"Pandora" - Political Asteroid Story

[Reaganfan]

Previous Stories:
Cordell for President (2008) - https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=87803.0
Vendetta-elect (2008) - https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=89285.45
Brooks and Weinbach: Time Travel (2011) - https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=141373.0

This is the way I visualize the characters:

President Austin Brooks:

First Lady Molly Callow-Brooks

Dr. Nelson Rybeck

General Jim Huntington, USAF



The following story is a near-direct continuation of "Brooks and Weinbach".

A CORK POPS OPEN A BOTTLE OF FINE CHAMPAGNE. PRESIDENT AUSTIN T. BROOKS SMILES AND POURS A GLASS DURING A LAVISH WHITE HOUSE DINNER PARTY. IT'S DECEMBER 1, 2043. DR. MOLLY CALLOW-BROOKS STANDS BESIDE HIM IN A BLACK FORMAL DRESS. THE PRESIDENT RAISES HIS GLASS TO SPEAK TO THE CROWD.

BROOKS: My friends, Molly and I are so moved by your kindness and best wishes. You know when the media mentioned that I was going to be the first sitting U.S. President to marry inside the White House since Grover Cleveland 157 years ago, my first thought was, "Now if I only had his good looks...my White House wedding would be better remembered!"

THE CROWD LAUGHS AND CLAPS.

BROOKS: Molly and I thank you all for coming and enjoy the rest of the party.

AS THE CROWD APPLAUDS AND BREAKS APART, TWO SECRET SERVICE AGENTS COME TO THE PRESIDENT'S SIDE. AGENT JOHN SILVER, MID-40s, SHAVED HEAD AND AGENT PAUL JENSEN, EARLY 50s, SKINNY WITH GRAYING BROWN HAIR.

BROOKS: How are you, fellows?
SILVER: Sir, we have a national security matter that requires you. Your aides insisted we remove you from this function.
BROOKS: John...please...it's my wedding night for crying out loud. Now, have some champagne and enjoy the party. No assassin would dare take a shot at a man on his wedding night.

THE AGENTS STEP INFRONT OF THE PRESIDENT.

JENSEN: Mr. President. It's urgent.

THE REALITY OF A SITUATION OF DIRE GRAVITY STRIKES PRESIDENT BROOKS AS HE SEES THE SERIOUSNESS ON THE FACES OF THE AGENTS. HE AGREES TO LEAVE WITH THEM. HE WALKS UP TO THE NEW FIRST LADY, MOLLY CALLOW-BROOKS.

BROOKS:   Sweetheart, I have to go.
MOLLY: But Austin, it's our wedding night.
BROOKS: I know dear, I know...but I'll be back in just a bit.

THE TWO SHARE A BRIEF KISS AND THE PRESIDENT LEAVES THE EVENT, BLACK TIE AND ALL.

HE ARRIVES IN THE SITUATION ROOM SURROUNDED BY SEVERAL MILITARY LEADERS AND CABINET OFFICIALS. A MAN LOOKS OUT OF PLACE. YOUNGER, AROUND 32, BLOND HAIR WEARING CLOTHES THAT LOOK AS THOUGH HE'S BEEN SLEEPING IN THEM.

BROOKS: Okay gentlemen, what's all this fuss about that's important enough to pull a man away from his bride on their wedding day?

GENERAL JIM HUNTINGTON, OF THE USAF WALKS FORWARD.

HUNTINGTON: Mr. President, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Nelson Rybeck from The Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts.
RYBECK: Mr. President, it's an honor.
BROOKS: Yeah, you bet, son. So get on with it....what's up?

RYBECK NERVOUSLY SHUFFLES NOTES ON THE TABLE.

RYBECK: Uh...yes sir...um well during our near-earth object research conducted by a colleague named Dr. Tom Wright, we noticed that a luminance....
BROOKS: Cut to the chase, Dr. Rybeck.
RYBECK: Uh yes...Mr. President...Brooks...um...

BROOKS NODS HIS HEAD IMPATIENTLY.

RYBECK: An asteroid is going to hit Earth in 13 days, sir.

THE ROOM FALLS SILENT AND SOMBER. RYBECK BEGINS A COMPUTER SIMULATED IMAGE ON THE WALL.

RYBECK: You see, Mr. President...Comet Bia, discovered about 10 years ago, had a brief collison with the asteroid belt 16 Psyche, and fired a birdshot of rocks towards Earth. Now, most of the rocks are small enough that they will burn apart in our atmosphere....but we discovered that a 10 mile wide asteroid is steaming right for the planet. It appears to be newly formed from the collision and we don't know much about it, so we've named it "Pandora".
BROOKS: This all happened in the last few days?
RYBECK: Ah no, sir. We just picked up on it. Pandora's been hurling towards Earth for far longer than we wish to know.
BROOKS: Where is it going to hit?
RYBECK: At around 8:12am Eastern Time on Monday December 14th, Pandora will strike in northern Bolivia in South America.
BROOKS: What type of impact are we talking about here, Rybeck?
RYBECK: Nothing short of a worldwide extinction event, Mr. President. Moving at 23,000 miles per hour...a 10 mile wide M-type asteroid...very rare...made of metallic rock and iron...most of South America will be decimated within an hour. The Amazon will be in flames...earthquakes will shake the planet...massive volcanic eruptions will be triggered. The potential exists for large tsunamis....
BROOKS: Dear Lord...  
  

[RedPrometheus]

Sounds interesting!

[Reaganfan]

SHORTLY AFTER THE INITIAL MEETING ABOUT THE IMPENDING IMPACT OF ASTEROID "PANDORA", PRESIDENT BROOKS STANDS OUTSIDE THE SITUATION ROOM WITH GENERAL HUNTINGTON AND DR. RYBECK.

BROOKS: I'll be informing world leaders by telephone in the morning...I don't even know how to possibly begin explaining...the unimaginable.
HUNTINGTON: Mr. President, we've gamed up several different scenarios, in cooperation with NASA and the Department of Defense.
BROOKS: Well, Jim...they better be concrete. Let's hear them.
HUNTINGTON: NASA can try to deploy a solar sail. A mile wide solar sail, which would give us a good chance to atleast try to bump Pandora off course. Another option is a massive ICBM missile launch to try and either deflect the asteroid or destroy it. There are also options involving gravitational tractors...
BROOKS: Excuse me, General. You seem quiet, Dr. Rybeck.
RYBECK: Uh...no...sir...just
BROOKS: Yes, what is it, Rybeck?
RYBECK: Well, sir, none of those scenarios would likely have much success.
BROOKS: So what are we supposed to do?
RYBECK: I mean, to be honest Mr. President...I don't see any realistic scenario working.
BROOKS: So what then, Dr. Rybeck? We just sit back and watch the end of the world?

The hall becomes quiet and somber. General Huntington turns away.

BROOKS: General. Listen to me.
HUNTINGTON: Yes, Mr. President.
BROOKS: I have a new wife. I have a baby at home. I'm going to allow this to happen, not on my watch dammit. Now Dr. Rybeck, I need solutions. What can we do to stop this rock?
RYBECK: (sighs) Mr. President, the only possible way would be to somehow destroy the rock with a nuclear weapon of a yield we simply don't have. Not a bunch of tired old cold war missiles fired at it like a shotgun blast, but a single bomb with all of those missiles individual power put together.

PRESIDENT BROOKS AND GENERAL HUNTINGTON glance at each other.

RYBECK: Even if we found a way, even if I found a way...we simply do not have a bomb that powerful.

BROOKS WALKS UP TO DR. RYBECK.

BROOKS: Yes but...what if we did?

TO BE CONTINUED...

[hawkeye59]

Did you just quote The Core?
So this is going to be a mashup of The Core and Armageddon. Science weeps.

[Reaganfan]

Did you just quote The Core?
So this is going to be a mashup of The Core and Armageddon. Science weeps.

Dammit. To be honest, the quote from "The Core" was.

Yes...but what if we could?
Not
Yes...but what if we did?

[Joe Biden is your president. Deal with it.]

I love this:D can't wait for the next update.

[HST1948]

I like this a lot. There was a movie made in 1998 called "Deep Impact" staring Morgan Freeman that kind of follows a similar scenario to this tl. Anyways good job and please continue!

[Reaganfan]

AS PRESIDENT BROOKS CHANGES OUT OF HIS TUXEDO, SECRET SERVICE AGENT JENSEN WALKS UP HOLDING A SMALL CELLULAR PHONE.

JENSEN: Mr. President, the First Lady is on the line.

BROOKS TAKES THE CALL.

BROOKS: Yes, dear.
MOLLY: Mr. President...your wife is waiting for you.
BROOKS: Yes, Molly...it seems as though I won't be coming back to the reception tonight.
MOLLY: But...Austin...it's our wedding night.
BROOKS: I KNOW! I KNOW! But...dear...something extremely important has come up.
MOLLY: More important than your wedding night?
BROOKS: Now Molly...remember what we discussed. I have a very important job, sweetheart. Now I promise I will see you in the morning, okay?
MOLLY: (sighs) Okay, Mr. President. You win. I love you.
BROOKS: I love you too.

BROOKS HANDS THE PHONE BACK TO AGENT JENSEN.

JENSEN: Shall we...send flowers, sir?
BROOKS: Shut up, Jensen.
JENSEN: Yes, sir.

SCENE SWITCHES TO A LARGE ROOM WITH A COMPUTER SIMULATION OF ASTEROID PANDORA. PRESIDENT BROOKS, DR. NELSON RYBECK AND OTHERS SIT AT A LARGE TABLE TO DISCUSSION SCENARIOS.

BROOKS: Alright...I understand it's 2:15am and all of us are exhausted, but what I have to tell you can't wait. Dr. Rybeck, I'd like you to pay particularly close attention.
RYBECK: Yes, sir.
BROOKS: 40 years ago, in 2002, we were a nation at war with an uncertain but relentlessly evil enemy. America had been attacked and our government was unsure what the next attack would be. So we began increasing military spending. We began testing weapons. We began creating weapons. Different ideas...different bombs...anything we could possibly come up with. We began working on a single bomb, a bomb that could wipe out an entire county.
RYBECK: Couldn't a nuclear bomb do that, Mr. President?
BROOKS: Sure, a small country. But imagine a bomb capable of wiping out an axis of countries which find themselves to be our enemy. One detonation, the elimination of an entire enemy. We were fighting not one nation, not one army, but several groups of people, armed, evil and determined. Of course, the bomb took over 10 years to perfect, and even then, it required more experimentation. We call it, the "Pure Zero" bomb. It creates a reaction without the fallout. That way you wouldn't have to worry about radioactivity.
RYBECK: That's astounding, sir.
BROOKS: Yes, indeed. Well, anyways, the blast could reach across an area of 50 miles, that's five times the length of the asteroid.

BROOKS AND RYBECK GLANCE AT EACH OTHER.

BROOKS: You catchin' my drift, Dr. Rybeck?
RYBECK: Yes, sir.
BROOKS: You find a way.
RYBECK: Me, sir?
BROOKS: Either we shoot this thing at Pandora or we land it on Pandora or we do something....but this is it. I don't think we have many options.
RYBECK: To be honest sir, we don't have many options at all.
BROOKS: Okay then. The secret service will escort you home. Get some sleep, be packed and ready by 11am today. You're going to NASA.
RYBECK: Yes, sir.
BROOKS: I'll find a way to get there myself tomorrow as well. Of course all this is top secret, Dr. Rybeck. Nobody will ever know about this. Understood?
RYBECK: Yes, sir.

PRESIDENT BROOKS RETIRES FOR THE NIGHT AT 4AM, THE CHANCES FOR ANY GOOD SLEEP COMPLETELY OUT THE WINDOW. HE WALKS INTO THE BEDROOM AND SEES HIS NEW WIFE MOLLY ASLEEP. SHE WAKES UP.

MOLLY: (sleepy) Is it serious?
BROOKS: Nah, nothing much. Go back to sleep, darling.

THIS WASN'T THE WEDDING NIGHT AUSTIN C. BROOKS HAD ENVISIONED.

       

COUNTDOWN TO IMPACT

13 days, 4 hours, 11 minutes, 50 seconds

[Reaganfan]

THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON, DR. NELSON RYBECK ARRIVES AT NASA, ESCORTED BY THE U.S. SECRET SERVICE. A MAN WITH WHITE HAIR, EARLY 60s, SHAKES HIS HAND.

LINCOLN: Dr. Rybeck? Stan Lincoln, Administrator of NASA. It's a pleasure to meet you.
RYBECK: Likewise, sir. I take it you've been briefed?
LINCOLN: Yes, and I want you to know that we here at NASA are a hands-on group of people. Whatever you need, you ask for, period. Understand?
RYBECK: Thank you, Mr. Lincoln.
LINCOLN: Now, the President's due to arrive here at 6pm. He's using Camp David and his honeymoon as a media cover. Security is tighter than ever. We have zero tolerance for this information leaking to the public. The press could make this into a nightmare.
RYBECK: I'd say this is a nightmare already, Mr. Lincoln.
LINCOLN: Ah, yes, I agree. Speaking of that, take a look at this.

LINCOLN LEADS RYBECK INTO A SEALED ROOM WITH MANY LARGE SCREENS SHOWING SPACE IMAGES OF ASTEROID PANDORA.

LINCOLN: This rock is something we've rarely seen. It's almost like a comet. A gas tail, steam, gysers. Iron solid rock, sharp, jagged. 10 miles wide. More narrow than bulky. We've been calculating numbers and we've come to the conclusion that the impact will be greater than the Sudbury Impact in Ontario 1850 million years ago.
RYBECK: Dear lord...
LINCOLN: We estimate that asteroid was no greater than 9 miles across, and of course Pandora is 10 miles long. The impact on December 14th will create a crater that we estimate will be about 200 miles across after the impact settles. Of course, the Sudbury Impact spread debris across the entire planet. We expect a similar result from the Pandora Impact.
RYBECK: Well, Mr. Lincoln...
LINCOLN: Please, call me Stan.
RYBECK: Stan...we have to make sure that this rock is stopped. Have you been briefed about the bomb?
LINCOLN: Yes. I have to say, President Brooks makes quite a vivid impression of the bomb.
RYBECK: Yeah well, you know how President Brooks is. You can take the cowboy out of Montana but you can't take the Montana out of the cowboy.
LINCOLN: (chuckles) Yes indeed.
RYBECK: Do you have any close images of the crater wall?
LINCOLN: Yes we do. This image was taken 17 hours ago from a framing camera, you can see the detail. Sharp and jagged. I thought most asteroids look like potatoes.
RYBECK: Well, most do. Not this one. See that there, what is that?
LINCOLN: It's a cliff.
RYBECK: Jesus.
LINCOLN: Anything you need, don't hesitate to ask.
RYBECK: I need to understand why a month ago I had booked a trip to the Bahamas to get drunk and find a nice girl to sit at the beach with and today I find myself in charge of trying to destroy a biblical impact of a 10 mile long asteroid that will destroy all life on Planet Earth.
LINCOLN: (laughs) Jim Beam helped me understand.
RYBECK: I got help from Captain Morgan last night.

END SCENE

PRESIDENT BROOKS' MOTORCADE ARRIVES AT A HANGER AT THE NASA SPACE CENTER. HE IS WEARING A BLUE WINDBREAKER AND A BALL CAP. HE MAKES HIS WAY, ALONE INTO A LARGE CONFERENCE ROOM, DARK WITH COMPUTER GRAPHICS MAPS. AS HE ENTERS, A GROUP OF PEOPLE ARE LISTENING TO DR. RYBECK SPEAK ABOUT THE ASTEROID.

RYBECK: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON! CAN JUST ANYBODY WALK IN HERE? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!
BROOKS: I'm Austin Brooks.

RYBECK'S EYES BUG OUT.

RYBECK: I'm...I'm....sooo terribly sorry, Mr. President. I apologize...I...
BROOKS: (laughs) Don't apologize. I know I'm a bit early. I'm glad you had that reaction, Rybeck. We have to keep our minds on not letting this leak. Besides, I'm glad my disguise worked.
RYBECK: Yes, sir.

BROOKS SITS DOWN AT THE TABLE.

BROOKS: I told my wife that I had to leave to get briefings on the Military situation regarding the "escalating fighting in the Sudan". She's a very smart woman but no rational human being could possibly guess that something of the gravity of this situation is what is taking place. Now, Dr. Rybeck, we have the Pure Zero bomb, we have the appropriate yield. What we need from you is to know how we are going to blow this rock apart. You may continue.
RYBECK: Well, Mr. President, we have good news and bad news.
BROOKS: What's the good news? I need some!
RYBECK: The good news is that this image of Pandora came in this afternoon. You can see the spewing gases from the side of the asteroid, almost comet-like. We've determined that Pandora has fissures within it's bedrock. Narrow cracks, jagged edges, some reach up to 4 miles into the edge of the rock. If we can get Pure Zero into one of these fissures using a space craft, then detonate the bomb, we can destroy Pandora. We hope.
BROOKS: That's great!
RYBECK: Yes...but we also have some bad news. Pure Zero's detonation can only be carried out if the bomb itself is triggered to blow within 100,000 miles from Earth. The rock is screaming towards us at 20,000 miles per hour. That means we can only carry out the detonation five hours prior to impact. If it doesn't work, then our options become slim if any. If the asteroid is not destroyed, then we have five hours left until impact with no time for any contingency operations.
BROOKS: What are our contingency operations, General Huntington?
HUNTINGTON: ICBMs, sir. We launch them, Russia launches them, China launches. Have France and the United Kingdom launch whatever they can. Hope that multiple nuclear explosions destroy what is left of the asteroid before it enters Earth's atmosphere.
BROOKS: We'd have to disavow Kennedy's Test Ban Treaty. We're not supposed to detonate nuclear weapons in space.
HUNTINGTON: Well, John Kennedy would be standing right here agreeing with us that we have no other options.
RYBECK: Mr. President, the impact of Pandora will be beyond biblical proportions. There will be fire falling from the sky all across the planet. Civil discord will begin immediately making the final days on Earth reminiscent of hell. We have to stop this rock.
BROOKS: Understood. Do we have the space craft capable of arriving on Pandora?
LINCOLN: Yes, we do, Mr. President. The spacecraft is called "Meander". It's capable of taking Pure Zero to the surface of the asteroid and we can maneuver it into the fissure known as Z-17, here on the map. It travels 4 miles diagonally into Pandora. We will scoot the craft and the bomb as far into the rock as we can.
BROOKS: Then what?
RYBECK: Then we wait. We wait until 3:12am on Monday, December 14th. Then we detonate. We should have confirmation within minutes. If Pandora is destroyed, we go home. If it isn't, we launch the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. But once detonation of Pure Zero occurs, we only have 4 hours and 50 minutes to launch those bombs.
BROOKS: Okay then. I authorize the Military and NASA, and even you, Rybeck...to use any and all means to stop Pandora. Proceed.

       

COUNTDOWN TO IMPACT

11 days, 14 hours, 38 minutes, 24 seconds

[Reaganfan]

PRESIDENT BROOKS RETURNS UP NORTH TO CAMP DAVID THE FOLLOWING MORNING AND IS SOON JOINED BY FIRST LADY MOLLY CALLOW-BROOKS. THE PRESIDENT POURS HIMSELF A CUP OF COFFEE AND RECLINES IN A ROCKING CHAIR. THE FIRST LADY WALKS BEHIND HIM AND EMBRACES HIM.

MOLLY: I've missed you.
BROOKS: I've missed you, too.
MOLLY: What's been stressing you, darling?
BROOKS: Ah. Nothing much. Just the job.
MOLLY: Ah yes, the job you wanted so badly.
BROOKS: (chuckles) Yeah, that one.
MOLLY: Tell me the truth, Austin. Do you want to run again next year?
BROOKS: Well that's pretty much a given, isn't it?
MOLLY: No, I don't mean what the media says or what bumper stickers say. I mean...what do you truly want?
BROOKS: I don't know. I used to be solo. I was me. It was about me. Now I have a wife and a baby. I don't want to give up on you guys.
MOLLY: Austin, just because you're President doesn't mean you're giving up on us.
BROOKS: I know that. It's just...if I'm re-elected...that's five more years of the way things are. Newton will be a six year old boy. That's alot of change for a child, especially when your father is a two-term President.
MOLLY: How do you know you'll win?
BROOKS: (laughs) You think I'd lose?
MOLLY: No. But don't be so smug, Mister!
BROOKS: (laughs) Ahhh yeah...I'll probably run again.

MOLLY AND BROOKS LOOK OUT THE WINDOW.

MOLLY: Look at how gorgeous that snow looks.
BROOKS: Yep...it's a snowy day.
MOLLY: We have about two weeks left until Christmas. It's going to be great.
BROOKS: (somberly) Yeah...yeah...I hope so.

END SCENE

SCENE SWITCHES TO THE NASA INDOOR FIELD RANGE TESTING FACILITY THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON. DR. NELSON RYBECK APPEARS TIRED AND DRAINED. PRESIDENT BROOKS WALKS INTO THE LARGE ROOM.

BROOKS: How's it hanging, Rybeck?
RYBECK: Same as ever, Mr. President.
BROOKS: You look like hell.
RYBECK: Constant coffee, stress and lack of sleep, sir.
BROOKS: Come into my limousine, Rybeck.
RYBECK: Your limousine?
BROOKS: Yeah...it's parked right outside. We'll have a drink, come on.

BROOKS AND RYBECK ENTER THE LIMO. BROOKS OPENS A BOTTLE OF SCOTCH AND POURS A GLASS FOR HIMSELF AND DR. RYBECK.

BROOKS: So, Rybeck. What's on your mind?
RYBECK: Pandora.
BROOKS: No, no...besides the rock.
RYBECK: Oh...um...well...I watched a movie last night.
BROOKS: Oh yeah? I'm a sucker for a good movie. I try to watch as many as I can. Have since I was a kid. What movie did you watch?
RYBECK: Gone with the Wind.
BROOKS: Ohhhh that's a classic.
RYBECK: Yeah. I just...I couldn't get into it. I tried. I tried to lose myself in it. Tried to forget what's happening. But even when I was focused on the film...I had this pit in my stomach.
BROOKS: You're scared.
RYBECK: I'm petrified.
BROOKS: Me too.
RYBECK: If this rock hits...the impact is something we can't even contemplate.
BROOKS: Big impact.
RYBECK: Bigger than that. Fire raining down from the sky over at least half of the world within hours. A magnitude 11 earthquake felt across much of the planet. The amazon burning within minutes. Millions killed instantly. Tsunamis off the coast of South America wiping out Australia and Hawaii and parts of Mexico. That's just the tip of the iceberg.
BROOKS: What if we survive?
RYBECK: Then we're in for a couple months of life in an unimaginable hell before we can survive no longer.
BROOKS: Do you think this is going to work?
RYBECK: (sighs) I honestly don't know, sir. I mean, Pure Zero's yield can theoretically destroy the asteroid. But if it doesn't...then we wait to launch the ICBMs. I can imagine a time lapse view of our planet. Formation. Rocks slamming into it. Oceans forming. The continents forming and moving. Then a rock comes towards it. A giant explosion does nothing. Then hundreds of explosions do nothing. Then the rock hits. I guess deep down in my gut I think that no matter what we do, Pandora will hit earth. I have a terrible feeling about 12-14-43.
BROOKS: Well, look on the bright side, after all, tomorrow is another day.

       

COUNTDOWN TO IMPACT

9 days, 12 hours, 49 minutes, 16 seconds

TO BE CONTINUED....

[Reaganfan]

UNDER THE GUIDES OF NASA AND THE U.S. MILITARY, PREPARATIONS FOR THE LAUNCH OF THE MEANDER SPACECRAFT CONTINUE AT A HURRIED PACE. TO BE LAUNCHED VIA A ROCKET FROM FLORIDA, PRESIDENT BROOKS KEEPS HIS SCHEDULE A SECRET BY ONLY ALLOWING A SELECT FEW FROM HIS ADMINISTRATION KNOW ABOUT THE OPERATION. DR. RYBECK RECEIVES AROUND THE CLOCK SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION.

BY DECEMBER 7TH, THE ROCKET LAUNCHES AT 12:16pm EASTERN TIME FROM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER IN CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA.

RYBECK AND BROOKS STAND OUTSIDE AS THEY WATCH THE ROCKET ACCELERATE INTO SPACE. IT'S A WARM DECEMBER AFTERNOON IN FLORIDA, SUNNY AND BREEZY.

BROOKS: Okay then, there it goes.
RYBECK: Tracking the rocket, on track...
BROOKS: Anybody ever tell you that you're a computer nerd?
RYBECK: Mr. President, I was born in 2011. My entire generation is a generation of computer nerds.
BROOKS: Well stated.
RYBECK: We have about 48 hours until Meander reaches the asteroid.
BROOKS: Okay, then what will happen?
RYBECK: Follow me, sir.

RYBECK LEADS THE PRESIDENT INTO A NASA GRAPHICS ROOM WITH LARGE SCREEN COMPUTER GRAPHICS OF THE ASTEROID ON THE WALL.

RYBECK: Meander's rocket will continue to approach Pandora over the next 48 hours. Then, as it nears the outer edge of the asteroid, the launch escape system detaches, as does the outer shell. Now, once the shell is detached, the Pure Zero bomb will be partially exposed, so we should, using our video guidance system, be able to actually see the bomb itself. Then, Meander becomes a lunar lander and will land near the underside of the asteroid. We shouldn't be more than several yards away from the fissure. Once inside the fissure, we will use the command and service module wiring to guide Meander through the crack until we reach as far in as the fissure goes. That could be about four miles so it may take some time. Meander's lunar speed is only 3 miles an hour.
BROOKS: I see.
RYBECK: After we get to the end of the fissure, we will detach the Pure Zero bomb inside the rock. Meander stays. No need to waste resources.
BROOKS: Right. Bye bye Meander.
RYBECK: Correct. Then we wait until 3:12am on December 14th and remote detonate Pure Zero. By 3:22am, we will hopefully be relaxing knowing the world won't end.
BROOKS: Then if it doesn't work...
RYBECK: Then we launch ICBMs, watch them destroy the asteroid.
BROOKS: Then if that doesn't work...
RYBECK: Then we're eyewitness to an extinction level event.

END SCENE

       

COUNTDOWN TO IMPACT

6 days, 19 hours, 56 minutes, 44 seconds

[Reaganfan]

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, PRESIDENT BROOKS RETURNS TO THE OVAL OFFICE. HE OVERVIEWS SOME PAPERWORK HE HAD PUT ON THE BACK-BURNER AFTER FINDING OUT ABOUT THE ASTEROID. PRESS SECRETARY DENISE WIESNER, MID-30s, SHORT BLOND HAIR, WALKS INTO THE OFFICE.

WIESNER: Mr. President, good day to you.
BROOKS: How are you, Denise?
WIESNER: Not too well, sir.
BROOKS: Oh?
WIESNER: Mr. President, I've been hearing lots of rumors, sir.
BROOKS: Hmmm, rumors about what?
WIESNER: Military plans. Invasion plans.
BROOKS: (chuckles) Invasion plans? Where?
WIESNER: Don't know. But I keep hearing chatter that the administration is working on something big. You haven't been around here much.
BROOKS: Now need I remind you of a couple of things, Denise? First, I just got married. I wanted to spend some getaway time with my new bride. Secondly, the world is a dangerous place. There are many things going on out there that I can't fill you in on. But I can assure you, there isn't any military action that is going to take place. Trust me.
WIESNER: Well, sir, the press is breathing down my neck.
BROOKS: Let them. That's their job. Besides, they can't stand us anyway, so screw 'em.
WIESNER: Screw 'em, sir?
BROOKS: Screw 'em.

LATER THAT SAME DAY, PRESIDENT BROOKS CALLS DR. RYBECK DOWN IN HOUSTON, TX FROM THE OVAL OFFICE.

BROOKS: Rybeck. It's Austin Brooks.
RYBECK: Yes, Mr. President. How are you sir?
BROOKS: Look Rybeck, I think we have a problem.
RYBECK: What's the problem, sir?
BROOKS: I don't know how much longer we can contain this story from leaking to the press. My Press Secretary came to me this morning saying that the press is searching every nook and cranny looking for information. They know something's up.
RYBECK: Well sir, Meander is proceeding along at a very fast rate. As a matter of fact, I'd guess we're about 20 hours away from arrival to the asteroid.
BROOKS: Okay, how will you be coordinating the mission?
RYBECK: I'll be using Meander's lunar guidance system from NASA Mission Control tomorrow afternoon.
BROOKS: Alright, I'm coming down there. I have to be in Mission Control.
RYBECK: I'd be an honor to have you there, sir.
BROOKS: It's getting tough to conceal what's been going on, though. We CANNOT allow this to break to the public.
RYBECK: I understand, sir.
BROOKS: I will see you tomorrow, Rybeck.
RYBECK: See you tomorrow, sir. Goodnight.

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, PRESIDENT BROOKS IS ON THE PHONE WITH HIS WIFE.

MOLLY: Austin...where are you?
BROOKS: Ahh that damn ice storm in Arkansas this week...I'm meeting with some FEMA officials and Governor Woodsman to discuss the governmental response. (cringes to himself)
MOLLY: The ice storm? The power lines down in Arkansas? Austin...I miss you. I've barely seen you. I'm surrounded by the media, people who want to know what it's like to be the new First Lady and you're never here.
BROOKS: Molly, you KNOW I have a busy job.
MOLLY: (sighs) Okay, you're right. I love you.
BROOKS: I love you too. See you soon, doll face.

PRESIDENT AUSTIN C. BROOKS LANDS AT THE NASA SPACE CENTER AROUND 1PM EASTERN TIME AND MAKES HIS WAY TO MISSION CONTROL WITH TWO SECRET SERVICE ESCORTS, AGENTS SILVER AND JENSEN. HE WALKS INTO MISSION CONTROL. DR. NELSON RYBECK, AIR FORCE GENERAL JIM HUNTINGTON, NASA DIRECTOR STAN LINCOLN AND OTHER ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL STAND NEARBY. AS SOON AS BROOKS WALKS IN, HE SEES RYBECK LOOKING NERVOUS.

RYBECK: We have a problem.
BROOKS: Now what?
RYBECK: At 6:15 this morning, Meander slowed down it's progress. It went from zooming towards the asteroid to a near stall.
BROOKS: Did it's engines fail or something?
RYBECK: No sir, it's reacting to the atmosphere of Pandora.
BROOKS: Atmosphere of Pandor- JESUS people! I thought that asteroids are chunks of rock rolling around space like giant potatoes!
RYBECK: Pandora is different, sir. It's a rare kind of asteroid. It has a tail like a comet, it's sharp, it's jagged, it's full of spewing geysers, solid iron and rock and ice...and it certainly has an atmosphere of it's own. It even appears to have some amount of gravity to it's mass. That's what's slowed down Meander.
BROOKS: So did the spacecraft stop?
RYBECK: No, sir. After 45 minutes, it started accelerating again but at a slower pace. We just expected to be landed on the rock already. This video is a live stream from the Meander hull. You can see Pandora in the distance. It's getting closer.
BROOKS: Look at that thing.
RYBECK: I know. It's breathtaking.
BROOKS: (looks down) I want every person in this room to look at that chunk of rock. It's an inatimate object. Yet it will kill every single one of us. It will kill us, our families, our nations, our planet. Think about that for a second. Respect it. If you don't respect that rock...
RYBECK: It takes no prisoners.

BEAT

BROOKS: Okay, get to work.
RYBECK: Alright sir, Meander is approximately 20 minutes from landing.
BROOKS: If you wanna pray people, now is the time.
RYBECK: We're only going to have one shot to get this landing right. We can't risk missing the area where the fissure is. That fissure extends diagonally and then horizontally 4 miles into the 10 mile long asteroid. We have to snuggle Meander all the way inside of the rock. Until the end of the fissure. Then we detach the bomb.

END SCENE

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

This is awesome so far.

[Reaganfan]

AS MISSION CONTROL REMAINS SOMBER AND SILENT, DR. RYBECK NAVIGATES A COMPUTER JOYSTICK THAT CONTROLS THE LUNAR LANDING GUIDANCE FROM THE MEANDER SPACECRAFT.

RYBECK: We're nearing the surface. 10,000 feet. 9,000.
BROOKS: Dear Lord...let us land this thing.
RYBECK: 7,000. 6,000. 5,000 feet from surface. Small rocks impacting Meander upon approach.
HUNTINGTON: Turbulence, anyone?
RYBECK: 2,000 feet from surface. Landing pads deployed. 1,000 feet. Deceleration thrusters on. Function?
NASA TECH #1: Thrusters functioning at 100%.
RYBECK: 600 feet and slowing down. Come on. Come on Meander. 400 feet. Falling. Main thrusters functioning....come on...landing gear set.

THE ROOM IS TENSE. THE VIDEO SHOWS A ROCKY SURFACE FAST APPROACHING.

RYBECK: 200 feet. 150 feet. 100 feet. Preparing to land....WE'RE ON!

THE VIDEO FEED CUTS OUT FOR A BRIEF SECOND BEFORE RETURNING.

RYBECK: MEANDER HAS LANDED ON PANDORA! MARK THE TIME! 1:47pm Eastern Time, December 9th.
LINCOLN: Time marked.
RYBECK: Okay, let's do a system check. We had a rough landing.
NASA TECH #1: Thus far everything appears to be in order.

PRESIDENT BROOKS STEPS OUT OF THE ROOM. HE GOES OVER TO A COFFEE MACHINE AND GETS HIMSELF A CUP. GENERAL HUNTINGTON FOLLOWS BEHIND.

BROOKS: Coffee for you, Jim?
HUNTINGTON: Thank you, sir.
BROOKS: So General, you think our Pure Zero bomb will be able to do the job?
HUNTINGTON: I do, sir. I'm confident.
BROOKS: (sips coffee) I hope so.

THE TWO MEN WALK BACK INTO MISSION CONTROL.

BROOKS: What's the latest folks?
RYBECK: Everything appears to be in working order, except the accelerators for Meander's venture through Space. Doesn't matter though, once the bomb is implanted, Meander is staying on the asteroid. It's not coming back to Earth anyways.
BROOKS: How close are you to the fissure.
RYBECK: We landed 10 yards away from it. It's driving now. The thrusters are working quite well.
LINCOLN: Yes Mr. President, thus far everything is going as planned.
BROOKS: Well don't jynx us...we still have plenty more we have to do.

THROUGH THE LIVE STREAMING VIDEO FEED, THE MEANDER LUNAR LANDER CREEPS ACROSS A RUGGED TERRAIN, APPROACHING A LARGE, UNEVEN CRACK IN THE ROCK.

RYBECK: See that Mr. President?
BROOKS: Yes, that crack?
RYBECK: Yes, sir. That's almost like an oblique-slip fault. We're going to slide right into Pandora right there.
BROOKS: Is the opening big enough?
RYBECK: Looks to be...let's hope.

THE MEANDER LUNAR LANDER APPROACHES THE CRACK. THEN SUDDENLY, IT DROPS.

LINCOLN: What's going?
RYBECK: (nervously) Um...
BROOKS: What's happening, Rybeck!?
RYBECK: MEANDER IS FALLING!
BROOKS: Where?
RYBECK: Meander's falling through the fissure!

THE VIDEO FEED SHOWS A DARKNESS WITH A SHINING LIGHT FROM THE MEANDER LANDER SHOWING THAT IT'S IN A RAPID FALL.

RYBECK: Lincoln! How much of an impact can Meander withstand?
LINCOLN: Well the outer shell is still intact, it can withstand a good hit.
BROOKS: Why Rybeck? Tell me what's going on?
RYBECK: Mr. President, Meander is falling down a fissure that we estimate is four miles across horizontally along the asteroid.
BROOKS: I thought you were going to drive Meander through the fissure.
RYBECK: (turns to President Brooks) I thought so, too, sir.

THE ROOM IS EVEN MORE TENSE AS THEY WATCH A DARK VIDEO STREAM WITH AN OCCASIONAL BREAK IN THE LIGHT TO SHOW A CONTINUED RAPID FALL.

HUNTINGTON: (looks at Rybeck) Need I remind you, Doctor, that we have the most powerful bomb ever known to man falling along inside that spacecraft.
RYBECK: No General, you don't have to remind me.

FINALLY, ONE MINUTE AND 20 SECONDS AFTER FALLING, MEANDER HITS A DEAD END.

RYBECK: It's stopped!

THE VIDEO FEED FLICKERS WITH STATIC, THEN CLEARS. DR. RYBECK MOVES A JOYSTICK AROUND AND FLIPS A SWITCH. THE LIGHTING IMPROVES.

LINCOLN: What the hell is that?
RYBECK: Looks like....looks like ice.
BROOKS: Okay. Is the bomb secure, Rybeck?

RYBECK MOVES AROUND THE JOYSTICK, HITS A FEW MORE BUTTONS.

Rybeck: The bomb's secure, sir.
Huntington: Oh Thank the Lord.
Rybeck: The landing gear is destroyed, the lighting is malfunctioning. I don't know how much more life I can get out of Meander.
Huntington: We have to drop the bomb from the spacecraft, NOW.
Rybeck: Let me make sure we're as far in as we can go.

RYBECK MANEUVERS THE MEANDER CRAFT ALONG INSIDE THE FISSURE CREVICE. THE PACE OF DRIVING BEGINS TO WANE, SUCH AS A REMOTE CONTROL CAR RUNNING ON A LOW BATTERY.

RYBECK: Okay, I'm reaching a wall.
LINCOLN: How much juice does this thing have left?
NASA TECH #2: It's going to lose power any minute.
BROOKS: RYBECK! DROP THE BOMB, NOW!

RYBECK FLIPS A SWITCH, AND A DOOR ON MEANDER SLIDES OPEN SLOWLY. THE CRAFT BARELY HAS ENOUGH POWER. THE DOOR OPENS AND THE LATCH HOLDING THE PURE ZERO BOMB DETACHES. THE BOMB SLIDES AND ROLLS OUT OF THE CRAFT JUST AS MEANDER'S POWER REACHES ZERO.

RYBECK: Meander is dead.
HUNTINGTON: Where's the bomb?
RYBECK: The bomb is out of the shell, sitting inside the fissure, four miles along the inside of the 10 mile wide asteroid.
BROOKS: Alright then, we're set.

BROOKS AND RYBECK WALK OUTSIDE MISSION CONTROL INTO A LONG HALLWAY.

BROOKS: Rybeck, shoot me straight. Was the mission a success or not?
RYBECK: Well, sir, the plan was to land on Pandora, find the fissure, drive through it four miles, get as far in as we could go, detach the bomb and be complete. Well we landed, albeit roughly, we found the fissure, we fell four miles through it...didn't drive through it. We hit hard four miles down, damaged Meander beyond repair, couldn't navigate it much but still dropped the bomb. Overall a flawed success.
BROOKS: Well, congratulations are in order.
RYBECK: Thank you, sir.
BROOKS: (long sigh) Now what?
RYBECK: Now, we wait.


       

COUNTDOWN TO DETONATION

4 days, 12 hours, 52 minutes, 17 seconds

       

COUNTDOWN TO IMPACT

4 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes, 17 seconds

[Reaganfan]

THE NEXT AFTERNOON, PRESIDENT BROOKS IS IN THE OVAL OFFICE, ON THE PHONE WITH GOVERNOR WOODSMAN OF ARKANSAS IN REGARDS TO THE ICE STORM THAT HAS AFFECTED THE STATE. PRESS SECRETARY DENISE WIESNER WALKS IN.

BROOKS: Yes, Governor. Keep me up to speed. Thank you. Goodbye.

BROOKS HANGS UP THE PHONE.

BROOKS: Denise, what can I do for you on this boring Thursday afternoon?
WIESNER: Mr. President, what were you doing at the NASA Space Center yesterday?

BROOKS EYES WIDEN.

SCENE SHIFTS TO DR. RYBECK IN NASA MISSION CONTROL, SPEAKING WITH NASA TECHNICAL WORKERS. STAN LINCOLN, HEAD OF NASA, WALKS IN.

LINCOLN: Dr. Rybeck, the President is on the phone for you.

RYBECK GOES TO A SECURE AREA AND PICKS UP A PHONE.

RYBECK: Yes, this is Dr. Rybeck.
BROOKS: They know I was at NASA yesterday, Rybeck.
RYBECK: Who does, sir?
BROOKS: The press!
RYBECK: Sh*t.
BROOKS: My Press Secretary walked in a little while ago and asked me flat out what I was doing at the NASA Space Center yesterday.
RYBECK: (sighs) What did you tell her?
BROOKS: I told her it was a private meeting that nobody needed to know about.
RYBECK: Can she keep quiet?
BROOKS: She will...but the rest of the media is sniffing around. I don't think we can keep this quiet until Monday morning.
RYBECK: Well what should we do? Go public?
BROOKS: No...no...just...Let's just try and keep this quiet for as long as we possibly can.
RYBECK: You got it, sir.
BROOKS: What's the latest?
RYBECK: Well, sir, the bomb is in a fissure four miles inside the asteroid, and all we can do now is sit and wait.
BROOKS: Well, I've informed Russian President Charkov and he has his missiles ready. If they're needed. I just hope they work. Those things have been waiting to blow for almost 80 years.
RYBECK: Well if all goes accordingly, we won't need them.
BROOKS: Yeah I know, Rybeck, but I have to plan for every possible contingency.
RYBECK: Of course, I understand.
BROOKS: Alright, I'll let you go. Keep me up to speed.
RYBECK: Yes, Mr. President.

DR. RYBECK LEAVES THE ROOM AND SEES NASA DIRECTOR STAN LINCOLN STANDING IN THE HALLWAY, SIPPING A CUP OF COFFEE.

RYBECK: (stretches and sighs) Oh.....jeeez. What a world.
LINCOLN: What's up?
RYBECK: Ahhh the President said the media's sniffing around. He doesn't think we can keep this quiet until Monday.
LINCOLN: Oh man. That sucks.
RYBECK: (chuckles) Yeah, tell me about it.
LINCOLN: You know I was talking to General Huntington earlier. He told me that this Pure Zero weapon is so powerful it could wipe out an area the size of Ireland. One flash. Poof.
RYBECK: Yeah well...we'll see just how accurate that is.
LINCOLN: I figure...Pandora is 10 miles long, we detonate the bomb in the fissure that extends 4 miles across, we vaporize it.
RYBECK: Ahh...see that's what I'm unsure of. I mean, what if the rocks just tumble apart and then a bunch of them hit the planet? What if instead of one extinction level event ten miles long, we have five extinction level events each two miles long? What if we fail?
LINCOLN: Then we blast it apart with ICBMs.
RYBECK: It's just...the scale of this is beyond me. I mean, I've never even seen a President before. Now suddenly I'm coordinating an effort to save the world with one. I'm just a simple guy working in Massachusetts watching stars and space rocks.
LINCOLN: Well, Dr. Rybeck...you're not anymore.

END SCENE

THE PRESIDENT HAS DINNER LATER THAT EVENING AT THE WHITE HOUSE WITH FIRST LADY MOLLY CALLOW-BROOKS. AS HE EATS PASTA WITH MEATBALLS, HE SIPS FROM A GLASS OF RED WINE.

BROOKS: So Molly, what did you do today?
MOLLY: Well, let's see...
BROOKS: Did you give that interview to that Italian News Network?
MOLLY: No...that was yesterday.
BROOKS: Ahhh. How'd that go?
MOLLY: As if you'd care.
BROOKS: (slams his fist on the table) OH COME ON DAMMIT! I thought we agreed on this?
MOLLY: Agreed on what, Austin?
BROOKS: That I am the President of the United States of America and I have a very busy schedule to keep. You were aware of this!
MOLLY: Of course I was aware of this, we couldn't even have sex without it leaking to FOX News.

MOLLY STANDS UP FROM HER CHAIR AND BROOKS FOLLOWS SUIT.

BROOKS: Well what the hell did you expect?
MOLLY: I thought we could be a family. You, me, my child. I accept you as his father.
BROOKS: So do I! I would give my life for Newton. And we ARE a family. We just happen to be the First Family.
MOLLY: (laughs sarcastically)
BROOKS: What the hell is so funny?
MOLLY: The first family? Some first family. You're a widowed one term President who marries a scientist with a baby out of wedlock.
BROOKS: I love you, Molly. That's all that matters. America loves you.
MOLLY: America doesn't love us. Have you heard the late night TV jokes about us?
BROOKS: They make jokes about EVERYBODY! They always have!
MOLLY: Oh yeah, sure. You especially. Speaking of you, have you seen your 36% approval rating?
BROOKS: You know I don't give a rat's as* about polls.
MOLLY: 36%. Now we're supposed to start a campaign for next fall?
BROOKS: If I decide to run.
MOLLY: Tell me the truth, were you planning on running again, yes or no?
BROOKS: (pauses) Yes, I was.

MOLLY LOOKS DOWN.

MOLLY: Well you're gonna lose.
BROOKS: Dammit Molly, you don't know that.
MOLLY: I mean...the media scrutiny is so...you just (begins crying)...you don't understand.

MOLLY SITS DOWN AND BROOKS SITS NEXT TO HER TO CONSOLE HER.

BROOKS: I DO understand. I knew from the age of 23 that I was going to be the President of the United States. Call it fate or destiny or whatever, I knew mine up ahead of time. You know that. That's why you're here now. I knew I would wind up here no matter what so I vowed to never lie in politics. Do you know what it's like to be a man who genuinely doesn't lie to the American people yet gets constantly called a liar and a warmonger and an idiot? Do you know what it's like to win an election without a mandate? To be the first guy in over 30 years to get less votes than the man you defeated? To be characterized as some hick Governor out in Montana who narrowly defeats a President who was a Legal Scholar with an I.Q. greater than almost any President? To be criticized for making America look stupid? I know what it's like.
MOLLY: Then what's wrong? Why have you been distant? Talk to me, Austin!
BROOKS: I just...I used to know everything. I got a glimpse into the future. Now...I don't know anymore. I knew what was going to happen up until 2042. Here we are a year later. I don't know what happens from here. I don't have that certainty. I'm scared.
MOLLY: What are you scared of?
BROOKS: I just...I don't wanna lose you. Or Newton.
MOLLY: (hugs him) Oh Austin. You won't lose me.
BROOKS: (to himself) I hope not.

END SCENE

[Reaganfan]

VERY LATE THAT NIGHT, DR. NELSON RYBECK FINDS HIMSELF LEAVING A GATE AT LOGAN AIRPORT IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. SECRET SERVICE AGENT RYAN GRANT, YOUNG, DARK HAIR, FOLLOWS CLOSELY BEHIND.

Grant: Would you like me to do anything for you, Dr. Rybeck?
Rybeck: Yeah Grant, I'd like for you to stop stepping on my heels.
Grant: I'm...I'm sorry, sir.
Rybeck: And quit calling me sir! Jesus.
Grant: I'm sorry, Dr. Rybeck. President Brooks gave very forceful instructions for me to keep you in my view at all times.
Rybeck: Well the only thing you have to worry about in Boston are angry drunken as*holes.
Grant: Yes, sir...err...Dr. Rybeck.

THEY LEAVE THE AIRPORT AND DR. RYBECK ENTERS A BLACK SEDAN. AGENT GRANT SITS IN FRONT.

Driver: Where are we headed, Dr. Rybeck?
Rybeck: 431 Leydon Street.

THE CAR DRIVES OFF.

Grant: Soo...Dr. Rybeck....
Rybeck: Yes Grant?
Grant: Are you going to see your parents?
Rybeck: They live in North Carolina.
Grant: An ex-girlfriend?
Rybeck: Agent Grant, anybody ever tell you that you're nosey?
Grant: Yes, Dr. Rybeck.
Rybeck: (under his breath) Smartass.
Grant: Sorry, Dr. Rybeck. It's none of my business.
Rybeck: That's right.....besides it's an ex-wife.

BOTH MEN LOOK AT EACH OTHER AND SMILE.

THE CAR ARRIVES AT THE HOUSE. AGENT GRANT OPENS THE DOOR FOR DR. RYBECK.

Rybeck: You guys can stay here.
Grant: I was told to stay with you-
Rybeck: Yeah, I know what you were told....just...just wait a minute, okay?
Grant: (reluctantly) Okay.

RYBECK WALKS TO THE DOOR AND RINGS THE DOORBELL. A GIRL, EARLY 30s, LOOKING VERY RAGGEDY AND A MESS ANSWERS.

ANGELA: Well...look what the cat drug in.
RYBECK: Hello Angela. You're looking well.

ANGELA, CLEARLY INTOXICATED, LITES A CIGARETTE.

RYBECK: Jesus Angela. I think you're the only person in the state of Massachusetts who still smokes.
ANGELA: (laughs) Well, you look all snazzy. What are you a cop now?
RYBECK: No, I'm not a damn cop. I'm looking for Sarah. Is she here?
ANGELA: Sarah don't live her no more.
RYBECK: Where does she live?
ANGELA: Don't know, don't care.

RYBECK GLANCES OVER AND SEES TWO TATTOOED MEN SITTING IN A DIRTY LIVING ROOM ON THE COUCH WATCHING TELEVISION. HE NOTICES AN EVICTION NOTICE ON HER DOOR.

RYBECK: Do you know where I can find her? The office maybe?
ANGELA: (laughs) The office? Where the hell you get that idea?
RYBECK: The office. Lennon and Hirsch? The office. You remember. Six years ago...the Christmas party. Sean Temple puked on Sarah's boss and got thrown out...
ANGELA: (laughs) I guess it rings a bell. She don't work there no more, buddy. She left there over three years ago, didn't you know that?
RYBECK: No I didn't.
ANGELA: Well she did.
RYBECK: Would you happen to know where she works now?
ANGELA: Last I heard she was tending bar over at McCaddy's Pub over on Condor Street.
RYBECK: Thanks, Angela.
ANGELA: Don't mention it.
RYBECK: Have a good night...and...take care of yourself, okay?
ANGELA: Okay.

RYBECK WALKS BACK TO THE CAR.

Rybeck: McCaddy's Pub. Condor Street.
Driver: You got it.

ANGELA WATCHES THE CAR DRIVE AWAY.

ANGELA: (to herself) Man that guy must be high on something...

END SCENE

THE BLACK SEDAN ARRIVES AT MCCADDY'S PUB. IT'S BUZZING WITH PEOPLE TONIGHT. RYBECK GETS OUT OF THE CAR.

Rybeck: Alright, Grant...I'll be back in five minutes.
Grant: Sir, I'm going to insist I come with you.
Rybeck: Do I have any say in this?
Grant: No.
Rybeck: (reluctantly) FINE. BUT STOP CALLING ME SIR!
Grant: Sorry, Dr. Rybeck.

THE TWO MEN ENTER THE BAR AND LOOK OUT OF PLACE. LOUD MUSIC AND SCORES OF PEOPLE TALKING DROWN OUT THE NIGHT SILENCE. RYBECK LOOKS AROUND. HE SPOTS HIS EX-WIFE, SARAH, 29 YEARS OLD, LONG BLOND HAIR, WORKING AT THE BAR. HE SITS DOWN, AGENT GRANT WAITS BY THE DOOR.

RYBECK: Sarah?
SARAH: Nelson. What...what are you doing here?
RYBECK: I just...I just wanted to see how you were doing?
SARAH: How'd you find me here?
RYBECK: I went to your house on Leydon Street. Angela was there. She told me you left.
SARAH: How'd she look?
RYBECK: Like s*it. Like a strung out junkie.
SARAH: Yeah, well, now you know why I left. You try giving hard earned rent money to your roommate and have it spent on heroin. You try to get sleep before work only to be woken up by screaming fights and orgies.
RYBECK: So where you living now?
SARAH: Why the hell should you care?
RYBECK: Curiosity. I hear you don't work at the office anymore.
SARAH: The company downsized. Obviously I was too big to work there.
RYBECK: I notice you've...lost weight.
SARAH: I need to lose more. I'm tired of being a fat pig.
RYBECK: You're not fat. You never were. Good lord your cheeks are sunken in. Dammit Sarah, you have to eat.
SARAH: Well you haven't changed, Mr. Nice Guy.
RYBECK: Dammit Sarah, I'm trying to have a civil conversation with you. You forget we were married for two years.
SARAH: Ahhh yes. Two wonderful years.
RYBECK: They had their good times.
SARAH: Yes...like you constantly hounding me.
RYBECK: By hounding you mean keeping you from taking all those diet pills?
SARAH: I mean not staying out of people's business.
RYBECK: I'm sorry. You were my wife. I was trying to take care of you.
SARAH: Yeah well I'm not your wife anymore. I don't even get money from you. I'm doing just fine on my own. Why don't you get back to your little experimental laboritories with those skinny bit*hes you work with and leave me the hell alone.
RYBECK: (taken aback) Okay. I just wanted to see how you were doing. I'll go now.

RYBECK GETS UP FROM THE BAR STOOL AND WALKS TOWARDS THE ENTRANCE. HE FEELS A TAP ON HIS SHOULDER. IT'S A HEAVY SET MAN, ABOUT RYBECK'S AGE (32) COVERED IN TATTOOS.

LUKE: Well if it isn't Nelson the Nerd!
RYBECK: Luke Patterson. 15 years ago. East Boston High.
LUKE: Well you haven't changed one bit. You still look like the biggest f'ing nerd this side of Boston. (laughs)
RYBECK: I see you're really going places.

RYBECK EXITS THE BAR WITH AGENT GRANT.

LUKE: Hey s*ithead. I'm not through with you!
RYBECK: I'm leaving, Luke.
LUKE: Like hell you are.

LUKE RUNS TOWARDS RYBECK.

RYBECK: Hey Grant, remember I told you the only thing you have to worry about in Boston are angry drunken as*holes?
GRANT: Yes sir?
RYBECK: This is one of them.

AGENT GRANT REACTS BY SLAMMING LUKE AGAINST THE HOOD OF THE BLACK SEDAN. THE DRIVER, ALSO AN AGENT, EXITS THE CAR.

LUKE: LET ME GO! YOU BAS*ARD!
RYBECK: Gentlemen, let me introduce you to Luke Patterson. Neighborhood bully of mine from my High School days. I used to dissect frogs, Luke here liked to eat them.
LUKE: (trying to break free to fight) NELSON YOU JACKOFF!
RYBECK: I can see you changed.

RYBECK ENTERS THE CAR AND ROLLS DOWN THE WINDOW.

Rybeck: You guys can let him go. He's not worth your time.

THE AGENTS RELEASE LUKE, GET IN THE CAR AND DRIVE AWAY.

Grant: Are you okay, Dr. Rybeck?
Rybeck: Ahhh Grant...nights like these make me wonder if this world is even worth saving.

END SCENE

       

COUNTDOWN TO DETONATION

3 days, 2 hours, 10 minutes, 27 seconds

[Reaganfan]

A FEW HOURS LATER, AROUND 3AM IN THE MORNING, PRESIDENT BROOKS WAKES UP TO TEND TO BABY NEWTON, WHO WOKE UP CRYING. AFTER HOLDING HIM AND ROCKING HIM BACK TO SLEEP, HE PLACES HIM BACK IN HIS CRIB. THE PRESIDENT WALKS TO THE WINDOW AND LOOKS OUTSIDE. THE NIGHT IS CLEAR BUT SNOW COVERS THE GROUND. IT CREATES A BEAUTIFUL WHITE LIGHT ACROSS A PITCH BLACK BACKDROP. FIRST LADY MOLLY CALLOW-BROOKS WALKS IN, WEARING A WHITE NIGHTGOWN.

MOLLY: Is he asleep?
BROOKS: Yeah, all is well, darling.

MOLLY JOINS HIM BY THE WINDOW.

MOLLY: Ahhh look at the stars.
BROOKS: Yeah, I've been looking at them alot lately.

SUDDENLY, THEY SEE A BEAUTIFUL SHOOTING STAR STREAK ACROSS THE SKY.

MOLLY: Austin! A shooting star! Make a wish.
BROOKS: (looks down for a moment) I did.

THEN A SECOND SHOOTING STAR FLIES BY.

MOLLY: ANOTHER ONE! Wow.

THEN THREE MORE SHOOTING STARS. THEN ANOTHER TWO.

MOLLY: WOW! This is beautiful.

PRESIDENT BROOKS FACE GETS SERIOUS.

THE SCENE FLASHES TO DR. RYBECK IN BED IN A BOSTON HOTEL ROOM. AGENT GRANT OPENS THE DOOR.

GRANT: Dr. Rybeck! Wake up, Dr. Rybeck!
RYBECK: (groggy) What---what is it, Grant?
GRANT: President Brooks is on the line for you.

RYBECK TAKES THE PHONE AND AGENT GRANT STEPS OUT.

RYBECK: (Yawns) Yes, Mr. President. What can I do for you?
BROOKS: Rybeck, what the hell are you doing in Boston?
RYBECK: I had something to attend to, sir.
BROOKS: Well I need you to tell me why I'm looking at hundreds of shootin' stars streakin' across the freakin' night sky.

RYBECK LURCHES UP IN BED.

RYBECK: Hundreds?
BROOKS: Maybe thousands. What the hell is going on, Rybeck?
RYBECK: I---I don't know, sir. I only have a laptop. I'd have to be at the Lab in Lexington or back in Houston to tell you. Call Lincoln.
BROOKS: Rybeck, I need you in Texas. I guarantee you I'm not the only one seeing these "shootin' stars".
RYBECK: Alright...alright...I'll try and find a red eye flight to Houston.
BROOKS: Forget about it. I'll have a private jet waiting for you at Logan.
RYBECK: Are you sure, sir? Should I just head to my lab in Lexington?
BROOKS: I need you back at NASA. The WORLD needs you back at NASA.
RYBECK: You really think too much of me, Mr. President.
BROOKS: Want me to lie some more?
RYBECK: (laughs) Very funny, sir. I will see you tomorrow at NASA, I'm out the door now.
BROOKS: Tomorrow?
RYBECK: Tomorrow, Friday...hell...it's 3:30 in the morning...TODAY. I'll see you later today.
BROOKS: Dammit I can't be there.
RYBECK: What!?
BROOKS: I have a White House Christmas Dinner at 5pm.
RYBECK: Dammit!
BROOKS: I can cover for the after dinner party reception but if I don't show up at all, people are gonna know something's up.
RYBECK: Alright, I can keep you updated throughout the day until you get to Texas.
BROOKS: Okay, sounds good. I'll be sippin' some prairie dew with a few folks then I'll head down to our pow-wow in Houston. Talk to you later.

RYBECK HANGS UP THE PHONE.

Rybeck: Pow-wow? What the hell?

RYBECK JUMPS OUT OF BED.

RYBECK: Grant!

AGENT GRANT RUNS IN THE ROOM

GRANT: Yes sir.
RYBECK: Grant, you don't call a 32 year old man in boxers and black socks sir, especially if it's me.
GRANT: Okay?
RYBECK: Get ready to head to Logan. We gotta go.

END SCENE

THE NEXT MORNING, DR. RYBECK ARRIVES AT MISSION CONTROL AT NASA.

RYBECK: Lincoln!
LINCOLN: Jesus Rybeck!
RYBECK: Don't Jesus Rybeck me....What the hell is going on?
LINCOLN: Meteor showers all over the place. Eastern U.S. last night, some reported over India today.
RYBECK: Is that all?
LINCOLN: Nope.
RYBECK: DAMMIT! What else?
LINCOLN: Well take it easy! You walk outta here for 18 hours and you're gonna miss some crap!
RYBECK: I know! I know!

RYBECK TAKES OFF HIS JACKET AND SITS IN A CHAIR AT MISSION CONTROL AND TAKES THE HELM OF A COMPUTER.

LINCOLN: We have a rock the size of a television set that crashed through a roof in Warsaw, Poland. Nobody was hurt from this "rare freak occurrence". We have the Japanese Military reporting a huge explosion in the air over the ocean off the coast of Hachinohe. Thankfully their government was made aware of Pandora from the President, otherwise another world war would be breaking out.
RYBECK: This thing has such a huge atmosphere. Tiny rocks are gonna be busting through all weekend.
LINCOLN: I mean, the Japanese Military will keep quiet, a meteor shower is no big deal and we can handle one freak occurrence in Poland...but if it keeps up...
RYBECK: Pandora will go public and the world will be in a state of panic.
LINCOLN: Exactly.
RYBECK: All we can do is wait.

END SCENE

[Reaganfan]

LATER THAT EVENING, PRESIDENT BROOKS WALKS THROUGH A CORRIDOR AND SEES FIRST LADY MOLLY CALLOW-BROOKS IN A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS PARTY DRESS. PRESIDENT BROOKS IS WEARING A BLACK TUXEDO.

BROOKS: Gee whiz, Molly! Look at you! Stunning.
MOLLY: Thank you, Austin.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ACCOMPANIED BY FIRST LADY MOLLY CALLOW-BROOKS.

BROOKS: Let's go!

HAIL TO THE CHIEF PLAYS AS THE PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY ENTER THE BALLROOM TO APPLAUSE.

MOLLY: That's Senator Green's wife, I'm going to go talk to her.
BROOKS: Okay, you go ahead.

THE PRESIDENT WALKS OVER TO A TABLE OF FOOD. A MAN, BALD, IN HIS EARLY 70s WALKS UP TO HIM.

FRANKLIN: Merry Christmas, Mr. President.
BROOKS: Ahh Senator Franklin, Merry Christmas to you, too. How's Pamela?
FRANKLIN: She's well sir, she's well. How's the first lady?
BROOKS: Well Tom, you know how it is. It's a change. One minute you have a private life, the next minute people are watching your every move.
FRANKLIN: I hear you, Mr. President.
BROOKS: So how have you been, Tom? How are things out in Indiana?
FRANKLIN: Ahh we got socked hard with snow last week. You should've seen it.
BROOKS: I know we've been getting nothing more than a dusting here, but I was talking with Governor Woodsman the other day and Arkansas was covered with three inches of ice.
FRANKLIN: Good lord.
BROOKS: Yeah. I remember out in Montana, say back in the Winter of '37, we had a terrible snow storm. You've never seen anything like it in your life. I told Woodsman we would help coordinate relief efforts.
FRANKLIN: Maybe I'll give him a call, see if all is well.
BROOKS: That'd be nice.
FRANKLIN: Yeah. So how about you, sir? You pumped for the campaign?
BROOKS: (sighs) Ahh...it's an uphill battle.
FRANKLIN: I think you'll win. It's hard to defeat an incumbant.
BROOKS: Yeah, Molly was telling me the polls had me sitting at 36%, but I try not to follow them much.
FRANKLIN: Polls are all over the place. I saw one the other day that had you winning re-election against Senator Creed by six points.
BROOKS: Creed. I'll tell ya, I've been fighting him tooth and nail in the Senate ever since I got this job.
FRANKLIN: Creed is as ambitious as you can get.
BROOKS: Well he's looking like he's ahead in the early primary states, unless Douglas can stop him.
FRANKLIN: Creed's gonna smoke him.
BROOKS: You think so?
FRANKLIN: Douglas is the Governor of Maine, has almost zero national name recognition, and is being outspent 4-1.
BROOKS: Yeah you're probably right.
FRANKLIN: Well, I'll let you go I know you have much more to do.
BROOKS: You can say that again. (chuckles)
FRANKLIN: If I don't see her, give the First Lady my best. My best wishes for a Merry Christmas to Vice President Pierce as well.
BROOKS: Will do. Take care, Senator.

PRESIDENT BROOKS SIPS A DRINK AND GLANCES OVER AND SEES WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY DENISE WIESNER.

BROOKS: Well Denise, you look lovely!
WIESNER: Thank you, Mr. President.
BROOKS: So how's the old press pool treating you?
WIESNER: Like water and oil, sir. They know we're hiding something. I'd still like to know what it is exactly I can tell them.
BROOKS: Just tell them that...the President's a very busy man and we will keep them informed.
WIESNER: Ahh. They will love that.
BROOKS: You know Denise, it doesn't help that you let them get to you.
WIESNER: I don't let them get to me, Mr. President.
BROOKS: Remember what President Nixon once said, "One can only be angry with those he respects." Nixon told that to a reporter after the reporter asked if he aroused Nixon's anger.
WIESNER: Ouch. Nixon didn't hold back.
BROOKS: No, he didn't.
WIESNER: Are you alright, sir?
BROOKS: Yes, just....alot of stress lately.
WIESNER: Alot of stress at the NASA Space Center?
BROOKS: (eyeballs Wiesner)
WIESNER: Something's wrong, isn't it?
BROOKS: (nods head) Yeah. It's not good.
WIESNER: Well I hope everything works out.
BROOKS: So do I, Denise. So do I.

THE PRESIDENT WALKS OVER TO THE FIRST LADY.

MOLLY: You know, Austin...I don't recognize half the people here.
BROOKS: (whispers) Neither do I.
MOLLY: Senator Pursey's wife invited me to a Christmas Party next week in Denver.
BROOKS: Will you attend?
MOLLY: Perhaps. Think we will win Colorado next year?
BROOKS: (laughs) Very smart thinkin', Molly. Very smart thinkin'.

PRESIDENT BROOKS OVERHEARS CHATTER. HE WALKS UP TO A 55 YEAR OLD WOMAN WITH DARK HAIR IN A BLACK DRESS. IT'S SENATOR KRISTY PEYTON OF VERMONT.

PEYTON: Mr. President! Lovely to see you.
BROOKS: Same to you, Kristy.
PEYTON: Senator Gall and I were just discussing that beautiful meteor shower we saw last night.
BROOKS: Meteor shower?
PEYTON: Oh yes. It started yesterday evening, then it stopped then apparently began again in the middle of the night.
BROOKS: (taken aback) I...I wasn't aware.
PEYTON: I swear it was gorgeous! Never seen so many shooting stars in my life.
BROOKS: That's very nice. Excuse me.

PRESIDENT BROOKS BEGINS WALKING TOWARDS THE ENTRANCE. PRESS SECRETARY DENISE WIESNER CATCHES UP WITH HIM.

WIESNER: Mr. President?
BROOKS: Yes, Denise?
WIESNER: I just spoke with a friend. Faulkner and O'Keefe have the story on something called "Pandora".
BROOKS: Sh*t.
WIESNER: What's "Pandora", sir?
BROOKS: Nothing...it's...

LEANS TOWARDS WIESNER.

BROOKS: Denise. We need to keep this under wraps. What do Faulkner and O'Keefe know?
WIESNER: I have no clue, sir. All I know is the the New York Times is going to print the story tomorrow morning.

BROOKS WALKS QUICKLY OVER TO THE FIRST LADY.

MOLLY: Austin! What is it?
BROOKS: I have some business to attend to.
MOLLY: But, we haven't had dinner, yet.
BROOKS: I know, I'm sorry. I love you. I'll be back.

PRESIDENT BROOKS LEAVES THE RECEPTION.

[Joe Biden is your president. Deal with it.]

This is epic! i can't wait for the next update

[Reaganfan]

A FEW HOURS LATER AT NASA, RYBECK IS VIEWING A COMPUTER GRAPHIC SHOWING THE PURE ZERO WEAPON RANGE IN CORRELATION TO THE ASTEROID'S POSITION.

RYBECK: Lincoln, I wish this thing was over with.
LINCOLN: You mean, the detonation?
RYBECK: Yeah. Wouldn't we be able to detonate now if we could get a signal off a satellite somewhere?
LINCOLN: No satellites are within the range of Pandora, yet.
RYBECK: Makes me wish we had built a base on the moon.
LINCOLN: (laughs) Me too.
RYBECK: (yawns) Oh man. 1am. Why are we still here?
LINCOLN: I don't know, but I better stick around.
RYBECK: Why don't you go home?
LINCOLN: Nah, I can't.
RYBECK: No, no. Go ahead. Go home to your wife and kids.
LINCOLN: They're sleeping.
RYBECK: So go home and sleep. I'll hold down the fort. We are on top of it. Not much to do anyways. Not for another 48 hours anyway.
LINCOLN: Thanks. Alright. I'll go. You get get some rest, too Dr. Rybeck.
RYBECK: You bet.

RYBECK BEGINS NODDING OFF IN MISSION CONTROL. A FEW WORKERS SIT AT COMPUTERS. ASTEROID PANDORA CONTINUES IT'S BEELINE FOR EARTH.

END SCENE

PRESIDENT BROOKS, IN A BLUE WINDBREAKER AND A NASA HAT, SHAKES DR. NELSON RYBECK AWAKE AT A DESK IN MISSION CONTROL.

BROOKS: Rybeck! Rybeck! Wake your ass up!

RYBECK LURCHES UP.

RYBECK: Mr. President! Sir...umm...uh I was just...
BROOKS: Sleepin' on the job, I know.
RYBECK: Ughh...(stretches and yawns) What time is it?
BROOKS: It's six in the morning. Look Rybeck, the New York Times has the story.
RYBECK: Sh*t.
BROOKS: Yeah, sh*t is right. I called Faulkner and O'Keefe at home last night and told them to hold the story. Seems like the Times will hold it for 24 hours and release it Sunday morning. They were real stubborn pricks about it.
RYBECK: Sunday morning? That's tomorrow. We won't have detonated the bomb, yet.
BROOKS: Yeah, I know.
RYBECK: Well sir...we can't go public...I thought...
BROOKS: We have to go public, dammit. The story is leaked. The New York Times is gonna have a headline tomorrow morning talking about the end of the world, Pandora, the pure zero bomb, everything. I have to go public about it.
RYBECK: Sir, the panic will be...I mean...it's gonna be like the end of days.
BROOKS: Well Rybeck, we're out of options. Either I let the press leak the story and the world is gripped with fear or I calmly address the nation and the world and tell them that we're going to stop this damn rock.
RYBECK: When will you go public, sir?
BROOKS: Tomorrow night from the Oval Office. I've already got a speech in the works.

JUST THEN, NASA DIRECTOR STAN LINCOLN WALKS IN.

RYBECK: What is it, Stan?
LINCOLN: Our phones are going crazy! CNN, FOX, NEW YORK TIMES, every-freaking-body is calling.
BROOKS: Sh*t!
RYBECK: This is bad.
BROOKS: What are you telling them?
LINCOLN: Sir...I'm telling them everything is normal.
BROOKS: They won't buy it.

A NASA TECH WALKS IN THE ROOM.

NASA TECH #1: Mr. President, Dr. Rybeck, Mr. Lincoln....
BROOKS: Forget the introductions, guy. Just spit it out!
NASA TECH #1: The story just broke on the internet. Pandora's approach. Videos from telescopes of the asteroid, too.

DR. RYBECK SPINS HIS CHAIR AROUND TO THE COMPUTER AND BEGINS TYPING. HE FINDS A BREAKING NEWS STORY.

RYBECK: (reading aloud to himself) ....the meteor shower Thursday night witnessed across the skies of the world have...asteroid named Pandora that is ten miles across heading for Earth...impact sometime on Monday...region...SON OF A B*TCH!

BROOKS GLANCES AT LINCOLN AND RYBECK.

BROOKS: Well then, that's that. It's out.
RYBECK: What do we do now, sir?
BROOKS: I have to go back to Washington. I'll address the nation tonight from the Oval Office. Dr. Rybeck, I want you to come with me.
RYBECK: But shouldn't I be here, sir?
BROOKS: There's nothing to do here but stare at computer screens. Pandora isn't doing anything. It's just flying towards Earth. We have 50 hours until impact, which means we still have almost two days before we blow that bomb. I need you to come with me to Washington because after my address the entire world is going to be asking questions that I can't answer and that you can.
RYBECK: It's just...the size of this is so far beyond me.
BROOKS: It's beyond all of us, Rybeck. Lincoln can hold down the fort just fine here at NASA, isn't that right Lincoln?
LINCOLN: Absolutely, Mr. President.
RYBECK: Uh...um....Okay.
BROOKS: Alright then, let's go.

END SCENE

"We're hearing now that President Brooks is en-route to Washington on Air Force One and will be addressing the nation from the Oval Office at 9pm tonight on a matter of the "highest national urgency". We have been told that this is in regards to the asteroid "Pandora", which we have learned is indeed on a collision course with the Earth for an impact sometime on Monday."

       

COUNTDOWN TO DETONATION

1 day, 19 hours, 58 minutes, 36 seconds

[RedPrometheus]

Can't wait for the next update!

[Reaganfan]

WHEN PRESIDENT BROOKS ARRIVES AT ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, A LARGE GROUP OF REPORTERS AND CAMERAMEN BEGIN SCREAMING QUESTIONS TOWARDS HIM. HE EXITS AIR FORCE ONE WITH DR. NELSON RYBECK.

BOTH MEN FIND THEMSELVES WEARING SUITS, QUITE A CHANGE FROM THE CAUSAL DRESS OF THE NASA SPACE CENTER MISSION CONTROL.

THEY TAKE THE MARINE ONE HELICOPTER TO THE WHITE HOUSE AND ENTER THE OVAL OFFICE. FIRST LADY MOLLY CALLOW-BROOKS IS WAITING INSIDE THE OFFICE.

BROOKS: Molly. I just-

SHE SUDDENLY SLAPS PRESIDENT BROOKS ACROSS THE FACE.

MOLLY: WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!? YOU SELFISH BAST*RD!
BROOKS: Molly, I couldn't. We couldn't tell anyone.
RYBECK: (clears throat) Perhaps I should step outside, sir.
BROOKS: Now, Rybeck you stay right here.
MOLLY: Who the hell is this?
BROOKS: Molly, be respectful, please.
RYBECK: I am uh...Dr. Nelson Rybeck...Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, Massachusetts. It's a pleasure to meet you, Madam First Lady.
MOLLY: Well I can't say the same.
RYBECK: That's understandable, ma'am.
MOLLY: Austin, I'd like a word with you in private.

THE PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY WALK OUTSIDE THE OVAL OFFICE INTO THE ROOSEVELT ROOM.

BROOKS: Now Molly, you have to understand.
MOLLY: Understand that I was lied to.
BROOKS: Dammit Molly, you weren't lied to! I had to keep this quiet!
MOLLY: Oh yeah and I had to find out like this?
BROOKS: I'm sorry. It wasn't supposed to go public until we would have to explain the explosion on Monday. By then the asteroid would be destroyed. We couldn't have fear and panic gripping the world. But the story broke and there was nothing we could do about it.
MOLLY: How long have you known about this?
BROOKS: Since last Tuesday, about 11 days. Our wedding night.
MOLLY: Our wedding night? That's...that's why you ran out that night. That's why you've been staying away, hasn't it?
BROOKS: (nods) Yes. I didn't go to Arkansas to talk to FEMA officials about the ice storm. I haven't been having briefings on military operations. I have been going to and from the NASA Space Center. I'm still shocked it stayed quiet as long as it has.
MOLLY: So, uh...what's the plan? You going to shoot it out of the sky?
BROOKS: No, no. We've implanted a weapon inside a fissure four miles within the asteroid. We can't detonate it until Monday morning.
MOLLY: How certain are you that it will destroy the asteroid?
BROOKS: Very certain. If it doesn't, we launch ICBMs along with Great Britain, Russia and China.
MOLLY: (sighs) Austin, I'm sorry. I just...you've been so distant...it's been because of this...but the thought...
BROOKS: (embraces her) I know. I know. It's gonna be okay. I promise you.
MOLLY: If the asteroid hits, where will it strike?
BROOKS: Down in South America. Monday morning.
MOLLY: We'll survive, won't we?
BROOKS: Oh, we'd survive the initial impact. But the falling fire, earthquakes, mass hysteria, the ash and dust in the atmosphere...that will end up doing us in. It's a worldwide extinction event. It's four miles longer than the one that killed the dinosaurs.
MOLLY: God help us.

END SCENE

DR. RYBECK, THE FIRST LADY AND OTHERS FILL UP THE OVAL OFFICE AS PRESIDENT AUSTIN BROOKS SITS AT THE OVAL OFFICE DESK AWAITING HIS ADDRESS TO THE NATION.

BROOKS: No makeup, please. Rybeck...come here.
CAMERAMAN: 30 seconds, Mr. President.
RYBECK: Yes, sir?
BROOKS: After this speech...reporters are gonna wanna talk to you.
RYBECK: I understand, Mr. President. I will keep them informed.
BROOKS: What I was going to tell you is...don't take any of their bulls*it.
CAMERAMAN: 10 seconds, sir.
RYBECK: Got it, Mr. President.
BROOKS: Good.
CAMERAMAN: In 5...4...3....

My fellow citizens,

Roughly eleven days ago, I was made aware from the Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts and the NASA Space Center, that an asteroid was on a collision course with Planet Earth.

A comet named Bia, way out in outer space, had a recent collision with a region of the  asteroid belt and that collision has sent a bird-shot of rocks towards our planet. Now, make no mistake, almost every one of these rocks are tiny enough to harmless burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere as nothing more than beautiful shooting stars. We've seen some of these shooting stars in the last couple of days. However, one of the rocks heading for earth is an asteroid named Pandora. It is ten miles long. Now, most asteroids are smooth and look like giant potatoes floating around in space. However, "Pandora" is a rare M-type of asteroid. It's almost more like a comet. It has gases, a tail, an atmosphere, and is made up of metallic rock and iron and ice.

We discovered that at around 8:12am Eastern Time on Monday morning, December 14th, this asteroid will hit the Earth. It will strike about 154 miles north-northeast of Santa Cruz in Northern Bolivia in South America. If and when it strikes, the fireball will encompass much of South America. Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil...all will be devastated by the worst impact mankind has ever witnessed. There will be a magnitude 11 earthquake, the strongest in history, that will shake the entire planet. The shock wave and the fire that will reign down from the sky will create more havoc. Then, as the dust settles after the initial impact, the skies across the planet will darken. Plants will die. Animals will die. And then...

All of this is hypothetical, however. The reason is because the United States Government and our Military is currently coordinating the most massive undertaking in history with other Governments of the world. This past Wednesday, under the guides of NASA and the United States Military, we launched a spacecraft known as "Meander" towards asteroid Pandora. The spacecraft sailed quickly towards the asteroid, and then landed. This was no ordinary spacecraft. It was equipped with a lunar lander, and the most powerful weapon the world has ever seen. This weapon, known as Pure Zero, has the ability to create a massive nuclear explosion, millions of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. This explosion uses nuclear material but does not omit the devastating radioactivity of other nuclear devices. Within the asteroid is a fissure, extending downward across the asteroid four miles. On Wednesday, we successfully landed and maneuvered the spacecraft inside this fissure, as deep as we could go, and then detached this powerful weapon inside the asteroid.

Now, unfortunately, we are unable to remote detonate the weapon until it is within a certain range of Earth. This requires us to wait until approximately five hours prior to impact. At 3:12am Eastern Time on Monday morning, we will remote detonate the Pure Zero weapon, embedded within the asteroid Pandora. We are extremely confident that this detonation will successfully destroy the entire asteroid.

Nevertheless, we must prepare ourselves for any eventualities. If, for some unlikely reason, the weapon detonation fails to destroy the asteroid, the United States, along with the countries of Great Britain, Russia, and China, will launch a full-scale, massive intercontinental ballistic mission attack towards the incoming asteroid. This scenario too, has a high probability of success.

I understand how shocking and terrible this news is to people of this great nation, and people of the world. I want to assure all of you, that this government will do all in our power to assure the survival of our people, and our planet. Tomorrow is Sunday. Like many of you, I will be attending church. As you know, my wife Molly and I have a young son. We want the best future for our son. I know Americans and people around the world, whether you believe in God or not, pray for peace. Let us pray that we see through this Great Tribulation.

Thank you, God Bless You and God Bless the United States of America.

[Reaganfan]

AFTER THE SPEECH, PRESIDENT BROOKS WALKS UP TO HIS WIFE AND EMBRACES HER. DR. RYBECK STANDS NEARBY.

BROOKS: Is there anything we can do for you, Dr. Rybeck?
RYBECK: No, I think I just about have that covered.
BROOKS: Are you ready to address the press?
RYBECK: As ready as I'll ever be.

IN THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS ROOM, PRESS SECRETARY DENISE WIESNER IS TRYING TO HOARD OFF QUESTIONS FROM REPORTERS. SHE INTRODUCES DR. NELSON RYBECK.

RYBECK: Good evening. I'm Dr. Nelson Rybeck from The Lexington Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts. As the President mentioned just a few moments ago, asteroid "Pandora" is indeed on a collision course with the Earth. We are confident that the weapon we have placed within the asteroid will destroy it come early Monday morning. I'm hear to address any questions you might have.
REPORTER #1: Dr. Rybeck, Amy Gilson FOX NEWS. When did you discover the asteroid?
RYBECK: I discovered it along with my research team on November 28th and after confirming my findings, I informed the President of the United States last Tuesday, December 1st.
REPORTER #2: Charles Wilson, CNN. Dr. Rybeck, how does Pandora compare with the asteroid that impacted the Earth and killed the dinosaurs?
RYBECK: Mr. Wilson, the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago was about six miles across. Pandora is four miles longer. That asteroid impacted an area of land and sea around what is today the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. A tidal wave nearly a mile high was created, dust and fire reigned down on the planet. Pandora's impact would be greater and absolutely nothing less than what killed off the dinosaurs.
REPORTER #2: Do you know where exactly, precisely the asteroid will strike?
RYBECK: Well, as the President alluded to, at 8:12am our time here in the Eastern U.S., Pandora, if it wasn't to be destroyed, of course, will hit in Bolivia, some 154 miles north-northeast of Santa Cruz. The fireball will be seen across most if not all of South America. The earthquakes that will rock South America would be magnitude 11, which will destroy most structures. The impact would be inconceivable. It's hard to grasp exactly what would occur because mankind has never been eyewitness to anything quite like it.
REPORTER #3: Dr. Rybeck, Jason Senneca, NBC News. We've just learned that a fireball exploded in the skies an hour ago over Vancouver Island. Is this likely in relation to the asteroid?
RYBECK: Yes, Mr. Senneca. We should continue to see numerous rocks pelt the earth over the next 48 hours and fireballs in the sky will continue to occur. We've seen fireballs over Japan and meteor showers and even meteor impacts in Europe. There is no accurate way to predict these impacts since they're harder to spot.
REPORTER #3: Dr. Rybeck...if the mission fails and Pandora does strike...how long before our planet would essentially come to an end?
RYBECK: (pauses) Like I said before, mankind has never seen this before. However, we can learn from the past. The dinosaurs didn't have the ability to see the asteroid coming, or do anything to stop it. We do. We can. We can prevent our own anniliation. If the rock did hit, we would see the skies light up across the planet with hot, flaming, falling rocks. The skys would heat up. Dust and smoke and falling rocks would cause havoc on the ground and kill planets and animals. Within a couple of months, most animal life will be dead. Temperatures will drop significantly across the planet, the air will be full of dust from the impact. The skies will stay dark for possibly as long a time as several years. We wouldn't make it. If somehow some people across the planet managed to survive, civilization at the very least would be devastated. That's all for now, thank you.

RYBECK WALKS OFF THE STAGE AND GOES INTO A HALLWAY WHERE PRESIDENT BROOKS IS WAITING.

BROOKS: Good job, Rybeck.
RYBECK: Thanks, sir. You weren't kidding. Their questions hit hard.
BROOKS: It's the answers that are more frightening.
RYBECK: I agree.

LATER THAT EVENING, PRESIDENT BROOKS LEADS DR. RYBECK UP TO A BEDROOM WHERE BABY NEWTON IS SLEEPING. THE TWO MEN WALK UP TO THE CRIB.

BROOKS: This is Newton.
RYBECK: Cute baby.
BROOKS: He's Molly's son. His father was a great man. A very great man.
RYBECK: Did he pass away?
BROOKS: Yes. I knew him though. He changed my life, for the better. I ended up falling hard for Molly...I didn't see that coming. I know Newton isn't my own child, but I vowed to take care of him.
RYBECK: He's going to outlive all of us.
BROOKS: I sure hope so, Rybeck.

RYBECK AND BROOKS STEP OUTSIDE INTO A HALLWAY.

RYBECK: So sir, should I be heading back to NASA?
BROOKS: No, no. It's too late. I'll head back there with you tomorrow morning. No sense in trying to keep things secret anymore.
RYBECK: True. Are you sure?
BROOKS: Of course. You can stay here at the White House. Plenty of room. Molly and I would love to have you.
RYBECK: It's an honor, sir.
BROOKS: You bet, Rybeck.

END SCENE

         

COUNTDOWN TO DETONATION

1 day, 2 hours, 34 minutes, 47 seconds

[Reaganfan]

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, DR. RYBECK IS PACING IN A QUIET HALLWAY IN THE WHITE HOUSE. PRESIDENT BROOKS WALKS THROUGH THE HALL AND MEETS HIM.

BROOKS: Can't sleep?
RYBECK: (startled) No. You?
BROOKS: No.

THE TWO MEN WALK ALONG AND VIEW PORTRAITS OF PRESIDENTS ON THE WALL.

BROOKS: You know, Rybeck, so many good people have held this office. Being President of the United States is nothing short of spectacular.
RYBECK: I can only imagine, sir.
BROOKS: This whole thing has set things in perspective, though. How much does it all really matter?
RYBECK: what do you mean, sir?
BROOKS: The White House...the United States. I mean, think about history. The dinosaurs. The neanderthals. The roman empire. The Ming Dynasty. The United States of America. Are we naive enough to think we'll last forever?
RYBECK: Well sir, another 33 years and America will be 300 years old.
BROOKS: The Roman Republic lasted 500 years.
RYBECK: It does kind of make you wonder though, doesn't it?
BROOKS: What are you thinking about?
RYBECK: The impact of the rock. The collision. The seas rising. The earth shaking and shattering. It will be eyewitnessed in a biblical context.
BROOKS: Well I'm not gonna let it happen.
RYBECK: You're not going to?
BROOKS: Damn right.
RYBECK: Muhammad, Christ, St. Paul, Austin Brooks...I can see it.
BROOKS: (chuckles) You can't put me in the same league.
RYBECK: Well sir, that's kind of the league we're looking at.

RYBECK PULLS OPEN A CURTAIN ON A WINDOW. HUNDREDS OF CANDLES LIGHT UP OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE FENCE.

RYBECK: People are praying for peace.
BROOKS: It's like a war. A great battle. A great mission.
RYBECK: We should rest. We have a big day tomorrow.
BROOKS: I couldn't agree more, Rybeck.

END SCENE

         

COUNTDOWN TO DETONATION

23 hours, 47 minutes, 24 seconds

"You're watching live pictures of Air Force One departing Andrews Air Force Base headed for the NASA Space Center in Houston, Texas where at 3:12am Eastern Time tonight, early tomorrow, the weapon implanted within the asteroid will be detonated. This detonation will be seen across skies in most areas of the planet. Across much of the world this morning, churches, synagogues and other holy places were filled with people praying for the best."

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, DR. RYBECK LOOKS OUT THE WINDOW AS PRESIDENT BROOKS WALKS OVER AND SITS DOWN NEXT TO HIM.

BROOKS: Mind if I sit?
RYBECK: Not at all, Mr. President.
BROOKS: So did you visit with family when you went to Boston?
RYBECK: Yeah, well...sort of. Stopped in on my ex-wife Sarah.
BROOKS: Ahhh. I see. Was she doing well?
RYBECK: Not really. See Sarah and I met several years back. We were young. She was younger than me. We dated for two years and lived together, then we were on a vacation in Key West and just decided to tie the knot.
BROOKS: Quick wedding, huh?
RYBECK: Yeah well, we wanted to get it done. After we got back to Boston, we had a public reception. It was very nice. All of our families were there. You see, Sarah...she worked in an office. I always had a thing for business women.
BROOKS: Me too. (chuckles)
RYBECK: Anyways, she was gorgeous. So damn sexy. Every guy stared at her wherever she went, but she couldn't see it. She started taking diet pills. Too many of them. I tried to intervene and it ended up getting out of hand. She would avoid me as much as she could until finally We just ended up getting a divorce. I stayed in Lexington, she moved back to Boston, and we never spoke again until the other night.
BROOKS: I see. I'm sorry.
RYBECK: Thank you, sir. Yeah she's uh...she's working at a dive bar in Boston now. I found her to be quite angry that I came to see her like that. Of course I couldn't tell her the world may come to an end. I don't know why I did that. Perhaps deep down I have a bad feeling that something cataclysmic is about to happen.
BROOKS: So do I.
RYBECK: Well let's hope we can do something about it. Dammit. I just...I still can't believe the magnitude of all of this. I was tempted to tell Sarah, but of course I couldn't. Doesn't really make a difference now. I'm sure she saw me on the news last night. Hell, the entire planet saw me on the news last night.
BROOKS: Well, look on the bright side. If this bomb works, you'll probably end up as one of the 10 sexiest men of the year.
RYBECK: (laughs) Only after President Austin C. Brooks, right?
BROOKS: Damn skippy.

THE TWO MEN LAUGH.

RYBECK: You know, Mr. President, I can't thank you enough for all you've done for me. It wasn't nessicary.
BROOKS: Ahhh don't mention it, Rybeck.
RYBECK: No, sir. I'm serious.
BROOKS: I know you are.
RYBECK: You used me much more than you needed to. I could be eating Chinese takeout food at my house in Lexington.
BROOKS: I use you because I trust you. I trust that you're doing everything in your power...just like I'm doing with mine.
RYBECK: I have something to confess, sir.
BROOKS: What's that?
RYBECK: I didn't vote for you.
BROOKS: (laughs) Yeah I kinda figured that. I didn't exactly win many votes from astronomers in Massachusetts.
RYBECK: But I'll tell you this...I'd vote for you now.
BROOKS: Well, I hope you get that opportunity, Rybeck.
RYBECK: So do I, sir. So do I...

END SCENE

[Reaganfan]

AIR FORCE ONE LANDS IN TEXAS. PRESIDENT BROOKS EXITS THE AIRCRAFT ALONG WITH THE FIRST LADY MOLLY CALLOW-BROOKS, HIS BABY SON NEWTON, AND DR. NELSON RYBECK. NASA DIRECTOR STAN LINCOLN WAITS OUTSIDE A HANGER AS THEY MAKE THERE WAY ACROSS THE NARROW RUNAWAY TOWARDS THE BUILDING.

LINCOLN: Madam First Lady, Stan Lincoln, Director of NASA. Pleased to meet you.
MOLLY: Thank you, Mr. Lincoln.
BROOKS: What's the latest, Lincoln?
LINCOLN: Well Mr. President, Pandora continues her approach. We have roughly 15 hours left until detonation of the Pure Zero bomb. We do have an approaching meteor shower, though.
RYBECK: How bad?
LINCOLN: Looks like some of them might be able to break through to the ground.

DR. RYBECK GETS TO MISSION CONTROL, THE PRESIDENT JOINS HIM AS STAN LINCOLN AND A FEMALE ASSISTANT LEAD FIRST LADY MOLLY CALLOW-BROOKS TO A SEPARATE ROOM WHICH OVER LOOKS MISSION CONTROL.

RYBECK: Looks like we've got incoming meteors.
BROOKS: Dammit. Where?
RYBECK: The biggest one is heading for...somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea.
BROOKS: Where!?
RYBECK: Um...sir...it looks like...Libya.

SCENE SWITCHES TO TRIPOLI, LIBYA. IT'S LATE IN THE EVENING, AND THE SUN IS SETTING AND THE SKY IS GETTING QUITE DARK. SUDDENLY, PEOPLE NOTICE A BLUE LIGHT DESCENDING ACROSS THE NIGHT SKY. THE OBJECT APPEARS TO BE SEVERAL METERS ACROSS, WITH A LONG TAIL EXTENDING UPWARD.

THE METEOR EXPLODES ABOUT TWO MILES IN THE AIR. THE SHOCKWAVE FROM THE EXPLOSION INSTANTLY BLASTS ACROSS THE SEA, IMPACTING TRIPOLI AS WELL AS OTHER CITIES AND TOWNS ALONG THE COASTLINE.



A FEW MINUTES LATER, STAN LINCOLN WALKS INTO MISSION CONTROL.

LINCOLN: Mr. President, the meteor exploded off the coast of Tripoli. Many are dead.
BROOKS: Dear Lord.
LINCOLN: They saw the flash over Tripoli, Albania, Sicily, Athens. Pretty much the entire Mediterranean Sea felt the blast.
BROOKS: The press is going to be asking questions. Do you wanna take this one, Dr. Rybeck?
RYBECK: (Reluctantly) Yeah...I'll go address the media.

A PRESS CONFERENCE OUTSIDE THE NASA HANGAR HAS THE MEDIA SCRAMBLING FOR INFORMATION. DR. NELSON RYBECK WALKS TO THE MICROPHONE.

RYBECK: Ladies and Gentlemen, at 1:18pm East Coast time, 12:18pm Central, we here at the NASA Space Center saw the fast approach of a meteor about 200 feet across, headed for a region of the Mediterranean Sea. About 15 minutes ago, this object exploded roughly two or three miles in the air, about 25 miles off the coast of Tripoli. We have received reports of significant shockwave damage, but there have been no reports of any deaths or any tsunami waves, thus far.
REPORTER: DR. RYBECK! Should we expect more of these over the next 24 hours?
RYBECK: Well, this event seems very much like the Tunguska Event that exploded above Siberia in June 1908. It's almost identical in size and velocity and the impact seems similar. We cannot be sure but we must assume more rocks will continue to impact earth the next 24 hours. That's all for now, ladies and gentlemen.

DR. RYBECK WALKS BACK INSIDE, AND ENTERS MISSION CONTROL. HE LOOKS AT STAN LINCOLN.

LINCOLN: What are you thinking?
RYBECK: That I'm living a bad dream.

END SCENE

         

COUNTDOWN TO DETONATION

13 hours, 24 minutes, 15 seconds