Ch. 2 - Panic

"Now, Sam," Jack started, "This may be a large earthquake, but worldwide?"

"Jack, I'm serious. Am I or am I not the expert here?"

Jack was silent as he realized this was no overreaction.

As the entire staff scrambled to find a solution to their new found dilemma, chaos continued to rein on the outside. People everywhere were running for cover as the earth continued to quake. Roads crumbled, and children screamed. The police gave their best efforts to keep everyone calm, but they could provide little comfort in the midst of such a terrifying ordeal.

“Don’t panic!” The authorities yelled out to the crowd in New York.

“Please, mantenere la calma! Stay calm!” The Italian police said reassuringly through the streets of Rome.

“No entre en pánico. Busque un lugar seguro,” could be heard throughout Peru, “Don’t panic. Find a safe place.”

But the wide spread panic of the people was far too much for authorities to handle. Emergency operators were flooded with calls from worried citizens. And the protective shelters weren’t large enough to contain the masses. Alarms blared as cities projected warnings into every building. Cars were stranded in the streets, and all were running for cover. Footsteps roared as frightened office workers evacuated skyscrapers that swayed from side to side.

News crews everywhere tried to get the best coverage of the story. Not that anyone really cared about watching projections at this time.

“Extreme tremors are devastating towns all over the country,” One reporter declared into the camera. “There are rumors that some of NASA’s top scientists have been called and are working to figure out what is happening. NASA representatives could not be reached for comment.”

Back at NASA, Jack Penn has decided to call the Deputy Administrator. “System?” He called while in his office as it trembled under his feet. It gave the usual beep as a response. “Call Deputy Administrator.”

“Hello?”

“We have a problem here.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed,” she promptly replied, “I’m on my way there now.”

“Dr. Cole will want to speak with you.”

“Tell her to meet me at the secondary entrance... If I make it there.”

Jack then hung up the phone and returned to the chaotic room to inform Samantha of the conversation. He struggled to make his way through the mass of people that now populated the main floor. Everyone was wondering from station to station, trying to retrieve any kind of helpful information. After searching through the crowded room, he finds Samantha. “Sam?”

“Uh. Yes, Jack?” She stammered. Her mind obviously in multiple places at once.

“I called the Deputy Administrator. She’ll be here soon.”

“Oh!” Samantha was surprised at this news. She’d never talked directly to the Deputy Administrator before. This was serious. But of course what else could you expect when the whole earth was shaking on its axis.

“I told her that you would want to speak with her.”

“Uh- Yes. Of course.”

“She’ll come in the secondary entrance. Avoiding the swarm of reporters.”

“Ok. Thanks Jack,” She left the mass of confusion on the main floor and made her way toward the secondary entrance. “Well, this is certainly not just another day at work,” She whispered to herself as she waited restlessly at the door. “Maybe I should be more careful about what I wish for.”

As she watched to commotion going on outside, she wondered how they could fix something so tremendous. Then her eye caught someone walking toward the building. It was the Deputy Administrator. As she stepped through the door, Samantha asked her, “Did you make it here alright?”

“Sure,” She said, a smile finding it's way onto her face. “I’ve always been a fan of roller-coasters.”

“Right,” Samantha’s face turned serious. Then she looked nervously at the Deputy Administrator and said to her in a low whisper, “I believe it's time to make the call.”

She only nodded. But they both understood that they were both in agreement. She then continued ahead through the building. Although the floor trembled madly under her feet, the Deputy Administrator walked with determination down the hall. Fixtures slammed to the floor as the walls creaked and squeaked. After passing by many frantic Coordinators and Specialists, she reached the main office. “System! Call location Alpha! Security code DA2201!”

The desk responded with a short beep. Then began to place the call.

“Hello? This is urgent! I need to speak to the president.”

⤓ ⤓ ⤓ ⤓ ⤓

On the main floor, Samantha, Jack, and a crowd of other personnel wait anxiously for the Deputy Administrator to return.

After many agonizing minutes, she enters the room. All eyes were on her, waiting to hear the words that she had to say.

“I spoke to the president,” She informed the crowd. “He agrees that this is indeed a very unusual and dangerous situation and has declared a state of emergency. A meeting of all the countries leaders is being arranged at this moment.”

The room fell silent. No one knew what to do. Should they continue their assignments? Stop all procedures and watch the projection of the news? Then Samantha spoke up. “Ok, everyone. Return to your assigned positions and continue monitoring the earth’s condition until you receive further instruction,” She spoke with such authority. This was what she was there for. What she had trained for. Her dream. Although her dream never included the world crumbling to pieces.

As the room returned to normal, Samantha decided to go back to her office and check her observations.

While sitting at her desk, she wondered what everyone thought of what was going on. She decided to turn on the news projection. “System, project News7.”

A news anchor is on the camera. Looking very serious. “There are reports of major tremors across the nation. People are wondering if this is some kind of apocalypse. Dan is in the center of the chaos. Dan?”

“Yes, Maggie. You can hear frantic cries from scared citizens throughout the streets. As you can see, I have to hold on to this hand railing to avoid being thrown off of my feet. The ground is trembling horribly, and the people need something to reassure them.”

“Thanks, Dan. Be careful,” The anchor looking ever more serious. “Our producers have been trying to reach NASA for an explanation. But so far they have not answered our requests.”

Samantha turns the projection off. “Those people have no idea how big this disaster really is,” She says to herself. “What could possibly be done to fix this?”

Just then, the Deputy Administrator entered her office. “Dr. Cole, the world leaders have just started their meeting via projection. It’s being broadcasted on closed circuit. We can watch.”

Samantha nodded. “System, project channel CC1.”

The System obeyed, projecting the channel specified.

The two of them watched intently as the meeting took place. The leaders of countries worldwide were all there. They all looked confident. But it was evident that they were very worried.

Watching the scene unfold was quite surreal, like watching a movie. The many presidents and persons of authority sitting in the same room. Some in person, others joining through satellite. The meeting continued for some time. Everyone seemed to be relatively agreeable, but the trembling building made things difficult. After a few minutes a small tremor invaded the conference area. The grand looking table shook. And, much to everyone’s dismay, toppled many papers and refreshments. A minor problem compared to the situation at hand.

“Something must be done!” One dictator burst out in a thick accent.

“What can we do? Man has no power over the earth!” Another man said.

The U.S. president gave a look of pride. “Our team of scientists are working on a solution this very moment. I’m sure that something can be done.”

“What? Do you think that you are the only country with scientists? Our country has many great scientist who are all specially trained in the ways of this earth. Even the most intelligent and intuitive scientist could not fix a crumbling planet!” Another told from his office in China.

Samantha and the Deputy Administrator both gave eachother a glance. Samantha just shook her head and said in a low grumble, “This is not the time to play ‘my country is better than your country’.”

As she finished those words, the NASA base began to tremble fiercely. The room filled with the sounds of various items crashing to the floor. Then, the conference room projection started to become distorted. The two women tried in vain to keep the projection from cutting out. The picture was gone. Only a faint buzzing sound was left of the projected conference meeting. Both wearing worried expressions, Samantha and the Deputy Administrator began attempting get the system running again.

“System. Restart,” Samantha called.

“System! Internal diagnosis! System, answer me!” the Deputy Administrator called with aggravation.

Samantha stopped trying. “Maybe the President will inform us personally,” she suggested.

“He will. But if he tells us something that we are not prepared for, then we won't look like his ‘all-star team’ that he described to the world,” she pauses, “And that won’t make him very happy. My job could be on the line!”

“Why should he care? The world is at stake!”

Just then the system beeped and brought up the conference room again. The two of them quickly returned to their seats and set there gaze on the projection.

No one seemed to be quarreling anymore.

"Then it's agreed,” One of the moderators declared, "A selected group from each country's existing Space research program will be assigned to prepare a temporary sanctuary away from here, and to seek out a new and suitable home for earth's inhabitants."

Samantha nearly fell from her seat. "Did- Did I hear him correctly? Did he just say- Did he just say what I think he said?" Samantha stumbled on her words.

"Yes... Yes he did..." The deputy administrator was just as stunned as Samantha.

"But- But no one has been sent into space since the space program was cut. That was years ago! They can't expect us to just up and go out into space with no training."

"That's politicians for ya," She says with an irritated grunt.

Samantha just sits, stunned. Thoughts flooding her mind. "Who on earth is qualified to leave earth? How are they going to organize a team bold enough to agree to it? And... Does he really mean that we will be leaving earth... For good?”