Last Christmas

GAZE: Last Christmas was published by the GAZE editorial in in January 1, 1999. It is centered on the impeding impact of the Ulysses 1994XF04 asteroid.

Intro
Featured in this issue "Evacuees who Diffuse to the World"

The armor that is refulgent in gold. In front of its calm mask are various people of different races. Even in a world where chaos and turmoil prevail, the atmosphere in this castle is stern, and the prayer which transcends the difference of faith is about to begin. The holy night has arrived for these evacuees who are far from home. They bow down their heads in worship, but no one can hold back the tremor that the approaching threat causes. A threat which humankind has never seen before... as the planetfall of Ulysses Asteroid is drawing near, people have started to leave the Usean continent and flee to any place considered safe.

"A Shelterized Castle"
Gracemeria, the capital of the Republic of Emmeria. The transfer of the capital to this city took place when the nation became a republic. The city is mainly comprised of two areas; the old town area in the west and the developed area over the bay. King's Bridge, which connects these two areas characterizes the city. It is an extremely developed large city not only in the country of Emmeria but also in the Anean continent.

Situated on top of the hill where you can see the city clearly is the ancient castle. It has stood there since the 15th century when the country was a kingdom. An underground shelter is being constructed at a rapid pace within the caslte's site, and a part of the section that have already finished construction is starting to accommodate those who are recognized as evacuees. Since construction has been done for only 3 months, the depth of the shelter is not on the same level as that of those built in and around the main cities in Usea. But the exterior of the shelter built by local general contractors is believed to be thick enough. The shelter here is made of ultra-high-strength fiber-reinforced concrete. It is hence shock-proof, and has large spaces with a 15,000 people capacity inside. This, however, means that the assigned lot for an individual person is about 3.3‡u. Whether or not more comfortability is necessary is, of course, another discussion.

16 large-scale and small-scale shelters including this one are being planned in Gracemeria, and more than 200,000 people will eventually wait for Ulysses Day in these shelters. Gracemeria has the largest number of people held in the shelters among the main cities in the Anean Continent, and also takes the next largest share of evacuees across the globe to Oured, the capital of the Osean Federation.

In December of 1998, the number of shelter construction sites in the territories of the United Nations member states had reached 160, and every nation had declared acceptance of evacuees from the Usean Continent and its surrounding areas to a greater or lesser extent. Evacuee support activities such as medical attention, food supply, accommodations, outreach and so on are being carried out by a lot of NGOs, and the network of these activities keeps expanding even more.

About 6 months are left till the planetfall of the asteroid. As if prompted by Ulysses approaching from the northern sky, a global scale migration has just begun.

"Wider Damage Range than Estimated"
What lies in the large-scale increase of evacuees immediately before the fall of the asteroid is the monthly report of the predicted damage patterns issued in last July by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). According to it, a space probe approached the asteroid in the 42nd month (June of 1998) since the Comona Observatory started to make observations. Analysis of the images taken by the probe and the results of the gravity measurements revealed the more distinct internal structure of the body of the asteroid. Ulysses was found to highly likely have a gap or a hollow inside. Recalculations were done by the team of astrophysicians of the IAU along with the University of Seals Bridge. As a result, it was found that Ulysses would be torn into two huge fragments due to the proportion between the Earth's gravity and the Asteroid's mass. Wider surfaces of the Earth would have to endure the fall of the fragments of the asteroid.

This new damage prediction was, rather unexpectedly, announced to the world solely by the IAU. This was because Project STN led by the FCU had already gone past the point where a drastic change and review of the project was possible. The FCU member states and the UN had no other choice but to leave the news to the IAU's decision. Untill then, Project STN had assumed the range of the fall of the asteroid fragments coming through the Roche limit to be within a radius of 1200-1500 km at the center of the Usean Continent. However, the updated report exceeded the existing data by estimating the areas enclosed by the meridian lines of 135 degrees east and 30 degrees west would be totally hit by the fragments.

Even Stonehenge would not be able to deal with the fragments raining down on eastern Anea. If modifications were added for Stonehenge to have longer range, it would give birth to new friction and conflict among the nations. At this point, the FCU member states decided that they should focus their efforts on rendering Project STN more secure and reliable along with their allied nations.

Needless to say, upon hearing the news, Anean countries were put in confusion. Whatever the situation, unlike Usea that possessed Stonehenge in San Salvacion, the Aneans had no technology or resources to safeguard themselves. Facing an atrocious situation overnight, they raised their voice against the IAU and FCU's crisis management capabilities. There were some groups that were about to hold a large-scale demonstration. Taking their feelings into account, there was no asking them to calm down. Scientifically correct decisions do not necessarily save human lives.

But in the middle of this, Lord Alberto Lawrence from the former royal family of the Republic of Emmeria contained the chaos.

"The World in Unison with Emmeria"
Entry formalities are being done day by day in the air base in the western side of the castle. Lord Lawrence kindly talks to each and every evacuee who are exhausted from the long flight so that they can feel at home. Lord Lawrence, descended from King Aurelius, is the one who made an appeal to the Emmerian government to accept evacuees and advocated cooperation among the neighboring nations - most of which used to be Kingdoms. Construction of a shelter inside Gracemeria Castle was also proposed by him. This was because he deeply understood the characteristics of the structure of the castle, rather than because he was a philanthropist.

A castle is, in the first place, a defensive structure to deal with enemy attacks. It is a key place for battle, and at the same time a key place for stocking food, ammunition, and funds. A castle is also a place where information and politics are integrated. Besides, it is often built on a mountain to take advantage of the mountain's topography. This location makes it difficult not only for the enemy but also for natural disasters such as a flood to reach the castle.

Lord Lawrence regarded these features of a castle as useful even against the fall of an asteroid. The underground passages and rooms can be used as refuges. It is possible to dig more rooms thanks to the firm ground. Even when cut off from infrastructure, a supply of resources in store will enable the residents to live on for a certain period of time. Even if a fragment of the Asteroid hits the nearby ocean and causes a tsunami, its geographical location can minimize the effect of it.

Most of the castles that each country is in possession of are assets only of historic value. Lord Lawrence took notice of this and persuaded the former royal families of the neighboring countries to allot the castles to evacuees. The Emmerian government backed him up totally, and came up with a comprehensive salvation plan to save people living in the most dangerous area first in accordance with the Impact Hazard Level of each area. All of Emmeria's airplanes and ships began to be mobilized for transportation purposes. At the same time, human resources were also being sent to international organizations for humanitarian aid. "If the FCU is in charge of offense, who is in charge of defense? The fact that the asteroid will collide with the Earth is of equal value to all human beings. Let us ask ourselves what to do!" Each nation took no time in responding to this message.

"The Legend of the Golden King"
"I remember when I was a kid. Just beneath where you are standing was my secret playground."said Lord Lawrence, with a childlike smile upon his face. We were guided into the King's audience chamber where evacuees gathered to live. We found ourselves in front of the large statue of the Golden King. All displays were removed but this, for this is very symbolic for the Emmerian people. The Emmerians wished the Golden King, their historic hero, to be with them on the Ulysses Day, and Lord Lawrence made their wish come true. This chamber seems to be the first spot to visit for evacuees who just arrived here.

The legend of the Golden King was authored by heroic king Aurelius II of the medieval times. The legend is based off of a god of war, the "Golden Titan" from ancient myth. Gracemeria and its surroundings have been fertile soil, and many vassals had fought in the past over the control of the land. As a result, the land became desolate and insecure. Foreigners invaded the land and waged war incessantly. Sovereignty and order were lost. It was Aurelius II who stood up to put an end to the domestic disorders and prevent the foreigners from invading Emmeria.

The statue of the Golden King was originally created to raise troops' morale, and the unit with this statue soon became invincible. The enemy lost the will to fight at the sight of the Golden King, and the unit emerged victorious even without fighting. Later on, Aurelius II himself persuaded the vassals to bring back peace and order to the state. Since then, foreign states' invasion finally came to an end. This episode was quoted in the declaration of the establishment of the new nation when Emmeria changed its political regime from monarchy to republic.

The expression of the mask is said to be molded after Aurelius II. We have surely seen a very similar face to this around here. This face represents the love of peace rather than bravery. It shines as if to beat back the cold weather of this season, and as if to gently answer the prayer of those who gather here. Today is the day of celebration. Prayers are said, thoughts are layered, and songs are sung.

Lord Lawrence closed his eyes and said, "All I want to do is do as he did. That is all."

The extinction of dinosaurs is attributed to the collision of a huge asteroid some 65 million years ago. Collision of asteroids may have had huge influence on history of the human race. There have been sudden annihilation of civilizations or culturs and rises of eschatology. But every time they occurred, human beings grew up to conquer them. And so, we enjoy prosperity today. As history has been written by historians, this event will also be written as a time of trial for the humankind if we can survive until today of the next year. We believe that we can conquer the sufferings and catastrophe yet to come. This is happening not to someone but to everyone. This is the road that all of us have to walk.