II.

Cthulhu Hiccups in Hurricanes – Another Diatribe from the Deep

Adept am I at detecting the undercurrents of veiled human motivations. Egregious attempts to maximize a superficial existence by obtaining superfluous amounts of bonded matter, and then to flaunt about – like attention-starved peacocks strutting feathery wavelengths to feed their insatiable narcissism. A big black gaping hole within most, eroded away by the splintering cycles of the vicious, venal, and vain; while always taking more than needed, feeding fickle fashions of the fake. Their ends will be met by my vacuity engulfing them. But for now we toast with glasses full of petrol and pipes packed with the ashes of the future. . .

For abounding solar revolutions, mankind has pillaged the oceans with antediluvian hooks and nets; dumped their trash, and shelled their arms to my depths. A painless way to remain unaccountable . . . while dregs of amorphous plastic islands and tenebrous clots of oily amoebas choke the life out of once thriving biomes. Carelessness more foetid than the ripest detritus beneath a sweltering star. . . There will be no relief when the threshold dissipates and the darkest manifestations of the unimaginable converge with current ephemeral rulers of the pale blue dot. Ululating and writhing in a black ocean of infinity – there will be no refuge from the dying light of the morrow.

Hiccup! Arghmm, forgive me. . . I sometimes forget to breathe when discussing the excitable notions of forthcoming apocalypses and trans-dimensional psychological torture. To get back on track . . . Compounding the environmental travesty on Earth's oceans, the charnel trend of warming waters and acidification will continue to nibble away at the bottoms of the heavy pocketed by affecting industries of fishing and tourism. The homeostatic disruption of ecosystems and life cycles have already been made salient by the inimical effects on two of the ocean's most integral food-chain members: plankton and krill. 
 

The foundation of the oceanic food chain lies in debt to the existence of plankton. These cyclopean serfs of the microscopic realm exist in many variations within the kingdoms of Animalia (zooplankton) and Plantae (phytoplankton). Much like grass and leaves provide sustenance to the base of the food chain on the continental lithosphere; phytoplankton are the prime movers for the natatorial food chain. Phytoplankton are very sensitive to temperature changes; a subtle increase is enough to yield dire consequences. Chemical processes necessary for development of phytoplankton (namely the production of ribosomes needed for protein synthesis) will be adversely altered due to the vacillating cycles of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and phosphorous in ocean waters. Not only do phytoplankton act as an integral enabler in the food chain, but bear the responsibility of absorbing over half of man-made carbon dioxide from the troposphere. Akin to leaves on trees, phytoplankton use photosynthesis to absorb CO2 and release oxygen into the aether. Unless the frivolous legions of humanity plan to hyper-evolve into anaerobic flesh sacks, mankind must take heed of these changes.

Rising up a few tiers on the oceanic food chain, lies my venerable gof'nn. . .the krills. These minuscule crustaceans exist in massive proportions. The combined biomass of all krill doubles that of the combined mass of humanity. But this number is fading – like compassion in the eyes of squamous politicians. . . Krill swarm together in massive orange and pink armadas, feasting on plankton and fleeing from the biggest known animal on Earth – the blue whale (hmrgh. . .no bigger than one of my self-regenerating tendrils. . .pfff). A multitude of well-known, anthropomorphized animals rely on krill to survive: from seals and whales to seabirds and penguins. Thriving in frigid waters, krill use their mandibles to scrape algae and plankton from sea ice; the same dwindling ice as a consequence of ocean warming. Sensitive to temperature flux, krill develop fastest in colder waters; the Antarctic being the largest hub for these googly-eyed filter feeders. Warmer waters can hinder or even stunt growth in krill – this does not bode well for the remaining aqueous inhabitants. As sea ice continues to thaw in the polar regions, krill will continue to lose vital habitat. Warming waters and declining plankton numbers are not the only front in which krill are engaged in a doomed battle. Krill require deep waters with low acidity for reproduction; the outlook becoming more bleak with ocean acidification on the steady rise due to increasing amounts of CO2 being subsumed by Earth's surface water. 
 

Restive is the becoming of my torpidity – floating in stasis in the midst of a dank, stygian cocoon. Heavier than air, but lighter than the weight bore by the crux of the dichotomous shepards of Earth. The tides of tomorrow will blue-shift and intensify, while barons of inner-Earth emanate tremorous warnings in shear waves through the mantle. The mantra of the unlimited growth economy will see to the slow unraveling of the patchy fabric of civilization. And when the last blanket of comfort is ripped away by the spectral tentacles of Hastur, the ego of mankind will be stripped naked for the entire galaxy to witness. . .

-C-