Writing in the Dark

My blog title today isn't a reference to a power outage or the pandemic--though that could certainly be another sort of "writing in the dark." My current WIP involves a setting that's underground--a lava tube to be exact. So for the past two months, I've literally been living in the dark...inside my head, at least.

So what's a lava tube?

Here's the definition according to Wikipedia:

A lava tube is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava which moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. Tubes can drain lava from a volcano during an eruption, or can be extinct, meaning the lava flow has ceased, and the rock has cooled and left a long cave.

Lava tubes have different properties than some of the better known caves in our country--like Carlsbad Caverns, the nearby fairyland-like Lechuguilla Cave (both in New Mexico), or Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.

A piece of trivia I learned while searching for synonyms is that a lava tube can be a cave but not a cavern. All caverns are caves, but all caves aren't necessarily caverns.

Caverns are specifically natural caves that are big enough for access by humans and formed by soluble rock (usually limestone) that form speleothems--or stalagtites and stalagmites. (And, yes, I used "speleothem" in my story, even though it takes place in a lava tube and not a cavern. You'll have to read it to find out why.) These formations are caused by water dripping from the roof of a cave that, over eons of time, form structures that hang down from the ceiling. Stalagmites, which form upward from the floor below, are usually caused by water dripping from the cave ceiling or a stalagtite and building up over the ages into a cone or pedestal shape. Sometimes stalagtites and stalagmites fuse together and form a pillar structure inside the cavern. Sometimes they form great curtains of stone or weird alien-like forms.

Here's a quick 2-minute tour of some of the amazing speleothem formations in Carlsbad Caverns.

But lava tubes are different. Some have smooth floors, or floors that have been filled in by sand to make them easy to navigate. Others have floors of broken basalt and rock outcroppings that are very difficult and sometimes dangerous to travel through.

Here's a few things that make lava tubes unique:

• Lave tubes tend to be elongated and range in size from very small and cramped to enormous.
• The flowing lava can leave huge ridges or groves along the walls
• The ceilings of lava tubes can often collapse, leaving an open "skylight" with debris beneath it
• Although most lava tubes don't have typical cave formations, they can grow lavacicles
• Some lava tubes are active
• Lava tubes can be present anywhere with a history of volcanic events

Check out this 55 second virtual fly-through of the Cueva de los Verdes lava tube in Lanzarote, Spain. Spooky!

Lava tubes are present in many of our western states including New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and California, as well as areas of the world that have volcanic regions such as Mexico, the Canary Islands, Galapagos Islands, Italy, Japan, Korea, and Kenya. Some are open to the public.

Hawaii is known for its lava caves. Hilo is home to Kaumana Caves State Park, where hikers can descend a metal ladder into a skylight in a lava tube that was created by a 1881 lava flow from Mauna Loa crater. (Not to be confused with MONA Loa, which is a space station in my Inherited Stars series.)

In November 2019, a man died in Hawaii after sinking through soft ground and falling 22 feet to the bottom of a lava cave. After being reported missing for several days, searchers located his body and first responders repelled into the opening to recover him. Although the man died due to falling on the hard rock surfaces at the bottom of the cave, some of the news reports about the incident mistakenly added photos of a live lava tube with flowing lava as images to accompany the story.

An old lava tube in Hawaii (made a bit more dynamic by the orange lighting).

But lava tubes aren't just on Earth. Sometime in the future when we begin to colonize other worlds--such as Mars or the Moon--the first explorers may take shelter in alien lava tubes where they are protected from radiation and harsh conditions, and where water may exist.

So why does my work in progress take place in a lava tube, as opposed to a starship, a space station or a colonized city, as they more typically do? Because something has been discovered in this particular lava tube. Something amazing. And something incredibly important.

But the people who live and work in this massive cave may have another galaxy-shaking surprise in store for them.

This story is tentatively titled Juggernaut and it will release as a part of the new Pets in Space 5 in October of this year, and is another book in my Inherited Stars series.

So get your spelunking gear ready for a different kind of space adventure, coming this fall.

Have a great week...and stay safe and healthy.