Zero 'g' by Srujanjoshi4

natural gravity is to
increase the mass of Earth. Makes sense, right?” Carly said. She
waited to see if they would also come to the same
conclusion.
    “ Yeah , of course, it
makes sense. So, how do we do that? It’s not exactly going to be a
walk in the park. In fact, it may be impossible,” Henry said,
shrugging.
    “ Yeah, I understand that it’s an extreme course of action.
But what other choice do we have? I have no idea if anyone else is
even doing anything to help. The scientists have disappeared for
the time being. Your dad is missing. We may be the only hope the
world has , so we can’t exactly
just ignore it,” Carly said.
    Henry put his head in his hands. “I know. I know.
Geez , and you just reminded me
that I have no idea if my dad is still alive. Do you think he’s
even looking for me?”
    “ I’m sorry , sweetheart.
I’m sure your dad is OK; he’s a smart guy. He’s probably somewhere
just like us, working his mind off to fix this. I have no doubt
he’s searching for you; any parent would. He loves you. But in the
meantime, it’s just us, and we need to focus on that,” Carly
said.
    He nodded. “You’re right . So, what are we going to do? Any ideas on how we can
increase the mass of Earth?”
    “ Yes , I do, but it’s
going to sound nuts,” Carly said with a small smile. She couldn’t
even believe she was going to say the words, but she didn’t know
what else to do. For now, it was the only plan that made any
sense.
    Linus laughed . “It
can’t be any more nuts than what’s going on right now.”
    Carly laughed along with him. “Yes , very true. But you might be surprised.”
    “ So , what is it, Carly?
Knowing you, it’s a brilliant plan,” Henry said.
    “ Well , thank you for
the vote of confidence.” She took a deep breath before continuing.
“I don’t think we have any other choice but to cause an asteroid to
collide with Earth. Hopefully, that will be exactly what we need
for Earth to increase its mass.”
    There was a silence as loud as a
shotgun blast.
    “ Oh , my God…that is
nuts,” Linus whispered finally.
    “ Are you insane?” Henry
said incredulously. “That’s a terrible idea.”
    Both of their mouths
hung open.
    “ Henry …hold
on…”
    “ No, that is not what we should be planning on at all.
Arranging for an asteroid to hit Earth will kill a multitude of people. We don’t want that.
Too many people have already died. How could we make a plan that
will only kill more?”
    “ Henry , there is that
risk, yes, but it could be the only way to stop all this. We have
to try. If we do nothing, then everyone on the planet will die,
anyway. We have to do this.”
    “ I guess you’re right ,
but I just can’t believe that it’s our only option.”

Chapter Fourteen
     
    Carly could tell that Henry was having a hard time
accepting her plan, even
though he knew it had to be done. She knew it was a dangerous plan.
She wasn’t foolish. She also knew that it could result in a lot of
people all over the world dying. But Carly knew deep down that they
had to do it. They just didn’t have a choice. She felt exactly the
same way that he did, worried about the future. But every time that
she thought about Rose, she knew she had to go through with her
asteroid idea. They had to get the gravity back sooner rather than
later. Without it, they were doomed, and it was just getting worse
every minute that passed.
    Carly’s thoughts were intruded upon when Linus spoke up.
“Henry, she’s right. As much as I agree that it’s an extreme idea,
it’s still the only option we have. There really is no other way of
increasing the mass of Earth
in such a short time. We have to do this.”
    Carly smiled , thankful
for the support. She didn’t want to have to convince everyone of
the plan. Though she was the only adult there, the boys were
brilliant for their age. She wanted them to be on board because the
plan, once they came up with one, would run so much
smoother.
    “