I asked for questions, and you came up with some great ones! I’ll be sprinkling the answers over the next couple weeks.
Jemi Fraser asks: What was the first book you remember really catching your attention as a kid? Star Wars or Star Trek? 🙂
Aliens wiped my brain of all memories before age 12, so I’m not really sure if I read children’s books. However, I remember being enthralled with Asimov’s Foundation series and Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land around that age. These are not children’s books, but I was already an advanced nerd. What fascinated me was the building of an entirely different universe, with strange social constructs and different philosophical understandings of how humans should relate to one another. I probably didn’t use those words at the time … but then again, I might have. Nerd, I know.
And Star Wars or Star Trek? What kind of Sophie’s Choice is that? How about Star Trek the Reboot and Star Wars the Original Series? Seriously, don’t make me pick …
LeishaMaw asks: If you had ten minutes to save the world from a giant turtle, what would you do?
followed by Danette asking: Why would a giant turtle want to destroy the world? I think he’s just been misunderstood… How would you, Susan, find a way to communicate to the turtle that he may be causing some destruction so that he will quit? Do you speak Turtle?
I speak the universal language of all giant invading creatures: SAMs (surface to air missiles). If that doesn’t get my point across, or the Turtle has an unusually hard shell, I would scramble a launch of the world’s supply of watermelons. I hear turtles are quite fond of them:
While the Turtle is busy chewing, I’ll recruit a delegation of Earth based turtles to negotiate a treaty on the behalf of the humans. I’ll be sure to include conditions about not using humans as food, and I won’t be tricked by some silly cookbook that says To Serve Man.
That should take care of it. Don’t you feel safer already?
p.s. The gracious Kai Strand interviewed me, over at her blog Strands of Thought.
That was awesome, and yes, I feel so much safer now that I know how you would save us from a giant invading turtle. I'm still cracking up about the cookbook title. 🙂
Thanks for answering my question. I'll sleep better tonight.
@Leisha LOL! Thanks for asking such a fun question! 🙂
Very cute! I have no doubt that sea turtles would be easily distracted with watermelon! That was too easy… hmmm….
LOL hilarious post. Good idea too, I'm glad I stopped by from the comment challenge:)
I think you'd have a lot more than ten minutes to stop a giant turtle. Turtles are very slow. I recommend a nice nap first. Fresh thinking is important! And a nice bowl of turtle gumbo…
@Danette Thanks for the great follow up question – a perfect softball pitch!
@Lindsay Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
@Bryan LOL! No sense in rushing when trying to save the earth from turtle destruction. 😉
Remember, if the giant turtle was created by atomic radiation, then the only way to communicate with it is to hire a stenographer whose words are audible after a two-second delay from when her lips move.
PS–the giant turtle has to a mutant created by an atomic blast in the desert.
I feel much safer, now that there's a groundwork set for the turtle-defeating. 🙂
@Iron Guy Understanding one's enemy is the key to success. Just in case the Turtle was created by an atomic blast in the desert (thus being a desert Tortoise), I make sure to irradiate the watermelons with anti-atomic-radiation before launch. Thank you for your help! 🙂
@Eagle Glad to be of assistance. 🙂
Love it! I couldn't choose between SW & ST either 🙂
Asimov amazed me when I read him too! I didn't read Heinlein until later.
@Jemi I wonder if I went back and read those stories now, if they would have the same impact? What we read as kids has such an influence on us … 😉