13th September – Judgement Day
The flight deck of Starcruiser Two had reverted to transparency.
We all sat on what appeared to be nothing, looking down with an uninterrupted view upon the Earth, and up towards the crystal clarity of the stars.
The asteroid had been visible to the naked eye, in Orion, for the past twenty minutes and was getting larger all the time.
Whatever the outcome, we had the best seats in the house.
We all watched in silence as the enormous rock began to glow red from contact with the edge of the atmosphere above us.
Then, there appeared a yellow glow surrounding a blue core that trailed away behind the asteroid. I had expected sound, but there was none.
I squeezed Helen’s hand. We looked at each other and then looked up as the flaming ball passed over us, brightening and brightening.
Finally Tom spoke: ‘Can you see?’ he said, pointing towards the asteroid. ‘Every moment, the distance between the asteroid and the curve of the Earth is getting bigger. It’s missed.’