ZetaTalk: Roller Coaster Ride
Note: written Apr 15, 1997. Planet X and the 12th Planet are one and the same.

Since the passage of the 12th Planet is so devastating to the Earth, what must the ride be like for the giant hominoids who live on the surface of the 12th Planet? Surprisingly gentle, for the following reasons:

• The 12th Planet is in the main a water planet, with the land masses that do exist sticking well out of the waters' calm surface. The rifts or friction points between plates thus lie well below the surface of the water. Just as mankind is barely aware of earthquakes that happen deep under the sea, just so the hominoids on the 12th Planet do not experience earthquakes.

• In a magnetic clash, the lesser of the two bodies adjusts to the larger. All the adjustments of a pole shift occur, thus, on Earth. The 12th Planet experiences no pole shift whatsoever.

• The passage through the Solar System is quick, occurring in a few short months [Note: see 2003 date explanation], so the combined warming from the Sun as well as the interior of the 12th Planet scarcely has a chance to begin before it ends. The warming that does occur simply results in more active winds.

• Any tearing away of the atmosphere on the 12th Planet is no more severe during its passage than at other times. Where some loss is always occurring from a planet's surface, the rate of loss is dictated by the mass of the planet, not by motion through space. In empty space, there is nothing to tear at an atmosphere.

During the passage, the hominoids are using history as a guide, as those who last experienced the passage are long dead. This history is recorded as astronomical terms, so sighting the Solar System and confirming the orbits of the planets is reassuring to those who might be nervous about the coming passage. In fact, the passage is viewed not unlike a holiday, where great dramas are played out before the eyes of the rapt audience. They pass by a Sun, as close as the planets bound to the Sun, a new and unique experience for those on a traveling world. When passing the Earth, they can visually see the pole shift as it occurs, a phenomenon which draws rapt crowds just as an eclipse of the Sun by the Moon does on Earth. Lightning storms occur in their upper atmosphere during the passage, fireworks rarely seen on their calm world.

Thus, the passage is more a holiday than a dreaded situation. However, those with empathy for the human population of Earth grieve, but there is scarcely anything they can do about what is occurring on Earth. They can no more steer their planet than mankind can.

All rights reserved: [email protected]