Neal Stephenson: Termination Shock
Long Now
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The History of the Sun, by Neil Stevenson
In five 36 a d the byzantine historian procopius was in italy describing a year without a summer. During the whole year, the sun gave forth light, without brightness like the moon. John of ephesus reported similar phenomena in the eastern part of the empire. Although rays were visible around it for two or three hours a day, they were as if diseased with result that fruits did not reach full ripeness. All the wine had the taste of reject grapes. There was no way that these writers could have known it, but the events they were describing were triggered by two or three volcanic eruptions.
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