"20/20" producer Michael Bicks, who lives in Durham, chose to hit Portsmouth with a gamma ray burst in an upcoming edition of the show. He said the city would see a growing light before buildings burst into flames.
Courtesy photo


Burned to a crisp
By Adam Leech
aleech@seacoastonline.com


PORTSMOUTH -- Feel the burn.


The city of Portsmouth will be featured on "Last Days on Earth," an ABC News "20/20" special two-hour edition. The show explores the different ways life on Earth could end -- both manmade causes and cataclysmic natural events, like an asteroid hit.


During the program, the Port City will have the dubious honor of being the recipient of a hypothetical gamma ray burst that causes the extinction of man. Computer-generated graphics show the ray burning through the ozone layer, setting the city aflame and eventually consuming all of Earth.
But why Portsmouth?


"Because I live in Durham," said Michael Bicks, the show's producer. "It's a small town that's a recognizable place for people to grasp, and it wasn't difficult to get the footage we needed."


The probability of Earth being hit by a gamma ray from a nearby star explosion is extremely small, according to Bicks, but there is no part of the world that is most likely to be hit. And, really, it doesn't matter where it starts.


"It depends on how close it is," he said. "But if (a gamma ray burst) hit Earth anywhere, everyone would die very rapidly."


The theory has been studied at length by scientists determining the risk of "doomsday" scenarios. A gamma ray burst is believed to be caused by a massive star exploding in space due to the collapse of its core. The energy released in a burst is more than all the energy on Earth combined, according to Bicks, and could disintegrate the ozone layer easily.


The program does not detail burning humans and is not graphic in any way, he said. Excerpts provided to the Herald showed a large growing light appearing in the sky and progressively igniting structures in the city like North Church.


"It shows the atmosphere burning off and creating a hole in the ozone layer," he said. "It's relatively abstract. It's not a horror movie in any way, shape or form."


Other potential Armageddon-like catastrophes the program will explore are bioterrorism attacks, global warming and nuclear war. Bicks said one of the most interesting parts of the program is the idea that scientific and technological advances of man could ultimately result in our extinction.
"In the past 60 years, humanity has developed into the only species that has inhabited the planet that has the ability to render itself extinct," he said. "Hopefully it will get people to realize how lucky we are to be here and that we should take better care of our planet."


Some of the catastrophes are forces of nature, like an asteroid hit, which is thought among the scientific community to be a virtual inevitability, he said. Though many would consider that an act of God, he said, NASA is developing technology to divert an incoming asteroid that could save the planet, should that day come.


"The point of the show is about humanity's place in the universe," he said. "When you stop and think about (the ability to negate our own existence), it's humbling; it makes you feel very big and very small at the same time."