How powerful is a supernova compared to an atomic bomb? At Hiroshima, less then 1 kg of uranium went fission. Imagine that we fill the Sun with plutonium and detonate it. Compared to a supernova, the blast will be like a campfire compared with an erupting volcano (an answer I got from an astrophysicist working for NASA).
In the former town of Fat Cat, the last people wait a rescue ship. The town is in ruins. People gather where once was the central square, near an online panel. There, they see when the last rescue ship will come. The panel displays what is going inside Betelgeuse. Silicon fusion has started. When energy from fusion will counter the neutrino loss, all rescue ships will evacuate the area. Another timer shows how much time is left until supernova. There are 13 people waiting and they lost their patience. After all, this is their last chance to get out of here. No other ship will come.
Max and Melissa are two teens, waiting to get out. Actually, Max is a girl and Melissa is a guy. Cross-dressing is something very common on Betelgeuse VII. This is why people don't use he and she when talking to someone. In fact, they replaced these words with it.
Four minutes left until silicon fusion equals neutrino loss. The rescue ship is visible in the sky, traveling fast, below the clouds. It makes an unexpected stop somewhere. People don't know, but the automated systems found a survival on the way. Three minutes... the ship is back flying, approaching the online panel... Two minutes. Everyone watches how the ship lands and opens its door.
"Get in! Fast!" screams the pilot through a speaker.
People rush to get in. But, suddenly, someone tries to get in with a large bag.
"No cargo allowed! We have limited space!" shouts someone from the inside.
That person starts fighting to get inside with the bag. Other people shout. Finally, someone grabs the bag and throws it away.
Someone else comes with a cat and tries to enter.
"No animals allowed!" shouts the pilot. "We have limited air supply".
Someone grabs the cat and throws it away. The owner shouts and starts hitting people around.
"Faster! The clock is ticking!" shouts the pilot.
Some people get out from the ship, trying to force everyone to stop.
"Ten seconds! Hurry!" shouts the pilot again.
Everyone tries to get inside. Max manages to enter the door. Then, the former owner of the cat, pushes Melissa away, screaming:
"Hercules! I will return!"
"On the fuck you will!" laughs someone.
"When you will, Hercules will be barbecue!"
The door closes. Melissa remains outside. As the door closes, the former cat owner gets half of the body in the way and is sliced by the door. Instant death. Inside, Max screams and goes to the door, trying to open it... but it is impossible. Melissa, on the outside, tries to open. There is no way. The ship starts flying and Melissa remains on the ground.
**********
Each rescue ship is set that, once they detect a strong neutrino signature from silicon fusion, to turn on automated pilot and leave Betelgeuse VII. The pilot cannot do anything, but watch, until the ship is into orbit. The ship starts moving slow, then faster and faster. It reaches the clouds and passes through them. Above them, the sky is clear. Then, it continues to accelerate and escapes the atmosphere.
People go to the small windows, to see their home planet for the last time. The view becomes red, as the ship accelerates through the atmosphere. Then, all the sky is black and red. Red, because of the huge nebula that surrounds Betelgeuse. The star blew a giant plume of plasma through the poles.
The planet remains behind. First, it appears large and surrounded by its endless auroras. Then, everything remains behind. Before, the ship was twitching in the turbulent atmosphere... now, everything seems quiet.
"Good day", sounds a very unclear radio voice. "I am the pilot and we are heading to Betelgeuse S. The ship has resources of food, air and water. You are advised to sit and enjoy the ride".
Then, everyone can see, on one side, the sun. Betelgeuse looks like it did before, with no changes: with bright and dark spots. The star is far from spherical. Strong convection currents create massive bulges, clearly visible. Flares are visible too, adding matter to the vast nebula that surrounds the star.
Max is crying, thinking about Melissa, who is left down there. Many people cry too. They look at the sun, then behind, as their home planet is smaller and smaller. Then, they look scared, as the lights start to blink. There is something. The huge neutrino radiation is affecting the ship and its electronics.
After a few hours, the copilot comes in and selects a few people, including Max, to bring food and water to everyone. Also, because of limited oxygen supply, people are advised to smoke only once at every four hours, at a given signal. The toilettes are in the back and people must learn how to use them. Max has a lot of work to do.
Some people go to sleep, others go talking. Some children are starting to play around. Time passes. Now, the planet is just a bright star left behind. The lights are turned off, but there is some light getting through the small windows inside. Betelgeuse sends its copper-like rays. The ship accelerates at full throttle, but still there is a long way to go, to reach the speed of light and beyond.
Alex goes to sleep, but dreams of Melissa, lost on the planet. there is only one possible shelter: a deep mine, where some people built an enclosed ecosystem that could sustain life. but will they accept Melissa? Will they open the door and allow the elevator to descend? Or will they not?
As time passes, people see their home planet vanishing behind. Now, nothing is visible. To left, people still see Betelgeuse, just where it were and with the same brightness. The radio sounds again, but now nobody can understand anything.
Max takes advantage and goes with some food and water to the pilot and copilot. Inside the cabin, there are a lot of warning signs.
"What is going on?" asks Max.
"The neutrino radiation is too powerful", answers the pilot. "All sensors are scrambled. The autopilot is not working. I am piloting the ship manually".
"Will we make it?"
"I think yes".
"I hope so".
"Max", says the pilot. "I hardly slept a bit in the last four days. We were scanning the whole planet for survivals. Still, there were a few people left on the last stop that we could not save. I am very sorry".
Max cries a bit, but hides its tears from the pilot.
"At least, you could save these people".
Another alarm starts to ring.
"Too many energetic neutrinos", says the pilot. "Look at the data. Betelgeuse is losing more energy through neutrinos in a second then it loses as heat and light in seven days. It is fusing all its remaining silicon in the core".
Max looks at the data and cries, then whispers: "How much time we have left?"
"To supernova? In 6 hours. But we are now at 200 AU from the star. Light needs 26 hours to reach us. So, Betelgeuse has exploded already".
"And on the planet?"
"Betelgeuse VII is at 160 AU from the star, so the light takes 21 minutes to reach. Right now, they are roasted".
Max cries, but this time visible.
"Didn't you hear the radio message? says the pilot. I said that right now, the neutrino wave hits the planet".
"The radio is not working".
"It must be because of the neutrino bombardment", continues the pilot.
"Will it hit us too?"
"Yes, but I hope we will survive".
Max looks scared. The pilot lights a cigarette and gives one to Max too. Then, explains, very calm:
"We are accelerating as fast as we can. This ship reaches the speed of light in five days. Unfortunately, our destination is in that direction... Well, how to tell you so that you will understand... When you look at the sky, you have no idea if a star is closer or further. You only see them separated by an ark, which is measured in degrees. And as seen from the sky of your planet, the destination, Betelgeuse S, is at 78 degrees away from the sun, from Betelgeuse itself. So, we go in a tangential direction. This is why, for the first part of the journey, we did not increase distance to the star. In fact, we first approached a bit and now we are going away".
Max takes a hungry drag of smoke in its lungs, almost digesting it. Then, says:
"Neutrino blast?"
"When the core of Betelgeuse collapses, it releases a giant amount of neutrinos. I just hope that we will survive. Before that, I have to close down all electronics, everything. The hull will be cooled as much as we can. The neutrino light will heat everything. It lasts only ten seconds... but it is the greatest danger of all".
Max takes another deep drag of smoke inside its lungs, thinking about what is to come. The pilot turns on hull cooling devices.
"I hope we can cool the ship to -20 degrees. Please, tell everyone what is going to happen. At 30 seconds before core collapse, I will ring an alarm. Everyone, take off your clothes in the bitter cold. Then, I will manually turn off everything to protect the electronics".
Max gets back and tells everyone what will happen. People are shocked that their planet is already gone and they see nothing yet on the windows. Light and neutrinos travel with the same speed.
Everything in the ship gets cold. In two hours, temperature drops to freezing point. People are shaking of cold and are gathering together, to warm themselves. some start to be agitated and shout. Everything becomes even cooler. Freezing. ice accumulates on the metal walls and on the windows. Some people clean the windows, to see outside. still, Betelgeuse is there, as it were before.
Then, the alarm sounds with three short beeps. And then, silence. Air ventilators stop, the light is turned off, the ship is turned off completely. Seconds pass and everyone watch. Some people take off they clothes fast, while others, too frozen, don't.
Suddenly, everyone feels heat. They are no longer cold. Seconds pass and the heat becomes increasing. too hot for a human body. Max, even if feeling very cold, jumps away from the crowd, feeling an incredible heat in all the body. It all lasts exactly ten seconds. Nearly everyone has grown faint. Max feels very dizzy and hot, like in a cupboard. The metal walls are all hot, only the air is still cool.
"Neutrino blast", whispers Max.
As people start to recover, they see on the windows something new. Two powerful jets of hot plasma escape from the poles of the star. Supernova has started. Max gets fast into the cabin. Both the pilot and copilot have lost consciousness. They are all heated, like having a big fever. Max tries to pull the pilot out and take off its clothes. Outside, the two flares shine very powerful.
A few minutes pass, until the pilot becomes aware of what is going on.
"We have to restart the ship", says the pilot.
"Fast!" shouts Max.
But the copilot is no longer breathing. Dead.
The pilot tries to pull the manual switch, to restart an emergency generator. Nothing is working.
"Push this!" shouts to Max.
There is a manual energy generator. Max rotates a wheel. Some energy is produced, at least to control the main panel. The pilot desperately tries to restart the ship. commands are not working. Nothing works as it should be. The main generator is offline, the auxiliary generator is not working.
"Come on!" shouts the pilot. "Rotate faster!"
Time is ticking. The core collapsed. Supernova started. The two polar flares last only for twenty minutes, then they stop. But the ship refuses to start. Betelgeuse looks again like it did before.
"We have two hours before the explosion hits the outer layers of the star", says the pilot.
An hour pass, without results. then, the pilot turns on a switch, an emergency battery. The command panel receives more energy. Now, time to start the auxiliary generator. That might produce some power, to start the engines finally. But, the battery has limited power.
"Just burn all your power before the supernova hits us!" shouts the pilot, directing all power to restart the generator.
It works. The generator starts... and not receiving enough power, it almost stops. They wait for a minute. Ok, it works! Now, forge the generator at full power, to start the main one. It takes time, minutes... Finally, the main generator is on. Now, to restart the engines.
"One at a time", whispers Max.
"No. All of them, once. If not, we won't make it".
The engines start heating. all is going as planned. Finally, the ship start accelerating again.
"Ah, we are saved!" whispers the pilot, falling back to its chair. "Now, the real blast will not catch us".
Max gets back to where all passengers are waiting, shouting:
"We made it! The engines are back functional!"
The ship accelerates as fast as it can. But, just as Max finishes saying this, everyone can see a powerful light. Supernova has started. The explosion has reached the surface. Now, Betelgeuse is no longer what it were.
"We will close the windows", says the pilot. "There are gamma and X rays outside".
The core collapsed. Surrounding it, there was a very tight shell of iron, that, the neutrino burst pushed strongly outwards. This massive push is what actually blows the star apart. Now, inner parts from the star are getting outside. They are heated to millions, even billions of degrees. At such temperatures, plasma emits nearly all its light in UV, X rays and gamma rays. Light arrives first. Then, come the plasma blast wave. It travels much slower, with 3 to 30% the speed of light. As it advances, the plasma is slowed down by the interstellar environment.
Now, without the massive dose of neutrinos, all electronics and all parts of the ship can operate better. The ship increases speed faster. Behind, there is a massive flare. Betelgeuse is literally ripped apart. Huge chinks of matter are blown away. Outside the ship, the walls are reaching melting temperature... but the ship is getting away faster and faster. This time, it is on automated pilot.
One more day and the ship reaches 60% of the speed of light. The supernova is raging behind, but now, the distance is greater. Time gets shorter. Finally, the ship reaches light speed. The engines curve space-time, to travel with a speed above that of the light. Now, everyone is safe. In the pilot cabin, Max can see how the blast is decreasing... and Betelgeuse is seen as before the explosion. And finally, the ship reaches its destination, Betelgeuse S.
From there, the star, Betelgeuse, appears bright red. Even if it exploded, it will take ten Earth years to see this happening. Here, everything looks so calm.
**********
The door closes. Melissa is trapped outside, with a few other people, trying to open the door. But it is no use. The ship departs. Someone grabs the door... and falls from a hundred meters high. And just as the ship departs, the online panel starts beeping its alarm. Silicon fusion overwhelmed neutrino loss.
People scream, curse and cry. But Melissa knows there is only one way out. At about 74 km away, there is a former mine. Down there, some people tried to build a closed ecosystem, where they could survive. It is the only way out. No time to lose. There are no vehicles moving on the planet. The only way there is by foot.
So, Melissa does not lose a second and starts walking. Soon comes the night. But, on Betelgeuse VII, even night is not dark. Strong auroras illuminate the land. It is not hard to see your way around. After only 10 km, its legs are starting to hurt. After 20, it is painful... but there is no time to cry. Even worse, it starts to rain. After 30 km, Melissa reaches another town, Pink Marvel. There, the online panel rings its alarm and shows how much time is left. After 40 km, its feet start to accommodate with the endless effort. 50 km and there is an orchard of oranges. Time for a pause, to eat something. But, after this, the feet are hurting even more. Morning comes. 60 km... a massive pain. Melissa feels very tired, hardly walking.
"At least Max is safe".
70 km... and the mountains are visible. The former road is still visible, climbing. Come on! Then, at noon, the entrance is visible. Melissa gets to the gate that lets inside the mine. It is closed. Twenty hours have passed. There still is time. Tired, Melissa sits near the door and falls asleep. Then, someone comes.
"You!" shouts that person.
"Please let me in!"
"Show me your weapons!"
"I have nothing!"
That person opens the gate. Melissa can hardly walk. They get into an elevator, then travel 4 km down. A few people get around.
"Who is it?" asks someone.
"I don't know, I found it at the gate".
"It looks very tired. Where do you come?"
"From Fat Cat", whispers Melissa. "Thank you for letting me in".
Knowing that the sun will explode, people built apartments inside the old mine. They also grow plants for food. Using devices from a crushed spaceship and whatever they could salvage from the former mining equipment, they built a geothermal power plant. they have light and food. Probably, they will be locked away from the world forever.
Melissa eats something and falls asleep. It wakes-up just an hour before supernova. People also have a timer inside. They wait... Minutes pass. When they have only one minute, they close all equipment, lighting a small torch. Everybody gets close and starts to prey. If only the neutrino blast will pass away... 30 seconds... 20... 10...
Then, the cavern becomes illuminated in blue. They feel a powerful heat. The walls are heating, but not too much. They are lucky. In other parts, the neutrino blast burned people alive.
They sit for an hour like this, praying to survive. Finally, someone turns on the power plant. There is light again. Soon, outside, the supernova starts. Temperatures rise to 20000 degrees C and even higher. But deep here, everyone is safe... for now.
Can a planet survive supernova? Yes, if it is far away from its star. Close planets will not have a chance. The whole mass of Betelgeuse is blown away, with speeds that vary between 3 and 30% the speed of light. Given the distance to Betelgeuse VII, the blast will reach it in 3 days and will keep on scourging the planet for 30 days. Simple math shows that, during these 30 days, each square meter of the planet will be bombarded by 500 kg of very hot plasma, at extreme speed. This is by far enough to destroy anything on the surface. First, the atmosphere is blown, then the oceans and everything on ground. Then, the ground itself, is heated, liquefied and vaporized, blown away by the powerful blow of the explosion. No supernova is homogenous. A planet can be more lucky and find a gap, while another planet can be completely liquefied and eroded this way. At least, things don't go like in sci-fi movies, where planets explode. No. They are eroded, layer by layer, until the liquid magma is exposed, which is removed much more easy.
Inside their home, Melissa and the others cannot see anything outside. The first days come without any problems. The crust is holding on. But, as time pass, they feel quakes. The walls are shaking and making some noise. It is clear that a significant part of the crust is being eroded. People can only wait and hope. After twenty days, quakes are more frequent. the ground seems never to stop shaking and the noise never ends. The planet is affected by the fact that Betelgeuse is no more. Both the planet and the star were connected by gravity. Now, since that gravity is gone, the crust tries to find a new equilibrium.
After 30 days, it should be over. There still are quakes. Nobody knows what is outside, but it is clear that they made it. Now, they might be stuck forever here, beneath the surface. Outside, lava are solidifying, as the last blow from the supernova is moving away. Once, Melissa and the others were at 4 km beneath surface. But now, they are only 50 meters below. Much of the crust was eroded. Still, outside, radiations are very strong, from the nebula that supernova left behind.
Max and Melissa are both alive, but separated... maybe forever. Betelgeuse had exploded, but its children survive.
TO BE CONTINUED
