[Prior's quiet for what feels like a long time. It almost helps that Byerly isn't looking at him. He studies the lines and angles of his face.]
April 18th, 1906. The day of the great San Fransisco Earthquake. Over 80 percent of the city crumbled. Fires raged out of control. People who escaped the tremors crawled onto rooftops and begged to be shot before they burned. Thousands of people lost their lives in multiple, horrible ways.
[He pauses, chewing down his lip with the flat edges of his teeth.]
People learn from experiences. So after 1906 we developed a scale to measure these things by. Ways to predict them. The city rebuilt, and the buildings were reinforced to protect against the next time. And we still don't know that next time won't be just as devastating. Not until it happens. Your brightest minds might have needed a storm to hit before they'd have known how to prepare for one. You can't eat yourself up over might-have-beens.
[April 18th, 1906. Storms in heaven. They warned him.]
no subject
April 18th, 1906. The day of the great San Fransisco Earthquake. Over 80 percent of the city crumbled. Fires raged out of control. People who escaped the tremors crawled onto rooftops and begged to be shot before they burned. Thousands of people lost their lives in multiple, horrible ways.
[He pauses, chewing down his lip with the flat edges of his teeth.]
People learn from experiences. So after 1906 we developed a scale to measure these things by. Ways to predict them. The city rebuilt, and the buildings were reinforced to protect against the next time. And we still don't know that next time won't be just as devastating. Not until it happens. Your brightest minds might have needed a storm to hit before they'd have known how to prepare for one. You can't eat yourself up over might-have-beens.
[April 18th, 1906. Storms in heaven. They warned him.]