TEMPORAL POSTING

Thursday, 22nd Jan 2032

Early morning in the East Africa Medical University, Bosco Masaba sat by window in the Lecture Hall G. Being on the sixth floor, he had a panoramic view of the campus grounds. He watched the students driving into their designated parking spaces, some rowdy ones even quarreled over parking spaces before security intervened. He watched all this with an eye of indifference as they waited for the Professor to step in and take them through the day's lecture.

He may have been inside the lecture hall, but his mind was far away. The clock was ticking for him and everyone on earth. It was two days before the asteriod 82031 DOOM better known as Apcalypse2 entered the earth's atmosphere.

The whole world was in a tense situation. Fear, anxiety, depression, and panic had settled over the world. It could be seen in the communication. The future was uncertain for everyone.

He was worried about himself but more so for his family a thousand miles in another state. When he last talked to them yesterday night, they assured him that they were not rushing to the designated government shelters come Saturday.

They had resigned themselves to the fact that death comes for all men and women at the appointed hour. and that there is no escaping from it, so instead of rushing into the shelter to cower in fear while nervously praying that the worst doesn't come to pass. They preferred to go out on their terms, in their homes where they were at peace. His father told him that he was being worried for nothing, the place at risk was Europe, and as such there was no chance that the asteriod or its fragments would divert to the African continent. He saw it as being farfetched.

He tried to put some sense into them but it entered through one ear and came out from the other side Bosco Masaba believed that the asteriod Apocalypse2 was most likely to split into hundreds or thousands of fragments once the World Government's military struck it. A joint communication from the Pacific and Atlantic Strategic Military Command stated the military was prepping to use Hypersonic Missiles in a coordinated strike on the asteriod once it reached Earth. There was no guarantee that all the fragments from the strike would burn up in the atmosphere and not touch down. There was a high chance that several of those fragments would be big enough to survive the fiery journey to Earth, no one knew where they would land. Hopefully, they will drop in the water but it was better to be prepared, just like all the regional powers were doing.

Such situations made him wish he was back at home. Maybe his presence could carry more weight than his words. Also, even if they were ready to embrace death; they were not ready to die with their only son.

"Good morning, everyone," he heard a familiar voice from the entrance of the hall. He shifted his attention to the newcomer.

He saw it was Professor Jacob Bata and some other gentleman he did not know. The latter was a tall man of 6'2, athletic build, and around 40 years old. He had a smooth face without any beard, similar to a male reality show celebrity who used makeup to appear younger and more youthful. The unknown gentleman was elegantly dressed in a fitting, and expensive navy-blue suit with a yellow shirt and blue tie. As for the professor, he was dressed in his trademark short-sleeved khaki Kaunda suit.

Professor Jacob was an old man in his late sixties, of medium height (5'4) with a bulky body; the round pot belly being the most prominent feature. His bald and oily head was always reflecting sunlight or whatever light fell upon it. The students had nicknamed him 'reflector', but they were wise enough not to call him so in his presence. Of all the lecturers in this university, Bosco Masaba found him to be one of the jolliest and kindest lecturers.

"Good morning, Professor." Some of the students answered.

Professor Jacob passed his eyes around the hall, taking note of the number in attendance. His brown eyes broke out into a smile once he saw that the number was above average.

"I assume most of you are here for the Systemic Pharmacology lecture. On a normal day, that could be the case, but today is not a normal day." Professor Jacob Bata surprised them. All of them were here for his lecture.

Rarely did he break his routine, he never missed his lectures. If he was not physically around, then he could conduct a virtual lecture from wherever he was. The most memorable one was when he lectured to them virtually for two weeks while in the Amazon rainforest, he introduced them to new plants with herbal benefits, these plants were only found in the Amazon rainforest.

"I guess you are all wondering, who is this handsome stranger that professor has brought into our class? Like I said, these are not normal days and some things have had to be adjusted a bit to fit in with the dire times we find ourselves in.

Standing before you is the esteemed Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health. I will let him introduce himself." He gestured for the guest to address the class.

The guest stepped forward, cleared his throat, and observed the students in the lecture hall as if he were looking for a familiar face. "Good morning upcoming Doctors! I am Dunga Funtula, and I am the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health for the state of Tanzania. It's my pleasure to stand before you on this day.

I know most of you are curious about why a bureaucrat like me is here. Well, I have no desire to keep you guessing for long. I will reiterate what Professor Jacob has just said, these are dire times and we have been forced to take drastic measures.

At the Ministry, we have been compelled to take the drastic measure of temporarily posting each of you to understaffed hospitals for the duration of this upcoming crisis. You will assist the resident Doctors in the roles where they need help.

All of you will be posted for tentatively five days. That's from twenty-third to twenty-eight of this month.

Before you ask, know that your time off your studies will be adequately compensated. The Ministry has chosen to pay you seven World Credits (WCs) per hour. Besides that, your transportation, accommodation, and per diem will be paid upfront. This money is going to be wired this afternoon once the Minister and Accountant sign the files." Dunga Funtula 's words excited the medical students.

Students like Bosco Masaba were excited at the mention of being paid upfront such a big percentage of the money. This money was a real goldmine, which they did not expect. It warmed up their hearts to know of this lucrative posting. The only question was, where were they going to be posted?

"Professor Jacob has the allocation list. He is going to share it with you. Thank you for your time." He concluded his short speech.

Some students raised their hands in the air, not giving him a chance to leave.

** *