Agent Rouka's Blog

aaand my fav parts of this work cuz why not 🤨

she still wears the corny science t shirts but she puts a white button up on over them so everyone knows she’s self aware about it. she’s the most insufferable woman to ever live.

They all talked about it and agreed that a quick end was preferable to imminent starvation in the coming decade. They were all at peace. ❤️

(Look, I am not a scientist, and while I have grave grave doubts about the scientific merit of this move that Andy Weir made to drive home the urgency of their situation , the lengths to which Eva Stratt's power enabled her to go, and to prompt her little "morality" speech, within the story it is framed as effective in prolonging life on the entire planet for maybe double the time they would have without it.

The fact that all Andy Weir chooses to focus on in this context is a barely explored mention of "morality" over effectivity and the actual alternative of not doing it? Not on me. Nor on the poor penguins.)

ETA: On their way to the big vote.

I actually think there’s more hope for Antarctica’s penguins than the PHM fandom typically recognises!

On the left is a map of Antarctica. I’ve circled the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, the target of the bombing in the book. Antarctica is a big place—the size of the USA and Mexico combined. Even 241 nuclear bombs aren’t enough to render it a lifeless rock. (After all, there have been more than 2000 nuclear tests on the other six continents since 1945, and we’re all still here making posts.)

On the right is the range of the Emperor Penguin. Most of where they live isn’t anywhere near the nuclear strikes. The prevailing katabatic (downhill) winds on the continent would push the nuclear fallout north and out to sea across the Drake Passage (potentially causing problems for South America, but that’s beyond the scope of this post).

Emperor penguins do breed on sea ice, but the PHM book is clear that even the methane released from the melting ice sheet won’t be enough to counter the global cooling caused by astrophage, which suggests that there would still be plenty of new Antarctic ice forming elsewhere around the continent. The penguins (and other circumpolar species reliant on sea ice, such as my beloved leopard seals) would have no shortage of habitat.

In conclusion, while the nuclear strikes are the end of the line for life on the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet, the residents of the Antarctic continent are in far more danger of extinction from the extreme cold caused by astrophage. For the penguins and other animals 5000km away on the other side of Antarctica, the nuclear strikes on their Western neighbours might actually prove lifesaving.

Below, a group of East Antarctic Emperor Penguins on their way to thank Stratt for saving their species from the astrophage deep freeze.

This does mean they expect to do this again, topping up the methane as needed, in the 26 years waiting for the solution to astrophage.

it will always choose you. you cannot die. you'll always come back because it loves you so much. you are its right and left hand, its eternal weapon. it will drown you in its light. light as horror. darkness as horror. what if it thinks you are its best friend.

Who's who is up to your intereptation

second one: eva with the sword, ryland pushing it back

third: ryland is going for a second round against the carbon waste

fourth: grace on the floor, stratt on the phone

fifth: idk i think this could be the two of them in both places

Grace: Stay, definitely stay.

Stratt:

Stratt: You have one option. Go.

Grace: But you just said—