Actinium

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Actinium

Damon sat at his desk in the Mission Control room at NASA in Cape Canaveral, Florida. His unlit cigarette dangled precariously between his lips. “Ready to launch in T-minus thirty seconds.” He pressed the big red button and waited, along with dozens of others, for the imminent launch of another rocket. This one held precious, top secret cargo. A laser beam, made with actinium, would defend their planet in the long battle against hostile aliens. The name actinium derived from the Greek word, ‘aktinos’ meaning ray or beam. It was expensive because it had to be mined from uranium ore, but it made the laser beam infinitely more powerful than any other laser beam on the planet, and hopefully the galaxy, too.

“T-minus, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, we have liftoff.”

Everyone in Mission Control cheered as the rocket launched into space.

Damon stepped outside and lit his cigarette, his ritual after every successful launch.

“How soon before the battle?” Sean asked, lighting up his own cancer stick.

Damon blew out a puff of smoke and stared at the sky as he calculated the time frame. “Let’s see. First the rocket will dock with the International Space station, then the astronauts will load the laser beams onto the space fighter jets, and we can commence the attack at 06:00 hundred.” Damon took the last drag of his cigarette and crushed it into an ashtray.

“We’ll coordinate the thunder storms to begin at approximately the same time. With the earth’s rotation, we’ll need to focus the thunderstorms over Texas and most of the Midwest. Then we’ll shower the western coast of the United States. California could really use the rain,” Sean said.

“Sounds like a plan.” Damon walked back into Mission Control and watched the progress of the rocket.

“Good job, Damon.” The NASA director patted him on the shoulder for a job well done.

“Thank you, sir. The thunderstorms are coordinated with the time of the attack, factoring in the earth’s rotation.”

“If the human race only knew that we created thunderstorms to hide the sound of space battles, mass hysteria would arise,” NASA’s director said.

Damon smirked. “Ignorance is bliss.”