© 2008 G.N. Jacobs
Back to Welcome Screen – Click Here!
So, Mr. Jacobs, what do you really think about LA?
I have joined an elite fraternity of science fiction writers, those that have smashed a city. In my case, I made my hometown of Los Angeles the victim. I’m sure my therapist could go on at length about an archetypal need to destroy the cradle as a symbol of growing up. But, blowing up L.A. also demonstrates my love-hate relationship with my city.
Let’s face it, any poor moron who forgot his or her shortcuts and got caught on the 405 has pounded the steering wheel and imagined nerve gassing a full third of the population like Lex Luthor or Magneto. Thankfully, this hasn’t happened yet, because most people with these dark thoughts are wise enough to know that they can’t trust their judgment when it comes to picking which third of Los Angeles to gas. We are doubly grateful that al-Qaeda doesn’t seem to read our comic books.
Still, I must admit to enjoying seeing or reading Los Angeles get smashed in that vicarious fictional way that means no one has to go to Arkham Asylum for crimes too horrible and grandiose to be believed, at least in the real world. It makes up for every joker ahead of me on the freeway that still thinks of the cell phone handset law as a mere guideline. I feel vindicated for having to put up with they that take their Hollywood jobs too seriously.
The city isn’t all bad. People come out for radio station sponsored blood drives and still sort of support the Dodgers, if only between the second and seventh innings. We search for lost children and help our neighbors who got burned out in the fires that happen every fall.
Still, I like stomping the place. One of these days I really should find all the ways Los Angeles got wrecked and hold an online poll as to the best way to destroy the City of Angels. I trust my entry will stand the test of time along with the many worthy entries.
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle get high marks for the two-point takedown performed on Los Angeles in Lucifer’s Hammer. The big asteroid hits the Pacific Ocean and the tsunami sweeps the city away along with most of the coastal real estate across the world. The floodwaters dissolving the Pyramids back into the sand from which they came gets maybe three sentences. However, the wall of water rushing along Wilshire Boulevard and the surfer riding the wave to end all waves gets at least three pages.
That scene resonated with me at so many levels. I briefly surfed in college and we all wanted the big wave no one else could ride. Some have called that surfer the ultimate Angelino because when faced with an inevitable death he checked out making a statement that style always matters.
BREAK FOR PART 2 (Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em)
Back to Welcome Screen – Click Here!
Forward to Part 2 – Click Here!
