The Cumberland Run
Tennessee's subterranean transportation authority has developed an unusual public-confidence strategy.
One of its members would prefer not to be among the first passengers.
On October 27, Tennessee Lookout reported that former state senator Bill Ketron had been reassured by the hardness of Nashville's limestone. Asked whether the Boring Company's tunnel could keep the Cumberland River out, he admitted some reluctance to test it personally.
An independent hydrogeological report has raised concerns about sinkholes, groundwater movement, and contamination. Nashville sits on karst limestone, a geological formation characterized by underground cavities.
- The rock is very hard.
- Parts of it are missing.
- The Aquatic Curriculum continues.
Just last month, Modal Path Ethics discovered that a creek could cross three jurisdictions without acknowledging any of them. Then, I learned that birds could do that too. Tennessee has now constructed an additional jurisdiction under the ground.
Unfortunately, water has no apparent intention of respecting this one either.
In the interest of rigorous public education, Modal Path Ethics has developed
CUMBERLAND RUN:
THE MUSIC CITY LOOP OF THE DAMNED.
Drive a Tesla through a flooding underground tunnel toward Dolly Parton International Airport by Harry S. Berry. Outrun the rising water. Avoid losing traction. Encounter striped bass and hybrid striped bass, whose motives and relation to the emergency are unknown. Beware the fifth fish.
This is an excellent game depicting a fictional disaster, not evidence that the real tunnel has flooded or a prediction that it will. The actual engineering questions remain open.
But these bass have already reached a decision.
ENJOY YOUR FLIGHT.