Tarik Wortham

 “In a society that is more reliant on technology solar flares pose serious starts to our planet commonly referred to as space weather, solar flares release high magnitude bursts of many types of radiation through subatomic particles, and if these bursts are powerful enough they can destroy power grids and satellites and greatly change Earth’s poles. This means no radio satellite or mobile communication and no refrigeration for food or medicine. Earth’s magnetosphere protects us to an extent but in a week that extent will be breached.”

 “Would you like to say anything else to the public, Doctor Berim?” A reporter asked.

“No that’ll be all” I replied.

The President promptly took over the podium to say, “The last solar flare that significantly impacted Earth was in 1859 with the Carrington event but it won’t happen again not on my watch, thank you.” 

After the president’s final utterance, the room burst with sound, cameras flashing, and reporters overlapping questions. I stood behind the president, in front of the White House emblem, and alongside the Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Among the sea of reporters one reporter stood out asking, “Mr. President what are you and Dr. Berim going to do about the situation.” I wondered the same thing.

T- One Week 

The news was on, and my family was gathered in the living room. Our nighttime routine was to eat dinner at 6:30, watch the game shows at 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM on Channel 7, and then switch to an 8:00 PM news channel. 

There are a few things I am sensitive to, and Earth suit ads are one of those things. I found myself staring into a blank space thinking about the world I put my kids in, one where natural disasters or accidentally removing your earth suit can kill you. My wife wants me to go to therapy and talk about my misery with a professional, but I don’t think any level of therapy will help me break down into tears when my child says they learned about Earth when it had an atmosphere. 

When I heard my daughter talk about her day at school I thought of the time at the lake house we rented three years ago. With the incandescent lightbulbs, the peeling wallpaper reveals the linoleum underneath. Coming back from the lake wrapped in towels frolicking back to the house awaiting a freshly prepared lunch at the table she would go on tangents about her day at the lake and end her story with “I love you Dad” as if it were punctuation.

Day of Impact

 With no contingency plan established for such an unprecedented event, we found ourselves utterly helpless. The grim reality was that all individuals residing in the affected areas would be killed. Our mission today was to ensure the satellites and power grids remained operational. As I settled into my chair in the mission control room, our communication director’s voice shattered the tense silence, “Satellite comms are green; all power grids have shut down… impending solar flare strike in T-minus one minute.”

Solar flares impact one by one, and power grids shut down successfully. Once I entered the mission control room our communication director shouted, “Satellite comms are green all power grids have shut down…impending solar flare strike in T-minus 1 minute.” With the impact imminent I sat in the launch director’s chair expecting a communication blackout at T minus 30 seconds I stared at my monitor looking at the numbers ticking down 50…49…48…47…46…45 once the clock reached T- 30-second communications and monitors blacked out for 10 minutes and 30 seconds many people paced back and forth as a task at hand was a waiting game, we knew the solar flare hit, but were unaware of its extreme radiation effect on the outside world once the system rebooted we received a notification that said power grids are restarting but 5 billion people died to radioactive exposures and the room was silent, like a choreographed sequence everyone picked up their bags and in sync and left, just like that nothing to be seen or heard.

Aftermath

T+ One Day

I received a call from the President the next morning, and in a global crisis, the last thing you want is a call from the president. It is hard to describe my emotions at that moment. But as the ringing progressed I just felt awful. I tried to reason with myself but continued to believe, “Disapproval from the president is the last thing I need.” I picked up the phone and said, “Good Evening, Mr. President”

“Hello Doctor, how are you?” He responded

“I am doing well, how are you?” I asked

“I am doing alright,” He said with haste, he continued “let’s just cut to the chase, as you know there is another solar flare strike in a couple of days and you are most qualified to attend the emergency meeting at the United Nations. You will discuss plans to deal with the aftermath and how we can evacuate people to Mars before the next solar flare strikes. We will fly you out and cover all expenses. Are you in?”

There was a short pause as one million thoughts flooded my head. 

“Hello? Dr. Berim?” The President uttered with urgency

“Yes, Mr. President. I will go.” I said.

~~~

Upon arriving at the headquarters, I was greeted by the Director General outside. 

“So you’re the new American delegate?” he asks. 

“Yes,” I reply.

“Ok then let me proceed with formalities and introduce you to our parliamentary procedure.” He says swiftly as he leads me through the entry doors.

He continues on a tangent with my attention divided, partially to the architecture of the main hall which had me awe-struck, and partially to the commotion coming from the general assembly chamber. The massive halls and attention to detail in the design of the Galactic Nations Chamber are something of unknown origin, transcending the ordinary in both beauty and size.  

We locked eyes and stood quiet, he broke the silence and said, “Ready?”

I nodded in response

I was escorted to the chamber. It was an eerie transition going from flashing lights and clicking cameras where I must have heard the statement “Over here!” 100 times, to a loud chamber where delegates are having very animated conversations

Everyone’s desk space was minimalistic, with an ergonomically designed chair, and a desk with a hologram-equipped privacy screen where only you could see your screen. This screen allowed people to vote on directives and message other delegates.

We commenced the meeting at 18:00 Galactic Time Coordination. I was quiet for a lot of the meeting. But during the dedicated unmoderated caucus time, I drafted a plan that I believe was in the best interest of humanity. In a word, it placed 50,000 humans on Mars.

We discussed all resolutions and eventually passed my plan to evacuate nearly 50,000 people and reproduce on Mars. Sadly all others impacted by radiation will die helplessly. 

Turnaround

People always say to set your expectations low, because you will be semi-pleased with a low outcome. The problem is that it eliminates the drive you have to be successful and lowers the chance of having a positive outcome. I was committed to my work, have done my job and now am at peace with myself. I have built a family on Earth and have helped many people through this global crisis. So I will put up my legs, sit on my porch drinking an ice-cold beer, and write this story, with my family beside me living my final moments on this planet.