If you’ve been reading here for a while, you saw a comment last month about the fact that I was reading “Lucifer’s Hammer,” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. I’d read the book nearly 20 years ago, and wanted to re-read the story.<\/p>\n
\nThe book has several distinct sections. In section one, the comet is discovered, and physicists and astronomers try to determine just how close it will pass by Earth. The main characters are introduced.
\nThe second section deals with the fact that the comet calves and actually hits the earth. The authors describe what is likely to happen if parts of a comet were to fall in the Gulf of Mexico and also in the Pacific Ocean, near Los Angeles. Earthquakes, tsunamis, mudslides, the rise of the water, salt water rain, and lack of sunshine are among the expected calamities should a comet hit. People have to make decisions about what realistically they need, as they leave their homes and rush for high ground. Some people have been preparing for months, others wait until the comet actually hits.
\nThe last section of the book deals with the realities of maintaining life for groups of people for the first two years following a comet strike. Decisions have to be made about collecting, growing and stocking food. You can assume that the crops in the ground will be lost, and you’ll be dependent upon things that can be stored. Feed for a limited number of animals, grain to be planted when sunlight returns, and fuel for heat and limited transportation, all have to be preserved.
\nEthical considerations come into play. Who do you save? Who will be allowed to join your group of survivors? Do you save friends, or do you save people who have a talent that is needed as society redevelops? How do you turn people away? One of the characters is allowed in because he had the foresight to store books. He chose hundreds of books that he considered necessary to civilization…..great literature, as well as reference books and technical knowledge. He bagged each of them in four layers of zip lock bags and then stored them in a cistern, to be collected later. His entr<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you’ve been reading here for a while, you saw a comment last month about the fact that I was reading “Lucifer’s Hammer,” by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. I’d read the book nearly 20 years ago, and wanted to … Continue reading