Chapter 10 – The Final Impulse

The bombs exploded at absolutely regular intervals, exactly as Hannes controlled them through his perfect shoulder rotations. Sweat ran down his arm, but he held on – buoyed by the taste of blueberry on his tongue.

Meanwhile, almost all the heads of government were asking themselves why they had agreed to this at all. Wouldn't it have been wiser to fire directly at the asteroid? And who had actually decided not to? It was Taylor Swift – with the graceful power of premonition. And so, thanks to Taylor, the heads of government put their trust in Hannes's shoulder rotations too.

The continuous explosions at the satellite shook its carcass through and through. Long-missed, gummed-up components loosened, shifted, were pressed back into place. The first three explosions had no effect – but the fourth produced a spark. A small blip of data. Two impulse lines, dead and dusty for years, showed life again: one spike upwards, the other downwards. With every further explosion came a new impulse, and then… in between as well. It was transmitting again. The colossus – the symbol of all nations – lived!

Taylor nodded knowingly, and the heads of government of every country cheered. Hannes felt his muscles slowly tiring, but he kept going. Just a few more bombs.

The satellite was back among the living; control at ESA in Darmstadt was working again. Old consoles were dusted off, a dusty Windows update finished running. Then, after all this time, the colossus stood once more at the centre of world events.

The update was complete. The final bomb exploded. Hannelore handed Hannes his well-earned blueberry drink, and everyone watched, spellbound, as the satellite moved. The old friend, forgotten for so long, was back – and this appearance would be its last.

It steered towards the asteroid, its control as smooth as if it had been waiting for exactly this moment: not to drift through space as a carcass, but as the hero, the symbol, it had been built to be. It faced the cosmic enemy in iron splendour and forced it off course.

The final spike, the final data – and on the monitor, a heart took shape.

Then the colossus was destroyed, the asteroid driven away and all the explosives in the world spent. Hannes still had three training sessions to give and might have sore muscles tomorrow – or maybe not.

The world was saved. And so was the can deposit.