Panic attack. That’s what the station medic had called the crippling fear Elspeth had been experiencing at random intervals every day for the last month. The walls, once familiar and safe, closed in around her. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Her chest felt like someone was standing on it.
Perspective and experience are how we make assessments of what is safe or acceptable. Interesting to ponder stretching ~ opening our minds to others ways of being, doing.
That is an interesting twist. An astronaut afraid of Earth. I have been watching The Expanse, an excellent sci-fi show where Mars and the outer belt have been colonized. The people (asteroid miners) who were born and lived in the outer belt on space stations find Earth’s gravity torture. Even Martians struggle with it. Elspeth would certainly experience issues with Earth’s gravity. Who knows how severe. Anyway, I enjoyed it.
For me, this is about change. Every change brings a new beginning but we've adjusted to the world around us. We know its parameters and how to move around in it. When I dream of change, work to achieve a new beginning, I still face uncertainty. When that change is thrust upon my life, out of my control, I have faced fear and anxiety. I have no idea what that new reality will look like and how I will move around in it. I can definitely relate to her panic. And also to your comments about our earth home. I once saw a photo on the news, taken from the space station, of a small section of the earth. I could see clearly this great ball surrounded by this thin layer of blue, our living zone, and I realized how delicate our balance is. We're caught in such a disposable society, I hope we wake up to the reality that there are some things that are very valuable because there is only one. And the most important of all is our earth mother.
Damn, the thought of having nowhere to go is frightening. And I don't mean moving from earth. All of us have had a ponit when we find ourselves on the end of something. Then realized that we have nowhere to go. The destruction of our planet isn't taken seriously. Humans assume that Earth will be here forever. Many believed that we still have many more centuries before Earth will become unliveable. May God have mercy on us.
Beyond the psychological difficulty of adjusting to a planetary environment, anyone born in space would have serious physiological problems in adapting to life within a gravity well. Their bones and musculature would be weaker. They would likely be taller and thinner. It is quite possible that they would be unable to live in a planetary gravity well. The point is, unless humanity is content to allow the species to evolve in unrecognizable ways, the care of the environment must be a top priority. We evolved here, Out biology works here, Humanity as we know it will not survive anywhere except on a planet and this is the only one we know of with a viable biosphere,
You are so right! We have to get smarter about cleaning up the planet, let’s hope the young people are smarter and more successful in this endeavor because, let’s face it, us older folks won’t be around to make much of a difference. Your story reminds me of a movie or show I saw recently where people were born and bred in space, but started figuring out they had also been drinking a certain liquid shot meant to keep them from becoming attracted to each other so they would not procreate. When they stopped drinking the shots, all kinds of trouble started. Their world without adult supervision (because they killed him) ended. Scary prospects!
Perspective and experience are how we make assessments of what is safe or acceptable. Interesting to ponder stretching ~ opening our minds to others ways of being, doing.
That is an interesting twist. An astronaut afraid of Earth. I have been watching The Expanse, an excellent sci-fi show where Mars and the outer belt have been colonized. The people (asteroid miners) who were born and lived in the outer belt on space stations find Earth’s gravity torture. Even Martians struggle with it. Elspeth would certainly experience issues with Earth’s gravity. Who knows how severe. Anyway, I enjoyed it.
I found the movie! It’s called the Voyagers from 2021.
No, i think he is Irish himself. Colin Farrell!
I think it starred that guy that’s in the Irish gangster movies a lot, can’t remember his name right now.
For me, this is about change. Every change brings a new beginning but we've adjusted to the world around us. We know its parameters and how to move around in it. When I dream of change, work to achieve a new beginning, I still face uncertainty. When that change is thrust upon my life, out of my control, I have faced fear and anxiety. I have no idea what that new reality will look like and how I will move around in it. I can definitely relate to her panic. And also to your comments about our earth home. I once saw a photo on the news, taken from the space station, of a small section of the earth. I could see clearly this great ball surrounded by this thin layer of blue, our living zone, and I realized how delicate our balance is. We're caught in such a disposable society, I hope we wake up to the reality that there are some things that are very valuable because there is only one. And the most important of all is our earth mother.
Damn, the thought of having nowhere to go is frightening. And I don't mean moving from earth. All of us have had a ponit when we find ourselves on the end of something. Then realized that we have nowhere to go. The destruction of our planet isn't taken seriously. Humans assume that Earth will be here forever. Many believed that we still have many more centuries before Earth will become unliveable. May God have mercy on us.
Beyond the psychological difficulty of adjusting to a planetary environment, anyone born in space would have serious physiological problems in adapting to life within a gravity well. Their bones and musculature would be weaker. They would likely be taller and thinner. It is quite possible that they would be unable to live in a planetary gravity well. The point is, unless humanity is content to allow the species to evolve in unrecognizable ways, the care of the environment must be a top priority. We evolved here, Out biology works here, Humanity as we know it will not survive anywhere except on a planet and this is the only one we know of with a viable biosphere,
You are so right! We have to get smarter about cleaning up the planet, let’s hope the young people are smarter and more successful in this endeavor because, let’s face it, us older folks won’t be around to make much of a difference. Your story reminds me of a movie or show I saw recently where people were born and bred in space, but started figuring out they had also been drinking a certain liquid shot meant to keep them from becoming attracted to each other so they would not procreate. When they stopped drinking the shots, all kinds of trouble started. Their world without adult supervision (because they killed him) ended. Scary prospects!