[ WP ] `` There is nothing more terrifying in this world than the knowledge that you can do nothing . ''

Ben was scratching the bottom of his pudding cup when he heard the ping. It technically was n't his pudding, but it'd been in the staff refrigerator for 2 weeks staring at him. There were two, and neither had been touched. They were bound to go bad soon anyway, at least that's what he told himself. 
 It was worth the wait, he wondered why he did n't buy it more. Grad school was the answer to that. If it was n't less than 20 cents a serving it was n't on his grocery list. With student loans kicking in as soon as he graduated in 3 months that probably was n't going to change much. Sometimes he chastised himself for his choices. If he'd just pursued Engineering or Finance he'd probably be making 6 figures. Sometimes he blamed his parents for telling him to pursue what he loved. Astronomy to him, was a noble cause, the final frontier. Our species very destiny lay above. What he was doing actually mattered. Better than screwing over home owners or helping a natural gas company destroy more of the earth. The night shift at his state university's lab did n't exactly help his ego though. The ping would n't either. 
 He was there purely to monitor equipment and alert anyone of any malfunctions. That's what the ping seemed to be. The satellite had picked up a near earth object. Relatively regular occurrence, it was usually another satellite though. This was too far out to be another one satellite. Ben was in the middle of logging it when he got another ping. It was closer now. He decided to check if Dr. Schlitt was still around editing her latest paper. In a year of doing this, it was already the most interesting thing that had happened for him, and this might get him on her good side. 
 As he picked up the phone he realized it was the first time he'd used a chorded phone in at least 3 years. It took two rings for her to answer. 
 
 `` Hello?'' 
 
 `` Dr. Schlitt?'' 
 
 `` Speaking.'' 
 
 `` I've got a couple pings, want to check them out?'' 
 
 `` Just a second.'' 
 
 Ben quickly quit out of the facebook tab, and opened up his journal to pretend like he was taking notes. 
 
 `` I was saving those for the end of my cleanse.'' 
 
 `` What?'' She pointed at the empty pudding cup tipped over from the metal spoon. Ben's cheeks burned. 
 
 `` Oh s-.'' She waved her hand. `` It's fine, what are we looking at?'' 
 
 He rolled back in his chair as she took control of the station. `` That's,'' she trailed off. Another Ping. `` No.'' 
 
 `` Did I do something wrong?'' Ben asked. 
 
 Her phone rang. She picked it up immediately. `` Gil.'' Ben could hear the murmur of her phone, her eyes beginning to bulge. 
 
 `` Is everything ok?'' He heard a hissing, then saw the puddle forming at her shoes. 
 `` Are you ok?'' She wailed. He stood, taking her by her shoulders. `` I'm calling an ambulance.'' 
 
 She finally met his eyes. `` Call your parents, tell them you love them.'' 
 
 `` Ooooh,'' he said like he'd just been given the answer to a trivia question. 
 
 `` There is nothing more terrifying in this world than the knowledge you can do nothing.'' She fled the room. 
 
 His eyes fell to the puddle on the floor. `` Gross.'' He walked to the kitchen and grabbed the last cup of pudding.
