What became of what was left of Earth-that-was?

POSTED BY: Caitlyn
UPDATED: Thursday, May 20, 2004 04:13
VIEWED: 14263
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VERITAS

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 6:11 PM

I don't know about people still living on Earth-that-was, but I think everyone did have to leave or die. In Heart of Gold, the shadow puppets in the background when Mal meets Rance tells the story of what happened to Earth-that-was. At one point, it looks like the planet was on fire, so I'm taking that as a bad sign.

HERO

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 6:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Veritas:
I don't know about people still living on Earth-that-was, but I think everyone did have to leave or die. In Heart of Gold, the shadow puppets in the background when Mal meets Rance tells the story of what happened to Earth-that-was. At one point, it looks like the planet was on fire, so I'm taking that as a bad sign.

Maybe it was a metaphor for people's burning desire to colonize the galaxy.

H

MANIACNUMBERONE

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 6:49 PM

More likely it was the fallout of nuclear destruction combined with the effects of solar radiation. delightful

ZAPHODB

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 7:06 PM

Maybe the Reavers have reclaimed part or all of it as their own.

Industrial Looniee & Madness - http://www3.telus.net/vchrusch

AMNON

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 7:57 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Veritas:
In Heart of Gold, the shadow puppets in the background when Mal meets Rance tells the story of what happened to Earth-that-was.

I saw a site somewhere claimed to have the text and translation. Oh, found it here: http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=14&t=2732 . Don't know where the script this references can be found, or whether the aired show accurately reflects this, but...

--
Too much of you is less of a balm.

HUMBLE

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 8:28 PM

A natural catastrophe occured. Probably due to man's intervention in the natural order of things. Mass extinctions disrupting the food chain. Pollution of environment. War that devestated the planet. Could also be caused by an ELE. But my money is on mankind destroying man. That's what we're proficient at.(War.)

INVISIBLEGREEN

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 8:52 PM

Book: "After Earth was used up, new planets were terraformed and settlers spread out across the galaxy...."

/ \
|
Approximate quote from Book's Prologue ("The Train Job," "Bushwahcked," "Our Mrs. Reynolds," "Jaynestown").

NOOCYTE

Wednesday, January 21, 2004 6:04 AM

Couple of thoughts (twice as dangerous):

I wonder if the problem with ETW might have been a catastrophic destabilization of the biosphere's ability to regulate its own temperature, due to widespread pollution. Muck with Gaia enough, and the global homeostatic balance could reach a 'tipping point' (or bifurcation point, if you're more into Prigogine). The result could be catastrophic fluctuations in temeperature.

A highly simplified scenario: Imagine greenhouse heating from CO2 emissions (sorry, Adam...), bringing about tremendous algea blooms in the swollen seas, their unchecked photosynthetic activity raising the partial pressure of oxygen on a global scale. This, in turn, facilitates massive wildfires, releasing huge quantities of smoke and ash into the air (this would jibe with the puppet show, BTW). This smoke blocks out solar radiation, raises albedo (reflectivity), and ultimately leads to catastrophic cooling and a fatally stable 'white earth.'

And now, for a fun little conspiracy sub-plot: Blue Sun Corp., flush from its extensive experience in terraforming the systems of our 'verse (note, I said systemS...I'm in that camp. Another thread...) sends a planetary engineering expedition back to ETW, to terraform Terra, and there engage in all manner of unsupervised shenanigans... (shades of Magrathea or Za H'Dum [sp?])!

Intriguing, eh?

Hmmm?

Department of Redundancy Department

BARNEYT

Wednesday, January 21, 2004 11:18 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by ZaphodB:
Maybe the Reavers have reclaimed part or all of it as their own.

Very interesting thought... 'specially if Earth's been left as a wasteland from nuclear fallout - the Reavers run without core containment remember...

Maybe this is where the Reavers came from?

---
"I think the right place to start is to say, fair is fair. This is who we are. These are our numbers." Mr Willis of Ohio - The West Wing

DRAKON

Wednesday, January 21, 2004 11:32 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Caitlyn:
C'mon! Some of you must have done more than take "Earth-that-was" at face value. A creative lot like you must surely have all sorts of ideas.

In the script for Heart of Gold, at the end, there is the script for the shadow play going on when Mal meets Burgess. Not a lot to go on, the Earth got used up or something. So everyone left. That is really all we got to go on.

"Wash, where is my damn spaceship?"

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