First it was a scientist with a thick Germanic accent tittering about impact forces. Next it was various world leaders proclaiming the need for unprecedented cooperation. And finally it was the preachers extolling repentance.

All over the world, people grimly gathered supplies for the coming apocalypse or hid in their basements and prayed. All the while, a clock counted down continuously on their tv screens.

NASA led the way in the design, and the rest of the world simply provided the material and the manpower. Massive sheets were cut to spec as foreman and the entire world watched with anticipation. Finally, the day of reckoning arrived.

Men swarmed over the anticipated impact area like ants, moving cranes and equipment into place. At a set time, and with a coordination never before seen in human history, the massive sheet began to unfold above the Iowa plains.

As the massive space rock hurtled toward Cedar Rapids at over a million kph, it was time to finally find out if paper did indeed beat rock.