"Hey, Steve? Maybe as most of the engineers work on the Wubble, we could have a few of them create spacecrafts and follow George's idea. You know, just in case the Wubble doesn't succeed."
Steve stared at Eric.
"Tell me, just how is my own invention supposed to fail?" Steve questioned defiantly.
Eric sighed heavily, then dropped a pile of papers on Steve's desk.
"Look," he said, pointing to a diagram. "Once the Wubble hits, or makes impact with the surface, the force will cause the asteroid to crack and break. In other words, we'll have 2 pieces of the asteroid pummeling at us, maybe even more."
He pointed at a few more diagrams and photos, explaining how even the slightest impact will split the asteroid. Then, he looked up at Steve and weighed his next sentence.
"Theio is not a pure asteroid, it is half comet, half asteroid. What I mean is that Theio is an asteroid, but made of varieties of ice, like water, methane, carbon dioxide, and ammonia ice, similar to a comet. Comets only have a bit of dirt mixed in, whereas Theio contains a lot. Strange enough that it is half comet, but it is even stranger. Only one part of the asteroid is dirt packed. The dirt isn't mixed with the ice, it is compact.
"The only way for the Wubble to make contact with the asteroid without splitting it, is to land lightly on the mass of dirt. Even so, my calculations show that by the time the Wubble gets there, the side with the harder surface will be facing the opposite direction of the Wubble. When it then orbits around, 2 years would've passed, making us at danger. What if it doesn't succeed? Would you rather lose money or lives? I'm not opposing your idea, it's just ... well a backup plan. So if it fails, we'll have a head start."
After Steve was able to shoo Eric out of his office as nice as possible, Steve had thought it over and over again in his head, but he had still rejected his idea. Eric was a good astronomer, but his calculations weren't always accurate. When Eric showed Steve the fragments of the "varieties of ice", it only looked like dark craters on the asteroid. Steve didn't believe a word he said, even with all the "diagrams" to prove his idea. The Wubble doesn't fail. Not this time. This time, the Wubble will work.
Wow, it's just like déjà vu! I remember George's long speech that made no sense, just like Eric's! Steve thought and sighed. Having had a busy day, he finally relaxed.
Eric stormed back into his house. Though Steve said something about 'having no need for a backup', Eric was sure that Steve thought his calculations were wrong. How come no one would at least have a bit of trust in him, or calculate it themselves?
But no! No one would believe Eric the Miscalculator, Eric raged. Well, I'll show them!
He decided to email his big boss, the founder of S.P.A.C.E., Anthony Norman to explain his idea. He wrote:
Good evening Mr.Anthony,
Tomorrow at 12:00, please meet me at mexycan grill if you are available. very urgent, concerning asteroid theio. sorry for any inconvenience.
please consider,
eric.
If no one else will listen to him, then Anthony might have the brain to. He hoped that Anthony would listen, for that might turn out to be the only way of escape.
When Eric fell back in his bed, asleep, a new massage popped up in his inbox.
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