"Warning! All systems failing! Warning all systems failing!" The computer repeated these four simple but deadly words. Will Archer, who was 16 years of age buckled himself in, while his small one man ship was hurtling towards earth. Concern
ing his life and the lives of others, he scrambled around pressing random buttons, trying anything he could to stop it from crashing.
"Computer " he yelled over the beeping, " what is the current destination!?"
" down town Chicago," said the female voice. Will felt sick, that could kill dozens of poeple including himself. "Computer!" He yelled again, "Set destination away from Chicago!"
"I can not guarantee destination," said its wooden voice " Three minutes and forty - seven seconds till impact," Helplessly, he leaned back in his chair, " well that's comforting!"
"Glad to be a comfort to you" said its wooden voice " two minuets and fifteen seconds till impact,"
"Stupid hunk of metal," he grumbled.
Then, the computer stopped counting, the power shut off, and a chilling silence filled the ship. Desperate, and in the dark, he tried pressing more more random buttons. He knew it wouldn't work, he didn't care that it wouldn't work, he had to try anything.
Suddenly he was wrenched forwarded as the ship hit the earth's atmosphere. He could feel the G - force rapidly building, pining him to his chair, which made him unable to move.
He wrenched forward again, more violently this time, and slammed his head on the control pad. Then he felt a shooting pain in the middle of his back, and the unmistakable SNAP! of his spine brakeing. He had landed, and he was alive.
