SciFi

First published in 1976 'The HAB Theory' was accepted as one of the finest Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic works of fiction. Based on a theory postulated by a real scientist named Hugh Auchincloss Brown it deals with the inevitable possibility that soon the Earths magnetic poles with swop.

The HAB Theory has an immediately disturbing hypothesis: The earth falls over on it's side or ''capsizes'' about every 3,000 - 7,100 years. During a period of about 12 hours, the land that was under the North and South poles moves from the cold point at the earth's axis of spin to a hot point in the tropics.

What the book dwells on is the effect on the planet and its inhabitants when a catastrophic event occurs.

The novel is currently being produced as a movie and is expected to air in about 2010. But if you want a gripping read it is still available, last being reprinted in 2000, and is 500 pages long.

After watching last nights episode of Battlestar, I got thinking at what stage in Earth's development will the Capricans et el find us when they finally arrive?

My colleague feels that the fact that they talk of 'returning' to Earth means that at some stage they must have left to seed the universe. This being so, it must have been a future Earth say the 23rd century.

I think that the exodus occurred originally when Earth was threatened by some cataclysmic disaster and they will return to re-seed the Earth around 10,000 BC. The religious disparity in this weeks episode has lead me to think more along this lines as:

* If they had left Earth in our future why are they obsessed with Gods and religions that have been dead for centuries?
* Last night there was references to Saturnalia and Mithraism as well as depictions of Egyptian deities and Athena.
* If they are forced to land on Earth in the past after a final battle with the Cylons, and the 12 Cylon types (which cover most race groups) plus the remaining humans have to live in harmony to survive surely the religious bias of the groups we met last night would migrate into different tribal groups so propagating the Earth as we know it today.
* This could explain the Watchers or fallen Angels as being the Cylons.

Any other suggestions?