A Realization And A Laser Attack

Orion Shall Rise, CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE.

As Iern speaks to Ronica, he jerks and his fingernails whiten. We and she recognize a moment of realization. However, this time, Iern has realized not a solution but just a problem. Ronica might die when they try to land Orion Two. But, to her, the fact of the flight that they have made diminishes the possibility of imminent death.

On Earth, Skyholm laser-attacks Orion:

beams sear clouds and rain;

water becomes steam;

thunder bangs;

blue sparks and streamers rush;

troubled wind eddies and whines;

trees explode;

their fragments burn;

earth bakes;

vegetation vanishes or chars;

rocks redden;

men and animals are killed instantly or cooked alive;

some inhale super-heated air;

others are blinded;

beams walk on mountains and in valleys;

snow becomes avalanches;

flooded wilderness blackens, smokes and steams;

dying animals writhe and scream.

 

We enjoy Anderson's prose but not what it describes.