Chapter 8 – Shoulders Against the Sky

The news struck like lightning: an asteroid the size of a city was racing towards Earth. Satellite images and diagrams travelled around the world. Politicians called for unity, generals for explosives. The world community's solution: pool all remaining rockets and hope. Hope for life – and for the can deposit.

While frantic calculations were being made everywhere, Ingo Ingenieur sat in his laboratory. Before him stood his creation – months of brooding, sketches and coffee stains, and then just two hours of construction time. The prototype: a defibrillator for the dead weather satellite. The mechanics were precise, robust – and in practice almost impossible to operate. Two massive levers, 1.20 metres apart, had to be pushed down simultaneously and in exactly the same rhythm.

He reached for the phone. "Hannelore? I need your help."

Minutes later, her voice was in the room, clear and firm: "Then show me, Ingo. But not just me – we'll show the whole world."

They went live on Instagram immediately. Millions watched as Ingo explained that his prototype could synchronise the explosive charges – the only chance of getting the satellite moving again. But at the decisive point, the operation, he faltered.

Hannelore smiled slightly. "Two levers, always in the same rhythm… we don't need a machine for that." She turned to the camera as if speaking to every single person out there:

"We need Hannes."