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Camp David 5:40 p.m. EST
Cheers fill the underground conference room. “Congratulations, we just saved Los Angeles,” declares President Baker.
As the room quiets an analyst provides a recap. “At 5:35 p.m. an MK21 reentry vehicle launched from a Minuteman III ICBM successfully struck the large meteor fragment heading for Los Angeles. This was a very fast target. Our nuclear arsenal was not designed with the intent to target objects traveling, through the atmosphere, at over fifty thousand miles per hour. Our friends at Slingeren and JPL calculated the intercept path. It was a risky move, but the nuclear detonation disintegrated the meteor over the Mojave Desert. Small fragments are impacting unpopulated areas of the desert causing no damage.”
“An unmitigated success! Thanks to the quick actions of Tug Grimes, General Casey, and the fine men and women at Minot Air Force Base. You’ve saved Los Angeles from certain destruction,” says President Baker.
“What’s the status of the Beast’s debris field?” asks Mitch.
The analyst checks the notes floating before him before speaking. “We are working closely with Dr. Simmons and his team to track the asteroid fragments. There are thousands of small pieces that will burn up high in the atmosphere. We’ve noted three hundred fifty fragments of significant size after detonation. At least seventy-five larger fragments will impact Western Europe or land in the North Atlantic. There is a minor chance of a tidal surge along the eastern seaboard. We will continue to monitor this and get warning messages out, if possible.”
Mitch does some quick math. “That leaves two hundred seventy-five pieces of the Beast. What threat do they pose and what are we doing about them?”
The analyst steels himself before stating his grim report. “There is nothing we can do.” The people in the conference room absorb the dire news silently. The analyst continues. “Many of the fragments are large but, most of them will land in the ocean. Some will cause severe damage, but we don’t believe any are city killers and they are too small to target with ICBM’s. The debris field is spreading out. You can see the projected path on the screen starting in the northeast, moving across the country to the southwest. Any place along the path is at risk. The fragments are traveling at high speed, a second or two means the difference between impacting Albuquerque or hitting Los Angeles. We can only hope the fragments stay aloft seconds longer, landing in the Pacific.”
President Baker sinks in his chair. “At least we saved Los Angeles.”
