Rocky and Rockelle in an emergency meeting on the Pluto nitrogen ice desert
ROCKELLE: Why did the IAU do it? Recommend we be thrown out of the Solar System?
ROCKY: They are the backyard bullies of the Solar System with prejudices against little people. They said we are too small. Dwarfs! That our orbit wobbles. That our mass is too small. I heard one rumor that lobbyists from Neptune got to them.
ROCKELLE: This will devastate our tourism industry. This is one of the few places in the Universe where Rocks from other planets can come and really feel alive. Our temperature is ideal, always 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Our environment is perfect for visiting rocks. Frozen nitrogen and methane - wonderful. And earth could certainly learn things from us. We have completely reversed the greenhouse effect that seems to panic earthlings.
ROCKY: Thank heavens our antennae let us pick up all their radio, TV, cable and email messages. I may be the first rock to have ever earned a degree in public relations from on-air TV courses. When we get to Earth I will try to set up interviews with Katie Couric on CBS and maybe Lou Dobbs on CNN.
ROCKELLE: Careful, Rocky! I've watched his program. He may be afraid you're an immigrant and ask to see your green card.
ROCKY: I am Green!
ROCKELLE: I have an idea. Let's get the Earth children to support us. They have so much influence on their parents. Children can make a difference. I remember a story from the History Channel. When America's new Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, was being shipped by boat to New York, there was not enough money to build a base for her. The children of America sent in millions of pennies and paid for the base where she now stands.
ROCKY: Your right. I know our little pebbles have influenced us. Why, we eveb enjoy Hard Rock now.
ROCKELLE: Children love us. They named that funny Disney dog Pluto. They have that prize fighter, your namesake, Rocky, running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art with a soaring symphony behind him. They even refer to us in everyday phrases. Remember - "between a Rock and a hard place."
ROCKY: And remember all those blogs we watch? We will get Earth Bloggers to circulate a petition for us. And ask children everywhere to let us add their names to the petition. Earth media loves to quote polls and petitions.
ROCKELLE: But we must respect the privacy of children, particularly where they live.
ROCKY: Rock-solid logic. We will ask only their names, no addresses or what they call Zip Codes. We will list the names of the first hundred to sign the petition on our Rock Web. They could include their email addresses if they want to know when the chapter and their petition will be posted.
ROCKELLE: Great. I have already written the petition just now. Earthlings may be surprised how fast we can work. One year on Pluto is the equivalent of 258 years on Earth. What we can do in seconds must seem like an eternity to Earthlings.
ROCKY: Publish the petition now. Maybe put it on the "My Planet" blog.
ROCKELLE: I hate to correct you, but I think they call it, "My Place."
ROCKEY? Whatever! Right now we've got to get to our Rockette Space Ship, traveling to Earth at the Speed of Rock, thousands of times faster that the Speed of Light.
ROCKELLE: Here's the Petition.
We the children of Earth believe that all people, rocks and planets are created equal. We believe it is unfair and prejudicial for the International Astronomical Union to arbitrarily and unfairly rule Pluto out of the Solar System. We the children of Earth urge them to reconsider. There's a line in the American musical Les Miserable - "never kick a pup because the pup grows up!"
ROCKY: Good send it! How do they say it on TV? We're off to Rock and Roll on Earth. Whatever that means.
TO BE CONTINUED. Rocky and Rockelle on their way to set up a New York press conference and a meeting with presidential hopefuls John McCain, Hillary Clinton and other candidates in America. When you're ready, go to Chapter Two: A rocky road ahead for Rocky and Rockelle with the appearance of the Goldmonster from Neptune.
TO SIGN YOUR NAME TO THE "SAVE PLUTO" PETITION
| NOTE TO PARENTS AND TEACHERS These short chapters in the weeks ahead will tell the story of the Solar System and introduce children to how the media and public relations can change minds and influence people. We will actually send the Pluto Petition with children's names to the head of the U.N., President of the United States, and all presidential candidates to see how they respond to the voices of children and join in learning disguised as play. This program was created by the same people who created Geography for the 90s for the Society of American Travel Writers with then First-Lady Barbara Bush as spokesperson.
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Credits: Google-Eyed Pluto Rocks created by Christian Mills and his art staff, Camryn Mills and Mel Mills