The Man Who Broke the World

SD1: The lights come up on a scene of destruction. Piles of rubble and twisted metal cover the stage.

SD2: The mangled roots of toppled trees reach up to the sky like skeleton fingers.

SD3: Small fires burn here and there.

SD1: Smoke blows across the stage.

SD2: A man walks on. His face and clothes are dirty.

SD3: He pokes the ground with a stick.

George: This was my house, I think. And there, the bakery. That was a cafe over yonder, and beyond that, the park. But now . . . all gone, all destroyed.

SD1: He begins to cry.

George: And it’s all my fault. I broke the world. 

SD2: Lights come up on a cozy room with floral wallpaper and lace curtains.

SD3: Flora and Walter sit on a rug playing a card game. Flora wears a paper crown.

SD1: George and Albert stand beside Edith, who gingerly places a cake on the table.

SD2: George raises his glass. He is a willowy man with a thin mustache.

George: Here’s to Flora on her 12th birthday! I’m so glad my dear niece has recovered from her dreadful fever.

Edith: Yes, it’s a miracle she came through it.

George: Bah, there’s no such thing as a miracle.

Edith: Oh, come now, George. Are you that cynical?

George: No. I’m just attached to reality.

Edith: I witness small miracles all the time. Just yesterday, I found a coin on the street.

George: That’s not a miracle. It’s luck. A miracle is something that goes against nature. Something that couldn’t happen unless someone willed it.

Walter: Like magic?

SD3: Edith puts candles on the cake and lights them. Everyone gathers around.

George: Exactly, Walter. Here, I’ll prove it. That cake cannot turn upside down and float in the air, can it?

Albert: I should say not.

George: But if someone like me comes along and says—

SD1: George points his finger dramatically at the cake.

George (booming voice): You, cake, I command you to float in the air and turn upside down!

SD2: The cake begins to rise. It turns upside down and remains suspended above the table. The candles flicker.

All: Gasp!

Edith: What’s this?

Walter: It’s a magic trick!

SD3: Flora runs around the table, examining the cake from all sides.

Flora: How are you doing that?

George: I . . . don’t know. But I . . . I can’t keep it up any longer.

SD1: The cake smashes down onto the table.

SD2: Edith swats at the candles with a towel.

Edith: George, you brute!

Albert: Why’d you do a thing like that?

SD3: Flora begins to cry.

Flora: Uncle George, my birthday cake!

George: I didn’t mean to. I have no idea how—

Edith: That’s enough out of you.

SD1: Flustered, George grabs his coat and runs out. 

SD2: George paces in his small bedroom. A simple bed and a nightstand are the only furnishings.

George: What happened? I commanded the cake, and it obeyed. Then, at the precise moment I said I couldn’t hold it up any longer, it fell.

SD3: George looks at a glass of water on his nightstand. He points his finger at it.

George: Rise.

SD1: The glass begins to float up.

George: By Jove!

SD2: The glass keeps rising, nearly reaching the ceiling.

George: Stop! Come back down!

SD3: The glass floats back down to the nightstand.

George: Water, turn pink.

SD1: The water turns pink.

George: Give me a new toothbrush.

SD2: A new toothbrush appears in his hand.

George: I can work miracles!

SD3: George giddily conjures a kitten, a bicycle, a dog, two pigeons, and an elaborate turkey dinner.

SD1: The dog is soon chasing the cat, which is chasing the birds, which are flapping around the room wildly.

SD2: George is laughing hysterically.

SD3: The town clock strikes one.

George (wiping his eyes): My, it’s late. I must go to bed. Everything be gone from my room!

SD1: George is suddenly sitting on the floor in a completely empty room.

George: Not everything! I meant just the . . . ack! Put the room back the way it was.

SD2: The bed and the nightstand reappear.

George: Now let me be under the covers, fast asleep.

SD3: George is suddenly in bed, snoring.

SD1: Lights rise on rows of wooden desks piled with papers. The room is buzzing with activity.

SD2: George, however, sits at his desk staring into space with his mouth hanging open.

James: Hey, Georgie. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.

George (whispering ): Something incredible has happened. I . . . I can perform . . . miracles.

James: Really. Can you get me a pay raise?

George: No. Yes. Well, maybe. It seems I can will things to happen.

James: Like what?

George: Is your watch still broken?

SD3: James fishes his watch out of his pocket.

James: It is.

George (pointing his finger): Make that watch work.

SD1: The watch starts ticking.

James: Neat trick!

George: That’s not all. Watch this.

SD2: As Cora walks by, he points his finger at her.

George: Give Cora a diamond necklace.

SD3: A necklace appears around Cora’s neck.

Cora: What’s this? Oh, my!

James: Seems our pal George here is a magician.

George: It’s inexplicable, but I have this power.

Cora: What will you do with it?

George: I don’t know.

James: Make yourself rich. That’s what I’d do.

Cora: Or you could help people. George, just think of all the wonderful things you could accomplish.

George: My mind is a tornado of possibilities.

Cora: Why not speak to Mr. Maydig, the clergyman? He’s the wisest person I know.

George: Good idea. 

SD1: The lights come up on Mr. Maydig and George in a small, dark study.

George: My name is Fernsby. George Fernsby.

Maydig: How can I help you, Mr. Fernsby?

George: I fear you won’t believe me.

Maydig: Try me.

George: What is your opinion of magic, Mr. Maydig?

Maydig: Well—

George: Do you think it’s possible that an ordinary chap like me can do things just by using his will?

Maydig: What kinds of things?

George: Well, take that pen over there. (pointing at a pen on the desk) Be a pot of violets.

SD2: The pen turns into a pot of fresh violets.

SD3: Maydig is dumbstruck. He stares at the flowers, then back at George.

Maydig: How did you do that?

George: I told it to—and it did. Is that a miracle? Or a dark art? Is there something wrong with me?

SD1: Maydig smells the violets.

Maydig: Remarkable. Can you do other things as well?

George: Oh, yes. (pointing at the violets) Change into a bowl of fish.

SD2: The pot changes into a large serving bowl with several trout flopping around in it.

George: No, no. Change into a glass bowl full of water with goldfish swimming in it.

SD3: A bowl of goldfish appears.

Maydig: Astonishing! You have a most profound gift.

George: What should I do?

Maydig: I do not believe this is a dark art. It seems you can perform miracles, young man, plain and simple.

George: It doesn’t feel plain and simple to me.

Maydig: I wonder if your powers are unlimited. Shall we test them out?    

SD1: George and Maydig stroll through town. Maydig is directing George on how to use his powers.

SD2: George repairs a train track, heals a man’s broken leg, and revives a dying tree in the park.

SD3: He soon has a crowd of people following him. He looks back at the crowd and takes a bow.

Townsperson 1: This man is a wizard!

Townsperson 2: A miracle worker!

Townsperson 3: A saint!

SD1: James and Cora appear alongside George.

Cora: There you are, George. We’ve been looking for you. The whole town is talking about you.

James: Say, might you conjure some gold for me?

Maydig: Creating wealth hardly seems ethical.

James: Who’s it going to hurt?

Cora: George, you must consider those most in need.

George: I just fed a stray dog.

Cora: Think bigger! You could ensure everyone has a job and shelter and plenty to eat.

Maydig: You could heal the sick. Eradicate all disease!

Cora: You could bring peace and happiness to everyone on Earth.

James: Why should he spend his time making everyone else rich and happy? What does he get for himself?

Maydig: He gets satisfaction from doing good, and—

All townspeople (chanting ): Fernsby! Fernsby! Fernsby!

George: Be quiet, all of you!

SD2: Everyone falls silent.

SD3: George takes a deep breath.

George: I used to be a nobody. Now I am the most powerful person in the world. Nobody is going to tell me what to do. This is my gift, and I’ll decide how to use it.

SD1: George points his finger at a meadow.

George: There, make a new hospital. The George Fernsby Hospital. And there, a Fernsby school and a Fernsby library. There, a Fernsby orphanage. And a Fernsby factory that makes . . . something useful.

SD2: Each building appears with GEORGE FERNSBY across the front in huge letters.

Cora: Oh, George!

All townspeople: Ooooh!

George: I want these up and running by morning. When everyone wakes up, they will be so grateful to me—not just this town, everyone, the whole world. The name on everyone’s lips will be George Fernsby!

Maydig: By tomorrow morning?

Cora: There’s no time. The sun is almost down.

James: It’s impossible.

George: Impossible, you say? Nothing is impossible! I will stop time.

Maydig, James, and Cora: Stop time?

SD3: George points his finger at the sky.

George: Listen here, Earth. Stop rotating!

SD1: There is a bright flash, then everything goes black.

SD2: A moment later, the lights come back up. George is flying through the air.

SD3: A cow goes soaring past. There is a thundering crash offstage.

George: Aaaaaah! Let me come down safe and sound!

SD1: George drops softly to the ground. He is surrounded by twisted metal and crumbled bricks. The wind howls.

George: What’s all this wind? I didn’t order any wind.

SD2: Through the dust he sees heaps of ruins.

George: Where’s the town? The trees? The people?

SD3: He tries to get to his feet but is knocked down by the ferocious gale.

George: Mr. Maydig? Cora? James?

SD1: The sky goes gray, and it begins to hail.

George: What happened?

SD2: A whooshing sound grows louder and louder.

SD3: George sees a wall of water rushing toward him.

SD1: It is 40 feet high and moving—fast.

George: AAAAAAAAAH!

SD2: George raises his hand.

George: Stop! Just stop! I need to think!

SD3: The wall of water freezes in place.

George (looking around): What have I done? What should I do?

SD1: We are back in the first scene. George sits on the ground, crying softly.

SD2: Suddenly, he looks up.

George: I can work miracles. I can fix this.

SD3: George squeezes his eyes shut and yells.

George: Let everything be back as it was before that cursed cake turned upside down—including me! I want to lose my power. No more miracles. No more magic!

SD1: There is a flash of light. The stage goes dark.

SD2: The lights come up on the parlor, which is exactly as it was in Scene 2.

SD3: Everyone is gathered around the birthday cake.

George: Here, I’ll prove it. That cake cannot turn upside down and float in the air, can it?

Albert: I should say not.

George: But if someone like me comes along and says—

SD1: George points his finger dramatically at the cake.

George (booming voice): You, cake, I command you to float in the air and turn upside down!

SD2: Nothing happens.

George: See, I told you. No such thing as miracles.

SD3: Flora blows out the candles. The party continues as the lights fade.

What if Earth just stopped rotating all of a sudden? No one knows for sure exactly what would happen, but scientists suggest we’d all be in big trouble. What kind of trouble? Think of every disaster movie you’ve ever seen, and multiply it by a billion.

Here’s why: The Earth is spinning—depending on where you are, as quickly as 1,000 miles per hour. You don’t feel like you’re moving because everything around you is traveling at the same speed—the sky, the ground, the oceans. So it seems like nothing is moving at all.

If Earth suddenly stood still, everything would go flying. You know that feeling when someone slams on the car brakes and you jolt forward into your seat belt? It would be like that, except no seat belt, and it wouldn’t be only you hurtling forward—it would be everything everywhere. Rocks, trees, cars, roads, that burger you were eating—all of it. The sudden stop would likely trigger tsunamis too.

Here’s something else that could happen: A scientist named Witold Fraczek found that without rotation, the shape of Earth itself could change.

Right now, Earth bulges out around the middle, at the equator. If it stopped rotating, Earth could become more spherical. As a result, all the water currently in the bulge at the equator would move toward the North and South poles. We would end up with two giant oceans—one north and one south—separated by a large band of land.

But what if Earth came to a stop gradually? Everything would stay put, but there would still be big changes.

Because it would take a year, rather than 24 hours, for the sun to rise and set, you’d spend six months in darkness and six months in daylight. Depending on where you lived, this could mean suffering six months of scorching heat and six months of bone-chilling cold. The weather would change dramatically. It’s hard to say how—or even if—plants, animals, and humans would adapt.

Here’s the good news:  The chances that Earth will stop spinning are basically zero. Phew!

This article was originally published in the March 2019 issue.