The cities and towns surrounded by
fields, orchards, streams, ponds, and woods had rapidly tapered off
below a slight rise into a land of gray, utterly lifeless, gasping dust
thatreached as far southeastward as the eye could see. The center of
the field had been the nation's capital, the third of the great
American cities to be destroyed in the holocaust of 2048.
"How big was the asteroid they modeled?" asked Joe.
"About six to ten miles across," said Mark.
"And the one Zimbardo has aimed at Earth is forty miles long?"
"Bigger. A little bigger than that," answered Zip quietly. "Bigger." He
felt a chilling darkness come over him, almost as if he had walked into
an inky refrigerator. He shivered uncontrollably for a moment, then sat
up and took control of himself.
"Today we get the Star Ranger back!" he announced in a clear voice.
"and we're heading back to Earth! Be ready for immediate departure!"
An immense metal and glass wheel, half a mile in diameter, rotated
slowly in the jeweled heavens. It was the primary manufacturing and
launching headquarters of Nolan Mining Enterprise. It orbited the Moon
about 500 miles above the surface.
Robert Nolan was burning with a zealous flame of energy. Although often
close to burning out, he never went over the edge.
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