Project Gaia : The arrival of humanity

Prologue : The Day the Sky Fell

"Telescope, instrument of much knowledge, more precious than any scepter! Is not he who holds thee in his hand made king and lord of the works of God?"

- Johannes kepler

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Tibetan Plateau, China. September 11th, 2031.

In the desolate reaches of the Kunlun Mountains, where jagged peaks scraped the cobalt sky and ancient glaciers groaned beneath the weight of time, a solitary figure stood watch. The observatory, perched precariously on the rocky slopes, was a fortress of steel and glass amid nature's unforgiving beauty. Here, far from civilization's glow, the cosmos unfolded in all its silent grandeur.

Hao Binyu, a veteran astronomer with the Chinese Space Agency, had spent countless nights under the vast, unyielding sky, his keen eyes scouring the heavens for anomalies. He was no stranger to the secrets of the universe-he had witnessed distant supernovae, tracked comets that blazed through the darkness, and mapped the orbits of asteroids with cold precision. Yet, nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to find on that fateful day: September 11, 2031.

As Hao's fingers danced across the controls, the observatory's state-of-the-art telescope adjusted, its powerful optics zeroing in on a peculiar object at the edge of the solar system. The computer whirred softly, enhancing the view, while streams of data flickered across the monitors. Hao's breath caught in his throat as the image resolved-a massive object, tumbling through the Oort cloud like a harbinger of doom. It wasn't a familiar member of the solar family, nor a passing comet. It was something else entirely-a rogue asteroid, an interstellar wanderer, cold and lifeless, plunging towards the inner planets.

His voice, barely above a whisper, carried through the chilled air. "Yilin, come here. Quickly."

Hao Yilin, his young protégé, rushed over, his footsteps echoing in the silence. "What is it, sir?"

Hao's gaze remained locked on the display. "See for yourself."

Yilin adjusted the telescope's controls, fine-tuning the image until it filled the monitor-a colossal hunk of rock and ice, its surface cratered and scarred from eons of cosmic collisions. His eyes widened with disbelief. "By the heavens... it's enormous."

The older astronomer nodded grimly. "We need to measure its dimensions, speed, and distance. Prepare the simulation computer."

The observatory's systems sprang to life, sensors capturing data in rapid succession. Hao Binyu's practiced hands navigated the interface, inputting commands as streams of calculations unfolded on the screen. Hours passed in an agonizing wait, each second dragging as the computer processed the data. Finally, the results blinked into view-figures that sent a shiver down their spines.

**Distance:** 150 million kilometers.
**Velocity:** 20 kilometers per second.
**Estimated Diameter:** 939.4 kilometers.
**Mass:** 9.38 × 10^20 kilograms.

The numbers painted a grim picture. The asteroid was a cosmic titan, its bulk rivaling that of Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt. It was a primordial relic, perhaps forged in the fires of a long-dead star, and it was on a trajectory that intersected with Earth.

A cold sweat formed on Yilin's brow as he ran the orbital simulation. His fingers trembled slightly as the computer traced the object's path, calculating gravitational influences, solar wind drift, and the pull of planetary bodies. The asteroid's course tightened, spiraling inward with deadly precision. Then the simulation reached its conclusion-a single red line arced toward Earth, marking the collision point.