‘The yellow people were the first to mix with the black race physically speaking, I mean. It might be surprising, but never, on Bakaratini, had the race mixed to the extent that they did on Earth. The ethnologists were greatly interested in the results of this union, which produced on Earth, a great new tribe. Indeed, these ‘crossbreeds’ as I’ll call them, being crossed with more yellow blood than black, ended up feeling more at ease among themselves than with either black or yellow.
‘Eventually, they grouped together and settled in the area now called Algeria - Tunisia, North Africa. Thus, a new race was born - the Arab race that you know. Don’t think though, they immediately resembled the race they are now. Climate and time, the passing of centuries, had its effect. My story simply gives you the idea of how the race began through inter-breeding.
‘And so, all was going well for the inhabitants of the planet Earth, except for one thing...the astronomers and scholars were very worried, for an enormous asteroid was approaching Earth, almost imperceptibly, but unmistakably.
‘It was first picked up by the observatory of Ikirito, located in the centre of Australia. After several months, it could be seen by the naked eye, provided one knew where to look, glowing a most sinister, vivid red. In the weeks to follow it became ever more readily visible.
‘The governments of Australia, New Guinea and Antarctica made a most important decision, which was soon agreed to by the yellow leaders. Ahead of the inevitable collision with the asteroid, they agreed that all space vessels in a condition to fly, would leave Earth, carrying on board as many specialists and experts as possible - doctors, technicians etc. - of the kind most likely to be of service to the community following the catastrophe.’
‘No Michel, at that time Earth didn’t have a moon. Their spacecraft were now capable of 12 weeks autonomous flight. For a long time, their capability for super long distance travel had been lost to them. Their plan was to remain in orbit around the earth, ready to land as soon as possible and give assistance where it was most needed.
‘Eighty Australian spacecraft were equipped and loaded to carry an elite group, which was chosen as a result of meetings held day and night. The yellow race followed the same procedure, making 98 spacecraft ready. In Africa of course, there had never been any spaceships.
‘I ask you to note, in passing, that apart from the supreme leader of each country, none of his ‘ministers’, as you might call them, was given a place on any vessel. This will probably seem odd to you, for if the same situation were to occur today on Earth, many politicians would be pulling strings to save their own skins.
‘All was ready. The people were then warned of the impending collision. The role of the spacecraft was kept secret though, for fear that the people would believe they had been betrayed by their leaders and that a panic would be created, perhaps even an attack on the airports. By the same token, the leaders had played down the impact the collision was likely to have, in order to minimise the collective panic.
‘The collision was now as much imminent as it was inevitable, considering the estimated speed of the asteroid. It was only 48 hours away. The experts all agreed with this calculation - well, almost all.
‘The spaceships were to take off together - 2 hours before the supposed collision time, their very late departure intended to allow them to remain in space for the full 12 weeks if necessary, following the catastrophe. It had been calculated that the asteroid would hit where South America is now.
‘So, all was ready and the signal for take-off to be given on D-day, at 12 noon, Central Australian Time. Whether there had been an error in the calculations, although highly unlikely, or whether there was a sudden, unpredicted acceleration of the asteroid, it appeared in the sky at 11 am, shining like an orange sun. The order for take-off was given immediately and all the spacecraft took to the sky.
‘In order to leave Earth’s atmosphere and gravitational force quickly, it is necessary to make use of a ‘warp’ 1, which at that time, was above present day Europe. In spite of the speed these space vessels were capable of, they had not quite made it to the warp, when the asteroid hit Earth. When it entered the Earth’s atmosphere it had broken into three huge pieces. The smallest, which measured several kilometres in diameter, hit where the Red Sea is now.
‘The simultaneous impacts were terrible. The sun became a dull red and slid towards the horizon like a falling balloon. Soon, it stopped and climbed slowly, but when only to half the distance, it ‘fell’. The Earth had suddenly changed the inclination of its axis❗ Explosions of incredible force occurred, for two larger pieces of asteroid had pierced the Earth’s crust.
Volcanoes erupted in Australia, New Guinea, Japan, South America - indeed, just about everywhere on the planet. Mountains formed instantly and tidal waves more than 300 metres in height swept over four-fifths of Australia. Tasmania separated from the Australian continent and a huge portion of Antarctica sank in the waters, creating two immense underwater canyons between Antarctica and Australia.
An enormous continent rose from the waters in the centre of the South Pacific Ocean. A huge piece of Burma subsided where the Bay of Bengal is now. Another basin of land subsided and the Red Sea was formed.’
‘Not quite, Michel, for the experts had made one mistake. It could be said in their defence that they could not really have anticipated what would happen. They had predicted the tilting of the Earth on its axis but what they hadn’t been able to predict was its oscillation.
The spacecraft were literally caught [3] and dragged in the ‘backwash’ caused by the re-entry of the asteroid into the Earth’s atmosphere. Further, they were bombarded by millions of particles coming from the asteroid and trailing in its wake.
‘Only seven vessels, three with black passengers and four with yellow, struggling with all the power they could manage, succeeded in escaping the horror occurring on Earth.’
‘The upheavals on the Earth’s surface continued for months. In the three points of impact of the asteroids, thousands of volcanoes were created. Poisonous gases spread over most of the Australian continent, causing painless death within minutes, of millions of blacks. Our statistics indicate an almost total annihilation of humankind and of animals in Australia. A count taken when calm was restored indicated a mere 180 people had survived.
‘I have been wanting to ask you a question, Thao.’
“ผมอยากถามคำถามคุณมานานแล้ว เธาว์”
‘Please do.’
“เชิญถามมาได้เลย”
‘You said that it was the black people from Australia who spread to New Guinea and Africa. How is it then, that now, the Aborigines are so different from the blacks throughout the world❓’
‘Excellent question, Michel. My account should have included more detail. You see, as a result of the catastrophe, there had been such an upheaval, that deposits of uranium scattered on the surface of the Earth emitted strong radiation. This happened only in Australia, and those who escaped death were badly affected, just as in an atomic explosion.
‘They were genetically affected, so that today, the genes of Africans are different from those of Aborigines. Further, the environment totally changed and their diet drastically altered too. With the progress of time, these descendants of Bakaratinians were ‘transformed’ into the Aboriginal race of today.
‘As the upheavals continued, mountains were formed, some suddenly, others within days. Crevasses opened swallowing entire towns, and then closing, removing all traces of existing civilisation.
‘On top of all the horror, there was a deluge such as the planet had not known for eons. In fact, the volcanoes spat so many ashes into the sky simultaneously, and to such incredible altitudes, that the sky darkened. The vapour from the oceans, which in places actually boiled over an area of thousands of square kilometres, combined with the clouds of ashes. The thick clouds thus created, burst with rain so torrential you’d find it hard to imagine...’
‘After 12 weeks, they were obliged to return to Earth. They chose to descend over the area we now know as Europe, having absolutely no visibility over the rest of the planet. Of the seven vessels, only one managed to land.
‘The others were hurled into the ground by gales, which occurred all over the planet - cyclonic winds of 300-400 kilometres per hour. The main cause of these winds was differences in temperature - these in turn, caused by the sudden volcanic eruptions.
‘So, the sole remaining spaceship managed to land in what is now called Greenland. There were 95 yellow passengers on board, many of whom were doctors and experts of various kinds. Having landed in extremely adverse conditions, damage was incurred which made it impossible for the vessel to take off again. However, it remained useful for a shelter. They had provisions enough to last a long time and so they organised themselves as best they could.
‘About one month later, they were all engulfed in an earthquake - the spacecraft too, and it was with this last catastrophe that all trace of civilisation on Earth was destroyed. The chain of catastrophes that followed the collision with the asteroid had dispersed entire populations - in New Guinea, Burma and China, and in Africa, although the region of the Sahara suffered to a lesser extent than elsewhere.
However, all the towns established in the Red Sea area were engulfed by the newly-formed sea. In brief, no city remained on Earth and millions of people and animals had been wiped out. It was, therefore, not long before widespread famine occurred.
‘Needless to say, the wonderful cultures of Australia and China were no more than memories that would become legends. And so it was, that the people (suddenly disseminated and separated from each other by newly gouged chasms and newly formed seas) experienced for the first time on the planet Earth, cannibalism.’