THE ROCK

In the very early morning of what was forecasted to be another blistering summer day in Dubai, the sun seemed to rise early. At precisely 3:14:15 AM the sky began to blaze. Seconds later, the worst disaster in human history imprinted itself into the memory of all who survived.

Those who were far enough away to survive the strike and witnessed the “event” describe an intense light moving like a bolt of lightning.  A brief flash followed by a tremendous explosion.  The strike was captured by at least a half dozen satellites. Before the day was out, the images had been broadcast around the world. They showed a streak of light entering the atmosphere. Dim at first, then blazing brightly, followed by a massive explosion that climbed rapidly into the upper atmosphere. The shock wave could be seen forcing its way outwards from the center of impact.  Entering the atmosphere at about 30 degrees, with a speed of something like 90,000 miles per hour. Dubai died in an instant. The airblast and fireball killed millions that the actual rock missed. The surrounding countries were devastated. And the entire planet suffered the aftereffects for years

In the aftermath, it was determined that a rock roughly 500 feet in diameter smashed through our atmosphere and impacted the Earth just outside Dubai, leaving a crater nearly 3 miles in diameter.  When it struck, unlike most meteors, large pieces remained intact and the largest piece actually bounced. Its path took it directly through the middle of The Burj Khalifa moments before the shockwave and fireball turned it all into broken rubble, and then landed in the middle of the Persian Gulf.

Unlike the majority of meteors that enter Earth’s atmosphere, very little of the mass“calved”. Several smaller pieces did, however, break off and continued on to create their own areas of destruction.  Most rocks that fall from the sky break apart in the atmosphere. What actually vaporized was mostly our own Earth. The ejecta from the impact included smaller pieces of the rock which were scattered over several hundred square miles. The devastation was so sudden and so unexpected that the mind balked at acceptance. The explosion was heard thousands of miles away and the debris created secondary strikes hundreds of miles from the central impact site. Hundreds of millions of tons of dust and debris were thrown miles into the upper atmosphere. Humanity had just taken a shot between the legs. It was nearly twenty years before the seasons returned to anything close to “normal”.

Even today, Dubai and the rest of the Persian Gulf are still largely a wasteland.  The bulk of the rock proved to be a previously unknown metal.  (Later named Dubainium) This new metal was harder than anything that man has ever been able to produce. Lighter than steel but heavier than aluminum, and almost totally black, it provided the rock with a very low albedo.  Perhaps one reason we never saw it coming. Later investigation also revealed several new elemental compounds that had never been seen before. Crystalline structures that current science said were impossible. Other discoveries (eventually) provided some answers, insights, and clues into some of the odd nooks and crannies in the world around us.

In the following years the question most asked became, “Why didn’t we see it coming?” Despite the billions of Dollars, Euros, Yuan, or Rubles spent on astronomical research, we never saw it coming.

We had no idea.

Humanity was rudely awakened that day. Our collective noses were rubbed into the fact that there is a whole Universe out there that we know absolutely nothing about. Sure. We had eyes out there. But they were the eyes of a baby. We can see. But we really have no idea what we’re looking at.

The pieces of the Rock that were recovered indicated it formed in nodules. Many small pieces were found, but none appeared to be fractured or damaged in any way. The main body of the Rock had bounced and landed in the middle of the Persian Gulf. Burying itself in the mud and silt. It was eventually found but trying to raise a mass that size defeats us to this day. What can be made out, however, is that the main body as well, appeared undamaged. The smaller pieces were subjected to intense investigation and testing. Unfortunately, not much could be determined. It could be described and weighed or compared to other minerals. For instance, its hardness made diamond look like chalk. Its color was somewhere between coal and obsidian. Samples were subjected to heat, radiation, pressure, abrasion, lasers, and all manner of invasive testing. Nothing seemed to affect it until one researcher stumbled across part of the solution.

Dr. William Maclure, a materials scientist,  was actually taking a break at the time. Sitting at his desk with his lunch, he had turned on the radio for some background, when he noticed some readings fluctuating while the music was playing. It seemed that certain musical tones caused changes in the mineral. Some of his instruments actually read something besides zero. Further research found that it wasn’t the notes that were being played, but the harmonics.

It was learned that with certain harmonic waves the Dubainium began to become malleable. As long as the sound was present, the mineral could be “manipulated” like almost any other metal. However, the exact pitch and frequency of those harmonics to do more than change the basic shape of the “sample”was still under intense investigation.  Once the harmonic stopped though, it instantly recovered its original properties while retaining the shape it was deformed to. The possible uses were enormous. However, the supply wasn’t. Aside from the main body of the Rock, samples were few and far between. Lunar prospectors managed to find other nodes but nothing like the size of the Rock that killed Dubai.

Dubainium wasn’t the only discovery to come out of the Dubai Rock. While the main body held much of the world’s scientific interest, there were other compounds contained within it that science hadn’t seen before. Compounds that (current) science could not explain. Research was widespread and one of those discoveries led to the development of a material that answered a problem that had plagued space engineers since the beginning of spaceflight.

Simply put, protecting this fragile sack of meat and bones from the very real dangers of living and working in space, is something that has been an engineering nightmare since the beginning.

A spacesuit is a very complex (and expensive) machine. Its sole purpose is to allow a human to survive in space. With the discoveries made from research and study of the Dubai Rock, a compound was created using existing, plentiful, and local elements. Cheap to create and as versatile as plastic. It could be sprayed on a surface in a process much like powder coating. It could be formed into sheets that could be used in construction. And it could be used in many 3D printed parts. All by itself it really didn’t have much in the way of structural strength. But it was the perfect answer to many problems that have given space engineers headaches for decades.

Dubbed K.E.M.T.A.S ( Kinetic, ElectroMagnetic, Thermal, Aggret, Shielding ) this material provided the most comprehensive shielding ever devised. When combined with 3D printing and nano-robotic assembly, a spacesuit “skin” could be created that would protect the wearer from the extremes of space. Each suit is custom created for the wearer. A detailed (embarrassingly so) 3D scan is performed of every square inch of your body and the suit is printed. As each layer of the print is laid down, “nano-bots” create the needed contacts and fittings that will allow the suit to be worn and not drown in your own sweat. They also create the contacts and fittings that allow the suit to be used with a variety of configurations. It can be worn while working inside in a shirt sleeve environment, or, with the addition of breathing equipment and, if needed, thruster packs, for use in microgravity or the surface of a planet, moon, or asteroid.

Once created, the “fabric” fit the wearer like a glove. The Kinetic property allowed protection from small, fast moving objects like micro meteors. On impact, the fabric “froze” for a split second and distributed the energy throughout the whole suit. One could even be shot at close range with a large caliber handgun and survive. Though the impact would be like being kicked by a mule, you could get up and walk away.

The electromagnetic properties of the material prevented most forms of radiation penetrating to the inside. While there are some EM particles it would not stop (neutrinos for instance) the vast majority of radiation encountered in space became just a small concern.

The thermal element concerns its insulating properties. That is to say, you didn’t need to worry about being in the sunlight and frying like an egg, and at the same time shadow was no longer an issue either. Just the quarter inch thick layer of fabric and you could reach into a blast furnace and pick up a red hot piece of metal, or reach into liquid nitrogen with no real concern.

And of course the aggret part of the name refers to the fact that multiple compounds go into its composition. In reality it’s not so much the compounds, but the process used to combine them. In order to explain some of the oddities found in the Dubai Rock, scientists stumbled into combinations that conventional science couldn’t explain. However, the results were amazing.

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