Mars and beyond.
April 8th, 2015 at 6:41:12 PM permalink | |
rxwine Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 189 Posts: 18751 | Well, now I have a story idea, that you can use freely but probably won't. The title, (which in the beginning gives no real clue) is "Threshold" It's based on the discovery of dark/matter/energy giving us the secret to communication across the Universe. (maybe it works like clapper balls where you push in one part of space and that motion is conveyed in the exact way. After all, you only need tiny dashes and dots to communicate, or 1s and 0s. With the discovery, we (the people of Earth) discover we are the 191st civilization to reach the "threshold" (get it? Cap'n Obvious says) of advancement to use the knowledge to communicate with the other advanced civilizations. 1st part of the story is the mystery revealed in "dark" substance. You don't tell the reader yet what the secret is. 2nd part -- additional drama involved once we become the 191st member. Could be anything. You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really? |
April 8th, 2015 at 7:35:43 PM permalink | |
rxwine Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 189 Posts: 18751 | Here's another story idea which borders on the ridiculous and maybe Flash Gordonesqe camp. Earth is threatened by a really really large space rock. Solution: we equip the moon with rocket engines and force it into the path of the rock. Of course, there is green cheese rain when the moon is messed up, but better than a total apocalypse. trivia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_is_made_of_green_cheese You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really? |
April 9th, 2015 at 6:24:05 AM permalink | |
Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 |
Good one. But from a realistic standpoint, it would be cheaper, faster, safer and easier to equip the rock with engines and move it. Still, I vaguely recall an old movie, possibly European or Asian, where what's moved to avoid a rock is the Earth herself. I think the Moon is obliterated when the rock strikes it first (which would make it a planet-sized rock). If you want to learn more about moving large astronomical objects, look up Larry Niven. In "A World Out of Time" we're shown how Uranus (or Neptune?) was moved so it could be used to move the Earth. In "Bowl of Heaven," we're told how aliens move a star.
There's a charming Wallace & Gromit cartoon where they go to the Moon for a "Cheese vacation." They almost lift off before Wallace remembers to bring along crackers :) Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |
April 9th, 2015 at 7:02:09 AM permalink | |
Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 |
One rather depressing and drawn out novel by Frederick Pohl waaaaaay back in the 50s, tackled the notion of the steady-state universe as a power source. Since then, the steady-state universe theory has been thoroughly demolished. This serves for me as a cautionary tale against using cutting-edge cosmology as a basis for a story. At any time your story is subject to suffer the same fate as the theory.
I'd call it "Beyond the Threshold" and set it a long, long time after it has been reached. See, discoveries take an unholy amount of time to develop practical applications. Sagan short-circuited this in "Contact," but I don't think I could pull it off. Setting the story long after the discovery, however, allows you to talk about it in detail, even to tell the story of how it was discovered (maybe at a museum exhibit!)
Maybe dark matter particles are made up of sub-particles (akin to Quarks to Protons) which only spin faster than light, and having them move about at sub-light velocities produces dark energy, yadda, yadda, yadda, they can be used to communicate faster than light (the yaddas are for the "theorizing" needed to explain things).
Aye, there's the rub. There have been many, many, many stories about first contact with aliens. Many themes have been covered, ranging from metaphors to honest speculation. You don't need to find something new, but you need to find, and develop, something that will be interesting for the reader. The contact can be the payoff. One cardinal rule is the payoff must be HUGE, or at least impressive. Some authors got away without good payoffs, but such stories leave me thinking "so what?" when I read them. Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |
April 9th, 2015 at 2:28:58 PM permalink | |
Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 | A good example of a very, very long buildup with a tiny, tiny, tiny payoff is Spielberg's much overrated "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Even the "extended" version with about 60 seconds of footage inside the alien ship. "Contact," IMO, also has a small payoff. Offhand for first contact movies that's all I can think of. If we think of TV or short stories, there are much better themes and payoffs. Just think of the original Twilight Zone series. Doesn't "To Serve Man" come to mind at once? I'm trying to recall the title of a Niven story that's just outstanding. The aliens come to peacefully trade, and a barkeep stumbles upon their secrets (damnit, what's it called??) Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |
April 9th, 2015 at 3:26:24 PM permalink | |
rxwine Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 189 Posts: 18751 | I'm a fan of aliens with hidden agendas. Mysteries. It is disappointing if the mystery gets a bigger buildup than it deserves. Sometimes you can fool people with a double twist though. I guess a big no no in my opinion is using a SF device to fix the plot hole. The story runs into a dead end, and you fix it with time travel. That's where science fiction fails the story. But I don't object to time travel per say, just as a solution to poor plot resolution. You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really? |
April 9th, 2015 at 5:30:43 PM permalink | |
Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 |
In the Niven story there's no hidden agenda. Only a few secrets. BTW it's called "The Fourth Profession." Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |
April 11th, 2015 at 1:44:10 PM permalink | |
Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 | Another hypothesis about the rarity of Earth: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jupiter-destroyer-of-worlds-may-have-paved-the-way-for-earth/?WT.mc_id=SA_SPC_20150409 Edited to ad: And that's also why it would be wise to keep Saturn in Saturnalia ;) Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |
May 2nd, 2015 at 2:16:16 PM permalink | |
rxwine Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 189 Posts: 18751 | This may dampen enthusiasm for volunteers to Mars.
http://mashable.com/2015/05/02/mars-astronauts-brain-damage/ You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really? |
May 2nd, 2015 at 3:12:47 PM permalink | |
Nareed Member since: Oct 24, 2012 Threads: 346 Posts: 12545 |
Maybe. The news to me is some actual hard data obtained experimentally. Some sort of shield will be necessary. Ideas include big electromagnetic fields (which have their own problems), water tanks (which have their own different problems), and others (each with some distinct drawback). Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER |