8 Days

DAY 1

Randall Neery emerged from the elevator and walked into the open lobby of CNN's headquarters in New York City. He moved slowly toward the glass doors with his phone pressed against his ear and his fingers forming a kind of shield to help direct his words into the microphone.

No, it went well, he said.

"They only mentioned Moons & Moons a couple of times," his agent replied.

Neery shook his head. They showed the cover. I was there to talk about the movie. Pop culture's latest favorite science expert, he had made yet another new career out of critiquing scifi films on TV and Internet shows. "It made a hundred million last weekend. Moons has been out for a month already."

Ehhh.

You're too pushy, Haru. Randall stepped away from the doors and toward a small group of plants. He didn't want to walk along the city's sidewalks while chatting on the phone. I have a couple of podcasts to do and then I'm on CBS 2 this evening.

"And GMA tomorrow."

Yep. His phone beeped. He pulled his head away from the device and looked down at the message that briefly flashed across the screen. The name in front of the text read Abioye Baba.

Randall blinked a few times and then put the phone back against his ear. Look, I need to get some lunch before I go to these other interviews, OK?

Yeah, OK. Call me after the CBS 2 bit.

I will. Before Neery could say anything more, the agent was gone. He chuckled and looked at his phone again and pressed the square labeled 'contacts.' He scrolled a little before pressing the face from the past.

Hello?

'boy-yay Baba! Randall smiled as he belted out the familiar name. It has been too long.

Silence. Yes, too long.

Neery's smile faded and he looked across the CNN lobby. Most people were ignoring him but he spied one person looking at him curiously. He was someone famous, Randall knew. He tried to place him while he waited for Baba to speak.

One moment. I need to get to my office, Abioye said.

The famous guy … he was from Backstreet Boys or something.

Are you able to speak, my friend?

Joey Fatone. Randall nodded absent-mindedly before he said, Yeah, of course. What's going on? He turned away from the gaze of the celebrity and moved to lean against the wall. NSYNC, that's it.

Did you read my text? Abioye spoke very softly, forcing Randall to plug his other ear. We found something.

Where are you these days?

Honolulu. Baba paused. Did you read my text?

No. It took several moments, but Neery's mood had plummeted to be on even footing with his former colleague's. Why? What did it say? What did you find?

Baba sighed. An object. 2019 GG.

Randall nodded. An asteroid.

Yes.

Neery waited but Baba didn't offer more information. Twenty-nineteen double-g. What about it?

Silence. It is coming.

Now Randall paused. 'Coming' … here? To Earth?

Yes.

When?

Baba sighed and said, One week.

His breathing ceased. His eyes glanced toward the marble wall and followed a small crack that ran between two panels. He felt the need to swallow but he couldn't muster the spit to do so. One week. Are you sure?

We are. We've been watching it and doing projections since we spotted it last night.

Umm. Randall folded his arm across his chest and shuffled his weight from one foot to the other. He flushed with heat and quickly reached up to undo the knot on his tie. Occultation?

We followed it across many stars. It is large, moving fast, and moving closer.

How large? He wobbled a bit after he asked that.

Minimum five kilometers. Neery's eyes pressed shut. As much as eight.

'Eight?' Abioye didn't respond. Any … any idea about composition?

We do not know. Baba shuffled some papers and opened a creaky desk drawer. It is not venting anything that we can see, so minimal ice pockets. It appears … dense. Solid.

Randall pursed his lips and forced his breath over them. Now he was bracing his shoulder against the wall. Impact point?

Last hour, I projected Russia, but Taso Kim believes it's closer to India. Maybe the Indian Ocean.

Neery nodded and pressed the side of his face against the cool marble panels. If the water is deep enough, then maybe it won't … He stopped speaking as he realized the futility of his own words.

My friend, Baba began, you understand.

I do.

Taso believes the regions of the Indian Ocean impacted will be releatively shallow. That assumes it doesn't strike on land or in a bay.

Randall was now slowly sliding down the wall. Who else knows?

Abioye sighed again and said, NASA. Australia. Japan, China, the Indians. The ESA, too.

Everyone, in other words.

Yes.

Why hasn't there been an announcement?

No one believes until they see it themselves.

Randall blinked and realized that he was now kneeling against a wall, crumpled up and nearly sitting on the floor. With a twist at his waist, his legs flopped out and he dropped his butt onto the tiles. When is the impact … do you know?

It depends on whom you ask. Baba drank something and swallowed loudly. Everyone says in the morning of April ninth, local time.

Local to south central Asia.

Yes.

Neery tried to do some time zone conversions in his head. That's … night time on April eighth here.

Yes.

Randall opened his mouth to speak and no words came out. He looked across the buzzing lobby of CNN and opened his mouth again. Still, nothing emerged. He lowered his head and covered his face with one hand. What can I do?

I am glad you ask, my friend. We have shown the news to many people. We have called many people. No one in Washington will believe it. One man said to me, on the phone, 'Ha, ha. April Fool.' Can you believe this?

Neery nodded. You want me to get the word out. To make people believe.

Yes. We had fun at your expense when you left to become a movie star, Randall grinned a little as a brief memory from five years ago surfaced, but we need the movie star right now.

Randall nodded again and braced himself to stand. For the first time in the last few minutes, he felt stable. He had a task and he knew he could do it. I'll do what I can.

Thank you.

Send me everything possible and I'll start making calls and knocking on doors.

I will. Right away. Goodbye.

Goodbye. Saying that word in light of what he had just learned caused Neery to choke up a bit.

He placed his palm against the wall and managed to stand quickly. He gripped his phone tightly and stood in a swift motion, causing a moment of dizziness. Then, he marched toward the doors only to see Joey Fatone standing in the way.

Randall Neery? he said. He was a tall man and a robust man, too. My family, we are huge fans.

The scientist stopped his march and tried not to roll his eyes. Typically, he loved meeting people who recognized him on the street, but this was just the wrong time, several times over. Yes, thank you. Very much.

My daughter is actually studying chemistry in college now and I know she'd love it if I could send her a picture with you.

Randall almost complied but he found that his chest was tightening. He took in a deep breath and said, I am … very sorry but I've just received some disturbing news.

Oh, I'm sorry, Fatone lightly put his hand on Neery's shoulder.

Yeah, I need to … I have to take care of something very important.

Of course, of course. Fatone stepped away and said, Some other time?

Randall nodded and turned to face the doors again, Absolutely. He looked outside at the hundreds of people walking by. He thought about walking into that sea of humanity. He thought about being the only one in a throng of thousands, millions, who knew the truth.

His chest tightened again.

He turned toward the elevators and decided to go back upstairs.

Is this some April Fool's thing? one young line producer asked a short while later.

No, Randall said, exasperated. In the span of twenty minutes, that was the third time he was asked that.

Is it because we didn't talk about your book enough? I don't want to get a call from your guy again. Haru, right?

No, that's not it either! He didn't mean to yell but it made the woman stop and pay attention. Her eyes were wide and Neery raised his hands in a pleading manner and said, You have to believe me. People I know and trust are telling me that they've found something. They've sent me the data and I agree. We have … to do … something. Now.

The producer took a step back and said, I'll call Brian.

Please do. That was the network's main news editor. As she started to leave the green room, he said, Tell him he can blacklist me if this turns out to be wrong.

But you're on with us just about every week for one thing or another.

I know.

You told me once that being on CNN saved your career.

It has. He smiled gamely and added, Tell Brian that, too.

For the first time, she seemed to understand. I will. She closed the door behind her and soon after opened it again, Would you like a computer station to work at?

Please. That would be great.

In the two hours since that exchange, he had printed nearly a ream's worth of data and pictures. Abioye had forwarded him information from Pan-STARRS in Honolulu where he worked, along with information from Australia, India and Japan. They all pointed to the same thing.

Looking harried and overworked, Brian came around a corner and quickly pulled a chair to Neery's side. Randall.

The scientist nodded and said, Thanks for seeing me.

The editor tilted his head and grinned, You didn't seem to give me much choice. Melanie gave me the basics. I need to hear it from you.

Neery took in a deep breath and pulled three pieces of paper from his stacks. This is a picture of the sky from a telescope array in Honolulu last week. A bunch of stars.

Yes.

Randall laid the second piece of paper on top of it. Same stars. Last night.

The editor looked at the paper and squinted at one dark patch. And that?

That's the problem. It wasn't there a week ago. But it was there last night. He put the third picture next to the second. This is from a few hours later. You see the difference?

Brian's eyes bounced from the dark spot on one to the other a few times before he said, It's moving.

Neery tried to swallow, but again found his mouth was dry. It's moving fast. Very fast. Not only that, it's large. He took another page from a pile and laid it down. It tried to measure the size of the object by studying the stars it covered. Three to five miles in diameter.

The editor looked up at Randall and then back at the page. OK. That's scary. But how do you know it's going to hit? How do we know this isn't another one of those near-collisions we talk about all the time?

Unfortunately, it's not as simple as comparing a couple of pictures. Randall pushed the papers aside and continued, But … I've run the numbers. Old friends of mine ran the numbers. I've got independent data here from four different observation groups at almost a dozen different observatories. They all say the same thing.

Brian wiped the side of his mouth and said, Map? Do you have a map? Neery turned and fished another page off the desk. There was a series of uneven concentric circles that seemed to zero in on one location. India. Near India.

Yes.

He put the paper on the desk and turned away for a moment. Randall looked back at his screen full of spreadsheets and seemingly meaningless numbers. The editor stood still for a moment while he breathed more and more loudly.

I need to get confirmation from someone. Brian looked across the newsroom and mumbled, This is just too big to … run it now. As-is.

I understand.

The editor looked back at Neery and said, I'll be back.

It was almost seven in the evening on the East Coast. Slowly, the usual murmur around the newsroom grew louder and more frantic. Other editors came to speak with Randall and they all left wide-eyed and stammering. Finally, eventually, the din became still and Brian the news editor waved him forward.

Alright, everyone. He lifted his head and scanned the room. He had their undivided attention. I just spoke with our contact in NASA and she has finally … confirmed …

There were gasps and a few muffled exclamations like, Oh no.

… the reports we've been working on the last little bit. Neery held on to the most important pieces of paper and he slowly walked up to Brian's side. He stared intensely at the carpet and began to rehearse answers to questions in his head. Randall here has been working with us all day on this and he'll be on the air in just a moment to break the story.

We'll be the first? someone asked.

Brian nodded. Yes. No one else has it.

Well, there's that, he answered.

I have a friend at Fox. He called earlier to see if we had heard anything but he didn't know anything we didn't already have. Brian quickly shook his head to one side and raised his chin. His volume increased, too, and he said, I know this will be very difficult. But it is our duty to let people know what is really going on. To let them know what … we're all facing.

Dozens of people were stone silent. Neery lifted his eyes for the first time and scanned the crowd. Several people were crying. Many appeared ashen. The rest just seemed to be in a daze.

Once this is on the air, once we get all the information we can from all the sources we can, we'll discuss closing down so you can make it home. To be with your loved ones.

A few were now audibly crying and Randall turned away from them. One man gathered his backpack and stalked away from the desk and out the door. Several people watched him go and then they shared a look. Randall looked through a glass wall into a crowded hallway and thought about his ex-wife. With all that had gone on today, he didn't think to call or text her.

It's time, Brian said as he put his hand on Neery's back and began to guide him toward the doors. An intern pulled the glass pane aside and they turned left, snaking through a few tight corridors. Soon they emerged in a dark expanse punctuated with a few lights aimed piercingly at a glass desk and a bank of monitors and screens. A transparent wall revealed the room where they had just been and the anchor was on her phone, speaking in hushed tones to someone as she hunched behind her opened laptop.

Just like we discussed, Randall, Brian said.

The scientist inhaled, nodded and walked across the floor over a few bundles of thick cable. He sat at the desk and lightly placed his papers on the top before looking toward the still-deactivated cameras.

I have to go, the anchor said. I'll call you later. She dropped the phone into her bag beneath the desk and slowly turned around. Randall.

Neery nodded and caught sight of the makeup girl coming his way. Brooke. As the makeup person dabbed powder on his face, he turned his eyes toward the anchor as far as he could. He saw her hands trembling while she moved papers across her desk. The girl stepped away and Randall began to speak but found that his mouth was dry, yet again. Can I get some water, please? She nodded and left.

Brooke Baldwin looked toward the monitor and saw Wolf Blitzer on the screen, still talking to a congressman about some immigration bill. She shook her head and mumbled, Shut the fuck up, Wolf.

Cutting to you in ten, the floor producer knelt by a camera and whispered into his headset. The stage lightning became brighter and a sound technician lifted an earpiece behind Randall's back and into his ear. Startled by the man's presence, he jerked and clasped it into place. Five.

I'm sorry, congressman, Blitzer said, but we have to stop you there. We're going to check in live with the CNN Newsroom in New York where Brooke Baldwin has some breaking information.

The monitors showed a red breaking news graphic swipe across the screen, revealing Baldwin's face. She was still looking down at her papers when the camera focused on her. She lifted her head and said, Good evening. The pause after that phrase seemed to last for several seconds, but Neery knew it wasn't that long. We have received disturbing information from many in the world's scientific community. She read the words on the teleprompter, looked down at her notes, adjusted them slightly and then looked up again. An asteroid has been detected by several agencies around the world and CNN has confirmed that this object will strike the Earth in one week.

A few people elsewhere in the studio began to chatter and Randall looked into the darkness toward the noise. A cameraman leaned out from behind the unit and stared at them both with a furrowed brow. Obviously, not everyone at the network was made aware of what was going on.

To explain what is happening and what we can expect, I am joined by frequent CNN science contributor and guest Randall Neery.

He nodded and made the briefest possible eye contact with Brooke. In that moment, he saw how wide her eyes were and saw her lip twitching. Thank you.

You were an astronomer?

Neery nodded again and slid in his chair closer to the table. Yes. I majored in both astronomy and astrophysics at Ohio State and I have a doctorate in astronomy.

Can you please …

Sure.

… explain what exactly is happening?

Yes, of course. Randall leaned forward and Baldwin seemed to slump in her chair. Almost as soon as she did, she straightened again and her eyes darted toward the camera. In the waning hours of March thirty-first, Hawaii time, officials at the Pan-STARRS observatories detected a large, fast moving object.

The anchor nodded and said, How large?

Neery licked his lips and felt the dryness again. He glanced toward the tabletop and saw that someone had brought him a small cup of water. Between three and five miles across.

Brooke knew the answer but she nodded and asked anyway. Put that into perspective for us. How large was the asteroid that we think killed the dinosaurs?

The Chicxulub Object was about six miles across. There was more, louder talking in the studio. Someone ran out of the room. Screaming was heard in the hallway nearby. So, possibly pretty close in size.

Baldwin looked at her floor producer. He was standing very still and holding a binder of papers against his chest. She looked back at Randall and asked, Speed? Is the speed important? Do we know how fast it's going?

Yes. Speed is important but so is angle of impact. He raised his hands and formed a fist with his right. If the angle is shallow enough, the object might bounce off our atmosphere, given the right conditions. His fist briefly skidded off his left hand. Every indication so far is that this object, twenty-nineteen double-g, has a rather direct angle. It … won't be bouncing away. He stopped speaking and looked at Brooke. She lifted her fingers and rotated them to indicate he should go on. Speed. Yes, the speed. Our information says that this object is traveling at about thirty-five kilometers per second. That's rather fast.

Now, she rolled toward the desk and gingerly put her hands on the tabletop, let's discuss the 'where' of this.

Neery took a sip of his water and Baldwin eyed the cup enviously. I'll point out first that this object has been spotted and tracked for the last several hours by multiple space agencies and observatories. This isn't just … one guy with one telescope.

Right.

There are dozens of people with many of the world's most advanced … equipment. Telescopes. He glanced toward the camera. The cameraman was walking away and his headset dangled from the controls. It took some time, but everyone I've spoken to has come to an agreement. The asteroid will strike in southcentral Asia, in or near India.

A graphic flashed on the monitor showing India with several red concentric circles around the eastern coast. Is there a difference if it hits land or if it hits the ocean?

He shook his head. His shoulders sagged and he begin to feel a growing weight on his neck. No. At this size and the speed it's moving, it won't matter.

Brooke inhaled sharply and said, Asia. Very densely populated … it will be devastating.

Of course.

What about Europe? Australia? North and South America? Somehow, her voice betrayed a level of hope, though Randall knew she had been briefed. Africa?

For a brief second, the scientist smiled and then shook his head again. I'm afraid it won't matter. The unmanned camera was still on and focused on him. He turned toward it and leaned forward. He tried to make what he said sound genial, but he knew nothing could soften the blow. He began to speak and found that he was doing so almost automatically. Rote. He was telling the story of the asteroid collision sixty-five million years ago. He spoke of fireballs, airblasts, super-quakes, tsunamis,