"Yes Doctor, I am talking to you." The waitress told him.
"Okay, okay. I was distracted by the news." Replied Bosco
"What can I get for you, Doctor?" She went straight to the point.
"Uh.. get me chips with roasted goat's meat with some boiled cassava. Also, bring me an African teapot as I wait for the food to be prepared." He made his order.
"Excuse me, Doctor, do you mean local chips from cassava or French Fries from Irish potatoes?" She asked for clarity.
"Ah!" Bosco was frustrated by this question.
Who did not know that when someone said chips, they referred to French Fries? However, he found offence with the word French Fries. The Irish potatoes were locally grown in East Africa, with most of them coming from the slopes of Mt Rwenzori in the state of Uganda. This meant that they were local, this usage of the term French Fries was another form of neo-colonialism influencing the African culinary experience.
"When I say chips, just know I meant French Fries. But I am offended to have you calling locally sourced food by the colonial name. Are you new here?" He asked her, all the old waitresses never asked him such silly questions when he ordered chips.
"I am sorry sir, let me work on it." She said will noting down his order.
"It's fine, we are all under pressure with Apocalypse2 coming our way. Who knows, this may be my last meal in this world." He added sarcastically.
"Doctor, don't speak like that. We have to keep our hope even in the most dire circumstances." She encouraged him. This made him look keenly at her back as she walked away. He wondered in which camp she belonged.
Almost everyone he knew, was either resigned to the state that doom or extinction of life on planet Earth was inevitable or making fun of it while hoping against hope that the World Government will find a solution. Then there were the religious people or sometimes called religious freaks from several faiths who went against the tide of reality by preaching hope that was not backed by science.
As a Medical student. Bosco Masaba was by nature someone who believed in what can be seen and quantified, however, he was not an atheist since there were still some questions that the current state of science was not able to answer. By resorting to beliefs like African religions, Christianity, Islam or Buddhism can some answers be found.
More so to the question of what happens to a person who dies. Religions had a concept of the afterlife, and rewarding those who committed righteous and moral deeds while still alive, and this had a beneficial impact on society since no one in their right mind wanted to be condemned to hellfire for eternity.
Even some theories of science lacked concrete evidence to back them up, and it was only through exercising faith that they remained valid.
It did not take long for the waitress to bring him a small pot containing the African tea. African tea is a type of tea that is stronger than other teas, usually made from tea leaves or leaves of other shrubs indigenous to African countries.
"Doctor, here is your African tea. Can I get you something else as you wait for the food to be prepared?" She said as she placed the tray containing the pot of tea, cup, small jar with the sugar and several spoons in varying sizes.
From experience, he knew that the cooks in the kitchen could prepare food upon receiving an order. There were many Doctors and Nurses in the hospital with different tastes and preferences when it came to food, so they stocked up on various foods. It was going to take roughly half an hour before he wanted to eat was ready.
He looked at her, she appeared to be around twenty to twenty-five years of age, shoulder length black braided hair, medium height with a slender body that stretched well her waitress attire. Her beautiful chocolate-complexioned face with bright brown eyes were captivating. He wanted to ask in which camp she belonged, he suspected she may be amongst the religious freaks since she did not appear worried at all. "It is okay, this is enough for now. Help me and change the tv channel to Nat Geo."
Unlike TV channels focused on bringing news 24/7. Bosco loved Nat Geo TV for focusing on bringing science-related shows. Every show was informative and educative in its own right. This was going to be a good change for him, the news updates were currently filled with gloomy updates.
"Consider it done," she said while reaching out for the remote and punching in the channel number. He was amazed that she knew the channel number for Nat Geo off-head. This meant that there was more to this waitress than met the eye.
Most waitresses he knew were into watching fashion shows, show biz or soaps and sometimes current news since it attracted male customers. Rarely did he come across one watching science shows.
Bosco Masaba poured himself a cup of steaming African tea. He had forsaken sugar and sugary products for health reasons, it was coming to ten years. Today he decided to break this norm and apply sugar to his tea. He saw no need not to enjoy the present seeing that the future was uncertain. Secondly, he needed all the energy he could get. He applied three spoons of sugar and stirred for a few seconds until he was sure that it had mixed well with the tea.
He lifted the cup to his mouth while looking at the large TV screen. On it, a new program was starting. It was Science Insider with the beautiful and brilliant host Lisa Palki. Science Insider had become a popular show covering the latest developments in science and technology.
When Bosco Masaba saw that it was Lisa Palki, he became excited as she never disappoints in her shows. He continued sipping his tea slowly while paying maximum attention to the show, not wanting to miss even a single word or facial expression of the host and the new guy on the show.
Presenter: Welcome to Science Insider, I'm your host, Lisa Palki. Today we have a very special guest, Professor Amuza Walid, an astrophysicist at the University of Melbourne, who specializes in asteroid dynamics and planetary defense. He is here to talk about the recent asteroid nicknamed Apocalypse2, which is on a collision course with Earth and expected to impact in less than a week. Professor Walid, thank you for joining us.
Professor Walid: Thank you for having me, Lisa. It's a pleasure to be here.
Presenter: Professor Walid, I'm sure you are aware of the widespread panic and anxiety that has gripped the world since the discovery of Apocalypse2, the asteroid that is heading towards our planet. Can you tell us what we know about this asteroid and where it came from?
Professor Walid: Of course, Lisa. Apocalypse2 is a large asteroid, that was 19 miles in diameter when it was first discovered. That is roughly twice the size of the one that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. It was detected by astronomer Xi Bond last in August last year, that's about six months ago. As of now, my friends at NASA tell me that the piece which is heading to Earth is eleven miles in diameter after contact with the NASA Redeemer.
Apocalypse2 is believed to have originated from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, which is a region of space where millions of rocky bodies orbit the sun.
Presenter: And what caused it to leave its orbit and head towards Earth?
Professor Walid: Well, there are several possible factors that can perturb the orbit of an asteroid and make it cross paths with Earth. One of them is gravity. Gravity is the force that keeps planets and asteroids in their orbits around the sun, but it can also cause them to deviate from their paths when they encounter other celestial bodies. For example, if an asteroid passes close to a planet like Jupiter or Saturn, which have very strong gravitational fields, it can experience a gravitational slingshot effect that can change its speed and direction. Another factor is the YORP effect, which stands for Yarkovsky–O'Keefe–Radzievskii–Paddack effect. This is a phenomenon where sunlight can affect the rotation and shape of an asteroid over time, by heating up one side more than the other and creating a small thrust that can alter its orbit. A third factor is the Robertson effect, which is a relativistic effect that occurs when an asteroid moves very fast near the sun and experiences a slight change in its mass due to Einstein's theory of relativity. This can also affect its orbit in subtle ways.
Presenter: So, you're saying that any of these factors could have nudged Apocalypse2 out of its original orbit and sent it towards Earth?
Professor Walid: Yes, that's right. It's hard to pinpoint exactly which one or how much each one contributed, but we can say that it was a combination of these factors that resulted in Apocalypse2 becoming a potential threat to our planet.
Presenter: I see. And what are the chances of Apocalypse2 hitting Earth? Is there any possibility of avoiding or mitigating the impact?
Professor Walid: Well, Lisa, I'm afraid the chances are very high. According to our latest calculations, Apocalypse2 has a 99.9% probability of hitting Earth on January 24th, at around 3 pm GMT. The impact location is estimated to be somewhere in Central Europe.
The energy released by the impact would be equivalent to about 100 billion tons of TNT, which is more than 6 million times the power of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The impact would create a massive crater, about 200 kilometres wide and 20 kilometres deep, and trigger a global catastrophe. The shockwave would cause widespread damage and destruction within thousands of kilometres from the impact site. The debris ejected by the impact would form a thick cloud of dust and smoke that would block out sunlight for months or even years, causing a nuclear winter effect that would lower global temperatures and disrupt agriculture and ecosystems. The impact would also generate huge tsunamis that would inundate coastal areas around the world with waves up to 100 meters high. The death toll would be in the billions.
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