SW09: November 2009 #1: Iv

[Scott Eiler]

Commentator: Wyatt Ferguson.

Remember when Jupiter caught fire in September? There's fallout...
literally. Planetoid-sized fragments are headed toward the inner
system.

    * People are really proud of what their survival gardens have
grown this year. Next year could be rough... (3 Nov)

    * One planet is going to crash into Earth! A big red light looks
for it, so Earth can bounce away. (5 Nov)
          o The planet has broken away from Jupiter. Scientists think
it might be a piece of that planet's core.
          o Another piece of Jupiter is headed for Mercury. The
Trillions have said, they have a colony ship there and one more on
Mars. Their Venus ship came to California instead, which is slightly
more habitable for them. Right now as regards Jupiter, Venus is hiding
behind Mercury and Mars is behind Earth, so Venus and Mars are not
good targets.
          o Our world's finest scientists are forming a group mind to
deal with the crisis. This is the sort of hypermind that created the
Ellipsis powers. Ellipsis himself is usually at the core of the mind.
          o Ted Clark still has "Emperor Ted" powers. That helps calm
Earth's population down. Wow, now I see a purpose for Emperor Ted
armor.
          o The concept of "emergency" is alien to the Trillions - or
at least planning ahead for one is. But they've got great tech, and
they're willing to share. Their infrared scanners finally verify the
collision course. They have deflection shields and stasis fields too;
that combination might save our planet.
          o Stasis fields won't stop earthquakes. Fortunately, now we
can talk to North America. No, not the people the continent itself.
It's promised to hold steady and get the other continents to do
likewise... we hope. We're boring special comm channels for them to
talk.
          o The old Superhuman World 1996 had an asteroid threat. We
called it Diabolus (= "thrower of stones" in Latin). We've chosen a
different name this time: Iv ("sky-god", and son of "Iv Piter", or
Jupiter).

    * My fiancee Judy's youngest daughter is on the beach, and it's
flooding. Judy wanted to see her family one more time before the end,
but she might have cut it too close.
          o Judy forces the water back by breathing deeply... Hmm, is
she catching real superhuman powers, perhaps from me? (17 Nov)
          o Judy, like almost all women nowadays, has super-strength
of mystic origin. Most women have decided to give theirs back, to help
save the Earth. Judy's done that too. But when she sees the floods,
she finds she still has power.
          o But now Judy's house is flooding! Her daughter was down
the beach from there. Judy calls 911 for help, and gets yanked out
almost instantly - by her own power. She still flies, when she
remembers her own ability. (4 Nov)
          o The flooding is a literal tidal wave - for once. Most
"tidal waves" are actually from earthquakes, but this one's from tides
from Iv. Those are about the last tides we'll ever see. Even if Earth
survives, we don't expect to save the Moon.
          o I wasn't there for Judy's fun beach vacation... People are
nasty due to a widespread computer virus. Emperor Ted mind control
seems to make people susceptible to that stuff. So I'm going around
fixing it and being nice to compensate. (18 Nov)

    * Earth is ducking in toward Venus, but it's going to end up out
near Mars. The orbital mechanics are pretty impressive. (21 Nov)
          o At impact time, Earth was chasing Mars away from Jupiter,
and Venus was chasing Mercury toward it. Earth and Mercury both got
impacts. Mercury's is knocking it into the Sun.
          o The chunks from Jupiter didn't go straight to target;
thanks to that big gravity well, they swirl in toward the sun. That
will probably save the Earth from ending up in the asteroid belt.
          o Earth's new orbit will be at about 95% the distance of the
old one in December, and 120% seven months later. If we change the
calendar accordingly, 2010 will be seventeen months. But we'll have to
change watches too; the days are about 23:45 hours now instead of
24:00.
          o The Moon will not be joining us; it is now a new planet.
It was sunward and trailing the Earth when the deflection came, so Iv
slammed right into it. Our aquatic brethren will have to learn to live
without tides.

    * Judy has a cabin in Maine. There the temperature is swinging
between 42 and 65 degrees, and the trees are blooming. (21 Nov)
          o During northern summer, Earth will get about two-thirds of
the light it used to. This does not doom agriculture, but there might
be wheat fields in the tropics soon. The southern hemisphere will have
a short but intense growing season, while the north gets a long cold
one.
          o The good news is, we finally have a reason to support
global warming.

    * I'm posing for photos at a charity event in a bar at 2 am, with
the sun shining in. The days are already out of sync. (28 Nov)
          o My choir is Michigan is planning to go down to
Philadelphia for a national thanksgiving ceremony. We're having a
breakfast as a fundraiser for bus fare. Neighborhood churches and
neighborhood bars actually help each other, if you pick the right
neighborhood. (29 Nov)
          o A former boss of mine is informally teaching about climate
change in that same pub. There's certainly interest. I look for a
place to pee as we leave at 3 am, but people are jogging. (29 Nov)
          o I have to ask myself, do I want to keep writing comic
books now that we've actually had the end of the world (again)? (29
Nov)

We're guessing the Infrared Sunbreaker Choir threw this planet at us,
probably to wipe out the nests of The Trillions. They hate The
Trillions as much as the Russians do. But I don't think the alien and
Earthling enemies of the Trillions will be making common cause soon,
if the aliens are going to throw planets at us. I suppose Earth will
be assembling a mission of vengeance, and all that good stuff. But for
now...

I'm finishing my job. I put my maniacal roaming and journalling
tendencies in the service of Earth this month. I worked hard, with a
bunch of people I don't usually get along with. I'm tired. My boss is
letting me out of work early today for Second Thanksgiving, but I
don't have to be anywhere until tomorrow. Maybe I'll just go home and
drink and cry. I feel like we all just want a good cry. (30 Nov)