cmdr_zoom | From out of space

The object known as 1994 JK was first observed in late May of that year by an amateur comet-hunter in Saskatchewan. Over the next few months, astronomers began to be alarmed as it grew steadily in magnitude while showing no significant proper motion. On August 10th, the recently-repaired Hubble Space Telescope was pointed at the object and made several critical discoveries: 1994 JK was a body roughly the size of Mercury, whose position well outside the ecliptic suggested an extrasolar origin; and more importantly, it appeared to be headed directly for Earth.

It proved impossible to keep the secret for very long; 1994 JK was already visible to the naked eye in much of the northern hemisphere. The BBC finally broke the story on August 29th and it was immediately picked up by other media. A spasm of panic gripped the world.

Scientists could offer little hope. The date of impact was only five weeks away. Even if there was time to put any of the proposed asteroid defenses into operation, there was no chance of destroying or even deflecting such a large object. The only bit of good news was that further observations had revealed a very slight proper motion, and there was now as much as a 20% chance that 1994 JK would miss Earth entirely.

1994 JK was never given an official name by the IAU. While it acquired several from the media and popular culture - Lucifer, Shiva, Mongo, the Death Star - the most common label aside from its provisional designation was simply "the runaway planet" (the result of a famous news anchor slightly misreading the more scientific "rogue planet").

The news that the apocalypse was at hand ended a few wars and started others. Every major religion saw a massive rise in converts and returning members; churches, temples and mosques filled up, with many gaining permanent residents and becoming pits of filth and disease over the next month. Doomsday cults sprung up everywhere. The suicide rate skyrocketed, as did murder and other violent crimes. Stock markets crashed and banks failed worldwide as people tried to cash out. School districts and universities cancelled classes for September and October. The travel and tourism industry struggled to meet demand, as did car dealers and other makers and sellers of luxury goods. In some parts of the world, infrastructure and services collapsed completely as employees quit or stopped showing up for work.

By the first week of October, with civilization already teetering on the brink, the best that the astronomers could offer was a 50-50 chance. Some clung to this hope, while others dismissed it or even accused the powers that be of lying to the doomed. As October 11 dawned over the International Date Line, people prayed, held their breath, took the pills, or drank themselves into a stupor.

The transit of 1994 JK took less than ten minutes, but its effects were profound. As it threaded the needle between Earth and Moon, the runaway planet passed close enough to the former to strip away much of the upper atmosphere, including almost a quarter of the ozone layer. The tidal stresses were incredible; the entire Ring of Fire erupted at once, along with many other volcanoes worldwide. Most coastal cities were drowned by giant tsunamis. The Moon fared even worse from the encounter, as tidal forces literally cracked it in half.

The cataclysm and its aftermath completed the slide into barbarism. Millions of tons of ash had been thrown into the air by the eruptions, and the last few years of the 20th century were dark ones, with cold winters and no summers. When the sun finally returned, it was newly hostile, burning unprotected flora and fauna alike. Blights and crop failures left vast areas unable to support even a greatly reduced population. Mutated forms of life began to appear, many of them deadly to man. For most survivors, their only hope lay in pledging unconditional loyalty to those few who possessed and controlled the remaining technology. Over time, these elite would become known (through superstition and deliberate cultivation) as "wizards." True civilization would not emerge again for over two thousand years...