Strip 310 -- First Seen: 2009-11-20
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The Transcript For This Page

Panel 1
Establishing shot, Dr. Peña's office. Reggie and Ken Nightingale are seated across Dr. Peña's desk, facing Dr. Peña. Reggie is making his final pitch.

Reggie: If methane clathrates are heated beyond a certain 'tipping point' they release vast amounts of methane in a runaway reaction.

Panel 2
Let's have a medium shot of Peña, listening thoughtfully to Reggie (chin resting on hand or something like that).

Reggie (OP): Methane is an extreme greenhouse gas.

Reggie: It is 25 times more powerful than CO2.

Panel 3
Medium shot of Ken, listening thoughtfully to Reggie.

Reggie: In fact, the Clathrate Gun hypothesis holds that the Permian-Triassic Extinction Event – The Great Dying – was caused by a slight rise in ocean temperature.

Reggie: The unstable methane clathrates on the seabed released massive amounts of methane, triggering a runaway greenhouse effect.

Panel 4
Two-shot of Reggie and Ken. Reggie is looking enthusiastic but Ken looks grim.

Reggie: The global warming killed off more than 96% of all marine life and 70% of terrestrial life.

Ken: If you are somehow trying to cheer us up, you really, really suck at it.

Panel 5
Two-shot of Reggie and Ken but focus is on Reggie. Reggie tones down his enthusiasm a bit.

Reggie: The amount of heat energy needed to destabilize the methane clathrates and water at the South Pole are well within the capabilities of modern nukes.

Reggie: Also, it could be possible to redirect thermal energy to the Polar region as another way to start the destabilization process.
Panel 6
Medium close-up of Ken, who suddenly has a far-away look in his eyes.

Reggie (OP): One way or the other, human action can dump enough greenhouse gases into the Martian atmosphere …

Caption: Their eyes were no longer seeing him.

Panel 7
Medium close-up of Peña, who has a similar expression to Ken's. They are getting it.

Caption: They were seeing a warmer, greener Mars.

Reggie: … to heat up the old girl and pump up her atmosphere.

Caption: A new Martian era was about to dawn.