THE ARK

Day 0

RJ climbed out of bed and took a long shower, she felt terrible, probably because she had not slept more than a few minutes off and on all night. She dressed in a gray jumpsuit and went to the Mess Hall. Travers was already there and had gotten breakfast cooking.

RJ was not hungry but forced herself to eat. As she did, Brad walked in. Oddly enough, he looked more rested than either Amy or herself. They quickly ate and went back to the control room.

“Any news yet?” RJ asked as she entered.

“People all over the world are outside looking for a place with a good view. Everyone wants to see the comet

“Also there was a story a few minutes ago about reports of groups of people that have disappeared over the last few days. They say entire families are gone. There are a few unconfirmed reports of military troops showing up and taking people from their homes. Fortunately, the media is so tied up in the comet story that they aren’t paying it too much attention yet,” Abby explained.

Nick was already establishing a secure link to Washington, and after a few seconds, the face of General Fitch came on the screen.

“Good morning General,” RJ said.

“Morning guys. We are in the situation room at the White House. We have a makeshift shelter here and we’re going to be here with the President through this.”

“General, speaking of shelters, how many people are in shelters now?” Travers asked.

“There are just over one hundred thousand people in shelters. These shelters are spread across the country. There are provisions that should last up to twenty years in each shelter. There was one undersea shelter built. This thing was huge. They were expecting to be able to house five thousand people in it. They were getting ready to start moving people to it when we lost contact with it two days ago. There has been a large amount of debris found in the area. We haven’t had the chance to look further into it, but there is a Navy DSRV, that’s a Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle, in the area. Not sure what we’ll be able to do if there are survivors, but there is an effort underway.”

“Do we have an official countdown running General?” RJ asked.

“Yes, it’s exactly one hour fifty-seven minutes from now, and the celebrations have been going on for hours already. The whole world is getting ready to view this once in a lifetime event. My idiot neighbor was wearing a ‘Welcome the Comet’ T-shirt last night.

“People are treating this thing like it’s the Second Coming. In fact, a few think it is. Very few are letting the talk of radiation keep them away. Everyone with a camera is awake and outside ready for this glorious moment.

If only they knew that this thing was going to kill them all.

“The President made a speech an hour ago warning people that the possibility of radiation could be a little more serious than originally expected and suggesting that they don’t stay outside. Even if they listen it won’t matter unless they find a cave fast.”

To RJ, the one hour and forty-seven minutes seemed to take weeks. In the command center, Brad paced quietly for the whole time. Amy had disappeared and did not return until there were only two minutes left.

On the large screen was an image of space that was being transmitted from a large ground-based telescope to Washington and relayed back to the Mountain. “There it is,” came Fitch’s voice through the communications console. They all looked at the monitor and clearly could see the object getting larger and larger by the second.

There were different views on each of the other screens. One of the cameras on the top of the mountain caught a fantastic view. It was still dark in the Midwest and as the comet came into view it lit the whole sky. Witnesses said that it was as bright as daylight for the few seconds that the comet itself was visible. Because of its massive length, the tail of the comet remained visible for several minutes. In the mountain, they all stared at the different views. It was one of the most beautiful things that Brad Warren had ever seen. Then as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.

On one of the TV monitors, the NBC anchor was showing scenes of massive celebrations occurring all over the world. In one European city people were running through the streets waving banners in an unrecognized language and shouting joyfully.

RJ thought about the images she had just witnessed. There was nothing at all menacing looking about what she had just seen. Yet she knew that soon the whole world would stop talking about the beauty of the comet.

Twenty minutes passed quietly and Amy was remembering her earlier thoughts about this being a big false alarm.

Then there was sudden commotion on the monitor screen that was getting a live feed from the situation room at the White House. After what seemed like an eternity, General Matt Fitch came and spoke to the transmitter so they could hear him. “Did you hear any of that?”

“No Matt, what’s going on?” RJ asked quickly.

“We just got a call from Ramstein Air Force base in Germany. Their ground-based radiation detectors are squawking. Looks like radiation levels are steadily and rapidly rising there. That makes sense, as the Comet approached; Western Europe was one of the first places to have the thing directly overhead.

Over the next hour, radiation detectors all across the United States, Europe and Japan began sounding. Tracking the radiation was easy and it was clear that it was spreading through the atmosphere.

World leaders were contacting Washington requesting information. The answer given was standard. “There is no indication that the radiation is the result of any kind of weapon. We suspect that it’s a result of the comet that passed Earth earlier today. We are investigating and will release our findings as soon as possible. At this time we recommend seeking shelter as soon as possible in any Civil Defense Shelter or underground structure.”

Six hours later the first reports of people showing up at hospitals with radiation sickness were reported.

Another ten hours later, there was the first report of a fatality related to radiation exposure. This first fatality occurred in a seventy-six-year-old man, who lived in a suburb of Madrid Spain.

At about that time it was reported that many hospitals were overflowing with victims of radiation sickness.

Four days later the radiation had spread through the atmosphere, and there were distress calls made from an Antarctic research station. Seven of their fourteen team members were sick.

The following day it was confirmed that radiation poisoning was rapidly moving through every nation on Earth.

A week later, there was no response to repeated attempts to contact the Antarctic research station.

It was estimated that seventy percent of the world population was sick and that there had been over six million fatalities.

The Chinese and Russian Governments outwardly accused President Daniel Anson of knowingly hiding information about the danger of the comet.

It was at this point where RJ shut off the audio and video receivers and had all her people leave the Command Center.

They gathered in the mess hall, where Brad had prepared a large meal. There were some small steaks and baked potatoes and salads. This was far more food than any of them had eaten in two weeks.

There was music playing, and RJ intentionally made sure that the topic of conversation revolved around some fond memories of the work that had been done in preparing the mountain and the training that they all endured.

As the conversation continued they were all able to laugh a little and eventually able to almost enjoy the meal.

As the meal and conversation wound down, RJ addressed the group.

“We have all seen far more of what’s happening outside than we need to. I know there is a part of each of us that wants to open the doors and take our chances. Being safe in here while everything is collapsing around us makes me feel like I’m hiding. We need to remember the reason we’re here. To help the survivors rebuild. I don’t believe that there is anything more to be gained by watching what’s happening. In my opinion, it’s time for all of us to sleep.”

Brad thought about her words. A part of him wanted desperately to hear what was happening to his country and planet. However, a part of him just as desperately did not want to hear any more. In the end, the decision was not too hard. The time had come; there was nothing to gain by hearing another heart-wrenching report or more terrifying statistics. “Reluctantly, I must agree with RJ,” he said to the group. “It is time.”

Slowly all the heads nodded in agreement.

“I’ll contact the White House and inform them of our decision; everyone else should clean up and get to your capsules.”

“RJ, do you mind if I talk to Matt, I want to say goodbye,” Amy asked.

“No problem, Amy. Let’s go.”

They reentered the Command Center and activated the communications equipment. It took only a few minutes for General Draper to come onto the screen.

“General, we’ve decided that it’s time. The last of us are heading for our sleep capsules,” RJ said.

“Good decision, I was going to suggest it the other day, but I figured you’d decide when was best for yourselves. Good luck RJ, you have a lot of work ahead of you.”

“Thanks, General, is Matt Fitch there? Amy wanted to say goodbye.”

“I’m sorry Amy, Matt is ill and is in with the physician. We don’t know yet if it’s radiation related. The radiation level is up a little in here, we weren’t expecting that. However, it’s still fairly safe for now.”

“I understand General; please tell him I asked for him,” Amy asked.

“I’ll and good luck to all of you,” Draper said with a weak smile.

“Thank you, Good luck to all of you, too,” RJ said and shut down the transmitter. She now activated the recording computers. They would still receive status reports and regular updates. They would all be saved in the database and available when the team woke up.

RJ sat down at the computer terminal and input a command that would begin shutting down nonessential systems.

She stood and placed her arm around Travers’ shoulders and the two of them walked to their capsules.

Amy and RJ assisted the others into the capsules and began the sleep process.

They then undressed and assisted each other in getting ready. They got the IV catheters inserted and the other tubing was hooked up. They then went to their individual capsules, got in, and hooked the IV, and urinary catheters to the internal systems of the capsules.

RJ hooked her facemask in place. The digital readout in her capsule indicated that everything was ready. She glanced at the three buttons on the right. There was a small one that would start the flow of SF016 into her IV and a larger on that would open and close the lid to the capsule, and the largest of all would administer the drugs needed to help her wake up with fewer side effects. These drugs were supposed to be delivered automatically. If the automatic delivery system did not work, she could manually administer them herself.

She waited for the signal from Travers indicating that she too was ready. After a minute, she heard the word “Ready” from Travers’ capsule. The voice was muffled because of the mask. She responded with her own “Ready” and then she heard the motor that operates the lid to Amy’s capsule as it started to close. She now pushed the button to close the lid to her own capsule.”

RJ felt an instant wave of panic overcome her as the lid to her own capsule closed. The dark transparent panel was only three inches from her face and she felt trapped. It now took all of her willpower not to lash out. RJ closed her eyes and forced herself to slowly take several controlled deep breaths and felt herself calm slightly. She was aware of the change in atmospheric pressure and the capsule pressurized. She waited to see that the lights for the lid and pressurization turned green and hesitantly pressed the button that started the flow of SF016 into her vein.

At first, she felt nothing; her anxiety at being confined was again increasing and she was considering pushing the button again when she suddenly felt the drugs take effect. Her arms and legs were instantly heavy and she felt more tired than she ever had. She tried to open her eyes but could not.

Twenty minutes later the computer turned off the lights in the sleep chamber. With the exception of indicator lights on the equipment, everything else in the whole mountain was dark.