Sunset in the Stratosphere

Sunset in the Stratosphere. Today is April 22, 2102. It’s Sunday, we are celebrating the kids’ birthday. We have spent the day out and now they want to watch the sunset from the weather control room. It’s funny they were born two years ago, on the Earth Day. Since then, the global climate system has been doing well. The atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, land surface and the biosphere have gone back to a relative stability. We should keep an eye on them and in particular the atmosphere that has been unpredictable and rapidly changing these days. Clouds, mountains and us should work together to achieve a higher stability and a relative harmony on Earth. Clouds are so independent! Since they claim that their ancestors were the most high profile human thinkers and intellectuals, they have no interest in the physical world. Their world starts at what is lighter than air and is constituted of symbols. There are of course immaterial: half electronic and half biochemical and are able to transform water into vapor and vice versa, but as thinkers they should think about the system. They live in communities of several hundreds individuals and are able to process big data, make statistics; construct virtual systems and theoretical models for the city. They do rise high above the ground in their gravity-less environments but they also sink below the air when they become dry. You will see them float above mountains to recharge and be able to rise again. Mountains look so lonely! They are powerful and strong though! They live with mounts, hills and volcanoes and gather in ranges and belts at the edge of the city. They are so proud of being the descendants of human workers, and hard work is everything. Amongst them, volcanoes are very special. They extract resources from the heart of the Earth. They are not formed by folding and crumpling or by uplift and erosion. Instead, they are built by the accumulation of their own eruptive products. Night and day you will see the pink smoke rising from the horizon. It is a pollutant that can only be purified by rain from clouds. These expelled products represent artifacts, energy and food for us who live in the city. We are the Innovators; sensitive, responsible and a bit idealist! We enjoy poetry and music. We live in families and appreciate modest, traditional living environments. We play a music that affects the weather. We are the guardians of the global climate system. We have the power over clouds, rain and winds. With our music, we moderate the weather and balance the atmospheric conditions of Earth. This was a long day but the kids had a lot of fun and we were able to watch another beautiful Sunset in the Stratosphere.