Forward


Natural disasters happen on a daily basis from spilling on your brand new shirt to having a tsunami wipe out your neighboring village. That’s life. But when the Earth is knocked out of orbit into pitch black darkness, that’s abnormal.

I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m that invisible force that makes you grow strong then weakens you at the knees. I’m the one who gives new life then watches as it slowly slips away then comes back in a different form. You humans have given me a name; Time. Yes, I’m Time. Personally I prefer the name Harris after a human that I watched stuff fire down his throat.

I, Harris, have the tiring profession of sitting and waiting, keeping things going at a steady pace. It can be tedious compared to the more bustling job of Birth, who runs around the Earth all day granting precious life for Death to take it away years later. Fortunately, as I wait, I get to watch grandiose adventures that let my mind wander. It’s like watching a giant television where in the midst of average shows, an exciting program pops on that I can rewind and go back and watch or fast forward past the commercials. For instance, during the Industrial Revolution, a small girl broke a cotton gin that when fixed, was discovered to be on top of a gold mine. The company became instantly rich.

Anyway, now is one of those times where a horror movie is about to come on and I don’t have a bowl of popcorn to enjoy it with. It all started back in the NASA Kennedy Space Station in Florida. George Bush proposed a top secret launch plan called Inhabitant Finder in 2007. Inhabitant Finder issued that the United States would release a space shuttle named U.S.S Nova to investigate possible future planets for the habitation of human beings. The crew contained a total of one hundred and twenty eight people to man the ship and gain samples of land for the labs back at NASA Kennedy Space Station.

Once the U.S.S Nova was released, the engines went against command and put the ship into hyper speed. The ship disappeared off of the radar and lost all human communication. The NASA center believed all was gone and silently mourned the death of their fellow comrades. Little did they know that the U.S.S Nova came out of Hyper Speed and landed thirty two light years west of Jupiter but not after running into the Moon to get there. The Moon spiraled into the southern hemisphere into the Atlantic Ocean sending Earth on it’s way.

Unnatural Disaster #1: human beings knocked the Moon into the Earth out of orbit.

Earth is now on a one way trip to the center of the sun where it will be burned into nothingness. The estimated time for Earth to get to the Sun is approximately three days. Three days until the human race is wiped out, a horror movie indeed.

Unnatural Disaster #2: Earth is about to be combust into ash by the Sun.

When NASA Kennedy Space Station’s scientist, William Harris (what a great last name) discovered Earth was being sent to it’s doom he sent an S.O.S to outer space in hopes of an Angel to save them. The Angel has one name: U.S.S Nova. The crew receiving word immediately began brain storming ideas for the new rescue mission. U.S.S Nova has three day to save the human race.


U.S.S Nova; One hour after NASA message; Engine Room


Adam Hamilton loved the smell of gas leaks in the morning. The fumes never went to his head like all the other mechanics in his league. His head was already messed up, or so the chief said. One of his hands clamped down hard on the broken pipe while the other frantically searched in his red toolbox for masking tape. Masking tape- simple and decent just like himself.

I always thought of Adam as a nice boy, never complaining and constantly working. He didn’t deserve the job of fixing all the new wounds carved into the U.S.S Nova, but then again, when was life ever fair? After patching up one pipe he moved to the next, but not before wiping his sweat on his brow onto his neon orange jumpsuit that kept his body snugly warm. The work was long and time consuming but that’s what he signed up for.

Forty eight hours earlier, Adam was staring at the white sign up sheet for mechanics for the Inhabitant Finder project. In big bold letters at the top of the sheet read Casualties may occur, we are not reliable for any injury obtained on the mission. He signed his name anyway being the man in search for adventure when all he got were copious of broken pipes and a tangle of masking tape.

The Chief walked by talking loudly into an old walkie talkie, turning dials rapidly to continue the thread of communication.

“No sir. I have no more men to come to your Quarters at the moment. No sir, they’re in the control room and the engine room. Sir, yes sir. Right away.”

He placed the black block on a side table next to a pipe sealed in masking tape. Sinking into a nearby chair to regain steadiness, the Chief began scribbling numbers onto a pad of white lined paper. He set down his pen and rubbed his temple using his two forefingers as massagers then uttered words in a loud bark.

“Hamilton. Admirals Quarters. Now.”

That’s all Adam needed to hear.

U.S.S Nova; One Hour after NASA message; Science Lab


If a consumer’s and producer’s fossils are in the mixture of a soil substance, there might be life on the unknown planet.

Dianna Hersh’s Platinum Microsoft 2000 focused on the organism parts separated on the film tray in sorted by the different species in alphabetical order. It would have been done sooner if the ship hadn’t crashed into that god forsaken Moon. In her world, precision was key. When her task demised she sank back into the leather chair placed underneath her and stared at the ceiling beseechingly. Please have my work be for something.

Inhabitant Finder was the type of excursion Dianna had always dreamed about. Something about making a mark on the world really pleased her but not even she could expect the problems my good buddy, fate had in store for her.

Fate and I had been good friends for a while back and sometimes I marvel at the things she comes up with to entertain my time. When I asked why she decided it would be fate that the dinosaurs went extinct, she shook it off and gave no comment. How frustrating.

Hitting the Moon was not on Dianna’s agenda for the day at all and all she wanted was for her feet to be on the ground and fresh dirt to be in her zippy bag. The scientist looked out the only window in the lab. The stars used to amaze her, but now they just made her long for the fresh Earth.

The phone on the wall buzzed to life making her jump out of her skin and her heart thrum to a beat faster then any metronome could measure. Her shaking hand grasped the cool plastic of the phone and she brought it close to her ear. A husky man voice rasped into the phone distinctly and she soon realized she was speaking to the Admiral.

“Is this Ms. Hersh?”

“Yes.” She replied in a barely audible whisper.

“Report to my quarters immediately. Tell anyone who asks you where you are going that you need to tell the Admiral Important information. Don’t share anything else. Come quickly.”

“Yes sir.”

But he already hung up.