The Ring Maker

Sudden g-forces from the engines slammed Glurg into the pod cushions. Alerts sprinkled all over the holographic display. Air exchange efficiency was dropping. Unconsciousness was imminent. Anticipation building, Glurg twitched a tentacle and watched the power level of the front cannons soar past the safety limits. It would be mere moments before internal stresses would rip the ship apart.

Dark spots floated across Glurg’s vision. With another tentacle twitch, the cannons fired, and the engines stopped. Kickback from the heavy metal slugs at these overextended power levels would have turned everything inside the craft into slurry. Glurg had gambled on the acceleration from the engines acting as a dampener. The trick worked!

As alerts cleared, the holographic screen filled with accolades from Glurg’s followers. Tapping the air jets, Glurg centered the massive moon that was circling the planet on the screen.

The seconds ticked by, and BOOOOMMMM! Sound was added in by the computer system as the slugs struck the moon. “DIRECT HIT!” flashed on the screen for a few seconds. Glurg and the followers back home watched as the moon disintegrated into a massive cloud of dust. The gravity of the gas planet immediately started to smear the dust into the beginnings of a smooth ring.

Glurg punched a button that inserted a “Subscribe Now” segment into the video feed followed by a series of advertisements, and plotted a course for home.

Billions of years later, on Earth …

“How did Saturn get its rings, mommy?”

“No one knows, dear.”