Regarding COME HELL AND HIGH WATER

This is the postscript from the three books that will be COME HELL AND HIGH WATER.

The Extinction Level Event (ELE) that took the mammoth, most of the large mammals, and many other species really did happen. Our fictional Aduan did not, of course, cause it. Neither did anyone else; it was a fluke of nature, ‘one of those things’.

The presentation of the event is definitely fiction, but the sequence set in motion by such an impact is not. I have in no way exaggerated what is likely to have happened back on that day. I have, if anything, minimized it.

The temperatures generated; the velocity at which those big rocks, heightened even more by Earth’s gravitational pull, hit the crust of this planet; the amount of raw energy unleashed by the backlash, and what was forced into the ground; the magnitude of the earthquakes triggered; the effects of fiery impact infernos fueled by forest and plain, hot enough to create their own winds to drive them onward and outward with nothing to slow them; the volume of volcanic ash in the air and metres deep on the ground, on top of the ashes left by surface fires, and toxic gases released to create a havoc of their own; the ravaging of coastlines and far inland done by tsunamis ten times larger than we have ever seen; the steam rising above ice caps (glaciers) as the temperatures and velocities of those hyper-heated rocks hit them; the ice-melt breaching barriers, creating outlets for glacial Lake Agassiz (for example) resulting in an overland tsunami; an atmosphere so thick with steam, ash, noxious gases, and smoke that sunlight could not make its way through; particles of sulfur in the upper atmosphere turning back said sunlight; ultra-hot winds carrying raging electrical dust (and ash) storms for months, perhaps years, perhaps decades on end; intense heat and bitter cold, meeting in thunderstorms that send water vapor down in torrents that cause their own floods … it’s too much, and too big, for me to be able to wrap my head around.

Not a gradual progression over centuries, or decades, or years, or even weeks – but an abrupt onslaught with no time for rhyme nor reason, let alone recovery from one before the next hit. 

And that was just the beginning.

Atmosphere blocking sunlight means no photosynthesis, no growing plants putting oxygen into the air, nothing for herbivores to eat. Dying prey feeds predators only until the prey is gone. Drought brings famine; famine brings disease; disease brings death; death brings more disease and death and despair. Despair brings desperation brings war brings more death brings more disease … and the vicious cycle goes ‘round and ‘round for a real long time.

Waters sealed by ash; waters whose saline balance is disrupted by an influx of fresh water ice-melt; waters whose surface becomes way too hot; waters clogged with dead and decaying plants and animals … how could they support their own life forms, let alone contribute to the rest of the world?

The same thing happened to the dinosaurs millions and millions of years ago. Nobody caused that one, either. It just happened. Earth did not die; a whole new set of life forms (with but a very few exceptions, the rare survivors whose descendants live today among us) rose to take their place. Compared to that one, what happened 12,800 years ago (give or take a couple of thousand years) might be considered but a bump in the road.

But if ‘Something Happened’ today that was even a fraction as bad as that bump in the road … uffda … that’s the only word that comes to mind.

When it comes to the technologically advanced city of Phi in the middle of North America, that’s pure-dee fiction. Not that something like that culture might not have existed, mind you. I have no idea. Neither do you, for that matter. Nobody knows and none of us are likely to ever know. Whatever was on North America at that time is now a part of a black mat of carbon well below our feet. Anything that might have survived was in for more of the same, although on smaller scales, as time went on.

With our own technological advances soaring right along, in terms of finding the biggest and the smallest we can manage, in just the past few decades – it’s not beyond the shadow of a doubt that someone before us might have gotten to and beyond where we are now. We are not as invincible as we like to believe.

The world of my grandparents will seem as ancient to my grandchildren as we think of when we talk about the Iron Age, or the Bronze Age, or the Stone Age. Our young ones will never know life without electronics, as we will never know life the way our grandparents knew it. The ‘learning curve’, only a few generations instead of thousands of years, is accelerating rapidly, faster than most of us are even aware of. We have among us a lot of very smart people. Relatively speaking, it won’t be long before ‘Hiving the Stars’ might become a part of the lives of our young folk.

Who knows?

Not me.

But if that time should ever come, I hope they will carry with them the Circles of Dunnottar and the SONG of PHI.

Someone up there out there might recognize them.

What If ... Politics ... We The People

As a general rule I've not been overly involved in political matters for the duration of my adult life to date. I think what I think; I cast my vote for whoever I want. And what happens, happens. Life goes on and we do the best we can with what we have to work with at any given time.

So I'm not going to say much of anything about anybody in particular here. This is more about something that crosses party lines, apparently all the way down the line and back up it.

Here's what I've noticed growing in both extent and intensity over the past months:

Disillusionment and division.

I'm not sure exactly why I'm paying more active attention to this year's election than I have in the past. Maybe it's simply because I can. I'm not buried in a monstrous work schedule right now, my children are all raised, and the book that I'm supposed to be writing is at a point where it can wait for a bit while I tend to other things. So it's entirely possible that what I'm seeing and hearing isn't really anything new or unusual - it's just that I'm able to pay attention and notice finally. 

On the other hand ... there's a feeling in the air this time around that, had it been in the air at other times, I would not have been able to not notice, all things considered.

We have two major political parties in this country - Democrat and Republican. Yes there are others but these two dominate.

Whether it's just my perception or actual reality I have no idea so I'm going to go with my perception.

Both major parties seem to have an abundance of people who are looking at this year's candidates and shaking their heads. Staunch Republicans shake their heads at Trump and say, 'No way.' Equally staunch Democrats back away from Hillary, shaking their heads, 'No.' At least that's my impression from people I've talked to and seen/heard. 

Part of it is the 'media issue' that seems to be becoming pervasive as well. No matter which side of the aisle they're on, people don't seem to really deep down trust the media. It's getting to the point where more than a few people I know either refuse to watch/listen or flat out say that they're using the media to help them make their choice - by believing the exact opposite of what the media is saying. 

Some take to going to sources outside the mainstream that make no bones about their stand on things - they aren't going to even try to say they aren't biased. 

Some, like me, will go the other way and get as many different viewpoints as they possibly can about something they're interested in - keeping in mind what becomes pretty obvious as a person roams around the web, which is that there don't seem to BE any sources of news that are unbiased. It's a lot more time-consuming because it's not just the United States sources that a person takes into consideration.

When all is said and done, and you've gotten as many different points of view as you can, maybe you'll have a halfway reasonable chance of being able to figure out who you might want to vote for come November. Not many, truth be told, take the time or make the effort to do their homework. I sure as heck don't have time nor inclination to do it very often, even though I have more of both right now than I've had in the past.

What with one thing and another, and all the yammering and yapping going on every which way from Tuesday, it's no wonder people are shaking their heads.

What with Democrats saying NO to the official choice of their party, and Republicans doing the same thing, that disillusionment and division I mentioned is pretty obvious.

More than a few people, who probably never in their lives even considered the possibility, on both sides of the fence, are looking around for someone who isn't affiliated with either political party - because it seems nobody trusts either one of them.

So where is the person who can and will take a good hard look at what We The People want and need as a whole nation, instead of the one-way-or-the-other thing we've got going on here?

Where is the person who can take the magnificent commitment to compassion that so many Democrats have and make it fit with the awesome responsibility that so many Republicans feel to protect and preserve what we've got?

Who can not only 'reconcile' the two extremes but show us that there ought to not have to be any reconciliation at all because they are but one coin?

That person or persons really ought to step up to the plate PDQ here - we're looking at four years of one-way-or-the-other and nobody at all seems to 'get it' that the coin is not just 'heads' or 'tails'. The markings that are on the surface of any coin are only just that: surface markings. The bulk of the coin, and its value, lies between the two; otherwise the coin would be slim indeed and pretty darned flimsy.

So.

We've got Democrats and we've got Republicans. 

Whoop whoop.

In between are We The People.

You know, the folk who actually make up the bulk of the coin and give it value. 

As the surface markings of our 'coin' seem to be growing thinner and thinner, the core of the coin itself grows.

Whether that makes any sense or not doesn't matter.

The point here is that people from both sides are getting pretty darned fed up with 'their' political parties. At least that's my take on it. We aren't sure either one truly represents the people they're supposed to be representing. 

I want somebody to tell me why we can't, for example, be more picky about who comes to live in our country while at the same time provide aid for those who really need it.

I want somebody to tell me why we can't, for example, develop alternative energy sources with part of the revenue generated by using the ones we've already got.

I want somebody to tell me why we can't, for example, bring our own trade contributions up to par within our own borders by bringing our manufacturing home, and as a result be in a better position to trade with the rest of the world (if we still want to because we surely wouldn't have to).

I want somebody to tell my why we can't, for example, maintain our Bill of Rights in its entirety by thoroughly educating everyone on each and all of them in both a historical context and in a current one.

I want somebody to tell me why we can't, for example, provide quality higher education to our young (and our old, for that matter) without it costing them anything, let alone an arm and a leg, and have them 'work their way through college' with on-the-job training in their chosen fields.

I want somebody to tell me why we can't, for example, provide for our 'less fortunate' with generosity and compassion, and include in that provision something for them to do to help both themselves and their communities.

I want somebody to tell me why we can't, for example, leave out the prefixes and suffixes ... stop hyphen-hating America and start recognizing that in our diversity lies our greatest strength.

Wanting ain't getting. I know that.

Democrats say 'Well if the Republicans would just ...' and Republicans say 'You know it's the Democrats who ...'

I call bullshit.

It's We The People, each and all of us more than 300 million people who call this nation home, whose responsibility it is to either speak up or shut up, whichever shoe fits. If you're bellyaching about crap, shut up and do something constructive. If you're standing by silent in the face of things you don't like, for heaven's sake speak up and use the Voice that it's your birthright to use. 

Do you have any idea what kind of a racket 300 million Voices can make? Or what 300 million people doing constructive stuff instead of just yiping about crap can accomplish? 

So where is the person who can and will put the bellyaching loudmouths to doing something constructive? Where is the person who can and will get the Silent Majority to open their effing mouths for once in their lives?

Where is the person who can and will see and appreciate the best that truly lies in the bulk of the coin that is We The People, who can and will bring that to the surface to replace the 'head' and 'tail' that are seriously wearing darned thin anyway?

Me, I'm kind of a fan of Patrick Henry.

" ... They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. 

But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? 

Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? 

Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. 

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. 

Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death ! "

For those who don't know me, let me clarify here. I am not advocating a literal 'call to arms' but a Call to Action. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with our Constitution or with our form of government. If we're off course it is certainly not because of them. If our political parties have strayed from them, whose fault is that but our own? So, if we are as disillusioned as it seems we are, guess what. It's been brought up time and time and time again that we need some kind of alternative to the two major political parties. We do have a whole lot to choose from already in existence but most of them are based on concepts that are either too broad or too narrow. They cannot adequately represent We The People.

What if the disillusioned Republicans and the disillusioned Democrats got together and found out that there's really very little difference in what they want for this nation?

Hmm?

What if they, and We The People in general, sat down and hammered out a set of goals that would be a win-win all the way around? I'm not talking about 'career politicians' here but We The People folk (because the career politicians have already proven they can't do it or we wouldn't be in the fix we're in).

What if one group says 'We want good all-around care for everyone' and the other group says 'We want unemployment to end'? What if? What if they agree to take good care of everyone, with the stipulation that said 'everyone' will have a productive job of some kind?

What if they take that list just up there, for starters, and hammer out a plan of action that would involve all of us We The People folk who have become so disillusioned and divided and fed up?

What if We The People our own individual selves make our own lists and see what we can come up with, compare the results, and realize that while we're likely as disillusioned as we think we are we probably aren't nearly as divided as we think.

Then what?

Elifino. 

I'm just the idea gal here, playing 'What If' ... 

I'm an Independent so am neither Democrat nor Republican (there are a bunch of us, you know, and we're just as disillusioned as everyone else) but would kind of like to have a conversation (a civilized conversation) with Democrats and Republicans who aren't career politicians, just to see what would come of it.