Savitar

1 Discovery

The threat of Earth’s total destruction startled and confounded Zack. His initial comprehensive analysis confirmed his conclusion.

He thought through how to get verification from his analysis support team.

The disappearance of the asteroid he had been following came as a surprise and at first, he had assumed it was data error.

He had used three additional reliable sources of the data, and the result was the same.

He had discussed this with Craig, his partner. Craig assumed some sort of error and had discounted the finding.

Zack left shortly after the other team members. He went about his normal workout still chewing on the problem as he ran laps. He showered went home and went to bed.

By three in the morning, he gave up trying to sleep. He decided to get up for an early morning breakfast and went to a nearby all night diner that he often frequented.

“Hi Arlene, let’s start with a cup of coffee and then I will see what else I’ll get,” Zack said as he sat down at the counter.

He took in the rest of the diner. There was an old man sitting over a cup of coffee but otherwise the place was empty. This was just a small hole in the wall place. He wondered how they made enough money to stay open.

After his breakfast, Zack left the diner, crossed the street, and went down into the subway. The walk to his office took him by a lush rose garden and a tree lined park where he often went to eat his lunch. So early in the morning it loomed grey and more foreboding than usual. He figured it was the early morning hour and his state of mind.

Once he reached the office, he gathered his material for the normal morning analysis planning meeting. He was trying to figure out the best way to get the team to verify his findings.

When Craig came in, he sat down at his desk and looked over and declared that he had a miserable night and was upset about the analysis.

He came into the meeting in an ugly mood. He had reached the conclusion the team had made an analysis or observation error.

Zack knew Craig had come to the wrong conclusion, but he decided against arguing.

“How the hell can we lose a ten-mile-long asteroid?” Craig barked at the observation and analysis team.

Zack observed that Craig was talking to the team but looking directly at him.

“I want you to find out where we went wrong and I want you to find that dam asteroid,” he continued

Zack knew what they would find but he decided to keep his mouth shut. There was no use arguing with his partner and mentor when he was mad.

He had now worked with Craig for almost ten years. Zack knew his own conclusion put him at the freaky fringe of scientific theory.

He needed independent verification and Craig’s demands would accomplish that.

Zack decided to spend his time putting more detail to a solution his sleepless mind had come up with. He took his computer, a drawing pad and pencil and headed out to see if the rose garden in the park would help his thinking. He hoped it would provide the grounding that he felt he might have lost.

Until a few years ago, Zack had been Dr. Craig Garrity’s sole assistant. He and Craig had spent six years using land and orbital telescopes in radio, light, and infrared technology to look back in time.

They studied the specific location of Earth in space over its billions of years of life and correlated these positions with the various periods of the extinction of life.

They found evidence of bombardment from debris fields in space leading to the periods of great extinction. Their work received wide recognition and Zack got his PhD in Astronomical History. This was a unique PhD that Zack with the support of Dr. Garrity had designed.

Zack remembered the day he, Dr. Garrity and a NASA representative met to discuss the possibility of getting funding to look ahead to where the Earth was going.

Dr. Garrity connected looking ahead to NASA’s research in how to protect the Earth from another asteroid like the one that had killed off the dinosaur. He made an outstanding business arrangement.

He and Zack set up a firm to search ahead to the space into which Earth was heading. The government would provide the computing, analysis resources and office space. Together with NASA they set up a program they named “Pathfinder.” Dr. Garrity enrolled his, across the world, network of acquaintances in the effort. All the major observatories were linked to Pathfinder’s data banks. All orbiting telescopes were engaged. This was a winning arrangement for everyone involved.

Zack came up with the idea to enroll home PC users to help in the analysis. He designed and had an Analysis App programmed that could be downloaded to a personal computer. It could be activated and then do analysis in the background. This was a big hit with the general public.

Junior high and high school students seemed to especially like the App. Many used the App on their i-phones. There were enough users that it provided a big chunk of the required data analysis

Since the Earth rotated around the Sun and the Sun traveled on the outer edges of the Milky Way, and the Milky Way was itself speeding away from the center of the Universe, determining where and how to look was a challenge for a host of astronomers, physicists, and mathematicians.

It took almost a year to develop a model for Earth’s journey with enough detail to enable them to analyze the potential threats coming at them through space.

It was a multi-dimensional time and space analysis.

Zack knew how easy it was to get lost when doing the analysis and then putting it to practical use to visually look ahead through a telescope. He and he network supporting him were doing this visually, in infrared and with radio signals.

Zack quickly recognized the necessity and the depth of the government financial pocket as they hired hundreds of data processors.

The data displaying a specifically defined signature was quickly processed.

Other, less-promising data was put in a large database and was slowly fed out to all the App users. These users downloaded small segments of it to their PC’s or their i-phones. The analysis program chunked away.

The chunks showing promise, from this second level of analysis, were highlighted by the apt and passed back up to the program analysts for more detailed analysis.

The disappearance of one three-mile wide by ten-mile-long asteroid slated for a close pass of Earth affirmed the value of all the tedious analysis that had been done.

The previous day Zack had reviewed the data and the visual record being made of the asteroid. He watched as the asteroid changed course, then seemed to stop and disappear.

He sat and did an initial sketch of his idea. Taking his work to the park had been a good idea. He was able to do an initial drawing and then put together the equation that he would complete to determine if he had any hope of making his idea real.

He walked back to the office and as he entered, he was immediately face with a still upset partner.

“How in the hell can we lose a ten-mile-long asteroid?" Craig asked again in consternation.

His confidence in the team was taking a beating at the moment. He was sure some mistake in data analysis had occurred.

Zack decided to continue to develop and work on his own analysis. He had come up with his own alarming conclusion and was quietly working on its proof and a potential solution.

Craig and the analysis team were focused on the period leading up to the disappearance. They requested back up data from all participating observatories. Craig ran through the analysis himself and reviewed the visuals.

He pointed all telescopes to the last location of the asteroid. He had data collected in all the frequencies possible.

His analysis confirmed the disappearance. The asteroid began going off its course and then it seemed to stop. Finally, it slowly began to disappear. Infrared data showed the asteroid give out its last signature as it disappeared.

It was the dying signature of an object being consumed by a black hole!

Zack had been waiting all day for Craig to reach the point when he finished his analysis. He had meanwhile researched the conclusion he had reached the night before. He had found reference to his specific conclusion. Albert Einstein himself had predicted the existence of this find.

“What is your conclusion,” Craig looked up and asked from across the office they shared?

“You seem to already know. When did you figure it out,” Craig asked as he turned away from his computer and looked at Zack across the room?

“I figured it out yesterday before going home. It kept me up all night.” Zack replied quietly.

“You find a black hole in the path of the solar system, and you keep quiet,” Craig said with a shake of his head?

Sometimes he wondered about his young partner. He was brilliant but sometimes he was too polite.

“Would you have done anything differently since this morning if I had argued that it was not the analysis but a black hole,” Zack said standing up to get another cup of coffee?

He asked if Craig would have accepted the concept of a small black hole waiting ahead in the path of the solar system. You know as well as I that small black holes are supposed to have ceased to exist at least a billion years ago.

After some discussion he and Craig decided they would need the independent confirmation of at least three other independent global teams. Craig would contact the teams and asked for their independent analysis of the missing asteroid

He sat down took a sip of his coffee and pulled up the analysis he had spent his time on.

“We not only have found a black hole. We have found one directly in the path of the solar system. More specifically it is one with which Earth is on a collision course with,” Zack said as he put his analysis up on the large flat screen the two shared.

He had developed a rough drawing of the situation.

“How long do we have,” Craig asked as he looked at the sketch?

“We have roughly four years until the edge of the solar system reaches the black hole and about seven years until it intersects Earth’s orbit,” Zack replied

I am ninety-nine percent sure that Earth will be a direct hit on this black hole. The hole is stationary. The solar system is approaching it on a collision course.

“Is there anything else you know that I should know,” Craig asked?

“Yes, but I’m not talking until after our dinner. Emily made us promise to be on time and personally I love her cooking and don’t intend to be late,” Zack replied as he powered down his laptop and put it away in his briefcase.

Craig followed suit and the two walked out to his car.

“Welcome, I am surprised you two are early. There is beer or wine in the fridge. Go in the den. I’ll call you when dinner is ready,” Emily said as she greeted them.

Zack always made sure to be on time for Emily’s dinners. She had trained as a chef and always served the most delicious dishes. He could not understand how Craig kept himself in such good shape. He figured he would be one hundred pounds heavier if Emily was his wife.

They had just finished the Modelo when Emily called them to dinner.

It was a rule that they did not discuss business at the dinner table, so the talk was about Emily’s day.

Zack did share that the roses in the park were blooming and that there seemed to be several new types that had been planted.

“Emily that was another one of your marvelous dinners. We were early because I declined to engage your husband with any business when I realized we might be late for this treat,” Zack said in praise as he sat back and sipped on the coffee that Emily had served.

“You two go into the living room. I will bring in some more coffee and a few cookies,” Emily said as she got up to clean the table.

Both Zack and Craig carried their dishes over to the kitchen sink before going into the living room.

Afterwards they sat in front of the gas fireplace with a cup of coffee and some of Emily’s cookies.

He had tried to think of a more persuasive way to say it, but he just blurted it out.

“I have a way to capture the black hole and move it out of Earth’s path,” Zack said.

He stopped and sipped on his cup of coffee and watched for Craig’s reaction.

“Capture a black hole. Even if you can, what are you going to do once you capture it?” Craig asked with a chuckle as he contemplated the impossibility of such a task.

He really enjoyed the creativity that his star pupil and friend would periodically display. However, this was a little beyond the normal, it was a little on the crazy side.

He figured it was probably the caffeine from all the coffee Zack drank. He knew it was not drugs, but he would have believed so if he had not known his partner for so long.

“I am going to use the blackhole as the center of a giant spaceship. It will provide the gravity and the power for this spaceship,” Zack replied quietly.

He was aware of Craig’s skepticism, but he was sure of his idea and that he knew how to build the spaceship.

He had spent the day on the analysis of the power of this small black hole. He had concluded that it could be contained in a magnetic bottle.

He knew Craig was not yet understanding or accepting this as a serious suggestion.

“Tell me more,” Craig said as he leaned forward to see if Zack was serious.

And by the tone of his voice, Craig thought Zack was serious.

“Here, let me show you,” Zack said as he powered up his laptop.

He showed Craig his power analysis and a potential way to bottle the black hole.

They got into some serious and deep discussion.

Zack was surprised when he realized it was past two in the morning.

“Its lucky tomorrow is Saturday we should probably go to bed,” Zack said.

He realized how tired he was. He was sapped.

“You’re welcome to use the guest room.” Craig said as he too realized how tired he was.

Emily had said good night when she brought in the coffee and cookies. That had been more than four hours earlier.

Craig was now hooked on Zack’s idea. It would take a lot of additional analysis and design work, but the idea seemed plausible.

He once again was humbled by Zack’s uncanny ability to cut through a monumental problem in a simple direct approach.

Zack accepted using the guest room. He made quick work of getting asleep.

It seemed that having someone accept his discovery and his solution as plausible had released his anxiety and he did not wake up until he heard Emily’s call for breakfast.

He looked at the clock and it was past nine-thirty.

“I let the two of you sleep in this morning.

I must be the only woman jealous of a former male student, for keeping my husband out all night.

What were the two of you talking about for so long,” Emily joked.

She had taken Zack under her wing and thought of him almost as a younger brother. She had hosted Zack’s parents on the ribbon cutting ceremony when Craig and Zack opened their current business.

“Well in all truthfulness, if I or Zack were to tell you, we would all have to be shot,” Craig said giving Emily a good morning kiss while giving her a pat on her behind.

He was not ready to tell anyone about this situation. Emily worried about threatening rainstorms. He was not about to mention Earth’s potential doom idly or casually.

“Zack and I are going to have to work this weekend. We have a situation needing immediate attention. We need to prepare some presentation for this coming Monday or Tuesday.

The two left after a quick breakfast and went into the office.

Craig and Zack sat in their office reviewing what they had learned. The black hole was not a collapsed star. The black hole was much too small. Instead, they theorized that it was material compressed by the original big bang formation of the universe that had made this relatively small black hole.

They wondered how it could maintain itself. Theoretically, it took a much larger amount of mass to form and then maintain a black hole. This small but deadly one had absorbed or sucked in an asteroid almost ten miles in length and three miles wide. It seemed that it sustained itself by taking in these smaller chunks of matter.

Earth was too large to be sucked in, but an encounter with even a small black hole would create havoc and have a dramatic impact. They theorized Earth’s atmosphere, and its water would be stripped, and the event would likely disrupt the planet’s orbit.

Zack postulated Mars might have experienced this same black hole in the distant past. He also pointed to the debris past the orbit of Mars where a fifth planet should have formed. \

The cycle around the edge of the Milky Way was roughly once every two hundred fifty million years. Perhaps the Solar System had previously had multiple encounters with this black hole. Or perhaps there were other similar black holes in the galaxy. If his theory proved to be true, it would solve the long-discussed mystery of why Mars lost most of its atmosphere and its water.

“If we want to survive this encounter, we need to martial Earth’s resources and take immediate action. How are we going to pull this off,” Zack voiced his concern as he sat looking at the screen?

“I will contact the President and set up a meeting to brief him,” Craig said.

Zack knew about Craig’s friendship with the President. The two had grown up in the same neighborhood, attended school together and had both graduated from MIT. Craig had been an active campaigner for the newly elected President. Even so he was still surprised to see Craig calling the President on a Saturday.

Even so, Zack found it amazing that Craig could just dial him at a moment’s notice.

“Yes, please tell him it’s Dr. Craig Garrity and I have information critical to the well-being of the nation.” Craig spoke into the phone.

He hung up.

“Let’s see if Dan call’s me back. He told me I could call him at any time.” Craig said as he looked over and smiled at Zack.

A few moments later the phone rang. Craig put it on the speaker phone, but he put his finger to his lips and pointed to Zack.

“Well, I just left my daughter’s swim meet. How are things with you and Emily,” the President said in friendly tone?

“Emily is fine.

However, I really am calling about a very serious threat to the Earth. I want to review it with you this coming week. Please listen to me personally. Afterwards you can unleash all of your technical resources to verify what I tell you. Can you get me on your agenda,” Craig replied more seriously?

“Yes, I will see you. Let’s make it Monday at lunch. You know you have ruined my weekend with this. Should I pray in church tomorrow,” the President replied?

“Thank you and yes several prayers would be appropriate,” Craig responded.

“Wow, I never would have dreamt it would have been this easy to get to talk to and see the President,” Zack said in amazement after Craig hung up the phone.

“Well getting Dan to listen will not be the issue. He just got sworn in. As you know I attended his inauguration.

Getting him to take immediate action and making it stick may be more of an issue. However, Dan has a history of making things move and getting things done. Let’s get our presentation outlined and fleshed out. We don’t want to blow this presentation,” Craig said quietly.

Zack spent the rest of the morning working on his concept and preparing a draft of the presentation he had wanted.

Craig was reviewing the slides and adding the verbiage in the notes section of the presentation.

It was late Saturday afternoon when a of limo stopped in the parking lot of the office. Two black vans were parked on either side of a long stretch limo car.

Zack was shocked when he looked up to see two very serious men enter the room with their badges out.

“FBI is there anyone else here?” he asked looking around.

“We are the only ones,” Zack replied thinking it was obvious no one else was in the room.

“How can we help you,” Craig inquired.

“It’s clear,” the second agent said into his phone. The two stepped forward and to the side.

The president walked in.

“I couldn’t wait until Monday. I know you wouldn’t call me on something trivial. You are tracking a close encounter asteroid. Is it on a collision course?” the President asked as he came in.

Craig looked at the two agents.

“Are they cleared for all information,” Craig inquired?

“Gentlemen, please give us a few moments alone,” the President said to the two agents.

Once the door closed Craig stood up.

“Dan thanks for coming. Let me introduce you to Dr. Zackary Milton. He made the discovery we are going to tell you about. He has also proposed a solution to this problem. I am relieved to be able to put this in your capable hands. Zack, you tell the story,” Craig said as he shook hands with the President.

Zack was a little unnerved.

“Mr. President...

“Please call me Dan,” the President interrupted as he accepted a cup of coffee from Craig.

“Dan, there is a black hole directly in the path of the Solar system and it will be in Earth’s orbit in about six years. Thursday, we witnessed it swallow the near pass asteroid we have been tracking,” Zack spoke slowly and clearly.

He was trying to be as clear and as direct as possible. He wanted the President to understand the critical need for immediate action.

“You don’t pull any punches. What kind of damage are we talking about,” the President inquired?

“Well, this is a small black hole. It theoretically should have ceased to exist several billion years ago. Our solar system seems to be one source of its sustenance. It is too small to ingest the Earth but that won’t do us any good.

It will likely leave Earth in the same condition we find Mars today. It would strip away the atmosphere, our oceans, everything on the surface,” Zack replied.

“Here let me show you the pictures we have of it swallowing the asteroid,” Zack continued.

“This is going to take more than a prayer in church. What is the solution you have come up with,” the President inquired?

This time Zack pulled out his notebook.

“I was getting ready to put this into a graphics package. You’re about a day early for anything more than my hand drawing. My calculations are all in my computer and of course they will take additional checking, but I am confident I have the right scale for the size of this solution,” Zack said as he turned to the page with the sketches of the capture device.

“Dan, the dimensions of this capture device are at the limits of what is feasible with our current technology. It is doable but it will take the concerted effort of all the resources of the Earth. The inner sphere is fifty miles in diameter and the outer sphere is two hundred miles in diameter. The inner sphere will need to withstand a nine G force trying to ingest it. The outer sphere will be at one G.

It is simple to make but will need to be assembled in space. Do you have any questions,” Zack said as he stopped to let the information sink in?

“This just seems to be getting tougher as I learn more. You said this was the only solution. Don’t we have some other weapon at our disposal,” the President said looking at Craig?

“There is no weapon known to mankind strong enough to eliminate this black hole from our path. I initially thought Zack had fallen over the edge but when I reviewed his notes and proposed solution, I realized it indeed was the only possible one. This is a problem with only one very difficult monumental solution,” Craig responded.

“How much time do I have before I must take action,” the President inquired?

“I called you because we are already very late in taking action. We must be on our way toward the black hole in the next two years. You need to understand, accept, and implement this proposal immediately,” Craig replied.

“It seems clear to me. It truly is a monumental undertaking. I can see we have the technology to make it happen. I am not sure we have the time and the resources. I agree immediate action is required. I will have my cabinet called together for an emergency meeting on Monday afternoon. I will send over some resources to help you prepare a presentation. You are planning to work on Sunday while I pray?” the President said as he stood up?

“Yes, we were planning to work tomorrow. Any help we can get would be very useful. Make sure one of them knows all the idiosyncrasies and quirks of your cabinet members. Please apologize for me to Lydia for disturbing her family on the weekend.” Craig said as the President got up.

“Craig you always were a pain. I can’t say this meeting was a pleasure. This will be a weekend I will probably never forget that I was at Cathy’s swim meet when I learned the world was coming to an end,” the President said as he opened the office door.

Zack stood looking at the door in disbelief. He had been expecting a long-drawn-out discussion about alternatives. Or at least having the President dig into the details of the discovery.

He looked over at Craig and saw that he was smiling.

“He is that direct and he is very smart. He may be smarter than both of us,” Craig said as he commented that they needed to get back to work.

Zack and Craig made an outline of their presentation. They decided to call it a day. They agreed to meet at eight in the morning.

The next morning, Zack was surprised by the number of cars in the parking lot. It was Sunday morning, and the lot was at least half full. He saw Craig’s car and parked next to it as usual.

“Good Morning. As you can see, we have lots of help. I have coffee brewing and I have found places for this group from the White House to be able to do their work. I almost left when I drove in and saw all of them here.” Craig greeted Zack as he walked in.

“How many are there and what are we going to do with them all,” Zack said as he plugged in his laptop?

“There are six of them and they have instructions to prepare the entire presentation. I thought you and I would review what we outlined late yesterday afternoon and then let them go at it. We can do some more work on your design while they get the presentation ready. They can ask questions for clarity and later today we can do the final edit. Tomorrow morning, they can finalize the presentation and make the final copy,” Craig replied.

“Sounds good to me, I wasn’t sure how detailed to make the presentation. They will know exactly what is needed. I am going to introduce myself, get a cup of coffee and then I will be ready to go,” Zack replied as his computer came to life.

Monday morning Zack and Craig arrived at the parking lot in the back of the White House. They were stopped at the entrance and asked for identification. Zack was surprised to find their names were on the list. He parked and Craig and he walked up to the entrance gate. Here they were met by one of the team that had worked with them on Sunday on the presentation.

“Welcome to the White House. I’ll take you to our office area. We will finalize the presentation and get it ready for the cabinet meeting. We are in the process of finalizing the changes we agreed to yesterday afternoon. Everything is on track. This has personally blown me away. I sure hope your idea takes immediate traction,” Jerry, the leader of the Presidents team greeted them.

Zack sat down and went through the presentation with Craig. It really was of professional quality.

“Wow, I wonder if this team does any work on the side,” Zack commented as they finished the review of the presentation.

The President’s team had prepared a simple animated slide presentation showing the black hole, the disappearance of the asteroid, and some education on a black hole. They followed with how the capture and movement of the black hole could happen.

“We should have had this kind of help the last time we were trying to raise money for our studies.” Craig commented.

“I agree. We should be able to make a convincing presentation with this slide deck,” Zack replied

“I would like you to do the presentation. I will chime in if you miss any critical points, but I would like you to be up front,” Craig requested.

Craig was aware that several of the cabinet members did not like the fact that he was a personal friend of the President, and he figured the best course of action was to put Zack out front.

The President walked in and thanked and welcomed everyone for attending this special meeting. He set the stage by asking everyone to allow the entire presentation to be given. Afterwards the group could go back to any point and ask questions.

He pointed to one of the clerks and said that after the presentation ended a paper reference copy would be handed out.

He then introduced Dr. Craig Garrity and Dr. Zackary Milton.

Zack stood and gave a brief introduction of himself.

He then let them know about the discovery of a black hole that the solar system was approaching.

The presentation went smoothly. The entire room seemed to be at attention and their faces showed no emotion.

The paper copies were handed out as Zack ended the screen presentation.

The President then clarified that he would lead the discussion portion of the meeting.

Zack and Craig listened to the reaction the concept was eliciting from the cabinet members. This was what Zack had anticipated from the President.

“What’s the big fuss? Why don’t we just send several nuclear missiles and blast the black hole out of the way,” the secretary of the interior spoke up loudly.

“Well Lawrence, a black hole can suck in stars and stars that explode with the force of millions of our nuclear missiles. We need to do something very different than to try to apply our meager force. I am also not sure we can be as accurate as we would want from this range,” the Secretary of Defense replied.

The response surprised Zack. He sensed the Secretary understood and was supportive of the capture concept.

The discussion which followed allowed Zack to answer additional questions and to share his general approach to capturing and utilizing the black hole.

After what seemed a redundant and circular discussion the cabinet agreed capturing the black hole was the correct tactical action.

The meeting ended and they followed the President into the oval office.

“The two of you have stepped up to help the world, and I want to thank you. I’m afraid you are in for an experience you did not imagine. Your leadership and guidance are of such critical nature I have asked each of you be assigned personal bodyguards. You will be taken from here directly to FBI headquarters to select them. You may not have noticed but you were being watched since our meeting on Saturday,” President Lansing said after the cabinet meeting.

This came as a surprise to both Zack and Craig. They asked whether such action was necessary.

“Please accept this in the spirit of friendship. I have no choice but to ensure your safety. You give me the news of the end of the world and you two are the only ones with the plans to save us. Of course, I have to ensure your safety,” the President said as they walked back to his office.

There was no farther discussion on this topic.

“We will need to enroll the leaders of all the major economies. This will be followed by enrolling the entire UN membership. I will arrange for this to happen.

I will have the presentation team work with you on any tweaks that may be needed. You may need to simplify a few points. I will also need to take part in these next presentations. They will coach all of us on how to best present this concept to ensure getting the global support we need. We are going to have to sell, cajole, beg, sweet talk and threaten. We will need to do whatever it takes to get the key leaders to support us,” President Lansing said.

Soon after, Craig and Zack were escorted out to their cars. Two FBI agents got into the back seat and drove home with them.

2 Project Savitar

The President stood looking out of his office window. He understood the gravity of the situation and would act with speed and urgency. He had a strong political team, but he had been in office for less than a month and they had barely moved into their offices. He knew that he was taking unprecedented action. He would need all the help from his friends and allies to pull it off.

“Well, I wanted to make a difference. I guess I will need to be careful what I wish for in the future,” he thought to himself.

“Mary, come in and let me work with you on some meetings that will need to be immediately scheduled,” he said while he held down the speaker button on the intercom to his desk.

Please set up an emergency meeting with the leaders of the Industrial Seven. Set it for Wednesday. Stress, urgency of a global nature needs to be addressed and the requirement for top leader representation.

Tell them I understand this is very unusual, but it is of such a monumental nature that this action is required,” Dan clearly instructed.

A week later the leaders sat around the table. By this time the President, Zack and Craig had rehearsed the presentation multiple times.

The President’s staff had analyzed each country’s most probable objections and the political currency to make alignment happen. One hundred percent agreement was critical. The President knew he needed every leader to be in total support.

“Welcome. Thank You for responding to such a sudden request. I have been as stunned as I believe you will be by what you are going to learn. I have asked Dr. Zachary Milton to explain a serious and very threatening situation. He and his mentor Dr. Craig Garrity have made a startling and grave discovery affecting all of our well-being. I will now let Dr. Milton describe the situation,” President Lansing said as he sat down.

“Gentlemen, six months ago, astronomers and scientists verified a small black hole lies ahead of the Earth’s path. Our only hope is to capture the black hole and move it out of Earth's way,” Zack said as the picture of a black hole was projected on the screen.

“What is the threat of this black hole on the well-being of the Earth?” President Lansing asked his rehearsed question.

The three had practiced this as means of keeping the discussion moving forward.

“The projected path of the Earth is so close to the black hole that all surface objects will be stripped off the Earth’s surface. The air and the oceans of the planet will be sucked in. The actual planet will pull away and go on its path,” Zack replied as the next set of slides animated the words being spoken.

“Is there anything we can do about this situation,” President Lansing asked after the buzz had died down?

“Yes, we can move the black hole out of our way,” Zack replied as he followed the careful rehearsed script.

“Do you have any idea on how to move a black hole,” President Lansing continued?

“Yes, we have a basic design of a cage in which to hold it and then move it out of Earth's path,” Zack replied. “In fact, this capture offers a potential platform for long term space exploration.”

“Would you please give this group a simple description of how this would be done,” the President continued.

Zack turned on a prepared animated video. It showed the black hole, the conceptual capture sphere and simple animation slowly moving the capture sphere around the black hole. Then it went on to show the entire structure being moved out of the path of the Earth.

“The basic idea is to surround the black hole with magnetic fields. We will form a magnetic bottle around the black hole. Then we will slowly push it away from Earth’s path.

This will require the construction of a sphere with a fifty-mile inner diameter and an outer shell with a diameter of 250 miles. It will be built in two halves. These two halves will be closed around the black hole. Giant electromagnets mounted on the sphere will provide the magnetic bottle to hold the black hole,” Zack replied.

“My heavens, this will require the total resources of all our countries. Why don’t we just blast this thing out of existence,” the President responded in mock surprise as he watched several country leaders nod in agreement?

He was now asking the same questions posed during the cabinet briefing. These were being asked to allow the leaders around the table to develop a better understanding and some level of initial acceptance.

“Yes, this was our initial reaction until you understand the nature of black holes,” Zack responded smoothly. “No matter what we would send in, nothing would ever come back out of a black hole.

Nothing escapes.

Black holes pull in stars. Huge explosions thousands of times more powerful than all our combined weaponry have been documented. The black holes take everything in and actually increase in power and size.

This black hole pulled in a five by ten-mile mile asteroid. The total energy of the asteroids mass is equivalent to all the energy of all our nuclear missiles.

“Our only hope is to capture and hold this small black hole and make it work for us,” Zack replied.

“It can be the fire Prometheus gave to man. Harnessed it can make us powerful,” Zack orated as he took in the faces around the table.

They were listening. Some were nodding in the affirmative.

“I just hope we are able to move its mass once we capture it,” Zack thought as the conversation continued.

None of the scientist on the team was sure as to the mass of the black hole and what power it would take to move it.

The discussion went around the table with questions about the certainty of the observation, of the intercept path, of the amount of time before Earth reached the black hole. It was a repeat of the previous meeting with the cabinet.

“The world has seven years to capture and move this black hole out of Earth's path or we face extinction. We have developed the initial plans of how to build the structure to capture this black hole. The peoples of Earth have the technology, the capability, and the resources to accomplish this feat. However, it will take all the space going resources our countries can collectively muster,” Zack said looking around.

“It will also take the help of all other countries as we essentially built a small city in space,” were his final comments.

The muttering and discussion went on for hours. Every objection was discussed and refuted. The mood would swing to agreement and then another objection would be voiced, and the cycle would once again begin.

In the end the President agreed to host the experts from each of these countries for further discussions. He won the concession that the experts would discuss and contribute to initial plans on how to capture the black hole versus debating whether or not to do so.

The meeting came to an end with everyone in agreement. They also decided they would not attend the press conference.

The President sent his press secretary to brief the press and let them know that more would soon be shared. The current line was that a new era of working more closely together had been discussed and some additional time was needed to formalize the message.

“Great job, we will have to thank our staff of coaches. I am exhausted. Let’s call it a day and plan on meeting tomorrow morning,” President Lansing said to Zack and Craig as the meeting came to an end.

Zack and Craig went home and collapsed. It had truly been an exhausting week.

The next morning, Zack sat across from the President in the oval office. The two were quickly reaching the status of friends. Zack was becoming more at ease in the environment of the White House.

“What should we call this endeavor,” asked President Lasing looking over his morning cup of coffee.

He was still feeling the tension of the previous day and the morning coffee was helping to calm his nerves. He was beginning to like this young, brilliant scientist.

“Well, I have been calling it Savitar after the Vedic sun god who urges man and beast to act,” Zack replied as he looked back at the President and then glanced at Craig.

He had not discussed the name with Craig. It had come to mind last night on his way home. He hoped Craig was OK with the name. He should have asked before blurting it out.

“What do you think, Craig,” Zack quickly asked hoping his mentor and friend would not have a negative reaction.

“Do we really have a chance at capturing this thing and moving it out of our way,” the President asked as he intently looked back and forth between the two men?

He sensed Zack’s tension and was not sure what the cause might be. He had to have full confidence in these two. They had to be in total agreement. There could be no hidden issues.

“There are no technological barriers in building the needed magnetic bottle. The biggest obstacles will be the monumental logistics of getting everything out into space, assembling our future space exploration platform and having enough time to do it. Time is what we have the least of. To pull it all together will take every rocket, every space launch, thousands of people in space and hundreds of thousands on the ground,” Craig replied.

“It will take unprecedented ground resources to gather, assemble and organize all the materials. And all of it must be done in record time. My biggest concern is whether all of this can be kept on track. We need the best project management team Earth can muster,” Craig went on.

“The high level of radiation exposure is another formidable obstacle. It will make this journey a death sentence for many of the crew. We need the best radiation shielding possible. However, there will be a great deal of critical external work to be done on the way. I don’t know of any way to get around this monumental life-threatening issue and the mortality rate we will experience,” Zack spoke up.

He had waited until acceptance to his idea was final before identifying the overwhelming issue on his mind.

“Yes, this issue has been brought up by some of my science advisors. It is the reason we have not yet gone to Mars. They predict a fifty percent or greater fatality rate for a one-way trip out to the black hole. We have no choice. We will need to undertake this journey in spite of this issue,” President Lansing said with concern in his voice.

“I believe we need to break this effort into multiple projects. These projects need to converge smoothly a year from now. Each project needs to have a top-level project manager. There needs to be a central super project manager to keep it all on track,” Zack continued.

“We need to focus on getting material into orbit, in building the sphere out in space, in building the living quarters and other facilities needed to sustain the crew and the structure. We need to build the equipment to make the magnetic bottle and we need to select and train a crew.

I would like to see Dr. Garrity, and the project management groups coordinate these projects. I will focus on refining the capture scheme, work to see if we can address the radiation issue and in training the crew,” Zack spoke quietly.

He had gone through the entire process in his mind and concluded the effort would need a tremendous amount of guidance and discipline if it were to succeed.

“The two of you make it sound like an adventure. I suppose it is the greatest adventure to ever face mankind. My role will be to see the world gets aligned, resources keep coming and the public gets enthused about this venture.

Heaven knows we will spend trillions on this endeavor. I already have my best people developing the PR. Since we will need total commitment, and we cannot afford any misbehavior of either our people or of any country in the world, I will be asking for special powers. Congress must authorize the overall expenditure, but I will use my Presidential power to get this going immediately.

My team is already working to define a way to forge a global alliance. I have already talked privately to the leaders of China, Russia, India, and the EU. We have been aligned in our war on terror. Now it is time to focus on the war of survival. The politics of this will be overwhelming. We are at the center at this historic activity. I am pleased to have a part in all of this,” President Lansing replied in an oratory fashion.

It was clear to Zack the President had his heart in the right place and his mind on history and the political opportunity this presented.

“I will have the NASA director, Benjamin Ben Samuelson, come speak to you. He is my choice for overall coordinator of the project. I have communicated this to the other countries, and they agree to work through NASA. NASA will manage the project and set up the training for all personnel going into space and on this journey.

If you intend on being a member on this mission, you will need astronaut training. Since you are young and in great shape this will get you ready to lead this expedition. That is what you seek isn’t it, Zack,” President Lansing asked?

Zack was stunned and was unable to give an immediate reply. He had not thought about leading the effort.

“What about you Craig? Are you planning to go as well,” the President continued?

He knew Emily, Craig’s wife, and the close relationship the two shared and wondered whether Craig would want to go.

“I will take the training, but we are going to need an anchor here on Earth to ensure everything science can learn in the next few years about managing and handling a black hole gets learned.

I see Zack as the right person to be in charge of the expedition. Savitar is a great name for this project and the space vessel,” Dr. Garrity replied with a twinkle in his eye.

Craig appreciated Zack’s sensitivity about picking a name without discussing it with him first. He was not surprised at Zack’s inability to answer the President about leading the effort. The subject had not come up until this moment. He was pleased Dan saw in Zack what Craig already knew was there.

“I imagine every country will fight for a spot on the crew. You will need to determine every crew member’s role and how many you will need. I don’t think you will have a shortage of volunteers. You will probably need to limit the number and select the members to ensure the countries participating all get represented. NASA will also serve as the recruiting center.

You should concentrate on the volunteers and on determining if the persons offered fit. NASA will provide you with all the psychologists, screeners, and clearances,” President Lansing continued.

“Things will take off very fast. I am sure there will be times you think you have totally lost control. Let’s plan to meet every other week. In this way you will be able to share your firsthand observations and provide me some critical insider calibration.

I will provide you with influence in the coming circus of events. Ben Samuelson will contact you in the next day or two,” President Lansing said as he stood, indicating it was time for them to leave

“Events are really skyrocketing along. Did I just get put in charge to lead this effort?” Zack asked as he and Craig were escorted out of the White House.

“Yes, Zack the President did make the selection. He recognizes the project will continue well after the Savitar leaves the Earth,” Craig replied with a chuckle.

Zack was thrilled by the fact both Craig and the President agreed he would lead the project. Random thought fragments about the project flashed through his mind. He felt intoxicated.