmosphere, but most aren’t anywhere near the size of the largest one now
destined for Earth. They usually break up into smaller pieces. However, the
most renowned asteroid ever known is the one that hit the Earth 65 million
years ago. It is believed that the asteroid threw so much moisture and dust
into the atmosphere that it cut off sunlight which lowered temperatures
worldwide and caused extinction...’ He left what he stated hang in the air not
for effect but due to its imperativeness.
‘Two-mile wide asteroids are set to hit the planet’s surface at about
30,000 miles per hour. The asteroids are so large and travelling at such
velocity the energy is equal to that of a megaton bomb. It is probable this
would wipe out most the planet,’ he went on. ‘This type of impact would be
disastrous. The amount of debris and dust thrown up into the atmosphere,
blocking out the sun and natural daylight would cause most living creatures to
perish.’
Gail had grown still and silent all of a sudden, lost for words.
‘If the asteroid is the size of a house that hits the Earth at 30,000
miles per hour it’d possess enough energy to flatten reinforced concrete
buildings up to half a mile from Ground Zero. If the asteroid is as big as a
twenty-storey building (200 feet on a side) it has the amount of energy equal
to the largest of nuclear bombs made today between 25-50 megatons. This
asteroid would flatten reinforced concrete buildings up to 5 miles from Ground
Zero.’
Gail picked up her tall glass of water with trembling hands and took a
much-required gulp. Then put it back down on the desktop harder than she
intended. No one noticed, or if they did, they
his outside too.
He made himself two ham and cucumber sandwiches, selected a Bounty
chocolate bar and poured himself a glass of Diet Coke. Using the remote device
he turned the TV on and leaned back in the one-seat sofa and went through the mundane
motions.
The rugby match which according to the week-old TV guide was due to be on
had been replaced by a special news programme titled ASTEROID HITS EARTH!
Perkins couldn’t quite understand the BBC’s logic of drowning the
enervated hope of those poor souls who still prayed and crossed their fingers
that they would be spared and that the prophecy wouldn’t be as cataclysmic as
predicted.
Why, he wondered, could they not just show a film?
His equanimity was forever duelling with his vexation, and details –
although trivial – such as striking more fear into the hearts of the nation and
the world was the reason if Perkins was a gambling man would wager vexation
would win.
Knowing my luck if they did put a film on it’d probably be Armageddon!
He couldn’t be bothered to change the channel. Other programmes listed
had most likely been altered too; it wasn’t singularly the BBC, he supposed.
In the newsroom the presenter was facing a man in a dark suit with spiky
grey hair wearing expensive looking spectacles. Perkins used the remote to turn
the volume up, chastising himself for doing it, but doing it anyway.
‘What viewers want to know above all else, is there a chance of
survival?’
The man in the suit who worked for something called the PDA, an analogy
for Potential Devastation Asteroid, shifted in his seat.
‘I wouldn’t like to say for certain, as no one quite knows what the
impact will have. However, I am an optimist by nature and truly believe that as
long as we take proper precautions then a great number will survive.’
Gail Summers, a dark-skinned, anchorwoman with high prominent cheekbones
gave her full, undivided attention to the expert. ‘But this is an unprecedented
occurrence, wouldn’t you agree? I mean, no asteroids have ever struck the Earth
before, have they?’
The gentleman shook his head and raised his index finger. ‘That’s not
true, actually. Lots of asteroids have been detected to have entered the
planet’s atmosphere, but most aren’t anywhere near the size of the largest one now
destined for Earth. They usually break up into smaller pieces. However, the
most renowned asteroid ever known is the one that hit the Earth 65 million
years ago. It is believed that the asteroid threw so much moisture and dust
into the atmosphere that it cut off sunlight which lowered temperatures
worldwide and caused extinction...’ He left what he stated hang in the air not
for effect but due to its imperativeness.
‘Two-mile wide asteroids are set to hit the planet’s surface at about
30,000 miles per hour. The asteroids are so large and travelling at such
velocity the energy is equal to that of a megaton bomb. It is probable this
would wipe out most the planet,’ he went on. ‘This type of impact would be
disastrous. The amount of debris and dust thrown up into the atmosphere,
blocking out the sun and natural daylight would cause most living creatures to
perish.’
Gail had grown still and silent all of a sudden, lost for words.
‘If the asteroid is the size of a house that hits the Earth at 30,000
miles per hour it’d possess enough energy to flatten reinforced concrete
buildings up to half a mile from Ground Zero. If the asteroid is as big as a
twenty-storey building (200 feet on a side) it has the amount of energy equal
to the largest of nuclear bombs made today between 25-50 megatons. This
asteroid would flatten reinforced concrete buildings up to 5 miles from Ground
Zero.’
Gail picked up her tall glass of water with trembling hands and took a
much-required gulp. Then put it back down on the desktop harder than she
intended. No one noticed, or if they did, they
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