by Jef Powell ‘01

As the year 2000 quickly approaches, there is mounting concern about the Y2K computer bug. In short, many old computers only know the year by the last two digits: "15" for 1915, "89" for "1989", etc. When these computers try to function in the year 2000, they will read the date as January 1st, 1900… and no one knows what will happen. Many will simply stop working; while annoying, this will not be the end of world–unless the "bug" happens to reach Strategic Air Command, buried deep in the mountains of Colorado. For SAC and other military institutions, the Y2K crash could cause complete system shutdowns and the effective end to all computer-based defence networks. Some have even suggested that system malfunction could result in the accidental launch of nuclear weapons.

Wiltshire, England is home to the astounding but frustrating structure known to the world as Stonehenge. Astounding because it was engineered by a supposedly primitive civilization, frustrating because it has left so many questions. Some have attributed Stonehenge to the Celts, some claim it pre-dates the Celts, and some have even given credit to wandering Romans. Stonehenge has been ascribed countless functions by scholars through the ages: an altar for religious sacrifices and cannibalism, a landing or launch pad for alien visitors, possibly a gravestone for an ancient leader. No matter why it was created, Stonehenge serves a unique purpose today: it is a frightening warning of what our future may hold.

Legend holds that Stonehenge was built by a people who lived in the British Isles long before the Celts arrived. The Danand, as they are called in retrospect, were a very advanced people, possibly refugees from Atlantis, who developed technologies that would rival those of modern society. Stonehenge was nothing more than a toy for them, their equivalent of a handheld video game, but it was a toy that contains the secret of their fate.

A quick look at this stonework shows that it is composed of three concentric circles of stones. At various times of year, the date can be derived from the shadows created among the rocks at sunrise and sunset. Unfortunately, there are only three rings. Similar to a slide rule, which lacks a decimal point, Stonehenge lacks a way of noting the fourth number in a four-digit year.

But how could a flaw in the calendar bring about a civilization’s destruction? Centuries later, while fighting Napoleon I of France, the English and Russians planned a joint attack. No one noticed that the Russian and English calendars were days apart. The English showed up for the battle over a week before the Russians. Similarly, the myth of Stonehenge suggests that when the Danand were trying to co-ordinate an attack against the invading Celts, military strategists made a mistake with the fourth digit of the year. Consequently, half of their army showed up one thousand years late for the attack, only to find their comrades long dead and the Celts in complete control of Western Europe.

So what does this legend–fictional though it may be–reveal about our own future, as we move toward Y2K? Have the Cobol programmers of the world–today’s "strategists"–sealed our fate with another cataclysmic calendar error? Perhaps we should all keep fresh batteries on our pocket organizers for a year or so… The government may have to deal with a few rogue missiles and a cover-up or two, but last-minute preparation could prevent 20th-century humanity from falling prey to our own lack of foresight.