At this hour, the survival of the internet remains in doubt after the release of a new still from the upcoming Twilight film New Moon caused teenage girls to flood chat boards and fan sites worldwide.

Apparently attempt to limit the damage to international communications , Summit Pictures released the new image out on Labor Day, when presumably they hoped to sneak them past the angry Twilight mobs roaming the internet. If so, the hope was in vain.

The new picture, featuring stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson staring at each other, has sparked a frenzy of speculation as fans try to piece together what their open mouthed expressions mean, what the expressions tell us about New Moon and Twilight issues in general, and beyond that, what they say about our chances to survive as a species on a planet where you and a cute guy can really really like each other but for really stupid reasons not be able to be together.

At the Twilight fan site hisgoldeneyes.com partisans attempted to unravel the meaning of Bella and Edward's gaze in the 400 long and counting comments section.

Speaking on a basic formal level, commenter Jordan attempted to establish some context:

I think its the scene after the B-Day party. If you zoom up close to Edwards eyes, they look gold. When they came back from Italy, his eyes were black, because he didn't eat n a while.

That's a theory backed up by Monica who wrote:

Yeah Jordan is right. It's after the birthday party. Plus Edward looks like he's wearing the same jacket as he was during the party. Plus his eyes are gold there.

And no Laura, Edward's lips are supposed to be red when he's not thirsty. Gold, Pale and Red. That's Edward for ya.

Peering beyond the mere tactical concerns, Simply Bee attempted to grapple with the philosophical issues raised by the image:

You know something. I haven't even given my two cents about the picture. I think it's depressing the looks they are sharing with eachother make my stomach tie up into a nervous not of anticipation to see what words will go along with the expressions. They both look so lost and like they are grasping onto the remnant of humanity they have left, if they lose one another then they also lose their selfs. It's kind of heart wrenching.

Over at bellaandedward.com discussed centered around the critical question of whether the inches of fabric wrapping around Kristen Stewart are from the front of a dress or a tank top. If the former, it would indicate that the scene we are looking on may take place after the pair's Italian sojourn, and thus that the ring shown here may be the engagement ring Edward bestowed upon Bella and that what we may be looking upon, and it is hard to understate the consequence of this — if one can picture the moment when some fuzzy images come to us from a deep space probe and it slowly dawns upon humanity that we are seeing the first images of extra-terrestrial life — this may in fact be a shot from the Proposal Scene itself.

Tempting as that possibility is to many, a few harded debunkers on the bellaandedward boards attempt to shoot it down. Writes pitiless commenter Megan:

You guys are morons. They don't get engaged until Eclipse. That is the same ring that she wore in Twilight on her right hand index finger. Pay attention little girls.

Which Katelyn seconds:

It cant be after italy, she looked like crap after italy and she wasnt dressed nciely or had her hair done, and even if she did, she just woke up after a day of sleeping, so her hair coudlnt look that good anyway, and edward is in a a suit. def after her birthday party

Over at twilightsource.com, commenter Sarah weighs the many issues raised by the image and delivers her final verdict,

OMG. I think this picture just really shows how much Chris is putting into this film. The make up is PERFECT. Bella is pale, compared to "standard" humans, but Edward, OMG, Edward is a chalky, stark white. EXACTLY like a vampire SHOULD be. He conveys so much pain and love through his eyes, like he is sorry for what he did (or is going to do) and just wants to kiss her and tell her it's ok. Gosh. CHRIS WEITZ YOU RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In related news, vampire fans making the pilgrimage to Northern Utah can now get lost in a giant field of corn carved to resemble Twilight rivals Edward and Jacob. Inexplicably, the space aliens who created this maze carved a little local TV reporter holding a microphone into the corn next to the vampires.