"Wait for me to what?" I asked.
Laughter erupted from the opposite side. "I"ve been observing for three whole months now..."
"Three months?" I repeated, thinking through the recent happenings.
It wasn"t surprising for people in my line of work to attract enemies, especially when I tell those burly fellows that they were going to die the next day. They would argue and curse non-stop.
Even after their deaths, their family and friends would continue haunting me.
Some were even convinced that I was the cause of the tragedy.
As such, I developed the habit of collecting payment before speaking.
There were many potential clients but I would only receive two to three of them a month.
And the so-called endless interviews... I would only accept one in two months just to keep my business warm.
As for the television program, I didn"t expect something like that to happen.
The person in the front of the car continued, "Eight years ago, after graduation, you started revealing your ability. You were working in a factory while telling fortune part-time. You predicted many fortunes accurately, telling them they were all going to die soon. I remember it was your 16th client that brought you to fame. An old man of 101 years consulted you and you told him that he could live till 109. The last time he visited you was about a year ago, when you informed him that he had only a few more months left and that he shouldn"t look for you again. From then on, your reputation as Supernova started booming."
I clenched my teeth. This guy knew a lot about me.
"What are you trying to say?" I asked.
"Supernova, sir, exactly what powers do you have? How are you able to predict death?"
"It"s just what I do. Is it very strange?"
"Let me a.n.a.lyze your ability then," he replied faintly.
With a cold smile, I continued, "Seems like you"ve done a thorough investigation, but why don"t you know my place of residence? You could"ve found me directly. Why did you have to frighten my father?"
"Because he was the one who provided me with some important information. How else would I know that there had been a cat involved before this? Of course, instead of talking, the cat would lie on the dying patient"s bed. Yet, not only can you tell, you can even roughly predict the time of death."
"How detailed. Don"t tell me that you"re sending me to read the fortune of a big figure? Like a gang leader or the president? Well, here"s what I can tell you - in a few hours, everyone will be dead."
The two soldiers closest to me shuddered. I could sense their fear.
"You"ve calculated that?" the man on the front seat asked nervously.
I was stunned by his question. Calculated?
They know? So it"s all true? Everything that I"ve seen?
"I thought you just wanted to know if I can predict death? Why are you so surprised by what I just said?" I questioned.
The man actually smiled. "I"m a scientist so everything requires objective evidence. After all, you"re a safe bet in our Plan B. With or without you, there isn"t much difference."
A safe bet in Plan B? Not much difference?
"Why bother taking me then?"
"I"m a scientist, Mr. Supernova. Frankly speaking, I don"t believe in what you do since it"s not something science can explain, but since the whole human race is at stake, I would appreciate if you can be more cooperative."
"You want cooperation?" I asked.
"Of course. For the human race."
"So you get your soldiers to point their guns at me to require my cooperation? What ever happened to just saying "pretty please"?" I mocked.
"You can make requests but I can"t take any of them away. They belong to the military and they are not under my control."
"Tell me why the world is about to end. I only know that everyone has less than a day left," I stated.
After a few seconds of silence, he asked, "Do you know Apophis?"
"No," I answered.
"It is an asteroid that"s about to hit Earth. It will reach our atmosphere in about 14 hours. What we need to do now is intercept it. We took you just in case we need your help."
"Wait. The world is ending in about 14 hours and you spent some of that valuable time waiting for me at my Dad"s place. Now, you keep repeating that I"m unimportant? That"s very hypocritical of you," I mused laughingly.
"Our psychologists had predicted that you would make a trip home before the end of the world." He paused. "I have a call, give me a moment..."
After half an hour on the phone, he asked me angrily, "When did you announce it to the world?"
"An hour and a half ago. What about it?"
"An hour ago, some scientists and astronomy enthusiasts came out to verify your prediction. The whole world, including the governments of other countries, is looking for you right now," he stated.
I was in shock. Whitewashed so quickly?
The car came to a halt and the soldiers got off.
A white-gowned scientist came to the back. "Let"s go, my Supernova."
He was the one on the front seat.
Without a choice, I got down, and three soldiers followed behind me, pushing me to a museum.
The museum had been converted into a temporary meeting room. There were many people inside, facing their monitors, busily typing away.
The scientist spoke up, "Government officials from all over the world are aware of your ability. If the world doesn"t end, you"re probably going to be locked up and reduced to an experimental subject, Mr. Supernova. But if you can help us save mankind, I promise that the next half of your life will be safeguarded."
I had nothing to say to that.
Inside the room, all I saw were monitors and employees.
I was allocated a seat.
On the stage stood a person - our very own president.
"Why did he choose this place?" I asked the scientist.
He smiled. "This is just a control room. The real operation is going on in all corners of the world. This is merely a projection. Don"t you know about Crypton Future Media? Holographic projection technology? That"s what the president is using to instruct everybody."
"That works?" I asked.
The holographic figure of the president pointed at me. "You"re Mr. Supernova?"
"What the f*ck?" I yelped. "He can see me?"
"Of course. He"s in the capital, launching a meeting through hundreds of projections from all over the world. It"s easier this way," the scientist explained.
"It"s about time. Good to see you, Mr. Supernova. Do you know why you"re here?" the president asked.
I shook my head.
"Haven"t you made it clear, Professor Doug? We don"t have much time left. I"ll give you five minutes," the president rushed.
"There are 50 s.p.a.cecraft in our formation, and a commander-in-chief will lead the operation to deviate Apophis"s trajectory. You"ll need to use your ability to let us know whether the earth is safe," he explained.
"I understand, but what am I supposed to do?" I clarified.
The scientist looked at me, wide-eyed. "You"re asking me ? How would I know your trick to predicting death?"
"Can I use the equipment here?" I asked.
"You"re saying that your prediction requires the tools here? Which one? Telephone or the net?"
I pointed at the projection of the president. "I need that holographic image."
"Are you nuts?" the scientist raised his voice.
"Do you trust my ability or not? I need that," I told him firmly.
"You... fine! Wait here," he said.
"What are you going to do?" I called out.
"Give the president a call. We have the instrument but we will need his approval before connecting it to the Internet. Wait for me."
I heard the scientist sighing throughout the few minutes of exchange before ending the call with, "I"m sure of his ability."
He came back and announced, "Go ahead, he"s agreed."
The president looked at me before speaking, "I"ll give you control, Mr. Supernova. What else do you need?"
I sighed before standing up and walking to the platform. "Do we have emba.s.sies all around the world?"
"What do you need them for?" he asked.
I got up the stage and the scientist had me put on a headgear.
What I saw were tons of meeting rooms and a research center.
"Can I request all emba.s.sies to select young people, free from illnesses and diseases, to stand in front of me?"
"Give us five minutes."
I waited and tried shutting one eye at a time.
The people in the projected image all looked like Mom.
Then, the image before me switched to one of many differently-colored youngsters but they, too, looked like Mom.
"These are employees from respective emba.s.sies," the president noted.
I removed the headgear and asked, "Can anyone give me a plaster?"
I received one from the scientist.
I opened it and pasted the plaster over my right eye before putting the headgear back on.
"You can start your program."
"Nothing else you need?" the president asked.
"Yeah, let them work. I"m not sure about your plan but I can only tell you that your emba.s.sies are safe. Do you understand that?"
Understanding my meaning, the president instructed, "Execute Plan B."
"What"s plan A?" I asked curiously.
"To launch 11 nuclear warheads toward Apophis. The impact that the exploded fragments would bring to Earth is much less destructive and the world won"t end at least," the scientist explained quietly.
I shut my mouth.
Just then, a thick manly voice sounded from behind, "All the s.p.a.cecraft are in position. Please take the lead."
I figured he must be the commander-in-chief or the pilot.
"Start the operation. Please provide a report on the current situation, Mr. Supernova," the president ordered.
All I saw were Moms. All over the hundreds of screens.
Seconds pa.s.sed and I saw that one of Moms had turned into a young man.
Shortly after, more and more Moms turned into young men and women.
I started using my finger to swipe those people who were about to revert to their normal selves to the right.
One, two.
One group, two groups.
"Those on the right are safe?" the president questioned.
"Those on the extreme right are safe from the end of the world," I replied.
I could hear a round of cheers rising from the backstage and within the room.
I continued separating the virtual monitors and finally, amidst all the densely packed screens, I saw an obvious dividing line. There were tens of virtual video frames on the left side of the dividing line.
A voice came from behind, "Those on the left are employees of North America"s emba.s.sy."
I sighed. "How"s the situation up there?"
The thick voice resumed, "The s.p.a.cecrafts have overheated and our instruments are not functioning properly. We"ve already lost connection with at least ten s.p.a.cecrafts. I"m afraid they"re gone."
I noticed that some of the screens on the right were once again filled with Mom"s faces.
I shouted urgently, "Did you guys alter the operation? Return to your previous direction. You"ve pulled the asteroid back! Don"t act recklessly!"
"But it"s way too hot so I had them adjust slightly. Tell me if I"m heading in the right direction. We"re depending on you, Mr. Supernova," the thick, manly voice sounded.
"No, more people are going to die!"
"Yes! The opposite direction. Continue down this path!"
I could feel sweat pouring down my forehead.
"Wait, didn"t you say that you lost connection with some of them? Show me the faces of the pilots controlling the s.p.a.cecraft," I demanded.
Faces started appearing before me. All Moms.
"I see death in your faces, brothers, but please try your best. The earth will be safe soon," I told them.
Voices responded unharmoniously but with the same words: "For Earth."
I saw Moms disappearing from other sets of screens.
I pushed them over to the right side. Two more left.
"These two emba.s.sies? Is there something wrong with those regions?" the president asked.
"The earth should be fine but these two should make a trip to the hospital. You two might only have a few more months to live," I added.
They looked about 30% similar to Mom at that point.
More cheers erupted as the screens with the pilots started disconnecting one by one.
I removed my headgear and looked at everyone in the room.
I couldn"t smile.
"You did it, Mr. Supernova," I heard the president"s soft voice coming from the headgear.
I sighed before correcting him with a small voice, "They did it."