Seven Veils of Wisdom – Bloc One – by P J Searle

Six months into 2026 came confirmation that the asteroid Apophis or, as the doomsday-pundits called it, ‘Absinthe’, had altered its orbit. Back in June 2004, the asteroid had been predicted to make a close pass of the Earth in 2036. However, this prediction had now changed due to a catastrophic occurrence in outer space. Previously the asteroid had caused a brief period of concern in 2016, when initial observations had indicated a remote possibility that it would strike Earth in 2029. But further observations provided an improved analysis: a calculation that refuted the possibility of an impact or close encounter with Earth or the Moon. It was later predicted that the asteroid would soon pass through a gravitational portal, a small region no more than 500 miles wide, and in so doing extend its orbit, predicting a future possibility of collision in 2030. But Apophis did, in fact, miss this gravitational keyhole, and now was predicted to make a near miss in 2027.

This news was met with a mixture of elation and relief. Doom-pundits predicted the effect would be to disrupt the Earth, Mars and Venus orbits around the sun. Most astrologers and mathematicians were adamant that the asteroid would simply pass us by as it had done for millions of years. The effect of this news was to promote new interest in space exploration. The space program, abandoned after the one unsuccessful manned landing on Mars, was now reinstated and the propagation of cellular life on Venus and Mars was earnestly set in motion. However, the planet Venus, known as ‘Earth’s evil twin’, was favoured over Mars for several reasons: it is the closest of all planets and has nearly the same mass and size. It also has a thick atmosphere. There was still interest in terraforming Mars, but the stumbling block was always that there was virtually nothing to make an atmosphere out of. What little atmosphere there was mirrored that of Venus, composing mostly carbon dioxide, but far thinner. There had been brief renewed interest in Mars when traces of methane were discovered. This suggested that life could have existed in the remote past, but this had proved negative.

Although terraforming to both Mars and Venus continued, interest and funding were transferred in favour of Venus. With its carbon dioxide atmosphere, Venus was seen as the better prospect. Despite being inhospitable––crushing pressure, and unbearably hot due to its greenhouse gasses––it did have a dense atmosphere to work with. The eradication in 2020 of Earth’s greenhouse gasses and the repair of the ozone layer had provided the ideal model to work with. And if the doom-pundits were even marginally right, a slight movement of orbit away from the sun would be a blessing. The atmosphere of Venus, composed chiefly of carbon dioxide, generates a surface pressure much greater than that on Earth. This massive carbon blanket was also responsible for the planet’s surface temperature, that of molten lead. It was theorised that a one-degree movement in orbit, plus terra-propagation of algae, would greatly reduce the gas clouds. It was further predicted that within 50 years the surface temperature of Venus would be lowered to less than that of the Sahara desert. This would dramatically reduce the crushing pressure.

The hardiest of Earth’s extremophile organisms, some able to survive temperatures above 80°C, were now being introduced to Venus. This was part of the July 2027 ‘Trans-global Venus Project’, created during the first World Summit Meeting at the newly opened UN building, New York.

But astrologers hadn’t bargained for the ‘Apophis near miss’ being much nearer than predicted; it came within a mere thousand miles of Venus. Any closer it would have crashed into the planet. But its mass and velocity acted like a whip to a child’s spinning-top, causing Venus to not only move a degree away from the sun but to also greatly increase its planetary rotation. It had the effect of intensifying the planet’s magnetic field, which would now protect it from the devastating solar winds. The increased centrifugal forces also resulted in the remaining subterranean oceans being pulled to the surface. With this, and the pulling of Mars into the heat of the sun, it seemed God had once again laid his hands upon the firmaments.

THE END OF THE BEGINNING