How a cloud became a fossil that floats in subgravity
And why elevated temperatures is a sign of evolution at 20 000 feet.
Area (total): 1,427 km2 (551 sq mi)
Area (inhabitable) 1013 km2 (391 sq mi)
Altitude: 6 300 m (20 669 feet)
Highest elevation: Cloudrock Canyon (1750 m/5741 feet)
Water surface: 0.69 %
Forested land: 21.4 %
Farmed land: 7.1 %
Precipitation: 275 days/year
Mean annual temperature: 12.3°C (54.1°F)
Many thousands of years ago, there was a cloud…
And the cloud looked just like any other cumulonimbus cloud, only it was completely different. Prompted by an extraordinary interplay of atmospheric events and geological conditions, something inside the cloud set in motion a remarkable process of petrification and carbonization (Rupert M. 2019. Cloud Geology) that solidified the surface of the cloud without altering its original cloud structure or atmospheric altitude. Carbonization, as evidenced by the presence of carbon-rich compounds in the fossilized cloud matrix, indicates the involvement of intense heat and pressure gradients. The anomalous altitude of the cloud, combined with a fortuitous confluence of geothermal and atmospheric factors, is thought to have initiated this unique chain of reactions.
The subject of high-altitude temperature
In other parts of the world, the subject of temperature is typically relegated to spheres of small talk and meteorology. Only in moments when temperature becomes a nuisance, or indicative of a forthcoming catastrophe, does it ascend to the forefront of human attention, seizing the spotlight with an inflammatory presence.
For Cloudlanders, temperature is at the heart of our evolution. Each step forward in the pursuit of making Cloudland hospitable for human life has been directly, unequivocally, bound to the attained increase of one degree in the Cloud’s microsphere. In other words,
Our temperature reflects how far we’ve come.
25 years ago, the average temperature on the Cloud was around -29℃ in the summer and -53℃ throughout most of autumn and winter. This year, Cloud West Point hit a record high of 14℃ in mid-July. Until 7 years ago, Cloudlanders had to wear oxygen masks when outside of microclimatized buildings, safe-domes, residencies and the public transportation system. Today, much to the advancement of CloudTech™ technology and CAP, breathing is no longer a vital part of Cloudlanders’ daily planning.
More on CAP, but not too much
CAP stands for Cloud Atmosphere Programming. It is a technology that binds heat through photosynthesis within a sealed microenvironment, pumping artificial oxygen out into the controlled atmosphere while simultaneously engineering and regenerating biocell growth on a specific set of algorithms. CloudTech™ has also done a brilliant job of growing pine trees and poppy fields along the southwest and parts of the northwest borders.
Still, for all the remarkable progress that’s been made, air pressure remains a problem which on a larger climatic scale reveals itself in a phenomenon that has earned the name wind tsunami.
What’s a wind tsunami?
Behaviorally, wind tsunamis aren’t that different from their oceanic counterparts, except they’re made of winds instead of waves. In brief, a wind tsunami consists of fast-moving storm masses with an intense tidal wind drive (Curat T. 2014. Wind Tsunamis: an extreme aerial weather phenomenon). They strike fast and hard, reaching speeds of about 800 miles per hour, ravaging large areas of infrastructure and cultivated territory.
Short and quick, and extremely deadly
The duration of a wind tsunami is brief in comparison to seismic tsunamis, typically lasting mere minutes to several intense hours. However, the widespread destruction inflicted during this brief period of time can be devastating, causing catastrophic damage and loss of life.
It’s not entirely clear what triggers a wind tsunami, but by capturing post-tsunami samples of carbon-rich compounds and other residual gases and particles in the atmosphere, Cloud scientists have been able to identify the presence of atmospheric gravity waves that may be the catalyst of this tempestuous weather event.
A foggy silver lining
Cloudland is a rugged plateau, sculpted by mountain-high cloudrocks and bottomless fog pits, canyons and creeks formed during the fossilization period. The terrain is fraught with safety hazards and life-threatening perils, but it also serves as a formidable windbreaker. When a tsunami comes crashing into the microsphere, part of it will break off upon impact with a canyon or a cloudrock, then sift through the rifts of a myriad of fog creeks and thirty thousand acres of Cloud forest. By the time it reaches the suburban periphery, it has lost approximately 75 % of its initial mass and 50 % speed, ready to be absorbed by the powerful engines of our number one favorite renewable energy source: wind power!
