10월 5일 발리-방콕 비행기 안에서 갑자기 떠오른 SF 소설

SF written in the sky

I wrote this scenario in the sky on a flight from Bali to Bangkok on October 5th. It was a sudden inspiration that came to me as I gazed out the window at the clouds below. I hope you enjoy it.

Theme music for this. Please play.

The Wanderer

Prologue

In the year 2025, humanity first noticed the approach of a foreign giant from the depths of space. It was the deep space probe Odyssey-17, skimming the icy fringes of the Oort Cloud, that captured the anomaly: a Jupiter-sized rogue planet heading toward the inner solar system at a staggering speed of 60 kilometers per second. Named “Omega,” it became the center of humanity’s most intense astronomical calculations.

Initial models suggested that Omega would reach Saturn’s orbit in just 4 years, a testament to its incredible velocity. However, most scientists calculated that Omega would pass near Saturn and then exit the solar system. Some scientists argued that it would collide with Saturn, predicting the birth of a new, massive planet from the remnants. This new world, christened Kronos after the Greek God of Time, would be a behemoth, boasting a radius 1.5 times that of Saturn and a volume 3.4 times greater.

However, influential scientists announced that while Omega would pass close to Saturn, causing some orbital perturbations, it would stabilize in the long term and Earth would remain unscathed. The birth of Kronos was just the beginning. Its immense mass would perturb Jupiter’s orbit, setting off a chaotic ripple in the delicate balance of the solar system. The prospect of Jupiter becoming a wrecking ball filled astronomers with dread.

Chapter 1: “Earth is Safe”

Three days after the discovery of Omega, a renowned astrophysicist took to the airwaves to calm the panic-stricken public. “Earth is safe,” they assured, their voice steady. “Omega poses no direct threat to our planet.” A collective sigh of relief was heard around the globe, but a handful of skeptics remained unconvinced.

Among them was Jack Hanson, a 24-year-old gamer and self-taught programmer, known in niche online forums for his uncannily realistic mods in Kerbal Space Program, a popular space simulation game. Jack’s crowning achievement was a mod that allowed players to launch missions to the Oort Cloud, complete with a physics engine that simulated the complex gravitational dance of the outer solar system with unparalleled precision.

In the gaming community, Jack’s work sparked fierce debate. Supporters hailed him as a visionary, pushing the boundaries of what was possible in virtual space. Critics dismissed his creations as flights of fancy, arguing that no mere game could hope to capture the intricacies of the real universe. But Jack remained undeterred, driven by an insatiable hunger to unravel the mysteries of the cosmos.

When news of Omega broke, Jack wasted no time. Using his modding tools, he constructed a simulation of the rogue planet’s trajectory, drawing from every scrap of public data he could find. But as the model took shape, Jack realized that his humble PC was woefully inadequate for the task at hand. The calculations required to simulate the gravitational ballet of the solar system were staggering, far beyond the capabilities of any consumer-grade machine.

Undaunted, Jack hatched a plan. Taking inspiration from distributed computing projects like SETI@Home, he modified his simulation program to harness the power of a vast network of computers.

Chapter 2: Viral Genius

To achieve the massive scale required for his simulation, Jack needed an army of unwitting volunteers. His opportunity came in the form of scandal: a high-profile 20-yr korean kpop idol’s private sex photos had been leaked online, spreading like wildfire across social media. With a twinge of guilt, Jack crafted a Trojan horse, disguising his simulation program as a tantalizing link promising access to the illicit images. 그는 “아니야 이걸 보려고 한 나쁜 놈들을 벌주는거야” 라고 생각하며 실제 데저트 이글과 1:1로 아주 비슷하고 정교하게 만들어진 총을 손에 쥐고 허공을 겨누며 bb탄을 발사하여 정중앙 표적에 명중했다.

sam altman

Within a week, Jack’s creation had wormed its way onto over 7 million devices worldwide. But his masterstroke came when he successfully hijacked a MacBook belonging to an unwitting Alan Mastam the CEO of ClosedAI building popular AI models. This gave Jack a backdoor into the ClosedAI’s formidable GPU cluster, a treasure trove of computing power.

Suddenly, Jack found himself at the helm of a vast, distributed network, a digital nervous system pulsing with the combined might of millions of machines. With bated breath, he fed his simulation into this monstrous beast of his own making, watching in awe as it churned through the complex equations at a breathtaking pace. For the first time, Jack felt the thrill of wielding the power of a god.

Chapter 3: The Truth Revealed

After three relentless weeks, Jack’s simulation reached its fateful conclusion. The results were staggering, painting a picture of cosmic catastrophe:

• In 5 years and 7 months, Omega would slam into Saturn, shattering the ringed giant and giving birth to the massive planet Kronos.
• 8 years after the collision, the gravitational upheaval caused by Kronos would wrench Jupiter from its orbit.
• 3 years post-impact, Jupiter’s erratic path would spell doom for Earth, hurling our blue marble out into the icy depths of space.
• According to Kronos’s orbital calculations, the probability of Earth becoming Kronos’s satellite is estimated to be 0.37%.

Jack stared at the numbers in numb disbelief. This was no mere astronomical curiosity; it was an existential threat, a ticking clock counting down to the end of life as we know it. With trembling hands, he compiled his findings into a report, complete with vivid diagrams illustrating the intricate dance of destruction.

Steeling himself, Jack reached for his phone. He knew he had to sound the alarm, to make the world see the danger lurking in the heavens. His fingers shook as he dialed the number for NASA’s public affairs office, praying that someone, anyone, would listen to his dire warnings.

After an agonizing series of transfers and hold messages, a tired-sounding voice finally crackled through the speaker. Jack launched into his desperate plea, his words tumbling out in a frantic rush.

“Please, you have to believe me,” he begged, his voice cracking. “Omega is just the beginning. Kronos, Jupiter… Earth is in danger. We need to act now!”

There was a long, painful silence on the other end of the line. Then, a heavy sigh. “Sir,” the voice said, a note of condescension creeping in, “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but our top minds have already assured us that Earth is in no immediate danger. I suggest you leave the science to the professionals.”

The line went dead, leaving Jack alone with the weight of his terrible knowledge. In that moment, he knew he was on his own, a lone voice crying out in a wilderness of ignorance and apathy.

Chapter 4: The Knock at the Door

Desperate to warn the world, Jack prepared to release his findings online. But before he could hit ‘send,’ a deafening bang shattered the stillness of his apartment. Heavily armed SWAT officers poured through his shattered door, barking orders and waving their weapons. 하필이면 잭이 장난감 총을 들고 있던 순간이었다.

“Step away from the computer! and put the gun downs” one of them yelled, his voice muffled behind a tactical helmet.

Jack froze, his hands hovering over the keyboard. In the corner of his eye, he could see his makeshift server farm, a tangle of humming machines still churning through the last of the simulations.

“Please,” he said softly, “you don’t understand. This is bigger than me, bigger than all of us.”

But his words fell on deaf ears. 잭은 자신이 장난감 총을 들고 있는지도 깨닮지 못하고 있었다. As Jack turned to face the officers, a nervous finger tightened on a trigger. The shotgun roared, and Jack felt a searing pain rip through his chest. As he crumpled to the floor, his life ebbing away, a single thought crystallized in his fading mind: They didn’t understand. They couldn’t see the truth.

Even as Jack breathed his last, his simulations continued, spitting out their dire predictions to an uncaring void.

Epilogue

Forty years have passed since Omega first appeared in our skies. In the decades that followed, the world watched in awe as Jack Hanson’s predictions unfolded with eerie precision.

Six years after Omega’s discovery, humanity witnessed the birth of Kronos, a cosmic spectacle that set the night sky ablaze. Despite the unmistakable evidence of the cataclysm, Earth’s leaders clung to their reassurances, insisting that our planet remained safe.

It wasn’t until fourteen years later, when Jupiter’s orbit began to visibly distort, that the truth of Jack’s simulations finally came to light. Panic gripped the world as the realization set in: Earth’s days were numbered.

Amidst the chaos, a figure emerged - a visionary billionaire with a bold plan. It was none other than Elon Musk, the enigmatic individual who had been steadily working on his audacious project to establish a human presence on Mars. Over the course of a decade, Musk had poured vast resources into his SpaceX program, with the ultimate goal of ensuring humanity’s survival beyond Earth.

As the years ticked by and the threat of Omega loomed ever closer, Musk’s Mars mission took on a newfound urgency. In a series of historic launches, SpaceX rockets ferried intrepid pioneers to the red planet - scientists, engineers, and hardy adventurers willing to risk everything for a chance at a new beginning. By the time Earth’s fate hung in the balance, 23 years after Omega’s appearance, nearly a thousand brave souls had already set foot on Martian soil, laying the groundwork for a permanent human settlement.

With Earth’s days numbered, Musk knew it was time for him to join his fellow explorers on Mars. In a final, triumphant launch, the billionaire boarded his own rocket, bidding farewell to the world he had known and setting his sights on the future that awaited him among the stars. As Musk’s spacecraft hurtled through the void, Earth’s last hope for continuity rested on the shoulders of those intrepid few who had dared to venture forth and forge a new path for humanity.

Now, forty years on, Earth is no longer the blue marble it once was. Caught in the gravitational embrace of Kronos, our planet has become an icy wanderer, hurtling through the void toward the distant stars of Alpha Centauri.

Kronos, born from the ashes of Saturn and the mysterious Omega, has become Earth’s unlikely savior. Its immense mass and unique composition have given rise to a complex interplay of forces that now sustain the last remnants of humanity.

Deep within the core of Kronos, a nuclear inferno rages, fueled by the fusion of heavy elements forged in the cataclysmic collision. This cosmic furnace warms the gas giant from within, its heat radiating outward through a shell of metallic hydrogen.

By a stroke of cosmic fortune, Kronos’ intense magnetic field has become entangled with Earth’s own, creating an invisible tether that binds the two worlds together. This tenuous link funnels the energy of Kronos’ internal fires to Earth, maintaining a delicate balance that keeps our planet from freezing entirely.

Earth’s atmosphere, once rich in oxygen and nitrogen, is now dominated by greenhouse gases. These heat-trapping molecules, combined with the constant influx of energy from Kronos, maintain a surface temperature hovering around -50 degrees Celsius. It’s a bitter cold that would spell certain death for any unprotected human, but within the sheltered enclaves of our subterranean cities, life endures.

In this new reality, Earth has become a kind of generational ship, a lifeboat carrying humanity toward an uncertain future. With each passing year, Kronos guides us further from the sun, its gravitational pull transforming our planet into an unlikely vessel for the greatest journey in human history.

As we venture deeper into the unknown, propelled by the inexorable tides of gravity, we cling to the hope that somewhere out there, a new home awaits. Whether it’s the tantalizing promise of Alpha Centauri or some other unseen harbor in the cosmic ocean, we press on, driven by the same indomitable spirit that has always defined our species.

And so, in the icy darkness of space, the saga of Earth and Kronos continues, an epic tale of survival and resilience written across the stars. Our fate, once tied to the rhythms of a single, familiar sun, now rests in the hands of a wandering giant, a testament to the strange and wondrous workings of the universe.

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