The Black Hole on Erie Boulevard

The black thing had a diameter of about six feet. It was hovering about thirty feet above the street, vibrating a little, and slowly descending toward the pavement. I stared at it for a few seconds not quite believing my eyes. I knew what this was though I had never seen one. I needed to act!

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed 911. "State your emergency," came a voice at the other end. "There's a black hole above Erie Boulevard," I shouted. It's settling toward the street. We need to take immediate action. This is not a joke!"

"This is not what 911 is for, sir," the woman said. "You're breaking the law. Hang up!".

"You don't understand! This is a real black hole, the kind there is in space. Put someone on who understands what I'm saying. There isn't a lot of time to act!"

"Just a moment, sir." There were a few seconds of delay that seemed like a year.

"What's this about a black hole?" It was a man's voice.

"Sir, my name is Henry Cartright. I'm a General Electric engineer at the Schenectady plant. I'm standing on Erie Boulevard with my cell phone. I was walking home from work. Above the street there is a real black hole. The kind that's in space. But a lot smaller. I knew tiny ones existed but I never thought I'd actually see one. It looks like a round black ball. There is one here now. I'm looking at it. It's dangerous. We need to take immediate action. Its pull of gravity could kill dozens, maybe thousands of people. Even the entire world might be at risk. We need a helicopter here right away!"

I don't know why I should trust you, the man said. But, there is something in your voice that makes me think you're on the level. Stay right there. I'll contact the Albany airport and get back to you as soon as I can.

I watched as the black sphere continued a slow descent, perhaps a couple of inches a minute. It was a slow but definite movement. There was a contest going on between the gravities of Earth and of the black hole. Earth was winning. The sphere was close to the street. If it got there, nothing would be safe, autos, trucks, buildings, people. All this an more could be sucked into the ball's blackness.

"I convinced them to act," said the voice. The chopper should be there in a few minutes. He'll make radio contact with your cell phone. Tell the pilot what needs to be done."

The next few minutes were a race against time. On Erie Boulevard, cars in both directions had stopped. The doors on some of them were being opened.

There were sounds in the air. I looked up and saw a large helicopter. A voice came from my phone. "My name is Rogers. What do you want me to do Mr. Cartright?"

"Rogers, come down slowly until you're near the black ball," I said. "This is a black hole. It will be attracted to you and try to pull you to it. When that happens, increase your power to keep this from happening. Move upward so that it keeps following you. But, don't let it get close! Stay a good amount of distance above it. Keep doing this until you and the black hole are several thousand feet in the air. Then begin moving horizontally and have it chase you as you increase your speed. When you're going as fast as you can cut your engine and let the thing fly past you. Hopefully, it will reenter space where it came from."

"That's a tall order," the pilot said. "What would happen if the thing gets too close or hits me?"

"Your chopper and you will be immediately absorbed by it, Mr. Rogers. It will happen so fast you won't feel a thing. If you succeed in what you're doing, you'll save a lot lives and become famous. If you fail, you'll be remembered by the world as one of the bravest men of the twenty-first century. That is, if there is a world after that to do the remembering!"