The Hammer of God - Arthur C. Clarke

Written by Arthur C. Clarke
Read by George Guidall
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

A new contact binary asteroid is discovered by an amateur astronomer, Dr. Angus Millar, having been missed by the SPACEGUARD due to a combination of factors. It is named Kali and is determined to be on course to hit Earth in about a year’s time. Goliath, having been at Jupiter L4, leaves for Deimos to receive the ATLAS propulsion module - designed for attaching with the asteroid and slowly deflecting it to a safe course using nuclear fusion-powered thrusters. Then, having loaded hydrogen fuel at Europa, Goliath reaches Kali and starts the ATLAS.

Extremists from The Reborn, believing collision with Kali is meant to be, had planted bombs in the ATLAS and they explode just moments after the activation of ATLAS. However, most of the fuel tanks of ATLAS remain functional and the plan is changed to use Goliath itself to propel the asteroid. Meanwhile, a contingency plan is discussed by Earth’s government to use nuclear weapons to break up the peanut shaped asteroid with enough energy that the fragments miss Earth.

With Kali getting closer to Sun, it starts ejecting material from vents and is also adjudged to be a probable extinct comet. The resulting venting cancels off a bit of the deflection, taking it too close to the margin of error. Meanwhile Earth’s government affirms the usage of nuclear weapons as the success of Goliath’s mission isn’t deemed certain enough.

At Kali, Goliath suffers damage due to the spacecraft sinking a few meters into the asteroid, after weeks of pushing against it. As a result, Goliath loses its fuel and is stuck on the asteroid. With the nuclear weapon plan in effect, the Goliath crew make peace with their upcoming deaths and indulge in pleasure-seeking.

The manufacture of nuclear weapons had been abandoned for many years and the weapon intended for Kali is hurriedly put together. When it is fired towards the asteroid, the weapon proves defective and doesn’t explode, though it impacts with a high enough anomalous velocity that the asteroid breaks into two; with Goliath and its crew intact. The part carrying Goliath, Kali 1, stays on course to go safely past Earth, with the crew to be retrieved later by the help of another spaceship.

The other part, Kali 2, enters into the Earth’s atmosphere. It causes deaths of a hundred thousand people and a trillion dollars’ worth of damage. It reaches as close as sixty kilometers above surface, before skipping off the Earth’s atmosphere.