To quote from his Wikipedia entry: "William Whiston (9 December 1667 – 22 August 1752) was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularization of the ideas of Isaac Newton." Whiston also had a few irregular religious beliefs that would cause him trouble throughout his career.

For example, in 1696, Whiston published A New Theory of the Earth which argued that the Biblical flood of Genesis was caused by Earth passing through the tail of a very wet comet. He predicted that the Earth would some day end in a conflagration of fire brought the same way.

In 1736, when a comet was spotted in the skies above London, Whiston calculated that the time had come. He declared that the world would end on October 16 of that year. This predictably caused a bit of a stir in London, including a run on the banks. The Archbishop of Canterbury was forced to deny the prediction in order to calm the public.

As we now know, the world did not end on October 16, 1736. Whiston's reputation never recovered, and he remains one of history's controversial figures, alternately ridiculed for his heresy or respected for his courage to speak out.

But what if Whiston was really right about that comet? What if Earth was only saved because something or someone, say a time traveler with a time and space machine shaped like a bubble, was able to intercept and bump the comet, deflecting it ever so slightly to avoid the Earth and prevent an apocalypse?

That person would most certainly be the Greatest Hero The World Has Never Known.

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