There are extremely condensed lines of reasoning which I understand better by summarizing them.
Terra Central proposes to prevent the next Ice Age as summarized here and to counteract the gas cloud by surrounding Earth with:
"Monstrous constructions...generating forces to ionize alien atoms and whirl the plasmas away..." (p. 49)
- powered either by thermonuclear reactions or by matter-antimatter annihilation, requiring first the manufacture of megatonnes of antimatter.
The anti-Terra Central proposal is to prevent the Ice Age by constructing giant orbiting mirrors that would heat Earth by reflecting sunlight. This would be incompatible with the later "Monstrous constructions..." But the sun-mirror advocates argue that nine thousand years is long enough for later generations to devise some other way to counteract the gas cloud.
Which side is right? Imagine if our practical politics addressed issues as vast and long-term as these.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Because of the distrust I would have for AIs, I would favor the sun mirror advocates. And, incidentally, a similar shield could be made for deflecting heat from the Sun, much later, as it became hotter.
Ad astra! Sean
I'm with Sean on that. Never trust someone/something you don't understand; and never, ever let them tell you what to do.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Amen! Many thanks! These AIs in GENESIS are arousing in me anarchist feelings which conservative realism generally keeps under control.
Ad astra! Sean
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