Monday 2 April 2012

Monday's Food for Thought

So you know those horror stories with evil mist?

Yeah, well, there are fresh-from-the-oven rumours going around that there is a mercury laden fog.

According to Science Now, monomethyl mercury can reduce memory, attention, language and motor skills, impair peripheral vision, and lead to muscle and coordination weakness.

These posts are always about going big, so let's go big.

WHAT IF a more concentrated version of the fog spread across the planet? It eventually affects all humans (or most humans, at least) and of course the food chain. What kind of world would that be? Where could you hide? How could scientists fix the problem? What kind of random genetic traits might pop up?

Imagine living inland, in one of the few untouched towns left. Or maybe humans retreated to higher altitudes, to live on mountains or even in airships. There would have to be people in protective gear going back every now and then for supplies, and some kind of refinery plant would definitely be needed to get the mercury out of the food and water. Imagine there's a fog watch - an alarm goes out when a fog draws near and you have to airproof your area to keep safe. Imagine what the people still in the fog would look like/live like.

Pretty crazy, huh? But possible, always possible. That's the point of being a writer, isn't it? To imagine the possibilities...

Just a little something for your Monday mind to munch on.

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