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that got in its way, waiting for the day it would cross paths with a bigger foe.
    Little did it know how close it was about to come.
    Yuri’s possible black hole was indeed exactly where he thought. This black hole was not as massive as many others that had already been discovered; therefore, it did not cover nearly as large an area as most. But the center of the black hole was still very dense and had a nearly inescapable gravitational pull, though the pull was more avoidable farther from its center. This was the only reason the comet was not immediately pulled in as it approached.
    In space, battles between two major forces occurred very infrequently and are seen even less frequently by a human being. So when Comet Clement and the previously undiscovered black hole collided as Yuri and Alexei watched from millions and millions of miles away, they witnessed something no other human had ever seen before.
    As the comet entered into the outskirts of the black hole's reach, it appeared to the two Russians to be slowing down, as if coming to a stop. In reality, the comet was actually collapsing upon itself, as it struggled to escape from the incredible pull. Also, as the two men watched, they noticed that the comet now appeared smaller and Yuri wondered aloud if the comet was beginning to break up. His assumption was incorrect, though. In actuality, the pull from the black hole was great enough to suck up a large amount of the water vapor into its center and the glow from the comet became greatly diminished, thus more difficult to see from Earth.
    Had Comet Clement been any smaller or had it been traveling at a slower speed, it would have certainly been sucked into the overwhelmingly dense hole and disappeared forever. But because the size and speed of the comet were both so great, it was just barely able to escape, ricocheting away from the black hole and thrown onto a totally different path.
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    "What happened?" Yuri asked. "Can you see the comet?"
    "Yes, I think you are looking in the wrong spot. If you look a half degree to the south, I think you will see it."
    Yuri looked where Alexei directed and barely spotted the dot, which was tinier and harder to see than it had been before. The comet now appeared to be on a new path, having shifted course upon breaking free from the black hole's gravitational grasp. Yuri continued to follow the path of the comet, marking down its new heading in his notebook.
    "Shouldn't you be gloating in your victory? You were correct about the black hole and have proven me wrong."
    "Yes, Alexei, I do feel satisfied that my findings were correct. But reveling in my victory will prove nothing. We must now tell the world about what we have discovered, about what we have witnessed."
    Yuri and Alexei were so engrossed with the comet and the black hole that they did not hear the door to their room open, nor did they see General Pavel Reikoff walk toward them. Reikoff was a strict military man, having worked his way through the ranks based upon the discipline his staff had always shown. He did not tolerate insolence and often dealt with problems in the harshest manner possible. This was probably why the men left under his command customarily achieved greater discoveries than most of the other spy operations in Russia.
    "Simonova, have you found something important?" Reikoff asked, approaching the telescope.
    Alexei and Yuri were both startled by the general's sudden appearance and Alexei had trouble thinking what to say. Always the opportunist, Yuri was not at a loss for words like his partner.
    "General Reikoff, I think we have found something of great importance," Yuri said. Alexei grabbed the younger man's arm – as if to stop him from saying anything