Author name: gardensofhansen@hotmail.com

Aloha – In the first two excerpts I shared from Demeter, we are introduced to three of the central characters: Ryder, his younger sister Debbie, and a girl on whom Ryder has a crush, Cynthia Flores. The book starts up with a real incident dramatized for the story of Ryder getting beaten up at a school dance, and Debbie and Cynthia getting into it with the school bully. All three are transferred to another school where they meet Ms. Lee, and soon to follow, Mr. Small from their previous school. There timing is great as they are invited to a year abroad in Europe. Bread crumbs along the way suggest a bit of a mystery but nothing they are concerned with. Then we get into things heating up. What’s going on? According to the clock on the wall, they arrived at M-23 ten minutes after the flight was supposed to leave, but it was still there. They checked through the counter in a rush and ran down an empty jet bridge. Ryder caught glimpses of the plane through the porthole-type windows as they entered the plane’s threshold. It looks a little odd, he thought, then rushed in behind Debbie and bumped into Cynthia. “I’m sorry,” he said panicky. “I’m not,” Cynthia quipped, breathing hard from the run. The interior of the plane was different. It was black with brown leather seats. The black reminded Ryder of a Japanese jewelry box his mother owned. What was that called? Lacquer, that’s it, he thought. The aisles were wider, with only two seats on each side. The seats were even larger than first class on the previous flight. He didn’t have to bend over to walk down the aisle or even when he slid into his chair. The overhead compartments were harder to reach, but deeper than the previous plane. Along with his backpack he could have easily placed his two suitcases in the space. Ryder also noticed that he did not have to stand in a line inside the plane to get to his seat. He figured that was just because they were late. “Wow, this is the way to fly. I wonder if all international flights are like this,” he mumbled. Rebecca Creer was sitting next to him. Debbie and Cynthia were across the aisle. Ryder knew two things about Rebecca: she would read the entire way, and she wouldn’t say a word to him. Debbie once counted, and announced to Ryder, that Rebecca had only spoken seven words all day in class. Rebecca turned to Ryder. “Something is not right with this. I’ve traveled to Europe twice before, and this just isn’t right,” she declared. Ryder was in shock. “What did you say?” he asked stupidly. More surprised that she had spoken to him than by what she had said. “The planes for international flights are more crowded and uncomfortable than domestic flights. When my family and I went to Spain last year, I could barely hold my book up without having my arms go into spasms. This is bizarre,” She declared. There was a doorbell-like ping, and the pilot announced that they would be leaving shortly, and to fasten their seatbelts. Ryder looked for the carlike seatbelt and was immediately confused. “Miss Li, I don’t have a seatbelt,” he complained. It was at this point he noticed something else: there was no flight attendant to ask for help. Miss Li walked to the front and immediately had everyone’s attention. “You will probably notice that this is a private plane, as opposed to a regular airliner. You’ll need to fasten your safety equipment. Sit back in your seat and press the blue button on the arm rest. But be sure you are sitting back as far as you can in your seat when you push the button.” She then sat down quietly, as if to demonstrate, and pushed the blue button on her console. There was a faint purr, and several restraining devices automatically deployed, firmly securing her to the chair. Ryder heard several other purrs and clicks. He looked at Rebecca, and then pushed the button. A moment later she did the same.

Last night my wife really wanted to watch the last half of the Presidential Debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Personally, I had no interest. I dislike both candidates intensely. I’m a registered Democrat and do not like or trust Kamala Harris. The only way you know if Donald Trump is lying is if his lips are moving. So for, I have no good choice and nothing vested in this election. I expected unpleasant rhetoric from both candidates. I was not surprised. I expected misstatements galore and was not surprised. However there was one moment that did surprise me. It highlights how little respect the candidates have for the common sense of the American voter. Its been 96 years since the Chicken in every Pot campaign. In US history the practice of buying votes through offering alcohol goes all the way back to before the United States was the United States. But the overt practice of buying votes is still with us; and has never been more overt than in the Presidential Debate. I had to look up the transcript of the debate to make sure I wasn’t imagining things, but here it is: Harris then mentioned her “plan to give startup businesses $50,000 tax deduction to pursue their ambitions, their innovation, their ideas, their hard work”; her plan to create a “$6,000 [tax credit] for young families, for the first year of your child’s life;” her plan to offer “$25,000 [in] down payment assistance for first time home buyers.” What I heard was “a chicken in the pot and two cars in every garage”. What I heard was “Hey, if you want to start a small business, vote for me and I’ll give you $50,000.” What I heard was “Hey, you’re pregnant. Vote for me and I’ll give you $6,000.” What I heard was “Hey, wanna buy a house? Vote me and I’ll give you $25,000.” It doesn’t matter that there would be strings attached to this offer of $300 billion, its more of the imagery of the statement. But still it disturbed me on several levels. First, another $300 billion in taxes or government debt. Where’s the money coming from? Oh, the middle class taxpayers of course. We could pay for it with every middle-class family increasing their tax bill by $2500. That was the easy part, as I thought it would add up to more than $300 billions in chickens for the pot. Second, it is so overt in nature that I find it insulting to have been defined as a simpleton that is willing to sell his vote for a mug of rum. What else did I get out of the debate? I’m afraid of Trumps overt lying, bullying approach, and general disposition. I’m even more afraid of what Harris might do. For me, in this election it won’t be who to vote for, but rather who not to vote for. Lesser of two evils.

I have previously talked about water in the solar system. Today CNN posted an article about a current NASA mission checking out Europa for signs of life. Why? Water for one. It also has the right combination of water, energy and chemistry to support life as we know it. What kind of life are we looking for? For NASA it is any signs of life. If we are looking at the microbial level that is both exciting and scary. Could microbes from another world, developed in a totally different environment potentially create diseases by inadvertently bringing the microbes back to Earth? Or could they potentially provide new insights into extending length and quality of life on Earth. That seems to be a throw of the dice. Could we inhabit a moon of Jupiter? Drinking salt water from the ocean is not life sustaining. But can desalination occur and work? Yes. So even if the “water” in Europa is not potable, it probably can be made so. A bigger concern might be the radiation belt that Europa sits in. This is creating a challenge for the NASA exploration team with components of the mission vehicle. If we established a base on Europa would it have even more radiation problems to deal with than establishing a base on our own Moon? If you are interested in colonization outside of Earth and in the Solar System, this article is a good read. The link is: https://www.yahoo.com/news/europa-clipper-set-launch-soon-021213229.html

When I think of the 1950s and science fiction movies I’m a beat embarrassed. Most of the Syfy movies of the 50s were cheap “B” movies. One of the biggest hits in the Syfy category would be the Japanese movie Godzilla. It is now a cult favorite, but the zipper suits are a bit off-putting, and the plot? No comment. Perhaps I’m confusing the original with the dozens of subsequent films that included Godzilla in the title. Next, you could look at horror and Syfy. “The Thing” (1951) brought us James Arness or Marshall Dillon in a costume. Like most monster movies its the fear factor rather than the costume that grabs us. In 1956 we had Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which I always thing of as a version of Robert Heinlein’s “The Puppet Masters”. Two other films worth mentioning in this sub-genre are “The Fly” (1958) and “The Blob” (also 1958) that stared Steve McQueen. When it comes to adventure and science fiction (my personal favorite) one of the best science fiction movies of all time, and especially the 1950s was “Forbidden Planet”. For the period it did a fair job with special effects, had a great cast, was well-written with a very good story line. This one is worth watching if you haven’t seen it. Three others that came out in the 1950s that I will rewatch almost any time include “20,000 Leagues under the Sea” with Kirk Douglas (1954), “Journey to the Center of the Earth” with James Mason in 1959) and “The War of the Worlds” in 1953. For dystopian fans, I’d recommend “On the Beach” (1959) with Gregory Peck, Ava Gardener, Fred Astaire, and Anthony Perkins. Okay, the 1950s wasn’t really embarrassing for Syfy, but if you pull out these and a few other exceptions it wasn’t a high point in Syfy movie making.

Syfy – Industrialization comes to the Moon? China is apparently planning to turn the streets of the Moon into brick streets and brick buildings. In “Salt of the Earth” the Arlo (spaceship headed to the asteroid belt) uses its 3-D printers to build just about anything it needs, from clothes to weapons. I suppose it is not far-fetched to build bricks out of Moon dirt and a good 3-D printer. Fortunately, I’m not claustrophobic so I still prefer turning ancient lava tubes on the Moon to home, safe from regular meteor hits. I’m not so sure a brick, even a 3-D brick would hold up well to that kind of activity. Fortunately, labor costs will be low, as the operation and construction will be done exclusively by robots. This does create an interesting scenario that was played out by Disney with Wall-E What if mankind suddenly destroys itself. Would the brick making and building process continue? Over millions of years imagine the surprise when alien explorers reach our system and find a burned out planet without an atmosphere on the third planet with a moon totally covered in bricks.

On a regular basis as I communicate with other science fiction authors I’ve invited them to provide a summary of their books for my readers. Today I’m sharing a summary of Drew Samuelsen’s book, Restart. It is a series with the second coming out in October around Halloween. TOMORROW COMPUTER VIRUSES ONLY KILL PEOPLE! When a computer virus decimates the earth’s population, four teenagers and a dog survive, searching for answers while trying to escape packs of humans wired to hunt and kill. These four teenagers must band together to find solutions that will hold the key to saving the world. Yet the most dangerous enemy of all… is betrayal. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, never seems to make noise on the world scale. That is, until now. Ulysses (Uly) is a teenager with dreams. Most of which range from earning straight A’s in school, making money, and marrying the girl of his dreams one day. None of these include saving the world, but Ulysses has learned to always keep his options open. But one day, all his dreams and hopes crash and burn when a worldwide apocalypse is transmitted through electronics such as cell phones, laptops, and TV screens, bringing the entire planet grinding to a halt. Even worse, Ulysses is now being hunted by ruthless humans called The Changed, programmed to hunt and kill survivors, controlled by a female scientist only known as Eve. Separated from his family, Ulysses teams up with his friends Xavier, Maxine, and Tyler, along with a dog named Finn McCool, determined to stop Eve’s plans and restore the world in… a Restart!

Syfy – My favorite science fiction writer I’ve written about early science fiction writers from the 19th and early 20th centuries. But my personal favorite writer of science fiction remains Robert A. Heinlein. In my pre-teen years I discovered his juvenile syfy stories mesmerized me for hours of reading. I read everything I could find, and was never disappointed. Early reads included “The Star Beast”, “Rocket Ship Galileo”, and “Have Spacesuit – Will Travel”. These were fun and low key adventures. My favorite from my earliest reading was probably the family adventure of “The Rolling Stones”. It was years later that I discovered that “Farmer in the Sky” started off as a serial for Boys Life, the scouting magazine. “Tunnel in the Sky” was a lot of fun, although I was a bit disappointed in the ending, probably because I was starting to think of girls and the protagonist doesn’t wind up with the girl in the book. It was also the first of his books that I recognized as drawing from the classic, “Lord of the Flies”. But to be fair, this storyline keeps getting remade in other forms every decade include this one. My favorite Heinlein book is “Citizen of the Galaxy”. It is quite episodic, but a grand story. Again, Heinlein draws from another classic, “Kim”. Thorby is a child sold into slavery with no clear memory of his past. His is purchased by a beggar, who turns out to be a spy investigating the slave trade. Thorby grows to the point of comfort, when his world is turned upside again, and he winds up in a culture dramatically different, the traders. Then he moves on to the military. Finally he is identified and returns to Earth for his most challenging adventures. A great story, I just relistened to it this Spring and it still holds my attention closely. It seems logical that Heinlein’s works would be great fodder for movie stories and they have been, but not very well. Starship Troopers has been the most successful, and it strays far from the imagery of the book. The Puppet Masters is a weak translation, but his vision had already been used in other more popular movies. Some of his sub-plot ideas have been well used, such as the tribbles in the Trouble with Tribbles in Star Trek. So which would I most like to see converted to a movie? For kids: The Rolling Stones with a healthy budget and Farmer in the Sky For all: Between Planets Citizen of the Galaxy Double Star Podkayne of Mars I wouldn’t be disappointed to see his other works converted, even stories like “The Door into Summer” Producers just need to discover and sell the project. But beware, some great stories have been destroyed by the writers, directors, and budgets for other past books such as John Carter.

Okay, I admit it, the only time I’ve seen a good brother/sister story in science fiction is Podcayne of Mars by Robert Heinlein. Ryder and his sister don’t always get along, but what is their true relationship. Many elements of the story are drawn from my own five children, including the tv controller incident in this excerpt. Ryder is certainly an introvert by nature. Debbie is the polar opposite. Friends who have read the book indicate they can clearly identify who Debbie is based on. As you read the book you may not believe anyone could really be like that, but she is more real than fictional. In the previous excerpt we saw how Debbie stands up for Ryder, but how about the other way around? Ryder was surprised how easily his parents had gone along with his going abroad for a year. They sounded almost as if they had been expecting the trip to Europe. Mom had gone so far as to say, “We knew it had to come up sooner or later.” They had been more hesitant about Debbie going along. “She’s too young,” Mother had said. “I’m not so much worried about her age as her sense of adventure,” Dad had stated. “She’s not afraid of anything, and I don’t think she has the judgment to avoid mischief. I just don’t think she’s ready for Europe and all that goes with it.” Ryder would never admit it to Debbie, but he had finally sold his parents on letting her come. She had been in tears when she ran to her bedroom. “I’ll take care of her,” Ryder volunteered. “I’ll make sure she stays out of trouble.” Ryder tossed and turned as he tried to get to sleep that night. The excitement of visiting a far-off land had him contemplating the things he might see, the places he might visit. He rose three different times to check out information about the Swiss Alps, the Prado, and finally the Black Forest. He could not seem to get his mind to shut down. Finally, he decided to get up and grab a snack from the refrigerator. As he reached the kitchen, he could overhear voices in the dining room. “Elise, we knew this day would come. We’ve been planning on it for what, six years now?” he heard his father console. “But it wasn’t for another year. William isn’t even sixteen yet.” His mother sounded on the edge of tears. “And Deborah? You know the troubles I had. She isn’t even close to old enough to go.” “Yes, I was surprised that Debbie was invited too. But it makes some sense. She’ll have William to keep an eye on her. I’d rather she went the same time he goes,” his dad replied. “It isn’t safe,” Mother stuttered. Ryder felt embarrassed. He never liked to be around when she, or anyone else for that matter, was crying. “Frankly,” Ryder’s dad interjected, “after what William experienced at that ridiculous excuse of a school, I think they will both be safer at Europe. Who knows, maybe they’ll bring us back some dewsnips?” Ryder heard his mother laugh halfheartedly as he slipped back down the stairs. He decided he would have to bring some dewsnips home. He spent the next hour trying to find the word online, but despite using every combination he could think of, he came up empty. The search did get his mind off the upcoming trip, and eventually he dozed off at his computer. Over the next few weeks Ryder frequently regretted talking his parents into letting Debbie come along. She seemed twice as irritating as normal, and her confidence seemed to be expanding beyond reality. “I’ll bet I can get the pilot to let me fly the plane,” she boasted. She would then go on to say she was going to be a pilot when she grew up. Later, she was going to join the Air Force. Then she was going to be the President of the United States. “After that I assume you’ll be an astronaut and become a multi-millionaire selling energy drinks,” Ryder responded sarcastically. The fire in Debbie’s eye warned him in time, and he ducked as the TV controller sailed past his head and broke against the far wall. “Dad’s going to kill you.” Ryder laughed as he fled to his room, locking the door behind him as Debbie’s body slammed into it.

For some reason (perhaps to get published) scientists are always hemming us in. We cannot go faster than the speed of light. There is no potable water outside of Earth. Civilization as such has only been around for 6,000 years. Those are just some of the more obvious hems. Recently investigators have revealed a manmade bridge inside a cave on the island of Mallorca. They are theorizing that this means that cognizant humans occupied the island hundreds if not thousands of years earlier than thought. Interesting guess. The under the sea discoveries of sunken cities and full civilizations we did not know existed expand beyond just theory. When did these civilizations actually exist? Were they earlier, or even the earliest civilizations or are they just earlier civilizations we now know existed. Buried under those cities are there cities even more ancient? Now we believe that life, as we know it, probably existed on Mars. That there was an atmosphere, that there were above ground water resources, and that there are massive amounts of water buried under the surface of the planet. What if a dying civilization on Mars Martian-formed Earth so that they could flee to that planet as their own planet died? What if, instead of evolving from single celled life on Earth, we are actually immigrants from Mars? It seems far fetched, but is it more far fetched than current scientific theory. And if so, is it reasonable to assume that scientific theory may evolve from one that believes traveling faster than the speed of light is not possible for mass? Another interesting “theory” about the universe is that it started with Big Bang, 13.8 billion years ago. Yet, now we are finding galaxies over 60 billion light years from Earth. Scientists create theories to explain that away, but simple math implies that regardless of direction there should not be anything further away than 2 times 13.8 billion or 27.6 billion light years. So which part of the math is wrong? Meanwhile, futurists such as Robert Heinlein, seem to have a better track record (not perfect) of forecasting the future than scientists. I think I’ll vote for the syfy authors who had great vision.