Mark R. Donahue
  • Mark Donahue
    • Author
    • Athlete >
      • Baseball
      • Basketball
    • Executive
    • Producer
    • On Air
    • In Print
  • The Novels Sneak Peaks
    • Last At Bat Chapter 1
    • STAT$ Chapter 1
    • Golden Reich Prologue
    • Fat Girl Prologue
    • Answer Man Prologue
  • The Stories
    • Last at Bat
    • Stat$
    • Golden Reich
    • Fat Girl
    • Answer Man
    • Second Serve
    • Call Me Jesse
    • New York Dirt
    • Unsolicited
    • War College
    • The Farm
  • The Trailers
    • Last At Bat
    • Fat Girl
    • Golden Reich
    • Answer Man
    • Second Serve
    • Call Me Jesse
    • STAT$
    • New York Dirt
    • War College
    • Unsolicited
    • The Farm

Answer Man

​
Answer Man
​by Mark Donahue


​Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.

    
Walden, The Pond In Winter, Henry David Thoreau
​Prologue​
 ​2018

LIFELESS AND FRIGID, A SLATE GRAY ROCK, the size of a major Midwestern city, sped through the darkness somewhere between Jupiter and Mars as it had done for billions of years. Its speed averaged over 62,000 miles per hour, varying  based on the gravitational pull exerted on it from the millions of objects it passed on its journey through the void.

Its area was nearly twenty square miles shaped like an imperfect rectangle. Made up of a mixture of elements including oxygen, silicon, iron, nickel, and magnesium, its precise weight was incalculable, but its precise potential for devastation was immeasurable.  

It was one of millions in the asteroid belt, but unlike some, it didn’t rotate around its principle axis but rather tumbled chaotically through the void like a knuckleball thrown on a windless day in Yankee Stadium.

The rock was well-known to the two astronomers who had been following its progress, or more importantly, its revised path and ultimate destination.

“Why the change?”

“Has to be Jupiter.”

“Yeah, has to be Jupiter.”

“What do you think?”

“The numbers don’t lie.”

“I know the damn numbers don’t lie, but what do you think?”

“I think we’re f****ed.”


“Yeah, I think we’re pretty much f****ed too.” 
​
Copyrighted Material. All Rights Reserved.
 ​Donahue Literary Properties LLC, 2014--2021, all rights reserved.
Contents of this site including text and media may not be reproduced without prior written consent.  
​
Audio and video elements of this site are property of their respective owners and are used with permission.
Any views, opinions, or information contained in articles or links to articles and other websites posted on this site by third party author(s) are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of this website.   
  • Mark Donahue
    • Author
    • Athlete >
      • Baseball
      • Basketball
    • Executive
    • Producer
    • On Air
    • In Print
  • The Novels Sneak Peaks
    • Last At Bat Chapter 1
    • STAT$ Chapter 1
    • Golden Reich Prologue
    • Fat Girl Prologue
    • Answer Man Prologue
  • The Stories
    • Last at Bat
    • Stat$
    • Golden Reich
    • Fat Girl
    • Answer Man
    • Second Serve
    • Call Me Jesse
    • New York Dirt
    • Unsolicited
    • War College
    • The Farm
  • The Trailers
    • Last At Bat
    • Fat Girl
    • Golden Reich
    • Answer Man
    • Second Serve
    • Call Me Jesse
    • STAT$
    • New York Dirt
    • War College
    • Unsolicited
    • The Farm