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Friday, 27 January, 3978 “FIRST LOCAL EXTRA-SOLAR PLANET DISCOVERED” read the central headline of the news sheet that Curtis Sten had haphazardly picked up at the market just outside the Clark building.
The morning silence of the early spring day along the Caribbean coast was now dotted with the awkward crinkling of newsprint, in addition to the footfalls of Curtis and Langley on the rough hewn stone path and the song of displaced paradisaeidae.
“Fourteen-forty”, started Langley, her voice piercing the air with frustrated tone.
“Fourteen-forty?”
“The year in which the printing press was invented. Doesn’t it bother you that over twenty-five hundred years later, we’re still getting news about the world from a stack of paper that smudges your fingers?” she explained.
“Not really.” Curtis continued to lazily browse the article, barely paying her any attention.
“But there are so many better ways to get it!”
“None cheaper. What’s does ‘local’ extra-solar planet mean anyways? I thought extra-solar meant outside of our locale?” Curtis interjected as he folded the paper beneath his arm and readjusted the bag of books he carried slung low over his left shoulder.
“No, it just means that it’s orbiting another star. The red dwarf Vitharr is the closest star to us – the planet you’re reading about there, Baldur, orbits it.” She rattled off, as if it was an everyday question for her.
“Firstly, why do you know that; secondly, doesn’t local mean within the Solar system?”
“I read news in real time. There’s this thing we’ve had for about two-thousand years now – it’s called the internet, I suggest you try it some time. Baldur was discovered last week. And, regardless of the fact that that’s not what local means, Vitharr is within the Solar system. Or close enough anyways.”
She seemed to be talking down to him and this point, as far as he could tell. Curtis stopped walking to look at her, just as a shadow had draped half of her face – archway that marks the entrance to the lobby of the Clark Building. She stopped as well, expecting a comeback as he looked at her, but he just raised his finger and opened his mouth,
“And when, pray tell, did we get another star?”
Langley sighed, she had the understanding that Curtis was a history student, but apparently all he had an interest in was the history of where civilization was, not any of the roads it had taken to get there, or any of the stops it had made along the way. It’d only gotten worse since they’d entered their final year of schooling.
“We didn’t get another star. We’ve always had it. In fact, the Sun interacts with at least three stars, if only by association. You pretty much have a gradeschooler’s knowledge of astronomy. Vitharr, then Proxima Centauri, was discovered in nineteen-fifteen. I mean, it may not have become apparent that it was responsible for the K-T extinction until the late twenty-four-hundreds, but still, it’s old new.”
He pondered for a moment, and then answered, “Alright, Ms. Know-it-all, how did a star wipe out the dinosaurs?”
“What do you know about Dr. Richard A Muller?”
“Never heard of him, why?”
“Nineteen-eighty-nine.”
“Nineteen-eighty-nine?”
“The year in which public internet access became available in Europe. Do yourself a favour and read something other than the news when you get home from class today.” With that, she walked ahead and turned right.
Curtis’ morning class was to the left, so for now, at least, he would have to heed her advice and leave it until he returned home.
The morning silence of the early spring day along the Caribbean coast was now dotted with the awkward crinkling of newsprint, in addition to the footfalls of Curtis and Langley on the rough hewn stone path and the song of displaced paradisaeidae.
“Fourteen-forty”, started Langley, her voice piercing the air with frustrated tone.
“Fourteen-forty?”
“The year in which the printing press was invented. Doesn’t it bother you that over twenty-five hundred years later, we’re still getting news about the world from a stack of paper that smudges your fingers?” she explained.
“Not really.” Curtis continued to lazily browse the article, barely paying her any attention.
“But there are so many better ways to get it!”
“None cheaper. What’s does ‘local’ extra-solar planet mean anyways? I thought extra-solar meant outside of our locale?” Curtis interjected as he folded the paper beneath his arm and readjusted the bag of books he carried slung low over his left shoulder.
“No, it just means that it’s orbiting another star. The red dwarf Vitharr is the closest star to us – the planet you’re reading about there, Baldur, orbits it.” She rattled off, as if it was an everyday question for her.
“Firstly, why do you know that; secondly, doesn’t local mean within the Solar system?”
“I read news in real time. There’s this thing we’ve had for about two-thousand years now – it’s called the internet, I suggest you try it some time. Baldur was discovered last week. And, regardless of the fact that that’s not what local means, Vitharr is within the Solar system. Or close enough anyways.”
She seemed to be talking down to him and this point, as far as he could tell. Curtis stopped walking to look at her, just as a shadow had draped half of her face – archway that marks the entrance to the lobby of the Clark Building. She stopped as well, expecting a comeback as he looked at her, but he just raised his finger and opened his mouth,
“And when, pray tell, did we get another star?”
Langley sighed, she had the understanding that Curtis was a history student, but apparently all he had an interest in was the history of where civilization was, not any of the roads it had taken to get there, or any of the stops it had made along the way. It’d only gotten worse since they’d entered their final year of schooling.
“We didn’t get another star. We’ve always had it. In fact, the Sun interacts with at least three stars, if only by association. You pretty much have a gradeschooler’s knowledge of astronomy. Vitharr, then Proxima Centauri, was discovered in nineteen-fifteen. I mean, it may not have become apparent that it was responsible for the K-T extinction until the late twenty-four-hundreds, but still, it’s old new.”
He pondered for a moment, and then answered, “Alright, Ms. Know-it-all, how did a star wipe out the dinosaurs?”
“What do you know about Dr. Richard A Muller?”
“Never heard of him, why?”
“Nineteen-eighty-nine.”
“Nineteen-eighty-nine?”
“The year in which public internet access became available in Europe. Do yourself a favour and read something other than the news when you get home from class today.” With that, she walked ahead and turned right.
Curtis’ morning class was to the left, so for now, at least, he would have to heed her advice and leave it until he returned home.
EDIT- formattin'
Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jan 8 2010, 5:39 am by Syphon.
None.
