I have spent the last few weeks at home, huddled under two hoodie– one black, and another trying to be a panda– playing Tetris with characters and events, slotting them into one of five timelines before they reach the board.
The winter-induced isolation had gently forced me to complete the main story of Fistbump the Sky, along with lining up events to create links between the current “The Fantastical Encyclopedia of the Imagined World of Fistbump the Sky series” and the second series I want (and need) to start: “The Map Maker.”
I am going to guess that you are likely also be interested in speculative fiction, or speculation in general, and tend to question things as well. I, for one, was not surprised when my thoughts wandered everywhere during this isolation period, questioning the reasons behind certain things in our world. Yet, the one thought that appeared most frequently was that
SOMEONE NEEDS TO COME AND EXPLAIN WINTER
Now, I admittedly know next to nothing about science, but hear me out:
As far as I know, humans do not need winter for survival, nor do other animals. In fact, the only living species that seem to need winter are botanical. Yet, plants don’t appear to thrive from a drop in temperature, nor from the weight of snow, though, there are apparently some benefits to snow. Not sure about ice, though.
I haven been lucky enough to have a snow-less winter, now that I have returned to South Africa. But it’s the drop in temperature that truly grinds my frozen nerves.
Winter, as we have all learned, is a product of our part of the planet facing away from the sun. Simple enough, the further we are from fire, the colder it is.
BUT WHY IS THAT THE EFFECT?
Why does the sun being further away result in less heat, and not only less light? Why not marshmallows falling from the sky or a change in the colour of the sky?
HERE ARE MY SUGGESTIONS, IF I MAY
Why not give the planet the ability to produce enough heat to cancel the drop in temperature we experience? If that is out of the question, then changing the physiology of humans and other animals, should be much simpler.
If humans do not hibernate, though I know many who would want to, myself included, then would it not make more sense to give humans the ability to grow seasonal fur or a layer of fat, similar to that of a seal, under our skin that can grow and shrink according to temperature changes? It does not seem like it would be very painful. Or, even more conveniently, keep winter for the plants by allowing them to lower their internal temperatures as needed. It could even be something inside their cells, or an ability like photosynthesis.
The terrible season does, admittedly, provide a break from the overconsumption of animals and plants, as well as from overheating. Yet, I find it difficult to accept that such an extreme temperature difference is truly necessary.
Was winter truly the answer to over consumption, or is the pain we feel in our bones part of the learning process we have go through before we are done with our reincarnation cycles?
I suppose my real question is:
Was it the rules of the universe that dictated that the sun moving further away could only lead to a drop in temperatures or was a conscious choice made by something of greater power?
If it were indeed the only method appropriate to stop overconsumption, then was our current present perhaps not taken into account? Maybe there was hope that humans would consume and take from the Earth more responsibly.
If granted permission then these are the questions I would ask in the end.
Baie goeie vraag Louié!