Van Cott (Silent for a moment, tamps his pipe with his finger, looks up at the overhead lights): All right. (Leans back, holding out the bowl of his pipe) If these objects are as heavy as we think, they should be very big. But when they hit the ocean, they didn't make much of a splash. So they can't be both heavy . . . (Clasps his hands together around the bowl of the pipe and shakes them, then withdraws them to arm's length) and big. Heavy and small, that's something else. Not much energy transfer to the ocean or the sea bottom. Not much of an impact area. So we can draw some logical deductions. One, each object is very dense. Say they're made of neutronium. That fits the bill. We may not need black holes. Neutronium is matter squeezed down to push electrons and protons together to make neutrons. Nothing but neutrons. Never mind where the aliens would get this neutronium. Don't ask me. I don't know for sure. I also don't know how they keep a lump of neutronium squeezed together. The second one throws off a lot of sparks and causes radiation poisoning. Some people say the second one is making most of the noise, inside. (Pokes the pipe down at the floor) That speaks to me. That tells me something. Two objects, let's assume one is neutronium, then the other might be made of antineutrons, antineutronium.

Kearney: Neutrons are neutral particles, as I understand it. How can there be antineu-trons if they're neutral?

(Music rises)

Van Cott (Sighing): That takes a while to explain. Why not break for a commercial, and then I’ll tell you.

(Break)

Van Cott: Neutrons are electrically neutral, but that doesn't mean they can't have anti-particles. When two antiparticles meet, they annihilate each other completely. So now we have two objects, falling through the Earth. Neutronium is very dense compared with rock. The objects—let's call them bullets—would orbit within the Earth, passing through the core as if it were very thin air. They would be very cold—neutronium, being dense, would absorb lots of heat. They would not slow much at all during each orbit.

The antineutronium bullet would interact with the Earth's matter and create what's called an ambi-plasma, which would prevent the antineutronium from blowing up all at once. This bullet would slow down much more rapidly. So finally it comes to rest at the center of the Earth, spitting and sparking, making lots of noise. When the other bullet slows down enough to also come to rest, the two meet . . . and I ' m not sure what would happen after that.

Kearney: Maybe this anti—or whatever-plasma would keep them separated.

Van Cott (Nodding): Smart thinking. Maybe, and then again—maybe not. Maybe the pressure at the Earth's core would hold them together long enough for them to fuse.

Kearney: What would happen then?