Dr. Evelyn Clarke stood at the frost-covered window of the research station, her breath forming a mist against the triple-paned glass. The darkness of the night stretched out over the Arctic landscape outside. Her mind felt heavy, the steaming cup of coffee in her hands unable to push back the weariness that had settled deep in her bones.

 

The hum of machines continued softly around her, a heartbeat of vibration and sound amidst the frozen silence outside. Throughout the station, computers blinked with data, charts mapped out trajectories of celestial bodies, and numerous screens ran endless simulations. What had begun as a glitch or miscalculation settled into stark confirmation: something fundamental was changing.

 

Nearby, Dr. Jameson Shaw, their physicist, stood hunched over a workstation, deep in concentration. His normal, steadfast demeanor quickly changed into one Evelyn hadn’t seen before.

 

“Any updates on the core samples?” Evelyn asked, her voice cutting through the quiet.

 

Jameson looked up, his grave expression chilling Evelyn. “It’s consistent. There are fluctuations in the density and composition, but they’re trending in one direction. As if…” He hesitated, searching for the right words. “As if the Earth is coming undone.”

 

Evelyn nodded. What had started as a curious scientific puzzle turned into a cataclysm in the making. The Arctic night was long; daylight should have broken days ago, but it didn't. Humanity stood on the brink of crisis. Evelyn could feel her breath catching in her throat.

 

As if on cue, Maya Singh, the youngest researcher on-site and a genuine prodigy, walked through the door into the central research room. “Have we made any progress?” she asked, a hint of anxiety coloring her tone. Maya was the reason behind this research station, having created a novel positron laser array the station now used to research the Arctic ice.

 

Evelyn turned to the young woman, willing herself to be the leader they expected, hoping to hide the genuine fear she now felt. “Conclusive, Maya. The Earth’s rotation is slowing down. We need to find out why and fast.”

 

Maya stumbled upon hearing those words. “What if we can’t stop it; what do we do?” she said, voicing the unspoken question on everyone’s mind.

 

“Our jobs,” Evelyn snapped. “Get to work. We need data. Lots of it.”

 

* * *

 

“Shit,” Maya said, at first in a whisper and then several more times in increasing volume. She grabbed a handful of papers and rushed towards Evelyn.

 

Evelyn looked over them. “A star?” she asked, piquing Jameson’s interest and beckoning him over.

 

“A neutron star.”

 

“It’s pulling the planet apart,” Jameson said, leaning over Evelyn’s shoulder. “Good Lord, it’s going to destroy us. How did we miss this?”

 

“There was nothing to miss. It just… appeared.”

 

“It’s not just that. Look at the gravitational field. It’s conical,” Jameson said. “Only the Earth is being affected.”

 

A silence hung in the air for a moment. “It’s a weapon,” Evelyn finally whispered.

 

* * *

 

“Go over the plan one more time, Maya,” Evelyn said over the comms.

 

“I’ll adjust the five satellite arrays out here to point towards a single point, piggybacking onto several more hanging out in low orbit. When aligned, the array should be able to take the gravitons and convert them into positrons,” Maya recited. “Jameson will then adjust a magnetic field to direct the resulting laser towards the neutron star. With luck, we can stop that gravitational field. ”

 

“Perfect. Be careful out there; once the final array is adjusted, there’s no telling what could happen.”

 

“I don’t like this,” Jameson said, “it’s too risky for her to be out there.”

 

“She’s the only one of us who can handle that array; it’s her creation. We’ve only got one shot to get this right. It’ll be okay. It has to be.”

 

“I hope you’re right.”

 

* * *

 

“Run! Maya, you have to get back to the station!”

 

“I’m,” Maya huffed, “trying!” Maya sprinted across the snow-covered landscape, her bulky trekking suit hampering her progress. Above, auroras danced among the night sky like the furious waves of a stormy sea, swirling around a singular point.

 

“You must get back here before that gamma pulse hits!” 

 

Maya slowed, looking upwards at the beauty in the sky and understanding the power it belied. It had always been a suicide mission. “Sorry, guys, I don’t think I’m going to make it.”

 

Evelyn and Jameson could do nothing but watch as an enormous circle of heat melted the snow all around Maya, who buckled and fell, irradiated with a lethal dose of gamma.

 

Jameson slammed a fist down, cracking the thin, wooden desk and sending everything flying. “No!” he screamed. Evelyn raised a hand to cover her mouth, but her eyes were unflinching.

 

* * *

 

Cameras flashed over the two researchers, who stood somberly before a podium. Behind them, graphs and videos displayed the aftermath of the neutron star’s attack, a testament to their desperate gamble to save the planet.

 

“We were attacked,” Evelyn said, her voice heavy with grief. “Our magnetic field has stabilized, shielding us from solar radiation, but we must face our new reality.”

 

“This world is slowing down, and at some point soon, it will stop. Half of this planet will exist in the daytime, the other will always be night,” continued Jameson.

 

“However, without the brave sacrifice of Dr. Maya Singh,” Evelyn said as a picture of the young woman appeared behind her, “we would not be here at all. Her ingenuity managed to repel the weapon, but not destroy it. Whoever had unleashed it on us managed to retrieve it. Make no mistake, humanity is at war. Together, we’ll navigate this new world until the time comes when daylight dawns for us again.”