copilot's seat. The shuttle's door was closed from the outside.
She activated the mike. "Randy, what's going on? Where are the others? When will they get here?"
"They're being held up by the crowd, Wilma. All the members of the crew are trying to get through the gate, but the horde is blocking them. The mob keeps insisting that the crew is attempting to escape to Venus, Mars, or some other place. Fortunately, there is sufficient personnel in the Control Room to get you launched."
And Mike?"
"He's in the same boat as the others. Events are taking a desperate turn. Our window for liftoff is almost gone, and I don't think we have the luxury of being able to wait for the next one. You may need to fly Victoria by yourself!"
"Randy, you can't be serious! It takes at least three persons to fly Victoria."
"We could do most of the work for you here, Wilma. Right now, we have no choice. You may represent the only hope there is to save the world!"
"All right then, Randy. Let's go for launch!"
Officials, astronomers, physicists, scientists, and others had met, and had continued to meet in the capitals of the world. At the end of July, there still was no plan of action for averting the approaching catastrophe. It was now known that the exact date and time of the collision was to be October 3 at 2:33 in the afternoon; the point of impact, 42° 42' N, 73° 37' West.
At the launch site there was a brief pause of forty-six seconds, then the count was resumed. When it reached zero, Shuttle Victoria ignited its two solid rocket boosters and thunderously, but smoothly, lifted from the launch pad. After two minutes of flight, the SRB's engines separated and the three main engines of the shuttle took over the burden of taking Victoria into the stratosphere. Eighteen minutes later, the ship was two hundred miles into space, traveling at 17,500 miles per hour, on his way to a rendezvous with Asteroid Zirxon. The trip was to take twenty-seven days.
"How are you feeling, Wilma?"
"Bored out of my mind, Randy. But you know, if I were to die on this voyage, I would still feel that I had left the world a very fortunate person. Think about the kings and emperors in the past who, despite their wealth, could not have had the experiences that I have enjoyed as a space traveler. I'm sure these rulers would have traded everything for a few minutes of my life."
"You've become quite a philosopher, Wilma."
"Well, I've had lots of time to think about it, Randy. How many days has it been? I've lost count."
Is the twenty-seventh day, Wilma. You're more than eleven million miles from Earth. You should be seeing Asteroid Zirxon soon. The Army is still keeping the mob away from the gate. Mike and the others were able to get into the compound but are frustrated that they can't be with you. It was good that you went to when you did. We wouldn't have had another opportunity!"
"Randy, I see something in the distance that's getting larger as I look at it. It's coming toward me very fast and is beginning to take form."
"What's it like?"
"What I can see is very heavily crated. I would say is roughly ten to twelve miles in diameter. I can't tell much about its length. It seems to be turning on its axis once every two or three minutes. I'm aiming the camera at it. Do you see it?"
"I do see it! Magnificent! the computers tell us that you're approaching the asteroid at about five miles per second and that it's coming toward you at about four miles per second. We've activated the OMS engines to stop your forward movement. That will reverse your direction so that you'll be headed back toward Earth flying backwards."
"Do the computers know what they're doing, Randy?"
"Trust them, Wilma. The computers will allow Asteroid Zirxon to chase you until it catches up. Then you'll both be moving toward Earth, in tandem at the same velocity."
"The asteroid will pick up speed as it moves toward Earth,"?"
"True, but we'll accelerate Victoria also. When your speeds are matched, we'll try a pushing maneuver. We'll be using the OMS engines for this."
On Planet Earth time passed too slowly for some; too fast for others. For Wilma, it was neither. Time seemed to have no existence.
"Randy, do you know what it's like to be face-to-face with the nose end of a gigantic asteroid?"
"No, and I don't think I'd like to know, Wilma. We see that you're just a couple of meters from each other. How would you describe this thing?"
"Front a distance, it looks like a huge sponge, Randy. There are deep holes all over it like it had been stabbed with long steel poles. There are only a few flat places where it looks like it wasn't hit by something. Right now I'm near one end of it."
'Do you see where you could give the asteroid a shove?"
"Yes, there's a smooth spot just to the left of dead on. I can push there with the nose of the shuttle and try to get the asteroid to turn to its left."
"It wouldn't take much of a deflection to save Earth, Wilma. A part of one degree would do it at this distance. When the shuttle makes contact, push it a little!"
"The asteroid has just made a light contact, Randy. I'm applying the jets, one fourth power. Anything happening?"
"No, apply more power!"
"Half power! Now?"
"Nothing. Go to full power!"
"One hundred percent! What's happening?"
"Nothing yet, keep pushing."
"I have power for only one more minute, Randy."
"I know, we have no choice, Wilma. Keep it up."
"Power's gone! Anything?"
"Nothing has happened."
"What's the bottom line, Randy?"
"I don't know if I can put it into words, Wilma!"
"I'm going to put on the space suit and step on to that wretched rock," Wilma announced.
"What good will that do?"
"Maybe I just want to give it a good swift kick."
"Wilma, what are you doing? The asteroid is shaking like there was an army marching on it."
"I'm just walking around. What is this thing made of? Gravity is intense, much more than on Earth. I can hardly move my feet. Point the camera my way. Can you see me?"
"I see you. Whenever you move, even a little, the asteroid jiggles."
"What happens when I lift my right arm this way?"
"According to the computers, there is a very slight movement of the asteroid to the right!"
"And when I left the other arm?"
"The asteroid swerves to the left. The deviation is very slight but measurable. Wilma, this could save the world! Keep doing what you're doing!"
"What's making it change course?"
"I can only guess, Wilma. We know very little about this. Scientists have thought that there is a so-called solar wind that travels through space like winds travels through the air on Earth. It's composed of a highly ionized plasma of gas – mostly hydrogen. It could be that your arms are acting like ailerons on an airplane. The longer you hold up your arm, the farther will be the deviation of the asteroid away from Earth."
"The shuttle, Randy! Look what's happening!"
"The asteroid is veering away from the shuttle, Wilma. It's Zirxon that's moving, not Victoria."
"Then, I'm going to be marooned on this rock! I'm not using an umbilical cord."
"How much fuel do you have in your pack?"
"Enough for about one hundred seconds, but I'm not going back to the shuttle until we turned the asteroid enough so that it ceases to threaten Earth."
"Good news! Our calculations show that the asteroid has changed its course enough so that it will miss Earth by about a thousand miles, then fly off into space looking for some other poor planet to smash into."
"Randy, I can barely see the shuttle."
"Get off the asteroid right now! Go back to the shuttle. Do it while you can still see it."
"I'll do that, Randy, but then what? There is no more fuel in the OMS engines. How will I get back to earth?"
"You can use the Reaction Control System. The jets are tiny but they can turn you in the right directio
n. From where you are, it will take about twenty-five days for you to return to Earth. Then, we'll guide Victoria around the world several times, each time getting you closer and closer to earth at a slower and slower velocity."
"Sort of like victory laps, Randy?"
"Well deserved victory laps, Wilma! Then we'll land you light as a feather at the Johnson Space Center in Texas. By the way, the world knows what you're doing. You're a heroine, Wilma. Be prepared for a great welcome!"
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