Interstellar Gold Rush

Chapter 1

The government official looked at the deep-space radars and watched.
This was his working shift, and it would run until 8 that night. It wasn’t a very interesting job, just watching for space rocks or other debris. But NASA wanted to monitor space because every once and a while something very interesting could happen, like an unknown comet coming close, or even a giant asteroid hurtling toward Earth. Whatever happened, it was wise to keep an eye on the sky.
Well, more like beyond the sky.
Another NASA worker came by, sipping uninterestedly at a steaming cup of coffee which fogged up his name tag saying ‘Dave Evanson’. He took a look at the worker’s screen, taking in the blankness. This area was devoted to monitoring the broad, vast edges of the solar system, the space beyond Pluto and near the edges of Sol’s influence. There wasn’t much out there – planets didn’t have orbit there, and space rocks rarely drifted near. It was a section of empty, far-flung nothingness. So this regular work day, the radar was as blank as always.
“Nothin’ much there, Mike,” commented the coffee-slurping employee.
His peer – Mike - nodded and yawned. “I can’t wait until my shift is over.”
“Don’t we all.” Dave turned away, walking over to another station. “Tell me if you see anything interesting.”
Mike chuckled lightly. Seeing something interesting was an inside joke at this facility.
But as he turned back to his glowing screen, the joke became a reality. A small dot represented an object heading straight into the solar system, moving with great speed. Mike took a second to understand that there was actually something on his screen before he reacted.
“Hey Dave,” Mike called out to his receding companion. “I think I’ve got something.”
“Yeah right.” Dave didn’t even look over. “Don’t call wolf on me.”
“I’m not kidding,” Mike called again. “There’s something moving across the screen, and it’s going pretty fast.”
Dave turned away from some else’s screen he had been analyzing to come tiredly over to Mike’s.
“What is it?” he grumbled, taking the screen in again. Then he saw the dot, and he eyes narrowed unbelievingly. “What the heck is that?”
“I don’t know,” Mike replied as Dave’s hands flew across his keyboard. “It just exited the Kuiper Belt and appeared on my screen.”
A side bar appeared on the computer screen, showing all sorts of numbers and statistics. Dave clicked on the dot, and watched as the numbers rolled in. The object was small – in the size of a house to a car. But the speed is what really surprised the workers.
“It’s going around the speed of light!” Dave whispered in awe. “How….?”
Even more numbers flooded the side bar, and the NASA employees stretched their eyes further.
The computer said that as it was entering the Kuiper Belt, it was going way beyond the speed of light – about three times.
“Impossible.” Mike shook his head. “No way anything with mass could go that fast. And how would it be able to slow down from three times the speed of light to just one time? It’s probably a computer glitch.”
Dave jogged away to a panel of flashing lights across the room. He came back quickly, face flushed. “Everything is working how it is supposed to. How can we explain this?”
“Well, if this is not a glitch, then our other facilities and branches would be reporting it too,” Mike reasoned. “So there must be a mistake somewhere – like a glitch in the systems.”
As if responding to his words, a phone rang nearby. Nobody moved for a second, and the insistent phone continued ringing impatiently. Dave’s face paled and he ran over to the phone, shoes clacking ominously on the tile floor. He picked up the receiver and listened. Mike watched, trying to catch at least half the conversation.
“Yes, sir,” Dave said. “This is the Kuiper Belt Surveillance Two.” He paused. “Tell me.” Another pause. “Yes, we have that on our screens too.” Pause. “No, our equipment is fine. May I ask, has anyone else reported this?” Pause. “Oh my. What are they making of it?” Pause. “Code Red? Okay. Where is it going to land?” Pause. “We need to figure that out.” Pause. “What is it?” Pause. “Well, tell me as soon as you know. Thank you.”
He put down the receiver slowly. Mike could already read what had happened on his face.
Dave leaned close. “This,” he whispered, putting his finger on the dot on the screen. “Is no glitch. And it’s headed in a collision course for Earth.”