Just a reminder, Andi has not yet been told certain things. Reference: https://selkiecomic.com/comic/selkie1009/
Also, just in case there are those unfamiliar with the Bible who may not get the last panel: Andi is referring to the Book of Revelation, which discusses the End of the World.
And lo, a great beast did fall from the sky, a fury of steel and flame crashing upon the land. It stood upon many legs, brandishing a different weapon in it's many arms. Astride this beast, mounting it with the ease of a conquering warlord, stood The Destroyer. The Herald of the Apocalypse. The Destroyer spoke in a mighty voice, which flew across the land in a peal of thunder that all may hear and witness the great proclamation: "BASKS IN THE GLORY OFS DOCTOR TERRORHAMMER!!"
Having flashbacks to about two weeks ago (Saturday Jan. 13, 2018) when I honestly thought I was gonna die for roughly 40 minutes or so because of an alert stating that a ballistic missile was coming!
((luckily that was just a false alarm and Hawaii is still safe, but that was SCARY!!!))
I can understand their fears very well…
I grew up on this Twilight Zone episode called “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” (later remade into “The Monsters Are ON Maple Street,” with a different twist ending). In it, some weird things happen, including loss of power to the whole street, and their cars not working, and it takes less than an evening for the townsfolk to completely turn on each other and become an angry mob (including murder!), all from fear and paranoia.
In the original, aliens were manipulating humans to make them destroy themselves.
In the remake, the U.S. government was trying to test how small towns would respond to the even of a terrorist attack. It didn’t change the story at ALL. That was chilling.
I’ve been thinking about this episode a lot ever since hearing about the false alarm in Hawaii. I’ve been wondering how much overlap there was between the fictional scenario presented, and the real scenario of people thinking (falsely) that they were about to get killed in an unexpected but immediate way. I’m hoping nobody attacked anyone out of fear. But I can’t help but see the parallels.
*event of a terrorist attack
Still wish I could edit comments on here… sigh.
Well nothing like THAT happened (thankfully)
Although plans in the event of other emergencies are in place (hurricanes, tsunamis, etc) if there were/are any protocols for incoming missiles, the general public isn’t well versed in it
It’s recommended to find shelter in case a missile came so (I didn’t see it but heard later) hotels had to keep people indoors, the supermarkets hid people in the basement, at the university people tried to find the old shelters (leftovers from WWII, maybe?) only to find them locked (they took shelter in some classrooms instead), people tried to shelter their children underground in manholes (It’s NOT actually recommended since there’s a danger of carbon dioxide pockets), some people were speeding on the roads (100 mph!) in their panic
((luckily no one was seriously hurt that day))
So yes, people were reckless in their panic, but they didn’t go out of their way to purposely hurt others like in the “Twilight Zone”
As for me…Since I live in a wooden house without a basement (many homes in Hawaii lack true basements) and knowing there’s really no actual place to run or anything I could realistically do about a freakin’ ballistic missile! (I mean, if one hypothetically did come, then a small Hawaiian island might end up like Ohara in the manga One Piece (*spoilers* that didn’t end well))…I just…kinda accepted it, I guess…If I live after today, great! If not, well, I guess it was nice while it lasted, y’know?
Although staying indoors was recommended, our family dog still wanted to be walked. It was quiet outside (it was only 8 in the morning or so) and the weather was gorgeous that day! Sunny, clear blue skies with hardly any clouds! (Hawaii really does have the best weather on the planet!) It just didn’t *feel* like the end somehow…
Coming inside, the TV just had regular programming on (no special reports) and no major chatter on the internet about it, so though anxious, not as worried as I could’ve been.
Then it was confirmed that the alert was a false alarm (it was sent out by mistake)
I celebrated not dying by going out to the theater to see a movie.
And that is how I spent my Saturday morning.
The end.
…having the bomb shelter locked so nobody could get into it has gotta be one of the most ironic things I’ve heard in a long time (as far as IRL incidents).
**sends e-hugs to the computer cat, if they would be of use**
That was a scary even finding out after the fact.
*snuggles*
It was, but it’s okay now
Thank you
Selkie Smith, Destroyer of Worlds…
No, no, you have to say the whole thing! Science Witch Dr. Selkie Nei Li Smith-Terrorhammer, Destroyer of Worlds
Maybe they saved the world from a meteor impact. 😀
Hmm, I wonder if anyone has seen any green light beams around Detroit lately…
Could be worse. Could have been predicted by Journey and been a wheel in the sky.
Personally I prefer Riders in the Sky, or people named Lucy who has diamonds in the sky….
Or my favorite — Yuppies in the Sky:
As I went out one evenin’ down Columbus Avenue,
All the sushi bars were shuttered, and the dark cantinas, too,
As I stood there in the darkness, an empty cab rolled by,
And all at once I heard the sound of yuppies in the sky.
The herd came down Columbus, for as far as I could see,
All the men were wearing Polo, and the women wore Esprit,
Each yuppie had a walk-man, and as each one passed me by,
I saw their sad expressions and I heard their mournful cry;
Crying: Condos for sale, condos to buy, from yuppies-in-the-sky.
P,P,&M 1992
Somehow, I managed to read that to the tune of “The Battle of New Orleans.” :\
Well, that works, go for it!
‘Tho it was written for Ghost Riders in the Sky.
ok, that even usually laid-back andi is freaking out big time does not bode well for the future, after all she is someone who´s bound to learn the truth sooner rather then later. i can already see her forbidding amanda to visit todd to keep her away from the ‘freaky fish’.
however, i´m absolutely not surprised that abdy´s mom made her read the bible (because no kid does so willingly) she strikes me as the fire-and-brimstone type.
I read the Bible willingly when I was little. There are a lot of interesting stories in there. Did you know one of the Judges stabbed a king in the stomach, and he was so fat the hilt disappeared under his fat rolls?
I suppose it might be less entertaining for children who are obliged to believe it… which makes me wonder if, for example, Viking children were similarly bored by their mythology.
I know I’ve had some teachers who could probably make the battles between Thor and Fenrir dull.
It’s also one of the few that talks about things like “relieving himself,” and “his innards spilling out.” I can definitely see kids loving that, though I can also see parents being a little concerned when they realized that their kids are reading such a thing.
I really don’t understand why people say the Bible whitewashes everything.
The bible doesn’t whitewash things. The people _teaching_ the Bible whitewash things.
Ok, that’s a fair point.
The bible just isn’t structured in a way where it would be a fun read I think, especially for a kid.
It’s a very fun read, for any kid who has mastered the art of skimming past the boring parts. Begats, begats, yadda yadda, begats, flip, flip, buncha dumb rules… oh, fire and brimstone! Floods! Plagues! Wars!
Of course, these days kids can get their thrills from video games, so the incentive to delve into the Bible might be less.
There’s that skimming and skipping ahead required yea, the old fashioned language, and the stories themselves are mostly just presented matter of factly.
Like… the events themselves in some cases could make an entertaining story, but you’d pretty much need some kind of modern adaptation. The story of the flood is theoretically cool, but this https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+7&version=NKJV is written in such a boring way. Flood happens, stuff dies, some animals are mentioned.
sheesh, i didn´t mean to start such a lengthy discussion! moreover, i never meant to critizise the bible – however, the ‘old’ language is kinda hard to understand for kids, not to mention that some of the content is rather gruesome, and i´m not just talking about the ‘scary bit at the back’.
all in all its not something i feel little kids should read on their own but rather with their parents, to explain some stuff – and skipp the gory parts. heck, there are stories in there with enough sex+blood to rival game of thrones. definitely not suitable bedtime stories for little ones 😉
How Andi reacts is going to depend on what she learns, and how she learns it. I can’t see her freaking out to the extent that she forbids Amanda to associate with Selkie. Not seriously, anyway. That would require cutting off all ties with the Smiths… which is the exact opposite of what she has always wanted.
Though… it would be an ironic twist if, scared by some further exhibition of green-glowy-stuff, Andi says something to that effect to Amanda, and it’s Amanda who defends Selkie!
It’s just a giant light guys. It isn’t anything that bad.
And eerily similiar to what wipped out Selkie’s clan. Question is if Todd would know, we had the benefit of seeing the flashback but Pohl probably left out that detail.
Mikael: I have always though that, out of kindness, Pohl would have given just the overview suitable for Selkie to hear, … and left out the boring parts of hate, mayhem, gore, guts, blood, and abject terror that goes along with war.
Relax Andi, it was probably just someone’s tribute to John Denver.
*snerk at altered bible verse*
Dave, I just wanted to let you know: I’ve been reading Selkie from the start and this week my 6 years old daughter took notice and asked me to read it to her. So Selkie is now officially bedtime story! You should see her jumping and asking “Selkie! Selkie! Selkie!”
I hope this brings a smile to your face like it did to mine <3
So much smiles! That warms my tiny frozen heart to hear. 😀
you better be careful… you don’t want to have a coronary, like the Grinch did… http://www.futurity.org/grinch-heart-cardiology-1638162/