In the first story, the illusion of linear time makes the reader think that the author was writing along, and then didn’t know how to end the story and invented the meteor at that moment. In reality, the author could have written the chapters in any order, or gone back and edited parts.
In the second version, a third character is introduced early, which sets up the expectation of that character doing something eventually (eg creepy old guy in Home Alone). This helps the audience trust that the author had a plan. So, it might make for a dumb story, but at least it’s clear to the reader that the author intended the deus ex machina from the beginning.
Additionally, it is a common story-telling device of having separate side-plots that intersect with main plot in interesting or surprising ways. These side-plots can be complete stories in their own right (I guess Game of Thrones is the biggest example of this in popular media), or tiny side elements like the creepy old guy from Home Alone.
I’d say OP’s seconds story has an even more minimalist version of this device, which improves the on first story by adding some mystery for the reader (‘What does this description of a meteor have to do with anything?’) and giving this side-story a satisfying conclusion. It also somewhat reduces the bullshit factor of the deus ex machina as explained above.
It’s about trusting the narrator (https://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=17692), and that trust comes from the illusion of linear time, and conservation of narrative detail (Chekov’s Gun).
In the first story, the illusion of linear time makes the reader think that the author was writing along, and then didn’t know how to end the story and invented the meteor at that moment. In reality, the author could have written the chapters in any order, or gone back and edited parts.
In the second version, a third character is introduced early, which sets up the expectation of that character doing something eventually (eg creepy old guy in Home Alone). This helps the audience trust that the author had a plan. So, it might make for a dumb story, but at least it’s clear to the reader that the author intended the deus ex machina from the beginning.
Additionally, it is a common story-telling device of having separate side-plots that intersect with main plot in interesting or surprising ways. These side-plots can be complete stories in their own right (I guess Game of Thrones is the biggest example of this in popular media), or tiny side elements like the creepy old guy from Home Alone.
I’d say OP’s seconds story has an even more minimalist version of this device, which improves the on first story by adding some mystery for the reader (‘What does this description of a meteor have to do with anything?’) and giving this side-story a satisfying conclusion. It also somewhat reduces the bullshit factor of the deus ex machina as explained above.