Mega huge asteroid (moon sized) is on a direct collision course with Earth. There is no chance of a miss, no chance of deflecting it or blowing it up, no chance of any life surviving even deep underground. It is a planet-killer, plain and simple, and it will collide with Earth in 90 days.
What are the last 90 days like? What do you do?
Al Steiner addressed an asteroid scenario in 'Homebodies', although mankind had undergone diaspora leaving the dregs of humanity behind.
In a writing exercise at my now defunct writers' group, one author had an interesting twist: the asteroid turned out to be microscopic and made a tiny hole in the roof of a bus shelter.
AJ
Since asteroid stores are so popular widespread, they're a bit overdone. As a result, I prefer the more unusual, non-standard ones, rather than the same-old, same-old.
Anyone can take it either way, yet … the premise isn't very challenging or inspiring.
That said, a decent alternative would be using the same scenario, where the asteroid doesn't hit, so everyone remaining has to cope with what they all did in preparation for their last days on Earth.
Now that's an intriguing idea, simply because it hasn't been as widely used. I'm thinking of one I saw a recent rewrite of, where they build a deep underground tunnel where everyone holed up in, expecting everything on the surface to be obliterated, then run into troubles coping with each other, waiting for the end to come. Their deep tunnel refuse become their own version of pergatory.
sigh...
Please read the ENTIRE idea...
You are right... almost every single asteroid story out the is about a cataclysmic, civilization-ending encounter where survivors retreat to caves or deep underground refuge or escape on a ship to eventually rebuild.
MY IDEA is a story where the asteroid is so large and on such a direct line of impact that there is NO CHANCE, ZERO, of ANY SURVIVORS AT ALL... it is not a civilization killer but a planet killer. And humanity knows it. So there is no rush to build, outfit and occupy a deep underground refuge or to man an emergency flight to the asteroid to blow it up or anything like that. There is NOTHING THAT CAN BE DONE to avoid TOTAL destruction. 100% chance of all life extinction. How does humanity respond? Does it bring out the best or worst in us? Is the story told in the viewpoint of a single individual or series or vignettes or maybe as newscasts tracking the approach of the end-of-life asteroid?
So there is no rush to build, outfit and occupy a deep underground refuge or to man an emergency flight to the asteroid to blow it up or anything like that.
Not everyone will believe there's no hope, whatever the evidence. Conspiracy theories will abound, so there will be those that hide. Probably no flights to the asteroid, though, as that takes lots more organisation.
Conspiracy theories will abound, so there will be those that hide.
And probably even more who think the asteroid announcement itself is a conspiracy and refuse to accept that there's any danger at all.
Then there's another, well-known story, though I can't recall the title, where everyone assumes there's an incoming planet-killer, which turns out to be inconsequential, doing no damage at all. So it's a story of expectations and then the fall out when everyone realizes that, despite their best laid plans, they're destined to survive after all, after they've pissed away everything they once valued so highly.
I remember it was quite compelling (NOT on SOL), so hopefully someone else will recall it, as I'm convinced it was either a film or a short run series, likely predating the more recent streaming services. Though I do the already listed SOL story too.
1959 film "On The Beach"
"After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months." IMDb
I was about 10 years old when it hit the theaters.
Now, why cant I remember what chapter I'm reading when going from my office to my bedroom?
Gary
What are the last 90 days like? What do you do?
Revenge!
It will not matter a whit if everybody is gonna die anyway, but damn, lots of mental 'feels good' to get back at that bastard/bitch that made my life hell.