It was a fun day for me. I was interviewed about the Orion’s Spur series and Demeter today on Alternate Futures podcast. In addition to talking about the books we discussed what the future might look like, and why more people aren’t interested in going into space. It should be available in mid-October.
SyFy – Excerpt 4 follows Ryder and friends on their trip to Europe. Rebecca Creer noticed some unusual issues as they were boarding their airplane at O’Hare International Airport. This excerpt takes our characters to a rude awakening. Two hours later, he put down his book and looked out the window. It was nice to be able to have the window seat for a change. They had passed over the last of the landmass. They were now crossing over the Atlantic. Off to the side, he saw another plane that looked a little more familiar in style than their own. He thought they were awfully close, as he could make out the plane ID, J-773. Wait a minute, he thought, the tail of our plane was J-773. That’s when things really started to get strange. The ping of the announcement system went off, and the pilot’s voice came back over the intercom. “Please be sure that your restraining devices are firmly in place. We will be accelerating in one minute.” Miss Li got out of her seat, as did Mr. Small, and checked everyone’s restraints. “Looks good up here,” called out Mr. Small. “We are clear back here as well,” responded Miss Li. After the teachers were reseated, Ryder could feel the pressure as they accelerated and angled sharply upward. The crushing sensation continued for several minutes, and Ryder’s ribs started to ache. The sky began to turn purple, then finally black, and for a moment, Ryder thought he was passing out. The stars, I’ve never seen them so bright, he thought. Wait a minute, what are we doing up here! He then panicked and tried to get out of his seat. The securing system was locked. They were trapped!
An article recently caught my attention, and it has reemerged several times now. It is about the idea that Earth has multiple moons. Another version of the story suggests multiple quasi-moons. Great click bait, but what does it all mean? It kind of depends on who you ask. For purposes of this discussion, let’s refine the term as a large object that orbits a planet. Okay, that is interesting, we have millions of satellites and space junk orbiting our planet, so are they all moons? Let’s add to our definition that it needs to be naturally occurring. Within our solar system, all classified moons are rocky. We do have planets that are mainly gas giants such as Jupiter, but defined moons in our solar system are all rocky. What about size? Let’s see, the smallest classified moon in our solar system at this moment is Deimos. It is roughly seven miles in diameter. There are some objects now being referred to as shepherd moons in Saturn’s belt that may be classified as moons that are even smaller. When I think of a moon I start with Earth’s moon. The moon is 2,159 miles in diameter. By comparison, Pluto (no longer classified a planet) is about 1,476 miles. Mercury, which is classified as a planet is 3,031 miles in diameter. So, the Moon is pretty close in size to be categorized as a planet. But it is not because it is locked into orbit around a planet… Earth. Let’s get back to the quasi-moons of Earth. Quasi-moons can rotate around a planet. We have seven identified quasi-moons that have elliptical orbits around the Earth. The largest of the quasi-moons that has been identified is Kamo’oalewa or 2016 HO3. It could be as large as 328 feet in diameter and has a fairly stable orbit. Another quais-moon that was recently discovered is 2023 FW13, about the same size as Kamo’oalewa. What is the difference between an asteroid and a quasi-moon. That’s probably the better question as these large rocks really are nothing unusual when considering asteroids. The main difference is that they orbit around the Earth as we both orbit around the Sun. Some of these quasi-moons will stick around for thousands of years, others will wander off if another gravitational source disrupts our partnership. For me, the question now is the storyline for another good science fiction story. One is rattling around in the back of my mind. I just can’t make up my mind if it’s a novel or a short story.
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!
