A small rock named Bassultus (named after his rock type, Basalt) sat on the Grassy
Plains Over There (GPOT), a small park where children loved to play. Bassultus is a
rough basalt chunk with glowing orange eyes. He moves slowly on land and always
likes to talk.
“Hey, wanna hang out at GPOT?” a kid said to his friend. Suddenly, the ground shook.
A huge crack formed as an earthquake toppled houses over.
“I sure hope Grassy Plains Over There survives!” Bassultus whispered to himself as
he was falling through the crack. Suddenly, “CRASH!” Bassultus was stuck between
two plates and became a metamorphic rock (A rock that changed its original form
from heat and pressure underground).
“Hey, Bassultus! Long time no see!” Crust boomed, clearing his throat. “Why have
you come?” He asked.
“Well, I was stuck in here because of the Earthquake that occurred up there on the
surface.” Bassultus replied, “But I also want to explore the layers of Mother Earth a
little.” “Well, I can grant you access to the mantle if you want. He’s got two pet Large
Low-Velocity Provinces, Tuzo and Jason!”
Crust said as he opened a small crack between two tectonic plates. “Huh? Hold on,
my good Large Low-Velocity Provinces! I think someone’s arrived!” Mantle told Tuzo
and Jason as he greeted Bassultus. “So, you’ve been given exclusive access to Mama
Earth’s layers?”
“Yeah, I’m curious about her.” Bassultus replied.
“Gggrrrkrrr!” Tuzo vibrated excitedly, happy to see Bassultus.
“Oh yeah, you already know Tuzo and Jason, right? They like to communicate by
sending infrasounds. Their friends are Themis and Eistla from Venus. They’re the only
pair of Large Low-Velocity Provinces other than these good boys. You want to know
how I got them?” Mantle asked.
“Sure,” Bassultus replied.
“Well, I got them when this other planet got too close to Mama and almost destroyed
her, but the leftovers formed this other celestial body that Crust has been talking
smack about. I think it’s called the moon or something, but that’s not the point. The
other leftovers just sank into my layer and formed these little guys. Also, I should
probably let you meet the twins down there, which we like to call Inner and Outer.
You ready? It’s time to sink!”
Just when Mantle finished speaking, Bassultus sank to the bottom of Outer. “OOF!
I’m trying to spin to get Mother some magnetism!” Inner screamed as he struggled to
mix his innards.
“Hey, looks like we have a new visitor!” Outer said as she pulled Bassultus in with her
molten Iron. “What brings you here?”
“I came here to find out the mysteries of Mother Earth,” Bassultus replied.
“Well, I can tell you how she formed, even though Inner is the oldest here, and he
knows everything about Mother. It all started when small clumps of rock began to
attract others, forming a sphere. That was when Inner was born. Then, Inner attracted
more and more rocks, and layers formed as the material’s density increased. Then, I,
Mantle, and Crust fully developed, and Mother was completely formed.” Outer
replied. “Now that you know Mother’s story, I will release you, and you will return to
the surface.”
Bassultus rose until he ended up in his original place, directly in the Grassy Plains
Over There. “Welp, I believe that trip was wonderful! I hope I can keep in touch with
them, though. I’ll have to join Lithotwitter sometime so I can chat with them.”
Bassultus thought to himself while he pulled out his iLithosphone