Fate

• Patrick Reid, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2016

The ground was cold. A small boy lay down in the middle of the road surrounded by frightened and worried people. The boy opened his eyes. He wondered where he was and why his whole body, especially his head, throbbed with unbearable pain. The boy spent that night sleeping in hospital. When he woke, a nurse came and asked him “can you remember your name, home address and what day it is?” The boy replied, “my name is Andy Alexander Prett and…” He had no idea what day it was or where he lived.

Two weeks later, Andy was mostly recovered from the physical and mental trauma of being hit by a van. He was sitting in the car with his dad on the way home from hospital. As they were driving, Andy noticed newly planted trees along the nature strip which were 0.92 metres apart. He observed the speed that the car was passing the trees. Andy looked up and saw a 60 kmph sign. By looking at the trees, Andy knew that the car was moving at exactly 68 kmph so he said to his father “dad, you’re going at 68 in a 60 zone.” His dad looked shocked and replied “how would you know…? My speedo’s broken.”

Since the incident, Andy had not missed a single goal in basketball because he knew exactly what angle and force he had to release the ball at to make it go in the ring, as well as any other things that he could never have done before. The next day, Andy’s parents took him to a specialist to get an answer for why he is so intelligent. When they arrived, the lady asked Andy a few questions regarding his ability to calculate almost anything as fast as a computer. Twenty minutes later, the lady still didn’t have an answer to why Andy can do what he does, “but…” she began, “I think Australian Civil Space (ACS) could definitely benefit from your abilities.

Thirty minutes later, Andy finds himself sitting at a large table with nineteen other men. The man at the head of the table spoke firmly to Andy, “so, I’ve been told that you will be able to help s to pinpoint the precise location that we have to aim our laser at a meteorite which is due to hit earth in thirty days. If we can heat up the right spot on the meteor, we might be able to divert its trajectory enough so that it misses earth.” “I’m in”, replied Andy nervously.

Andy was immediately taken to a small room with nine computers. A man called Philip sat him down and showed him the speed that the meteorite was travelling, its direction and a few more calculations. Ten minutes later, Andy had the precise coordinates for the laser targeting system. Philip turned to Andy and said “That car accident must have been fate. You just saved the world.”