Echoes of the Well of Souls by Jack L. Chalker

some coverage of it somewhere."
    From the evidence of a slow turning of the dial, the "coverage" was mostly Brazilian music, the only obvious tie-in being a classical station playing The Planets. At the half hour, though, after the general world news headlines and local stories, the announcer said, "And finally, throughout the region, thousands of people are up in the hills or on rooftops or out at sea awaiting the arrival of what scientists say will be the most spectacular meteor display in centuries. If you are still up and listening to me, you should delay going to sleep another three-quarters of an hour and go outside and find a clear view to the northeast. Scientists tracking the meteor state that it should land somewhere in the remote upper Amazon basin, possibly near the Peruvian border, but it should be quite low over Rio when it arrives at approximately two-fifteen local time. Authorities state that the meteor will probably look much like a huge burning moon, but traveling very fast. Nothing is expected to strike Rio or anywhere within a thousand kilometers of the city, but as a precaution, police and fire teams are on the alert. Remain tuned to this station for updates."
    "I'm not at all sure I like that last business," Anne Marie commented. "It sounds like they aren't bloody well sure of anything."
    "Hundreds of meteors strike the Earth every single day," the captain reminded her. "Most are very small, and most fall into the ocean, but getting hit by one is not exactly the sort of thing sane people worry about. This one is unusual because it's so large, because it's going to strike land, and most of all because it was spotted early, so we know it's coming. But your odds of winning the Irish Sweepstakes three years in a row are far greater than the odds that even a splinter of this meteor will strike where you are. All that was, as he said, just precaution. You can never predict these things a hundred percent, and if it breaks up, pieces of it might fall in the region. Even then, it'll just make a more spectacular show for us to see—but it'll also mean even less damage to the world when the main body hits."
    "Is that true?" Anne Marie asked. "Can the thing really do damage to the world? I realize I shouldn't like to be under it when it crashes, but—the world?"
    "One of them killed the dinosaurs," Solomon said. "The whole climate of the planet was changed because so much dust and debris was kicked up high enough that it gave us twilight for several years. The plants died, the swamps dried up, things grew too cold, and the giant creatures couldn't eat or adapt to it."
    "But that is just a theory, is it not?" Tony put in.
    The captain was silent for a moment, staring off into space. "Yes, just a theory," he responded. "But the right one."
    Anne Marie stared at the strange little man in the darkness and frowned. "Indeed? And how can you know that?"
    Because it was a pain in the ass, even with the greatest computers in creation, to figure out just the exact spot to aim it where it would do exactly that, he thought to himself. Aloud, in a lighter tone, he said, "Well, I told you I was older than I looked."
    They weren't sure whether to laugh or edge away from him at that, but since he had the car and the keys, a nervous laugh seemed the most prudent choice.
    The captain got a blanket out of the car and spread it on the ground, then went back and got out a small hamper and a cooler. He then helped Tony get Anne Marie's wheelchair set up and her into it.
    "Some light snacks, sinful sweets," the captain told them. "And some good wine, although in case you couldn't or wouldn't drink, some fruit punch as well."
    The stars were out, not as many as would be visible farther out from the city but far more than could be seen in Rio itself. There was a quarter moon at this season, but it was a late moonrise and had not yet shown itself, nor would it until almost an hour after the meteor arrived. That much luck was with them.
    The