Planet Wrecker

-93-

In the former laser satellite that monitored the eight habitats, tall Scipio kept flexing his prosthetic hand. Why did it hurt at times like this? That didn’t make sense. He lacked pain-sensory equipment and none of the skin was raw. It was ghost-pain, imaginary. Yet even though he knew all that, the metal hand throbbed dully and made it difficult to concentrate. Not that he needed to concentrate now. Everything was set.

Scipio stood before the wall showing the first targeted asteroid. It was the outer one of the two biggest, at least outer in relation to Earth. The wall showed the asteroid in detail, particularly its frozen cryovolcano or ice volcano.

The cryovolcano fascinated Scipio. It meant that much of this asteroid was icy. Ordinary volcanoes spewed molten rock. A cryovolcano erupted water, ammonia or methane and was known as cryomagma or ice-volcanic melt. The energy to form the eruptions usually came from tidal forces—the tug and pull of gravity from larger objects that twisted the asteroid’s center. It was doubtful there had been any eruptions during the asteroid’s journey from Saturn. No, the cryovolcano would likely never have another eruption again. Unless he could nudge the asteroid out of the way, it would end its existence as it smashed into Earth and obliterated life.

While flexing his bionic hand, trying to ease the imaginary pain, Scipio sat down at his desk. It was clean and minimalist. Using his real hand, his fleshy one, he began to change settings. The test of his work would begin in an hour. He would succeed and possibly save a world, or he would fail and condemn billions to death.

He was ready…. But why did his inhuman hand have to hurt so much?