High above in the upper atmosphere the site of doom had completely changed from these previous two days. Long gone were the flying stars or the purples, the main body was arriving. Eternal night had fallen on earth as the massive stone ram and its gas surroundings were arriving.
The cooling body seemed to cover most of the European sky as the planet turned one fraction of a revolution. A dark and red bed of cooling rock was surrounded by heavy gas clouds. The Armageddon was here, it towered over and it was as if millions of pounds of rocks were floating in a line. On the left, the body cast a shade over the moon. Slowly the white disk began to shade as massive cracks began to rip open the moon. Slowly earth’s companion crumbled as deep in its core the pressure building for eons helped pulverize the body. But at such scales, the moon did not explode, it simple slid open as if a ninja had cut it at an angle. It was being forced to start forming rings. The complete change would not have time to happen.
Humanity did as ordered by the President and the Great Curvature. In a complex undertone of the end of the world, humans went jogging, rowing, they even left their houses as the sky literally was falling around them. They met at the local pub opened and staffless. For three hours, the sky burnt and humans enjoyed themselves one last time as if nothing was going on. The Multiverse on the eve of the Sixth Attraction drank the energy. Movie theaters reopened as electronic glitches open doors and started projectors as if by magic for the few who, as a last meal wanted to be there. Popcorn machines prepared warm kernels without employees. Once the movie started, the rare staff joined the guests standing in the hallway eating candies. This was as any great ordinary day. People even paid for the candy. But for once, strangers who had sat silent next to each other for decades spoke. Millions took this time to have unprotected sex and if the world continued, this generation of newborn would easily be named.
Families cooked dinners as if this day was a national holiday. Car owners drag-raced knowing very well there was no risk to nearby bystanders. There was a moment of blissfulness on earth as a drop from the sun entered and burned the upper atmosphere and crashed down. The entire episode was beyond surreal. Buildings in street fell after being hit by falling meteoroids. But the rubbles avoided the blissful humans.
The sight was surreal.
***
“Gentlemen and gentlelady, I thank you for your continued efforts,” said Marilyn over the speakers in the Falcon plane getting close to mars. “Cheer up kids, another hour and the deceleration will be complete.” No one was enjoying the push. “A little change of plan, we are now at 2.5G, I am sad to inform you I must push the deceleration to 3G.” Without awaiting for their approval, there was a kick, a blast in the thrusters as everyone sank deeper in the couches. Two of the five passed out immediately.
“This is fucking nuts,” yelled the drummer as he was fighting the push in his seat. The Falcon had been turned engines facing mars. “Can’t you use your magic to teleport us or something,” yelled the man.
“Magic? That’s Sophie. You can call her if you want. I have nothing against it. In fact, it would greatly simplify everything. I am still bound by laws of physics and engineering for the moment, not her. If this makes you feel any better, once this plane crashes in my moat, you will have beaten the record for an mars-earth segment by nothing less than four day. Hope that brings comfort.”
“It does not,” grumbled a musician fighting the force. They were in an amusement ride pushed up for hours.
Marilyn knew the Multiverse wanted the group of musicians to land on mars. It would use the Great Curvature and its insane effect on physics to stretch the resistance and the integrity of the ship to its maximum. “I need to do what comes next, I apologize in advance.” The force tripled. The band sank in the padding until their shapes were fully encased in the memory foam. The thrusters were releasing 435% of nominal power and 186% of the maximal rupture force. Every light was blinking in the empty pilot compartment above the group. Two more passed out. The noise and the energy was beyond what anyone could imagine. “Turn your head to the side if you need to puke, or better yet when you puke.”
They all passed out.
Marilyn smiled as she prepared to kill them.
***
“Sophie,” silently whispered Marilyn in the Attractor’s bedroom. She had returned a day earlier from the deep beyond the door. She had been in some type of deeper sleep. “I thank you for making peace with the martians, very impressive. The display of gratitude was lovely. This will help with the finale in an hour.”
Sophie slowly opened her eyes with a purpose. The Beacon had been created. She was a different creature. Her words were no longer those of a child, “A family reunion is always touching,” she told Marilyn. “What do you need? Does this Emilio guy need to talk and manipulate me again?”
“Far from me to side with your father’s opponent, but that’s his very nature. He is a person forced to see the future. Keeping things inside would drive him mad. The man is your friend, not you enemy.”
“Emilio does not see the future. Liam knows better than to manipulate me. He also says what he thinks without manipulation. Emilio could do the same.”
“What just happened in your mind?” asked Marilyn knowing she would not get an answer.
“Kind of you sweet one,” said the voice inside her head. “She is right, Emilio is not an enemy.”
Changing the topic the digital woman said, “Sophie, your favorite band is landing in five minutes, they are very stressed. In fact, they all have passed out from the strain of the deceleration. They all volunteered to come play just for you. I begged them to fly here to offer you support. When I asked them, it was days after your arrival, well before anyone knew about this attraction nonsense. I was trying to find ways to make your stay more tolerable. Turns out you adapted much better than I anticipated. Now, they are the ones who need moral support. Even with what their bodies are sustaining, they will hit my moat at record speeds. Their ship will be torn to pieces. I figured you might want to serve as a welcoming committee. I know you enjoy their presence.”
“Last time I saw LO I fainted.”
“He fainted nine minutes ago. You are even. I know fame will no longer challenge you. I think it may be the reverse, LO should be starstruck by you. These waves are now shrouding you in very powerful energy.”
“Shroud?”
“Means wrapped Sophie,” explained Liam. “The shroud of Turin around Jesus, remember.”
Marilyn continued. “You just need to get them settled in their room but time is short. I think they must play during the final game, that’s in a little under an hour now. I set up their instruments on stage if they need to warm up. LO also has a little phone to give you. The humans all think I will try to prevent you from touching it. Humans needed to believe there was hope after the Sixth Attraction linked with this device. By playing secretive, I gave them some hope, bad of me.”
“Marilyn, no need to lie to me,” spoke Sophie calmly.
“You think,” she began.
“You are,” confirmed the Attractor. There was no doubt, Sophie was right. “The device scares you. You are downplaying it’s role in an effort to avoid raising my suspicion. You think I might forget or not find it relevant. True?”
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“Young one, you are getting stronger. I hope you prevail.”
“This is not a competition. People need to learn things are not always about them.” She jumped off the bed. With a touch, she pushed a button next to her bed, “Milly, come here quick with your cameras. I am sure you will want to film this.”
“With pleasure,” answered the voice from the next room. Milly was ready and ran out of the game auditorium where most defeated players were watching previous games.
“Sophie,” asked Doctor Shin. “Can I start the preparations of your father’s cradle. Today she wants him on the stage. I don’t like it, I don’t like the lights.”
“Don’t let this happen. Susie, you are in charge and Marilyn will do as you ask.” Susie knew Sophie would get her way. “Take care of Daddy. We are almost there.”
Milly and the Attractor met up in the hallway and the pair walked down the to the gate and then a heavy vault door. In the young girl’s memory were the images of her first entering the Center through this door weeks ago. The first thing she saw was her own house back in Benton Harbor. She hoped these people would get a better reception. The only change was a small window next to the thick black metal vault door.
“Why is this window black?” She asked to the computer as she touched it.
“Be careful ladies,” offered the digital goddess. “Their ship will arrive fast. Very fast. I fear for your safety so I have placed a wave of MEMs in front of the window. You are not included in the bias of the Sixth Attraction, as strangely as that may seem after your episode to the Door. They block the view temporarily.”
“You let me wear jeans outside on mars and you are now scared?”
“Yes. And you know I am not lying thanks to your new powers you seem to be collecting.” Marilyn just added, “What I can’t understand is why you are helping me. You know what I did.”
“You are so sweet,” said the Attractor.
“As you will soon observe, I was reckless and stupid and destroyed your world. I wish that was not the case. I can’t see how to repair it or avoid what needs to happen. If I could, I would. I feel very guilty.”
“Anxiety and genuine guilt are two things.” Sophie knew this would come soon. For the moment, her favorite singer was involved. “I want to see the landing.”
Without more, millions of sand grains began to flow down, and the blackness behind the glass gave way to a starry night on mars. Sophie pointed to the distance, “is this it?”
“Yes.” A dot of light was rushing in with a gas line behind it. “They will hit this sand at multiple times any reasonable entry vector.” Sophie looked at the visage of the woman as she added, “I hope I can resuscitate them after the hit.”
Before Milly could take over the broadcast, the point in the sky blew up with fire. There was a shock wave around the ship forming like around the globes who fell on mars days ago.
“What happened?” questioned the Attractor.
There was still some light in the sky but it looked like something blew up in multiple pieces and debris was falling on the course. “Don’t worry, I blew up the thrusters. Normally that would be stupid, but with the Curvature, we can take risks. They were sitting on a bomb, by blowing it up, it slowed them. That cut the speed by a bit but I fear most died. It created more breaking energy than thrusting full power these last nine, eight, seven.” She began the countdown. Around the Center, the sand began coming alive. It was animated by a single mind. It was moving and formed waves of slats like cardboard structures. The black sand was designed to decelerate and came alive. The same way the glass balls from mercury hit at the sound barrier the top of Steve’s box, the ship hit hard, real hard even under Electoral’s level of comfort.
The entire center shook as if a nuclear blast had gone off inches away. Both Milly and Sophie were thrown back and flew up and fell on the floor. The window cracked. Then, seconds later, the sand fell lifeless.
“Doctor Shin, we have an emergency,” said Marilyn over the center’s intercom. Five seconds later the Doctor was running up the corridor bag in hand behind the two. “I will have the equipment ready for you,” added the computer. As Susie arrived at the door, the vault unlocked revealing a dark tunnel on the other side. “Hurry,” yelled Marilyn.
The doctor, Milly and Sophie saw the vault door open and they rushed to the other side. Little robots were sawing the metal of the Falcon in many places. The thing was destroyed. Milly and Sophie tried to keep up after the doctor. Susie was what humanity had the most precious. The Korean woman would jump into a shark infested lake to rescue a bleeding patient. She never took the time to look at Sophie.
She ran, careless.
In the ship, liquid used to absorb the final impact was pouring down to the floor between the broken joints of the ship. No body could take hundreds of G’s of deceleration. Each passenger had been immersed in a fluid and drowned on impact. Two of the five appeared alive and coughing the fluid out.
“Doctor, drain the fluid out of the lungs,” spoke Marilyn. The doctor was fantastic, she grabbed white tubes that popped out from a broken ceiling panel, blew in them to confirm they worked and slid them in in the patient’s throats. As if she was draining gasoline from an old car, she sucked and spit liquid out of her patient’s lungs. They were still buckled in the chairs.
Susie began giving mouth to mouth resuscitation to the closest person, the woman. “Start aeration with the singer, the woman can die,” spoke Marilyn. Doctor Shin never even acknowledged the shocking suggestion. Doctors did not play favorite even if the faith of the Multiverse depended on it.
The doctor began the procedure and pushed air into the woman at her feet. Sophie and Milly looked at each other. The doctor had clamped the nose and blew generously in the mouth. Ahead was LO, lifeless with a tube in his mouth.
Milly took care of another. She got on her knees and pushed air into the baseman’s mouth. By a strange coincidence, Sophie was forced to blow air in the mouth of LO, the lead singer. After removing the tube, she looked at the face. This hit hard this poor girl. She took a fraction of a second to look at the dead face and then pinched the nose as had done so Susie and she began to blow. She imitated the doctor for what felt like an eternity. She was the Attractor but had no time to feel any emotion.
The effort was timeless. Once she had done this five times, she was pushing on the chest under the instructions of Susie. The first patient came back to life. Sophie’s patient was second. LO coughed so hard his head jerked and hit Sophie’s head the same way the Attractor had in that late night show the first time the pair met. Sophie, inches away from the vulnerable singer looked at his face speechless.
“Milly, get the keyboard player back. LO won’t sing with a lost companion.” Sophie did not like what she heard but before there could be outraged, the last band member awoke. He spit and coughed the strange fluid. LO was awaking slowly in shock by the landing.
“What happened,” he finally pushed out, as Sophie stood inches from his face. He did not seem able to understand it was her. His music legend to her, and he was there, on the floor inches from her face. Sophie was too young to feel lust but there was energy and power between the pair.
Looking at LO, she joked, “Last time I was on the floor.” His eyes widened and focused on the girl. Around the Attractor was forming a shimmer of energy thanks to the power of the Multiverse.
The touching rescue was no ordinary scene, Marilyn was looking at the young couple hopeful her plan worked. She knew this life and death situation was going to create a bond and it did. Milly saw the artificial intelligence take pride in the connection. This was high stake manipulation. Marilyn wanted Sophie to save the world and for that, the young girl had to care for more than her father. Sophie was inches from LO, and she had just brought him back from death and he was looking deep into the eyes eyes of a girl who saved him and was saving the world.
This was manipulation of a different level. The young musician looked at her. His eyes widened. “Thank you,” he let out to the girl. She had just saved his life. There was no kiss of sexual energy. Sophie snapped out of the charm and jumped back on her feet. She helped him up. “Everyone’s okay?”
“Yes,” spoke the Doctor. “Fantastic job for a journalist and an Attractor,” joked Susie while caring and inspecting vitals. Milly looked again at Marilyn, the digital creature could hardly keep her glee.
“I have something for you,” said LO.
“It can wait.”
“I was told it’s urgent.”
Sophie added, “Do not worry,” she commanded. “This is not urgent. Things will happen when I am ready, not a second before. I am not sure anyone here is in any condition to sing in an hour.”
Milly’s gaze had not left the woman on the screen.
“After this? We came here to sing for your birthday. Happy birthday,” he added.
She blushed. I have a copy of your book. Can you sign it,” said Sophie to LO trying to make small talk.
Of all the things LO could have answered, he just asked, “Is your father ready? The doctor should be next to him.” When Doctor Shin heard the request she jumped.
“Sophie, I have to go to him.” Sophie smiled and moments later the woman was trying to take big skipping leaps so useful in low gravity environment.
“Let me show you to your quarters. Is everyone fine?” asked the girl.
“This was fucking stupid,” snapped one. “No disrespect to you, Miss Attractor but we should never have come.”
“The earth is being destroyed now,” replied Milly to aid Sophie.
Sophie looked at LO and added, “I love your music.” Of all the possible dialog, this was happening. Liam was happy for his idol. The Attractor finally had a smile on her face. She was deep down twelve and this man was her crush.
“Will we be okay,” asked LO to the young girl standing before him.
“Yes, you will.” Marilyn was smiling.