Science of Arcpoint
The science discussed in the ArcPoint books is as real as the author could figure out it was. Some of it is well-tested fact, some aspects are controversial, and some is completely imaginary. The following information relates how different subjects were investigated and incorporated into the ArcPoint story.
Certain elements in the books—the Rift for example, or rain in the desert—needed to be there for the ArcPoint story. Without them the people would have left the Mojave. But they needn’t be considered an impossible fantasy like inertial dampeners or quantum reality. Having said that, the reader should understand—the following stories are works of fiction based on fact, conjecture, imagination, and occasionally pure genius on the part of the author. 😉 Its main purpose is entertainment to help understand the ArcPoint plight.
CALNEVA RIFT — In the mid-twenty-first century, a rift began to form in southern California. Its exact cause is uncertain. Some scientists theorized that a slight change in the rotation of earth’s outer core was to blame. Some cited the recent shift in the magnetic poles, while others considered it a natural relieving of the pressure that caused the bulge on the San Andreas fault. When geologic changes first presented themselves, the phenomenon was largely ignored. Political and societal turmoil had decimated the finances of many research organizations.
Its first appearance was near the former Fort Irwin National Training Center. Closed in early twenty-first century due to budget cuts, the Center had been repurposed into a law enforcement training center and solar farm. A solitary home built on the west side of the base was on the edge of the earth crack that first developed. The crack spread, eventually severing the road to the airport, a major link for visiting power company executives.
Not long after, a major earth crack split the Interstate 15 freeway in half, twenty miles west of Barstow. Interstate 40 suffered the same fate just over a year later. As of 2165, neither freeway has been restored to operation. By the time the tectonic plates quit shifting, the earth cracks spread haphazardly, zig-zagging along highway 395 up Owens Valley. Cracks developed almost to Reno, closing many highways between Nevada and California.
Included in this geologic event were landslides. The worst of these were along Interstate-80, in the mountains along the California/Nevada border. Huge landslides near milepost 201 buried the freeway and dammed the Truckee river, creating a two-mile long lake. It took nearly twenty years to remove the debris and restore the freeway to operation.
In 2076 the 400-mile series of earth cracks, canyons, and rock slides was named the CalNeva Rift and designated a National Geological Preserve. Originally the longest contiguous park in America, it is now half of its original size. From its northern most point near Mono Lake, to its southern end near Twenty-nine Palms, it is nearly 300 miles long, slightly longer than the Grand Canyon at 270 miles. Due to land reclamation efforts, it is no longer contiguous, with twenty-three distinct sections remaining.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: The Rift is symbolic of the rifts that have formed in society in the 21st century. In the book Mojave Rift, there came a time when someone had to take that first step to bridge the gap and find common ground. The rules put in place to maintain the rift had to be broken. I have personally witnessed rifts in families, in churches, and certainly in politics. I’ve never understood how something so destructive can be so well embraced.
Future Arcpoint Series blog post topics:
• MAGNETIC POLE SHIFT
• CLIMATE CHANGE
• GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS
• ELECTRO-MAGNETIC PULSE
• TUBE TRAINS
• FORT IRWIN
• ACACIA TREES