Storytelling Science

            Okay, Sherman, set the Wayback Machine for seven months and change ago. It’s the end of the spring semester, when I get an email from a former student and friend who invited me to see Neil DeGrasse Tyson, live. I kind of geeked out at the offer. The guy is one of my heroes. I will meet him in person and thank him for all the work he’s done not just in science, but in education, and, well, the world.

Scientific Possibilities

            I’m now reflecting on the criticisms I gave to my beloved science fiction shows. I stand by them. It would be easy to berate myself for taking it too seriously—it’s all fiction, after all, right?—but the thing is, that in doing my research, I’ve discovered something important. I’ve entertained a lot of weird ideas for my own sci fi. Some of which had to be shot down because it simply wasn’t feasible. But almost always when that was the case, I would learn about something else that was more feasible, and had more story potential along the way.

Booze & Sci-Fi

            I’ve been revisiting various sci-fi franchises, and I’ve noticed a common thread in many of them: alcohol. Cultures of the future, and even alien races, love their booze. I don’t personally indulge, but I find it fascinating. Not about their love for it, but by the impracticality of it.

For one thing, almost always, the booze is still stored in nicely fragile glassware. Given the frequency with which the space-faring vessels are struck by explosions and energy blasts which repeatedly throws the crew across the room, this adds up to a lot of broken glass and loss of product. Why are they not stored in metal bottles (props to Klingon Bloodwine for doing this)?

And while it’s possible that these are futuristic materials, I don’t buy into it. Unless it’s specifically stated, then it’s ordinary glass, especially because nearly every one of these franchises has a moment where the glassware is broken in dramatic fashion. But, okay, it’s a maybe.

Now, the big one are the stills. Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Universe both feature stills. For BSG, it’s a very poorly guarded secret, but it seems to be tolerated. For SGU, it’s actively encouraged. Given the dire straits both shows face, that of being stranded and low on supplies, this doesn’t make sense. Creating alcohol uses up a lot of otherwise serviceable food in order to make a little bit of booze. This doesn’t even account for the energy used up. Moreover, where are they getting the fermenting bacteria?

I know, too much thinking about this stuff. But I think these stills are more about capturing the feel of rebellion that Prohibition America represented. The rules say no alcohol, so no alcohol. The enterprising (no pun) American would simply make his own, sticking it to the Man. But, practically speaking, it makes more sense for a spaceship simply to load up on booze at a nearby port then to try and make it themselves. Of course this rules out both BSG and SGU, but shouldn’t that be part of the drama? Why do they make mention of not having coffee (or coffee ground from algae) but still have plenty of alcohol? I think those offer more interesting plotlines than the stills do.

BSG Water

            Continuing my critique of sci-fi shows, I’ve gone back to Battlestar Galactica, the reboot. The two-part arc of how the Galactica loses and regains its water is what I’m looking at here. In the first episode, “Water” a bomb blows one of the water tanks, spilling the water into space.

Religion in Space

            Okay, taking off again on the B5 thing, one of the more interesting themes it explored was religion as it transitioned into the stars. Whereas most of the alien races had a single religion, humanity still had as many as we do today. But would this be the case. Would religion remain a static thing, or would the realization of interstellar travel change things for these tenants?

            Would a new religion emerge? Would religions begin to set aside their differences in favor of a more unifying religion like what the alien races of B5 demonstrated? These are interesting questions I think worth exploring, and I intend to do so with Flynn.

Gunports in Space

            So I was watching Babylon 5 again (I’m still saddened by the loss of Jerry Doyle), when I noticed an interesting line “Their gunports are open.” I can’t remember which alien craft they were referring to, most likely Centauri, but the idea is fascinating. Gunports are for a specific purpose on ships at sea. The doors are necessary to keep the ship watertight. Since gun decks are below the main deck of the ship, they are naturally closer to the waterline. Sometimes there are two gundecks, which would allow for a lot of water to get into the ship, presenting a danger of sinking, or at least slowing the ship greatly due to the increased weight.

            The ports also keep water out of the guns themselves, which would be a bad thing as, one, the cannons are iron, and two, they rely on combustion within to propel a cannonball. A pocket of water inside the canon would flash to steam, which might cause the cannon to explode as it expands, though more likely, the cannon wouldn’t fire because black powder doesn’t like to be wet.

            Neither of these conditions apply in space, so I thought it was a silly idea to be included. After all, there’s no danger of water getting into a ship in space, and most weapons in space would use an internal airlock system if it used munitions. Energy weapons would be free of such restrictions, though, and could just be out all the time.

            But then I started thinking about it a little more. In my own sci fi book series, my main character’s ship has retractable turrets. This is not for surprise purposes, but to make the ship more stellardynamic—it’s a word in my book—keeping the ship’s speed up. But another consideration is that of cosmic dust. Even small atoms pack quite a wallop at speed, and we are talking about astronomical speeds and distances here, so perhaps gunports would be necessary to protect the weapons from these atoms. Not only that, there’s radiation to consider. While atoms may be rare, radiation is everywhere. High energy gamma rays probably would not react well to sensitive hardware such as might be found in a particle cannon or other direct energy weapon.

            Even within our own solar system, there is plenty of radiation and magnetic fields to screw with systems on space stations and probes. The ISS crew must take refuge in special compartments during solar flares, and the Juno probe had to have a special vault to preserve its electronics from Jupiter’s intense magnetic fields.

            So maybe gunports in space are not a bad idea. Maybe this was a detail that J. Michael Stracynzski put a lot of thought into before adding it to the show.

            Or it might have just sounded cool.

            Either way, they at least deserve consideration in a space opera setting.

Hard & Soft Science Fiction

            With the new Star Wars out and the Star Trek Alternaverse in full swing, along with films such as Interstellar and The Martian, the hard and soft sci-fi debate has reared up again. Since I write sci-fi, I thought I would weigh in.

Math Brain

            I’ve been revising my science fiction book, and I’ve endeavored to make the scientifically verifiable elements as correct as possible. Unfortunately this means I’ve had to activate the evil part of my brain, that enemy of creativity, math. And it’s been a bear for me.

The Borg

            Students are the Borg. No, really, they are. No, they’re not a unified hive collective out to conquer.  But, like the Borg, they adapt.

            All attempts at teaching them are eventually adapted to. The techniques simply become ineffective. They no longer work in any way. Moreover, we don’t have a means to identify why these techniques fail.

            Our sleeves and hats run out of tricks. We have nothing else to try, and, to be blunt, inventing new techniques is a losing proposition for us. There’s no money in it for us. We don’t get paid to research new techniques, to spend countless hours scouring the internet and getting in discussions to develop new lessons.

            And the full-timers are immune. Their jobs are secured and they have no incentive to improve.

            So the Borg, relentless, continue on.

We Need a New One

            Four words to excite science fiction fans. Four words to bring back the sorely needed space opera.

            Space, the final frontier.

            I miss Star Trek.

Soulless Minions of Orthodoxy

            The phrase originated in the episode “In the Cards” of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. The man who states it comes across as being something of an oddball, and is decidedly outside of the norm for scientists. His ideas are derided, and he maintains that the establishment is out to get him, adding paranoia to his already odd personality.

            The thing is, I get him. I’ve never been an “inside the box thinker.” I come at problems from a perspective decidedly different from my colleagues. I do have some colleagues that appreciate and understand my approaches, but they are in the minority and never in the upper echelons. Like me, it seems their ideas and approaches are not appreciated by the orthodoxy.

            I can’t help but think that this stifles innovation. How can there be new ideas, new ways, and true progress when certain people and ideas are shut out?

            Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m complaining like the character from DS9. Maybe I’m too far outside of what is normal, and I’ll never fit in. So I think I need to relocate myself to find people more like myself. When that happens, I’ll be within a new orthodoxy.

Lack of Sci Fi

            I miss Star Trek. Not the movies, the various series. In fact I miss all of sci fi. Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, Farscape, Firefly, and, what the heck, Babylon 5 are all gone. There is no more sci fi.

            But I have the solution. Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet series. It’s heavy on space battles, and has just the right amount of dramatic tension. Since Game of Thrones is based on a series, why not a sci fi opera based on a set of books?

F3 Tinkering

"I need to take the sublights off-line." Henry Sherman said.
"Why?" Flynn looked at him hard.
"I've got some improvements in mind. We'll boost the efficiency by twenty percent."
"You know, Hank, whenever you say that there's going to be an improvement in efficiency, it's by twenty percent."

Space Opera

     I am in need of a good space opera on TV. I lament not having the days of Star Trek, Stargate, and Battlestar Galactica. I need great space battles and epic quests in the vastness of space.
      Now, I have a solution. With the popularity of Game of Thrones on television, there should be a series based on science fiction books of an equal caliber. I suggest Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series. With a six book series and a second series beginning, there is ample material for a series of at least five season (maybe on up to 10 depending on how it's done). So, networks, bring me the adventures of "Black Jack" Geary!

Military Sci-Fi

     I'm working my way through book 4 of The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell. I really like that the author is retired from the U.S. Navy. The tactics are authentic, and I don't find myself yelling at the book to be smart about things. Like I did with the last sci fi book I read.
     The characters are engaging, especially the protagonist. I heartily recommend this book to anyone looking for a good sci series with epic space battles.