Previously --
It took twenty-one years for the Athomfield technologists to complete the solar catcher. Immediately, hundreds were sent to the cities, where they were deployed over open sea to collect and transport sunlight. Within weeks, every field had doubled, tripled, quardupled their productivity.
Canopy Omings, who used to live only at the naturally rich equatorial fields and in the enhanced city of Athomfield, were soon welcomed in the cities with solar catchers. Instead of competing for nutrients and sunlight, now all three layers of the cities worked together in enhanced productiveness. The Canopy Omings fixed nitrogen from the air, the Woodys stabilised the soil structure and the Lowers provided ground litter for rich topsoil. The emergent benefits of coupling the Oming species were unexpected and exciting. As the Omings became more interlinked and co-dependent, the threat of war between species faded.
Once all existing cities had solar catchers, the technologists began sending catchers to the Poles and the winter islands. Frost melted as sunlight spilled in and soon, the formerly dark corners of the world were supporting cities as well.
It was the golden age of the Oming, fuelled by limitless sunlight. The technologists were heroes. Science and technology had brought peace and prosperity. Oming fields were full and happy.
Decades passed before a few technologists noticed something happening.
'The world is cooling,' the few murmured to each other, barely able to believe their own measurements.
As frost started reappearing in the most recently colonised fields, the murmurs became louder. 'The world is cooling!'
'It’s just the seasons,' the others shrugged.
The dissenters were adamant. 'Our records are not long but there is a consistent trend. Temperatures are falling every year. We don’t know how but it is true.'
And soon, they did know how. The small group of technologists discovered that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere had plummeted in the past hundred years. Carbon dioxide, they realised, trapped heat and kept the planet warm.
'There are too many of us! Each Oming is created and grows with the carbon in the air! We must slow population growth or the fields will turn cold and unproductive. Those at the Poles and winter islands will suffer first and most.'
'Nonsense,' was the merry reply. 'We can catch more light. Every year, the technologists invent bigger, more efficient catchers. Sunlight is unlimited and so is the air. These limits you speak of are phantoms.'
Fears dismissed, the Oming continued to grow along its population trajectory and every winter grew longer and harsher. Ice reappeared and encroached on the newest fields. The catchers were made to work harder and longer to pour more and more sunlight into the now great cities at the Poles.
'We must stop population growth!' The clamour from dissenters was now too loud to dismiss. 'The sun and air were limitless when we lived in the natural bowls of productivity. But now, the Oming are of a scale that we are changing the planet’s systems and behaviour!'
'That is ridiculous! How can we use up the sun or the carbon in the air? The cooling is probably natural.'
'Does it matter if it is natural or not? There is a global cooling. We need to act now. One way or another, we are approaching our limits to growth. If we go beyond these limits, the Oming population will collapse. Perhaps only those at the equator will survive.'
While the dissenters called for population limits, others approached the problem differently.
'Our ingenuity is our greatest asset,' was the reasoning, 'and we will reduce it if we started talking about population control. If the problem is not enough carbon in the air, then we will put more carbon in the air.'
A group of technologists, better funded than the dissenters, proposed a solution. They reached back into history and pulled into the present crisis the blue flames that burned on black ancestor fuel. The flames could replenish the carbon in the sky. Thus, technology could overturn all limits.
Posts
