Lucas worked at NASA; half of his family tree did. It was his dream, or maybe his parents'. He kept his head down and barely made enough to support his lavish lifestyle — and his parents' retirement plan. He let his vacation days pile up, without a plan whatsoever. He made tons, just not enough; it will never be enough. After work, Lucas would warm up six hot pockets for half the recommended time, swipe on dating apps, and, after half a pack of cigarettes, eventually pass out on a mountain of beer bottles and expensive bitter wine he’s supposed to like.
Lucas woke up (already dressed), turned off his alarm clock, and went back to sleep. He did this a few more times before rushing to work with yesterday's coffee and an empty stomach; he did this almost every day. But today, something was different. It was his shift when he saw this big rock on the radar, half the size of the moon! He blinked twice. When he rubbed his eyes and pinched himself, he was shocked that his daily routine was somewhat different — a lot different, actually. Sweat dripped down his forehead. He didn’t know what to do. He tried to call for his boss, but he hadn't spoken for days. “Bo-” He cleared his throat and slowly walked over to his boss's office. He knocked on the door to the tinted glass box. The last time he saw his boss was when he got employed. Even if- the door creaked open. His boss, Clark, scooted back in his spinny chair and almost fell over.
Clark was surprised to see Lucas. I forgot I employed this guy! The last time I've seen em’ was, well, when I employed him. Maybe he’s gonna quit, finally break free, ya’ know. This is stupid. Who am I even talking to? I'm a lunatic?! He audibly sighed. I'll just open the door, Clark thought.
After a few business days, Lucas’s lunatic boss finally opened his mouth. “Well?” The last time Lucas had had a conversation was two days ago, with some AI chatbot he probably got a virus from, and even then he didn't know what to say. Lucas managed to get the sentence out. “Uhhm- I uhh- I think- I- found- an- asteroid- that- could- hit- earth.” Lucas spat. “Well, you better go catch it!” Clark broke eye contact.
*****
Lucas sped towards the asteroid. He marveled at the big glowing object; in a way, it changed his life, and it was about to change everyone else's too.
It looked like a chunk of the moon had blown off, if it was glowing in the sun. He didn't really have to do anything; the ship did everything itself.
Until it didn’t.
An alarm blared. He had no idea what to do. It wasn't really his fault, but the ship shot a missile.
And missed.
Lucas was frozen, staring at the asteroid fly past the ship. There was nothing he could do, and he didn’t blink once. His radio was blasting; he turned it off. He was gliding back to Earth, watching the world burst into flames.
*****
Lucas never knew what it was like when the asteroid hit, but he knew what it was like after. Laws gone, food and water radioactive! Such a lifestyle change for Lucas. He landed in the center of some warehouse, or what was left of it. Lucas stumbled upon an odd-shaped rock; it looked like a human shielding their eyes from the sun, or maybe it was. There was no sun anymore, only clouds of dark, thick ash and toxic gas.
A switch had turned on in Lucas’s mind. It was either fight or flight. He chose to fight. An asteroid the length of Rhode Island and as tall as Mount Everest had crashed into the ground. If you weren't dead from the world heating into an industrial oven or the radioactive shockwave, you would surely be gone from the tsunami reaching commercial airplanes, earthquakes shaking down mountains, and volcanoes erupting out of control. The asteroid caused rocks to fly up into space, creating an asteroid belt around the Earth! It looked amazing until they fell down, creating mini-asteroids. Nowhere was safe. Lucas already had a disease that made him cough blood every hour; you’d think he would give up. After the initial heat, the thick ash clouds that covered Earth and made it look like Venus went wrong. It was a cooling period: things were mere degrees from freezing solid.
Lucas pinched himself; he had to make sure it was real. He was assured by the small pain in his arm. He was in a state of shock. Sure, he wanted change, but this wasn’t the change he meant. After a long period of contemplation, Lucas decided he would scavenge for food and a new home. He needed shelter that was near something like a grocery store. Lucas was still in shock, but he managed to get himself to start walking. He didn't know where, but at least our main character wasn’t stuck. Who knows where fate will fall?
Lucas woke up (already dressed), turned off his alarm clock, and went back to sleep. He did this a few more times before rushing to work with yesterday's coffee and an empty stomach; he did this almost every day. But today, something was different. It was his shift when he saw this big rock on the radar, half the size of the moon! He blinked twice. When he rubbed his eyes and pinched himself, he was shocked that his daily routine was somewhat different — a lot different, actually. Sweat dripped down his forehead. He didn’t know what to do. He tried to call for his boss, but he hadn't spoken for days. “Bo-” He cleared his throat and slowly walked over to his boss's office. He knocked on the door to the tinted glass box. The last time he saw his boss was when he got employed. Even if- the door creaked open. His boss, Clark, scooted back in his spinny chair and almost fell over.
Clark was surprised to see Lucas. I forgot I employed this guy! The last time I've seen em’ was, well, when I employed him. Maybe he’s gonna quit, finally break free, ya’ know. This is stupid. Who am I even talking to? I'm a lunatic?! He audibly sighed. I'll just open the door, Clark thought.
After a few business days, Lucas’s lunatic boss finally opened his mouth. “Well?” The last time Lucas had had a conversation was two days ago, with some AI chatbot he probably got a virus from, and even then he didn't know what to say. Lucas managed to get the sentence out. “Uhhm- I uhh- I think- I- found- an- asteroid- that- could- hit- earth.” Lucas spat. “Well, you better go catch it!” Clark broke eye contact.
*****
Lucas sped towards the asteroid. He marveled at the big glowing object; in a way, it changed his life, and it was about to change everyone else's too.
It looked like a chunk of the moon had blown off, if it was glowing in the sun. He didn't really have to do anything; the ship did everything itself.
Until it didn’t.
An alarm blared. He had no idea what to do. It wasn't really his fault, but the ship shot a missile.
And missed.
Lucas was frozen, staring at the asteroid fly past the ship. There was nothing he could do, and he didn’t blink once. His radio was blasting; he turned it off. He was gliding back to Earth, watching the world burst into flames.
*****
Lucas never knew what it was like when the asteroid hit, but he knew what it was like after. Laws gone, food and water radioactive! Such a lifestyle change for Lucas. He landed in the center of some warehouse, or what was left of it. Lucas stumbled upon an odd-shaped rock; it looked like a human shielding their eyes from the sun, or maybe it was. There was no sun anymore, only clouds of dark, thick ash and toxic gas.
A switch had turned on in Lucas’s mind. It was either fight or flight. He chose to fight. An asteroid the length of Rhode Island and as tall as Mount Everest had crashed into the ground. If you weren't dead from the world heating into an industrial oven or the radioactive shockwave, you would surely be gone from the tsunami reaching commercial airplanes, earthquakes shaking down mountains, and volcanoes erupting out of control. The asteroid caused rocks to fly up into space, creating an asteroid belt around the Earth! It looked amazing until they fell down, creating mini-asteroids. Nowhere was safe. Lucas already had a disease that made him cough blood every hour; you’d think he would give up. After the initial heat, the thick ash clouds that covered Earth and made it look like Venus went wrong. It was a cooling period: things were mere degrees from freezing solid.
Lucas pinched himself; he had to make sure it was real. He was assured by the small pain in his arm. He was in a state of shock. Sure, he wanted change, but this wasn’t the change he meant. After a long period of contemplation, Lucas decided he would scavenge for food and a new home. He needed shelter that was near something like a grocery store. Lucas was still in shock, but he managed to get himself to start walking. He didn't know where, but at least our main character wasn’t stuck. Who knows where fate will fall?