A single-pilot spacecraft arrived at its interception point to study a comet. The starship’s captain had just been told by Mission Control that he had reached the age to be reassigned to Earth-bound duty when he returned. The ship’s computer detected the captain’s vitals were stressed. A tube of food dispensed into a tray while the computer asked the captain if he needed nourishment. The captain told the computer that it was the finest ship built and deserved the best pilot. “I would be worried if I were up here without you,” the man said.

The comet’s name was Big Bad John. It hurtled through space in the direction of the starship. The captain began to collect samples. Suddenly the spacecraft was drawn into the comet’s gravitational pull. As they went down the computer estimated that the captain’s survival rate would be higher if he ejected in the escape pod. The captain did not agree but the computer ejected him. They separated and the captain’s capsule landed in a freezing cold environment. The starship crashed in a terrain with smoke vents and lava flows. In an instant the comet was gone with only its vanishing tail to show it passed by.