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Chapter 10

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SENTINEL MONITORING STATION, NORTHERN ALASKA:

Even with hundreds of ground-based telescopes scanning the heavens, it is still not possible to see every asteroid or comet on a collision course with Earth, but the Sentinel satellite telescope was designed and launched into space just for that purpose. To identify and track the millions of asteroids and comets. If it discovers any with a trajectory that will enter our solar system, it notifies the station.

Keven Sterling hears a soft beep, indicating his computer has received a signal from Sentinel. When he looks at the monitor, his jaw drops open. “Good grief!”

When Keven zooms in on the object, he suddenly leans forward. If the dimensions on the screen are accurate, the asteroid is nearly ten miles across. Even more startling is its color. He has been watching the heavens for most of his life, but has never seen anything like this particular asteroid. Moreover, this one is coming at an angle to our orbital plane, which means it’s from another galaxy.

He enters a command into the computer for an estimated trajectory. When he looks at the numbers on the monitor, he frowns. “Oh, now that’s interesting.”

He enters a number for his friend at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. A moment later, a young woman appears on another monitor. “You’re not going to believe what Sentinel just found, Jadin. I’m sending you the video.”

Jadin Avery brings up the recording and stares at the giant, uncut emerald. “Is this a joke?”

Keven leans back in his chair and grins. “Nope.”

“Is that gold on the surface?”

“I was hoping you could find out for me.”

“Of course I will. Do you have a trajectory yet?”

“Yeah. It’s on a twenty-five degree angle into our solar system, which suggests it’s coming from another galaxy, but I have no idea which one. The data indicates will miss Earth by six-million-miles, but what’s more puzzling is its speed. It’s moving eight times faster than the normal speed of an asteroid. And at 800,000 miles-an-hour, it will zip through our solar system.”

“Now that I have a location, I’ll see if I can task one of our telescopes to determine its composition with spectrum analysis. We might have something by the time I get back.”

“Where are you headed?”

“Home to Humpback Harbor, Oregon.”

“All right. Call me when you have more information. I’ll talk to you later.”

Keven stares at the streaming video feed of the asteroid, and after several minutes, he notices that it is slowly rotating, which makes it sparkle. He records a four-minute segment, uploads it to his fellow astronomers on the Internet, then smiles as he leans back in his chair, and stares at his discovery.