Post by Catsmate on Aug 30, 2017 11:32:58 GMT
Inspired by the events on Sunday at Birling Gap (near Beachey Head) in Sussex. A large number of people (~150) who were making use of the beach on the holiday weekend were effected by a strange chemical mist that rolled in from the sea and was felt as far as Eastbourne town. Symptoms seem to be similar to low-level chlorine or ammonia exposure with burning in the eyes and throat and some breathing difficulties. Ozone is a possible culprit.
As yet there's no official information on the nature of the mist or it's origin. So let the rampant speculation commence...
1. A chemical spill or leak from a ship.
Quite plausible. It may not even be the chemical itself but it's reaction with seawater that's producing the gas. There's some suggestion that a chemical plume from a ship off the coast. was visible on satellite imagery.
Was this an accident? Criminal carelessness? Terrorist attack gone wrong? Or was it something stranger. Was a Mad Scientist using a ship as a base of operation for some biochemical research, until things started to go wrong? And what might be unleashed next?
2. Crashed spaceship.
Could the mist be a leak from a spacecraft that crashed into the sea, perhaps many centuries ago, and is now starting to degrade? What is the chemical? And what's likely to escape next?
3. Dumped at sea.
Dropping dangerous waste into a suitably deep bit of the ocean and forgetting about it has a long and ignoble history. Might some of the water off the Sussex coast have been used in this manner in the past? In this case the mist might just be some WW2 era chemical weapons leaking (chlorine, phosgene, chloropicrin, Lewisite et cetera) or phosphorous filled ammunition reacting to produce phosphorous oxides.
Are more containers likely to leak? How willing is the government to come clean about the situation?
4. Aquatic aliens.
The usual suspects, whether they be Deep Ones, Newts or Sea Devils. Was this an accident in one of their settlements? Or a trial attack on the coast?
5. Portal.
Maybe the gas wasn't of terrestrial origin. If a weak spot in space-time can drag an aircraft, person or spaceship to the present day it could also bring a quantity of the atmosphere of some alien planet (or Earth in the distant past or future) into the present day. Or did someone meddling with Computational Sorcery again and accidentally opened a Gate?
Did anything else come through? Presumably something adapted to a wildly different ecosphere wouldn't last long but the remains or artefacts might prove troublesome to maintaining the masquerade.
Was the portal of natural origin? Or is a Chloran attack in the offing? Might they target a city with a far greater amount of gas next time.
6. Fake.
Might someone have needed the beach cleared of troublesome potential eye-witnesses for a while? Who? Why?
Presumably the authorities would know, and the cooperation of the police, emergency services, RNLI et cetera ensured. Or were there imposters present on the beach, protective equipment can hide so much...
7. Attack.
Or was the mist the residue of a battle off the coast between the defenders of humanity and something. Sea Devil city, amorphous alien blob, spacecraft et cetera. What caused the mist (and what is it)? Will there be more?
Links.
BBC (Follow up)
The Guardian
CNN
Kent Live
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?
As yet there's no official information on the nature of the mist or it's origin. So let the rampant speculation commence...
1. A chemical spill or leak from a ship.
Quite plausible. It may not even be the chemical itself but it's reaction with seawater that's producing the gas. There's some suggestion that a chemical plume from a ship off the coast. was visible on satellite imagery.
Was this an accident? Criminal carelessness? Terrorist attack gone wrong? Or was it something stranger. Was a Mad Scientist using a ship as a base of operation for some biochemical research, until things started to go wrong? And what might be unleashed next?
2. Crashed spaceship.
Could the mist be a leak from a spacecraft that crashed into the sea, perhaps many centuries ago, and is now starting to degrade? What is the chemical? And what's likely to escape next?
3. Dumped at sea.
Dropping dangerous waste into a suitably deep bit of the ocean and forgetting about it has a long and ignoble history. Might some of the water off the Sussex coast have been used in this manner in the past? In this case the mist might just be some WW2 era chemical weapons leaking (chlorine, phosgene, chloropicrin, Lewisite et cetera) or phosphorous filled ammunition reacting to produce phosphorous oxides.
Are more containers likely to leak? How willing is the government to come clean about the situation?
- The classic example of such dumping is the (mis)use of Beaufort's Dyke, a deep water trench between Ireland and Scotland that's been the home for thousands of tonnes of unwanted chemical munitions since the 1950s. There are over one million tonnes of material there. Several tonnes (at least) of radioactive material was also disposed of in this manner. Such dumping inspired episodes of UFO and Dangerwatch.
4. Aquatic aliens.
The usual suspects, whether they be Deep Ones, Newts or Sea Devils. Was this an accident in one of their settlements? Or a trial attack on the coast?
5. Portal.
Maybe the gas wasn't of terrestrial origin. If a weak spot in space-time can drag an aircraft, person or spaceship to the present day it could also bring a quantity of the atmosphere of some alien planet (or Earth in the distant past or future) into the present day. Or did someone meddling with Computational Sorcery again and accidentally opened a Gate?
Did anything else come through? Presumably something adapted to a wildly different ecosphere wouldn't last long but the remains or artefacts might prove troublesome to maintaining the masquerade.
Was the portal of natural origin? Or is a Chloran attack in the offing? Might they target a city with a far greater amount of gas next time.
6. Fake.
Might someone have needed the beach cleared of troublesome potential eye-witnesses for a while? Who? Why?
Presumably the authorities would know, and the cooperation of the police, emergency services, RNLI et cetera ensured. Or were there imposters present on the beach, protective equipment can hide so much...
7. Attack.
Or was the mist the residue of a battle off the coast between the defenders of humanity and something. Sea Devil city, amorphous alien blob, spacecraft et cetera. What caused the mist (and what is it)? Will there be more?
Links.
BBC (Follow up)
The Guardian
CNN
Kent Live
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?