10 YEARS AGO…
On the 25th of May 2011, an asteroid came into the earth's atmosphere undetected; its unusual green aura shone bright as an emerald, covering the sky in its blazing colour as it plummeted into the earth and crashed in the middle of the Sahara desert with a massive explosion that was felt all around the world, forming a massive crater.
Special investigators were dispatched by African governments to the disaster site. All the soldiers saw was a luminous fluid leaking from the enormous rock's pores. African governments discussed how to handle this crisis throughout the few days that followed. Following several days of discussions and talks, the countries of West Africa ultimately decided to conduct a three-month study of the rock. It will then be determined to be either beneficial, ineffective, or hazardous; if the latter, it will either be turned over to the UN or destroyed entirely.
The scientists decided to get close to the rock after two days of studying it. They entered the chamber constructed around the asteroid after taking the appropriate safety measures. The two highly regarded experts, Drs. Marcus Kane and Emeka Reed, have conducted extensive research on extraterrestrial activity. The asteroid started to shine brightly and emit a pulsing noise as they got closer to it.
I brought that neutralising agent that we synthesised back in the lab, so don't worry. Recall that it has ingredients that resemble steroid and nuclear. We are secure since, at this concentration, it will only temporarily negate any potential effects. It is in my left pocket.
"that doesn't sound good Doctor." Dr Reed said.
"No, we are not as safe as you say we are. There are substances in the agent that can also stimulate an increase in the nuclear energy of the asteroid; we are flipping a fifty-fifty coin here. Only God knows what might happen if it makes contact with that thing." Dr.Reed stated
"If anything happens, I'll just quickly take a sample of it. I have the sample tool in my right pocket, so relax, my brother." Dr. Kane explained as he put his hand on Dr. Reed's shoulder.
"Those things look very similar; maybe I should hold on to one of them." Dr.Reed suggested.
"Don't worry, I have it." Dr. Kane replied.
"OK ooo." Dr.Reed exhaled.
The asteroid continued to glow brighter and brighter. Its sounds continued to become louder as they got closer to it. The other scientists were in the observation lab, which can be seen on the north-west side of the chamber, taking readings, head signatures, and any abnormal activity. The two scientists were just less than four feet away from the asteroid when suddenly the nuclear and radiation levels started spiking, and the computer displayed red warning signs.
"WARNING, WARNING, RADIATION LEVEL CRITICAL. DETECTING UNUSUAL BIOCHEMICAL ACTIVITY," the computer warned. The asteroid became a lot brighter, this time blowing hot steam out of its pores.
"Doctors, you need to get out of there; we need to initiate a lockdown sequence and evacuate the laboratory." Dr. Matthew in the observation room yelled.
"No, we need to see what happens; don't lock it down." Dr. Kane yelled back at them.
"Doctor, the computer is showing radiation at a critical level; we need to leave." Dr. Reed said as he dragged Dr. Kane back to face him.
"Doctor, please let go; you can't die here; you have a family to take care of." Dr. Reed continued to plead with him.
"BIOCHEMICAL ACTIVITY ABNORMAL, RADIATION LEVEL CRITICAL, ACTIVATING LABORATORY SAFETY PROTOCOL IN T-MINUS 50 SECONDS," the computer announced. The doctors were still dragging each other while the computer announced the safety protocols. Once Dr. Reed heard the announcement, he put more effort into dragging Dr. Kane out of harm's way.
"You no de hear word abi, I swear I go leave for here." Dr. Reed yelled whilst struggling with his colleague.
"Fine, let's go, but we should at least take a sample first." Dr. Kane said as he pushed his colleague away.
Before he hit the ground, Dr. Reed grabbed Dr. Kane's right pocket of his safety suit in an attempt to stop him from going; he wasn't able to get a good grab of the pocket; instead, he got a hold of the utensils inside.
Dr. Reed hit the ground with a loud thud. He sat up to look at his colleague who was running to take a sample from the radioactive, nuclear-powered asteroid that was surging and glowing with energy. He looked at his hand and saw the sample tool and piece of cloth that Dr. Kane is supposed to use to take the sample. His eyes opened in shock and realization, and he yelled, "NOOOOO!!! Dr. Kane, who had come up to the face of the surging asteroid, ignored his yell.
Without thinking or looking, Dr. Kane reached into his pocket to pull out the neutralising agent they had synthesised; he stuck it into the asteroid. Dr. Kane looked back at his colleague with the look of accomplishment. He turned and saw him holding up the sample tool he was supposed to be using on the asteroid. He's eyes opened with shock. He turned to the asteroid and found himself already pushing the "ON" button of the device. The chemical escaped and spread rapidly all over the asteroid. The asteroid calmed down.
"RADIATION LEVEL DEPRECIATING, ABNORMAL BIOCHMICAL ACTIVITY UNDETECTED, LABRATORY SAFETY PROTOCOL ABORTED," the computer alerted.
Radiation levels were declining, and its bright glow started going back to the colour of the neutralising agent, which was green. Dr. Kane stood cautiously, then began moving away from the asteroid. He then ran to Dr. Reed, who was still on the ground, to help him back to his feet.
"it worked?" Dr.Reed asked
"Yes, I think it did." Dr.Reed answered.
The asteroid had completely gone quiet; the neutralising agent did its job.
"What happened... doctors... Dr. Kane, Dr. Reed... are the two of you alright?" Dr. Matthew yelled as he rushed back into the observation room.
"We are fine, doctor; thank God." Dr. Reed said with relief.
Dr. Kane began to walk back to the asteroid, just to see if he could make sense of what had just unfolded. He stood in front of the asteroid with a concerned look on his face. He then reached out his hand in an attempt to touch the asteroid. Just before his finger made contact with the asteroid, a small spark occurred. The doctor withdrew his hand with caution and slowly walked away from the asteroid. "Let's get back inside, doctor, away from this thing," Dr. Reed said, and without a word from his mouth, Dr. Kane followed him back inside the laboratory.
The two doctors walked back through the door that brought them into the chamber, and they went straight to their tent just outside the main lab. They were sprayed with cleaning agents by the workers stationed just outside the main lab door, where they also removed the protective gear and other items they had with them. They walked into the tent. Dr. Kane went straight to the fridge and picked up a can of beer, which he immediately opened and began drinking, while Dr. Reed just sat on a steel chair contemplating what had just taken place. After a few minutes, Dr. Mathews came in. "How are you guys doing? I know that had to be terrifying," he said.
"We are fine." Dr.Reed answered.
"Has there been any change?" He asked
"No, nothing yet... But I've done some deep scanning, and we found that this asteroid is a terrible source of nuclear energy." Dr.Mathews stated.
"Yeah, we already knew that, na we de inside chamber when e de do the madness now." Dr.Kane answered.
"Look, we all know that it has nuclear radiation but what I have just detected a different energy coming from the asteroid, its not like anything we know." Dr.Mathews explained.
"oh my God, please tell me you're joking." Dr.Reed exhaled in fear.
"its quite interesting ,its there in the core of the asteroid." he continued.
"Interesting, we need to get back there and see what we're dealing with." Dr.Kane said.
"come on Doctor, don't you want to rest after what just happened?
Dr.Reed said.
"abeg shift!!! lets go and see what's going, you heard what he said didn't you?" Dr.Kane answered.
"we need to finish what we started, if you don't want to help, you stay here and wait for my feedback, infact.. I say we get a drill, open it up and see what's inside." he continued.
"are you mad?" Dr.Kane asked
"you saw what just happened, didn't you? Now you're trying to go and drill into something we don't even understand." he shouted
"we are scientists, that's what we're supposed to do, if we don't do this now, in a few weeks it is going to be handed over to the U.S, they'll find whatever it is that's in that damn rock and use to make money while we stay back watch like monkeys. Is that what you want?" Dr.Kane said.
"where did you get all that rubbish from, we will be HANDING it over to the U.N, not the U.S and…"
"oga comot for here!!! see this guy!!! what makes you think they won't get their hands on it… even if the U.S doesn't get to, what about China, Russia, the UK, if you think that this thing is just going to go away, opolopo yoo wa lati wo ni ojo iwaju nitosi (There will be a lot to watch in the near future. 'translated from Yoruba')." Dr.Kane interrupted.
"Doctors please. There is neither the time nor the need for this arguing. Dr. Reed, please understand that what he is saying is true; there's no way all these powerful countries won't get their hands on this rock if we get it out, so I strongly advise that we keep at the experiment but proceed with extreme caution." Dr. Matthews said.
"Please, sir, we all need you to be on the same page to get the most out of this; if there really is nothing to gain from it, then at least we know we tried and did our best." he continued.
Dr. Reed looked down to the ground, then he looked up to his colleagues and said, "FINE, let's do it." he said.
"Okay then, call for them to bring the drill," he agreed.
"ok sir." Dr. Mathews answered as he went out of the tent to call for the drill. Dr. Kane then reached out his hand to shake Dr. Reed; they shook hands and nodded at each other in agreement.
A few hours later, the drill had arrived at the lab, and everyone was ready for the new course of action. Dr. Kane, Dr. Kane, Dr. Mathews, and all other scientists working in the lab all gathered in the observation room to observe the drilling firsthand. The drill was driven into the asteroid area. Then, after the safety protocol was initiated, all the entrances, exits, and windows were closed with reinforced steel doors and walls except for the observation window, which was only reinforced with an explosion glass. Dr. Mathews gave the go ahead to start drilling. "Let us begin..." Do not stop until I give the order to stop... I repeat, DO NOT STOP DRILLING UNTIL I GIVE THE ORDER," he said.
The handler nodded in agreement, and the drilling began. The drill was making gradual progress in penetrating the rock; the progress was also shown on all the monitors in the lab with a digitised model of the asteroid with its 5 layers highlighted and labelled, and also the core shown in yellow. The drill made it through the first 3 layers, and things were looking good. But suddenly the asteroid began to glow from its pores, the ground started shaking, monitors and other digital appliances were malfunctioning, and the handler continued drilling despite what was happening. The doctors stood in the observation room worried but still watching what was happening. The drill got through the 4th layer and the asteroid was still reacting; the ground shook even more; the pulsing light got brighter from its pores; appliances malfunctions were getting worse; scientists in the observation room were panicking; Dr. Kane and the other two doctors remained calm and still watched what was happening.
"Sir, we need to stop this; it's getting out of hand," a junior scientist said. No one answered him; they kept their focus on the drilling of the asteroid.
"Sir, please can you hear me, sir? I think we should..."
"Hais, shut up or get out!!!" Dr.Kane shouted
"If anyone wants to leave, nobody is stopping you; just be quiet and go," he said. All the scientists calmed down and stood to observe the drilling.
The drill finally got through the 5th layer and was a few inches away from striking the core when suddenly, the asteroid started pulsing again and making a weird beating sound, as if it were charging; it got louder with every pulse, and so did the vibrations; the ground began to crack, concrete walls started shaking, utensils were falling from tables, test tubes, and beakers shattered as they fell to the ground; all the monitors went off completely; there was no response on any digital appliance; the drilling still continued while the doctors looked on, anxious and terrified of the possible outcome. The asteroid was pulsing loud and bright, its energy levels critical as the drilling continued. Finally, the core was struck, the asteroid blasted a massive burst of energy, the drill broke off, the window of the observation room shattered, and the doctors fell to the ground, and everything went dark.
As the darkness enveloped the lab, the deafening silence hung heavy in the air. Slowly, the doctors regained their senses, their bodies aching from the impact. They stumbled to their feet, their eyes adjusting to the dim emergency lighting that flickered across the room.
Dr. Reed, his voice laced with concern, called out to his colleagues. "Is everyone alright?"
One by one, the scientists confirmed their safety, their voices filled with a mixture of confusion and awe. The destruction caused by the blast was evident as they surveyed the lab; the once pristine equipment is now reduced to a chaotic mess of broken glass and twisted metal.
Amidst the wreckage, Dr. Kane noticed something gleaming amidst the debris—a shard of the asteroid. Curiosity consumed him as he gingerly picked it up, studying its iridescent surface. The shard pulsed with an otherworldly energy, resonating with a power beyond their comprehension.
Wordlessly, Dr. Kane held the shard up to the dim light, revealing intricate patterns etched into its surface. The scientists gathered around, their eyes widening with a mixture of trepidation and excitement.
Dr. Mathews, his voice filled with awe, spoke in a hushed tone. "This... oh my God."
The scientists, despite the devastation surrounding them, were consumed by an insatiable curiosity. They knew that they had stumbled upon something extraordinary, something that could reshape the course of scientific understanding.
"We need to secure the remaining fragments and assess their properties," Dr. Reed suggested, his voice filled with excitement and anticipation. "This could revolutionise our entire field."
Dr. Kane, however, remained silent, his eyes gleaming with a different kind of intensity. He concealed his true intentions behind a facade of scientific curiosity, but deep down, he recognised the potential power that the Nucranium held. It was an opportunity to fulfil his own ambitions and reshape the world according to his own vision.
Unbeknownst to his colleagues, Dr. Kane harboured a dark secret—a desire for control and dominance that could drive him to extremes. As the scientists gathered the fragments (which would later be named "Nucranium") and prepared for further analysis, Dr. Kane's mind churned with sinister thoughts, plotting a future that would place him at the centre of power.
"The Nucranium Event" had not only altered the course of their scientific pursuits but had set in motion a chain of events that would determine the fate of humanity itself.