CHAPTER 23
On July 23, 2012, the Sun’s surface exploded in a swarm of solar storms, each equal in ferocity to the Carrington Event. The resulting CMEs spewed giant magnetic filaments of solar material and super-heated wind that would have slammed into Earth directly had the storms only happened nine days earlier. In the following few years, the Sun neared the end of its eleven-year cycle, and even larger, potentially deadlier solar storms than those of 2012 rocked its surface. Chaco had spent hours on the phone with Javier discussing the close calls, speculating over the resulting catastrophic damage had Earth taken a direct hit.
These days, Chaco often wondered what his life would be like had those giant CMEs crashed into Earth while he lived in El Salvador. Things might have been diffe
