The End of Eden (Water Worlds 1)

Chapter 6

I wanted to reach out and comfort him, my younger brother, my dong-saeng, the way he comforted me that day we left Korea. But I was sure he didn't even remember Korea now, and any move I made would likely just embarrass him.

"It is too early to tell," Father continued. "As it turns out, the difficult calculations needed to determine the exact point of the gravitational keyhole are compounded by our inability to properly track an irregular spinning body so small and so close to us. Also with each pass around the Sun, the asteroid is tugged by other planets as well as by the Earth's gravity, constantly changing its orbital dynamics."

I didn't understand all of what Father said, and Joo Chen seemed thoroughly puzzled. Mother saw our confusion and, as she so often did, began to translate.

"What Father means," she explained, "is that it is likely the only way we will know for sure if Apophis will pass through the keyhole, is after it has or has not."

I was disturbed by the lack of certainty in her answer, so I took a special interest in following the path of the asteroid, as did so many people around the world. We watched and read and shared on the Record, as we waited through the long months until the early spring of 2029, and the near-Earth approach of Apophis.

There was a good deal of sober, scientific discussion, and some thought the approach of Apophis was inconsequential. But there were also quite a few crazy religious fanatics, all over the world, who claimed the end was upon us. The end of what they couldn't quite say, though.

Many nations launched observer satellites to plot the path of Apophis, measure its three-point spin and scan its insides. It was a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a dozen scientific disciplines. But Father did not seem interested. Instead, his mood turned dark.

As for average people, those who thought of the asteroid at all just hoped their satellite service wouldn't get cut off, like it did when I was a child in Wonsan. Back then, sunspot activity had been on the decline, so no one expected a solar flare like the one that fried orbiting electronics and brought down major electrical grids around the world. It took nearly six years to replace all the burnt-out satellites, but luckily no one in orbit or on the moon was killed.

And then the day came, in April of 2029, when Apophis would pass the Earth. It had taken so long to get here and soon it would be over. Just like that.

The near-live pictures from remote orbiting cameras were breathtaking. The animes we were shown up until then did not do it justice. As Apophis slowly rolled and twisted on its journey around the Sun, it passed within the Moon's orbit, and continued on a path towards Earth.

But then it did something unexpected. It changed colors.

In full-on Sun, Apophis seemed to be made of velvety-rich, deep brown and red hues. Almost like a cake with craters. From cameras in orbit on the edge of night, where the sun set behind the Earth from our perspective, Apophis glowed blue-purple.

And, for a few brief minutes after that, moving on the dark side of the Earth, it was an inky black shadow, only visible by the city lights that winked out as it passed. It reminded me of a wolf in the night, prowling for prey and keeping a low profile, and that vision scared me deeply.

But as quickly as it came, it was gone, and the Earth did not get in its way. Just as Father and most scientists said it would, Apophis sped safely past, well within the orbit of the stationary satellites.

People breathed a collective sigh of relief, but within a day, something disturbing became public. The government was confirmed that the asteroid had indeed gone through the mathematical keyhole, and, although it was unlikely, there was a small chance it really could strike the planet during its next approach in 2036.