"Who is it?"
"Terry Rapson. Sorry to call you so early."
"No, professor. It's alright. What is it?"
"Well we've found something extraordinary... extraordinary and disturbing, that is. You recall what you said in New Delhi about how polar melting might disrupt the North Atlantic current?"
"Yes."
"Well... I think it's happening."
"What do you mean?"
"One of our NOMAD buoys registered a thirteen-degree drop in surface temperature the other day. I've sent you an email."
"Hold on."
"At first we thought it was a malfunction, but there are four more across the Atlantic showing the same thing.”
"This is unbelievable."
"You predicted it would happen."
"Yes, but not in our life time. This is too fast."
"There are no forecast models remotely capable of plotting this scenario, except yours."
"My model is a reconstruction of a prehistoric climate shift. It's not a forecast model."
"It's the closest thing we have. Nothing like this has ever happened before."
"At least not in the last ten thousand years."
"Our climate is fragile. At the rate we're polluting the environment and burning fossil fuels, the ice caps will soon disappear."
"Professor Hall, our economy is every bit as fragile as the environment. Perhaps you should keep that in mind before making sensationalist claims."
"Well, the last chunk of ice that broke off was the size of the state of Rhode Island. Some people might call that pretty sensational."
"What exactly are you proposing, Professor?"
"Evacuate everyone South of that line."
"What about the people in the North?"
"I'm afraid it's too late for them. If they go outside, the storm will kill them. At this point, their best chance is to stay inside. Try to ride it out. Pray."
"I don't accept that abandoning half of the country is necessary."
"Maybe if you would've listened to him sooner, it wouldn't be."
"Bullshit! It's easy for him to suggest this plan. He's safely here in Washington."
"His son is in Manhattan. I just thought you should know that before you start questioning his motives."
"What do you think's going to happen to us?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean "us"? Civilization? Everyone?"
"Mankind survived the last ice age. We're certainly capable of surviving this one. All depends on whether or not we're able to learn from our mistakes?"
