The Passover

To the University

I arrive to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and walk into one of the brick buildings to meet the scientists, philosophers and professors that I had called together.

Of course I was gonna check what Dr. Signfeld insinuated. I was naturally curious.

I walk into the room where everybody looked up from what they were doing. The sunlight came through the polluted sky and lit up the clinically white room, illuminating it, white walls, white waiting room, white desk, white orchid, and white couches.

I speak up, their attention all on me, except for the few scholarly nerds. "Please gather round. I have several important tasks to distributed that must be completed immediately. To the solar astronomers and nuclear physicists, I need you to check solar winds, solar storms, solar flares, and any disturbances with the sun and the magnetic field. Make sure to study any sunspots. To the geologists and meteorologists, I need you to check the magnetic field and the atmosphere. Give me the results when finished. We want to see if the magnetic field will dissipate anytime in this century and if there is a solar storm coming." Then, I sit down on the couch and get my laptop out of the bag and ready, opening and working on documents, notes, plans, and emails. The scientists and professors, bewildered, get to work.

After several hours, the meteorologists arrived. A man with a beige folder cleared his throat and said, "ma'am, here is the results. They are not good."

My heart fell. "Tell me." I say as I arise.

He continues after clearing his throat, definitely uncomfortable. "Well, ma'am, it appears that the atmosphere is unstable."

"What does that mean?" I ask with an overbearing demeanor.

"It means that it is very fragile, ma'am." states another meteorologist. "We could lose our atmosphere at any given time with enough pressure or force."

"What could cause the atmosphere to disappear?" I ask, my eyes wide.

"Not disappear, ma'am," the first meteorologist replies, "but weaken, around 1%. The math is in the file."

I speak. "But, what could cause this to happen to our atmosphere?"

"We don't know, ma'am, something very horrible but powerful, like many atomic bombs. Perhaps warfare or a giant meteor hitting Earth." The scientist shrugs. "We can't say. We have to come up with theories to what is causing the instability. We'll update you."

"Thank you, sir." I say, shocked.

I sit back down, placing the beige file into my laptop bag. I begin working on my laptop. Then, another man clears his throat. I look up and see a group. It's the solar astronomers and nuclear physicists.

"So?" I ask, standing up, my nerves on edge.

"We have proof that solar flares have been increasing causing strong solar winds." I breathe in sharply. The dark, haired female scientist continues. "But, we should be fine with few consequences because of our atmosphere. Though, some of our scientists predict that a solar storm will happen in the next decade if not in the next year. They predict that it will be stronger than the solar storm of 1859, also known as the Carrington event. Then again, it's just a prediction, though there is strong proof towards it."

My eyebrows crease. "When will this occur if it does."

"He says in the next two to three years. But, we'll be fine because of our atmosphere, so, do not worry. I'm just surprised no one else found this before." she hands me the file, pats my shoulder and says, "we'll keep you posted on new information. This is a very interesting event."

She left, and I just stand there like a mannequin, my thoughts and mind not in the room.

I walk back to the white couch and look out the glass wall behinds me, once again, as evening set in and the pollution of outside meshed with the darkening sky.

It was around one o'clock when a lonely meteorologist arrives to see me typing furiously, my face aglow from the screen.

"Ms. Storey." he announces quietly.

I look up. "Yes?" I ask, my throat rough and scratchy.

"My name is Chao Xin, and I, unfortunately, have bad news."

My face falls, the screen creating shadows upon my face. I sigh. "Tell me. Let it all out."

"Alright. Miss, the magnetic field is weakening and we've estimated that in 2 years it will be so weakened that it could be considered gone completely. But, it will not last long, approximately a few hours at most. Then, the magnetic field is expected to strengthen again till it's the same as before."

"At least there's some good news." I say, somewhat relieved.

"Not so fast, miss. We also checked the axis of the Earth when checking the magnetic, electric, and gravitational fields. We've predicted that the straightening of the pole is what is going to cause the weakening of the magnetic field. The straightening of the poles will happen, it's happening now, which is partially what is causing global warming."

"Thank you for telling me, sir." I reply, my eyebrows knitting in thought.

"You're welcome, miss." He hands over the beige file folder. "Here's our research. I'll contact you if anything knew comes up. I'll be locking the room up ma'am. Just leave when ready. But, don't sleep here."

"Thank you." I say. He nods, picks up his brief case, walks to the double glass doors, locks them and walks out. I am now left alone with my thoughts and this new information.