Exodus (The Exodus Trilogy) Read Online Free Page A
Author: Andreas Christensen
outcome is shrinking by the hour, as we gather more and more data.
“ It’s important that you get some idea of the scale we’re talking about. The diameter of the object that most likely wiped out the dinosaurs was, according to the latest theories, somewhere in the vicinity of ten kilometers in diameter. That doesn’t seem like a lot, considering the size of Earth, but that impact caused a brief heat wave that killed a lot of animals and plant life. It probably caused huge tsunamis and earthquakes worse than you can imagine as well, and there is evidence of increased volcanism that corresponds with the time of impact. But the real extinction event wasn’t the impact itself, but the long-term effects, when dust particles from the impact clouded the sky for years, decades maybe, and temperatures dropped rapidly. Winter for years, starvation … All that from an object of about ten kilometers in diameter.” She paused for a second to let it sink in.
“ Devastator is ten times that size.” The room was silent now. They had just been told that something ten times the size of what killed the dinosaurs would most likely hit Earth some time during the next few years. Hayes was the first to speak.
“ You said ‘one of the points where the orbits cross.’ What did you mean?” Dr. Xiu flicked on the projector and started an animation that showed the orbits of both Earth and Devastator, with a timer that showed the month and year of each position. They could see with their own eyes how Devastator’s orbit slowly spiraled inward, and after eight years, the orbits crossed each other, close but not an impact yet. This continued for another four years before the animation stopped, and the word “impact” labeled the point where the two converged. Dr Xiu explained it for them.
“ As you can see, in about eight years, the orbits will cross, and it will be quite close, so we might experience some effects even then, such as smaller objects, debris from the impact between the rogue and Mars, bombarding Earth, there may be strange weather phenomena, and so forth. We need to work a little more on that to give more accurate estimates. Four years later, sometime near the end of 2084, we expect a direct impact to take place.” The president, quite affected by the news, rose and shook Dr. Xiu’s hand.
“ Thank you, ma’am. Ah, we will talk more later, I think. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to speak to my advisors in private.” She nodded, picked up her notes, and left the room. As she closed the door behind her, President Andrews turned toward the others still sitting in their chairs. He looked pale and obviously shocked, just as everyone else, and seemed desperate to find his bearing again. Unsuccessfully, Hayes thought.
“ I want you all to keep this quiet. I mean that, not one word! That message will go out to the scientists too. If … if this information spreads, there will be panic and riots. Panic and riots, you understand, right? The perfect conditions for terrorists and other destructive elements. We must keep this a secret for as long as possible. That will give us some time to come up with a plan for how to deal with all this.” He sat, or rather slumped, down again, and Hayes noticed his knuckles, white as he held on to the table as if he would fall off his chair if he didn’t hold tightly enough.
“ We need to set up a meeting as soon as possible, I think.” The president didn’t look much like the authority figure he was known to be, and his voice had turned shaky and a note higher than usual. He nodded to himself, biting his lip.
“ I think … George Havelar … I’ll have someone call Havelar later today. He needs to attend the meeting. And the other loyal business leaders, too. Havelar will find a way, I know he will.”
Chapter 3
December 2072 ~ New York City, New York
Ramon Solis had just turned forty this past week, and it had felt weird. It was as if he were standing outside his own
“ It’s important that you get some idea of the scale we’re talking about. The diameter of the object that most likely wiped out the dinosaurs was, according to the latest theories, somewhere in the vicinity of ten kilometers in diameter. That doesn’t seem like a lot, considering the size of Earth, but that impact caused a brief heat wave that killed a lot of animals and plant life. It probably caused huge tsunamis and earthquakes worse than you can imagine as well, and there is evidence of increased volcanism that corresponds with the time of impact. But the real extinction event wasn’t the impact itself, but the long-term effects, when dust particles from the impact clouded the sky for years, decades maybe, and temperatures dropped rapidly. Winter for years, starvation … All that from an object of about ten kilometers in diameter.” She paused for a second to let it sink in.
“ Devastator is ten times that size.” The room was silent now. They had just been told that something ten times the size of what killed the dinosaurs would most likely hit Earth some time during the next few years. Hayes was the first to speak.
“ You said ‘one of the points where the orbits cross.’ What did you mean?” Dr. Xiu flicked on the projector and started an animation that showed the orbits of both Earth and Devastator, with a timer that showed the month and year of each position. They could see with their own eyes how Devastator’s orbit slowly spiraled inward, and after eight years, the orbits crossed each other, close but not an impact yet. This continued for another four years before the animation stopped, and the word “impact” labeled the point where the two converged. Dr Xiu explained it for them.
“ As you can see, in about eight years, the orbits will cross, and it will be quite close, so we might experience some effects even then, such as smaller objects, debris from the impact between the rogue and Mars, bombarding Earth, there may be strange weather phenomena, and so forth. We need to work a little more on that to give more accurate estimates. Four years later, sometime near the end of 2084, we expect a direct impact to take place.” The president, quite affected by the news, rose and shook Dr. Xiu’s hand.
“ Thank you, ma’am. Ah, we will talk more later, I think. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to speak to my advisors in private.” She nodded, picked up her notes, and left the room. As she closed the door behind her, President Andrews turned toward the others still sitting in their chairs. He looked pale and obviously shocked, just as everyone else, and seemed desperate to find his bearing again. Unsuccessfully, Hayes thought.
“ I want you all to keep this quiet. I mean that, not one word! That message will go out to the scientists too. If … if this information spreads, there will be panic and riots. Panic and riots, you understand, right? The perfect conditions for terrorists and other destructive elements. We must keep this a secret for as long as possible. That will give us some time to come up with a plan for how to deal with all this.” He sat, or rather slumped, down again, and Hayes noticed his knuckles, white as he held on to the table as if he would fall off his chair if he didn’t hold tightly enough.
“ We need to set up a meeting as soon as possible, I think.” The president didn’t look much like the authority figure he was known to be, and his voice had turned shaky and a note higher than usual. He nodded to himself, biting his lip.
“ I think … George Havelar … I’ll have someone call Havelar later today. He needs to attend the meeting. And the other loyal business leaders, too. Havelar will find a way, I know he will.”
Chapter 3
December 2072 ~ New York City, New York
Ramon Solis had just turned forty this past week, and it had felt weird. It was as if he were standing outside his own
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