I read in the Tribune this morning that two superplumes of magma are working their way up from more than 400 miles under the earth's crust toward the surface. Compared to the smaller pockets of magma that power the world's volcanoes, these monsters are stunningly huge. They're located somewhere around southeastern Africa. The article didn't speculate on when or how the plumes might reach the surface, but I found myself imagining a scenario where the earth is jiggled in its orbit, new landmasses rivalling the size of Australia arise, a catastrophic dustwind settles over my head on, say, its second pass around the globe, anyone without a 1960's-style bomb shelter is plumb out of luck, and humanity's territiorial and religious wars are rendered petty and absolutely inconsequential.