A Gram of a Passing Traveler

They were merely visitors from beyond the Solar System. They had entered it by chance, then resolutely returned to the depths of the vast universe.

Non-periodic Comet 9649XS

"In the five thousand comet records spanning the past several centuries, 9649XS has never been directly observed. Some comets have been transformed from non-periodic comets into new periodic comets by the gravitational pull of planets within the Solar System. It seems to be gathering an undetectable force and heading toward the Sun. Moreover, this force is undergoing a qualitative change."

"That explanation is unscientific, Doctor. Could it be that gravitational perturbations and attraction from outer planets are sending it toward the Sun?"

"It has already passed Neptune. Do you know what that means?"

"Neptune is about 4.504 billion kilometers from the Sun, or 30.13 astronomical units. So where is it now?"

"That's exactly what I'm trying to tell you. The force it's gathering is changing the mass of the universe. It passed Saturn in just 24.4 light-years. It's becoming photons."

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.