In the future, many asteroids will smash into the earth. Several of them will be extinction level impacts. This is not a predication. Scientists consider it a cold hard fact based on patterns in geologic data. Believe it or not, we are actually overdue for one. Whether humans will still be around is another question entirely, but if we are, the incoming piece of rock provides quite a challenge in deflecting it. Hollywood says we should nuke the bugger, but Hollywood also thinks there is sound in space.
If detected early enough, the actual solution is a rather boring one. A small probe could be launched, and it would fix itself to the rock after which, it would ignite a small engine. It wouldn't be enough to move the rock but overtime, the continual release will shift the rock by a few inches - inches which multiplied by millions of miles becomes an entirely different trajectory. Thus, the impact is averted. Nuclear bombs need not apply.
So what does this have to do with writing?
Well not much, and a whole lot. As a writer, my goal is to hit a target instead of miss one. I want to be a working writer. The salary amount doesn't so much matter. I just need to be able to live off it. My plan isn't a one year plan ... it's a twenty year plan and to achieve it, I'm making small little adjustments my daily life that over time, will help me be the person I want to be. The idea is slow constant repetition over a long stretch of time. In the past, I'd make quick changes to my life which didn't hold after a few months. These days, I'm arranging everything for the long term. Thus, I'm trying to deflect the asteroid towards me. I'm just hoping it won't be an extinction level impact
Deflecting an Asteroid and Writing
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