Ah, Heinlein.
I don't think I have a more ambiguous relationship with any writer, living or dead.
Robert Heinlein is one of the greats of our genre. He also couldn't write women to save his life and had some seriously strange ideas about sexuality (I'm not at all averse to healthy polyamory, but if you're a fan do I have to say more than "Wake her up the best way"?)
The Transpecial universe started with an unpublished and honestly not very good story entitled "The Veteran," which was written for (and soundly rejected by) a Heinlein tribute anthology. It was meant to engage with Starship Troopers. Because of that I made the main character Latino, like Johnny Rico.
That character eventually became José Marin, although most of the original story was ditched in the creation of Araña (the ship was originally more of a colony ship with families on board).
So, there's a lot of influence of Heinlein here, but hopefully none of the creepy stuff ;).
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Monday, December 9, 2019
Araña Countdown Post: Star Trek
I've been thinking a lot about my Star Trek influences this week, mostly because of the loss of D.C. Fontana.
Araña is, as the author's note (which is at the end) says, in conversation with Star Trek. Openly so. Characters refer to the show, it's in the ship's database. I made this as a conscious decision.
Star Trek is more than just 'that science fiction show,' it's part of our popular culture. Which means some of its tropes and assumptions are in our head. The Prime Directive, the way starships work. Araña engages with those tropes.
So I'm hoping it will appeal to Star Trek fans. And I'm hoping that it will in some ways touch on that milieu.
After all.
We all have that strong desire to go "Where No Man Has Gone Before."
Araña is, as the author's note (which is at the end) says, in conversation with Star Trek. Openly so. Characters refer to the show, it's in the ship's database. I made this as a conscious decision.
Star Trek is more than just 'that science fiction show,' it's part of our popular culture. Which means some of its tropes and assumptions are in our head. The Prime Directive, the way starships work. Araña engages with those tropes.
So I'm hoping it will appeal to Star Trek fans. And I'm hoping that it will in some ways touch on that milieu.
After all.
We all have that strong desire to go "Where No Man Has Gone Before."
Friday, December 6, 2019
Friday Update
Okay, so...not much news. (It's December, and pretty soon publishing kind of shuts down).
Araña is on track for a December 14 release, but if you want a copy early, have a NetGalley account and are willing to do a review, you can go here.
The book I'm currently drafting, The Secret History of Victor Prince is at 35,000 words. I'm aiming for somewhere between 75 and 80k. This is a prequel to the Lost Guardians series.
That's everything I can actually talk about for now.
Araña is on track for a December 14 release, but if you want a copy early, have a NetGalley account and are willing to do a review, you can go here.
The book I'm currently drafting, The Secret History of Victor Prince is at 35,000 words. I'm aiming for somewhere between 75 and 80k. This is a prequel to the Lost Guardians series.
That's everything I can actually talk about for now.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Domestication
This article explains something I've long suspected.
The oldest domesticated animal is: Man.
Domestication syndrome is, in animals, a series of physical changes that are related to distinct changes in neural cell migration. These changes reduce fear and improve the desire to cooperate. For example, the first person to ride a horse was almost certainly also the first person to fall off a horse. Through breeding for these neural change migrations we bred horses who had enough of a desire to cooperate that they don't mind carrying us around. (With a few exceptions that generally end up working at rodeos).
Side effects of domestication syndrome include floppy ears (There are very few floppy eared horses due to the negative impact on their social lives and floppy ears in cats are associated with cartilage disorders), patched coats, and neoteny - childhood features surviving into adulthood.
By mapping the genes involved in domestication syndrome we've discovered that...yup. Modern humans have domestication syndrome.
We've domesticated ourselves.
We've selected for higher levels of cooperation, for reduced fear of the other (although not enough, yet). And the side effects appear to be things like smaller teeth, our lack of brow ridges, and both physical and mental neoteny.
Oh, and still being here, unlike the "wild" Neanderthals and Denosivans. (It was most likely our diseases, but did domestication play a role?).
Being domesticated allows us to live together in cities, it allows us to cooperate on huge projects from the pyramids to the space race to...what comes next.
So, it's not really a bad thing.
Not at all.
The oldest domesticated animal is: Man.
Domestication syndrome is, in animals, a series of physical changes that are related to distinct changes in neural cell migration. These changes reduce fear and improve the desire to cooperate. For example, the first person to ride a horse was almost certainly also the first person to fall off a horse. Through breeding for these neural change migrations we bred horses who had enough of a desire to cooperate that they don't mind carrying us around. (With a few exceptions that generally end up working at rodeos).
Side effects of domestication syndrome include floppy ears (There are very few floppy eared horses due to the negative impact on their social lives and floppy ears in cats are associated with cartilage disorders), patched coats, and neoteny - childhood features surviving into adulthood.
By mapping the genes involved in domestication syndrome we've discovered that...yup. Modern humans have domestication syndrome.
We've domesticated ourselves.
We've selected for higher levels of cooperation, for reduced fear of the other (although not enough, yet). And the side effects appear to be things like smaller teeth, our lack of brow ridges, and both physical and mental neoteny.
Oh, and still being here, unlike the "wild" Neanderthals and Denosivans. (It was most likely our diseases, but did domestication play a role?).
Being domesticated allows us to live together in cities, it allows us to cooperate on huge projects from the pyramids to the space race to...what comes next.
So, it's not really a bad thing.
Not at all.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
A Small Part of her Katra is in All of Us - R.I.P. D.C. Fontana, 1939-2019
The news broke yesterday after I posted. Dorothy Catherine "D.C." Fontana passed away after a "brief illness" on Monday night.
Fontana was part of what shaped Star Trek. This remarkable woman was trusted by Gene Roddenberry with something very important: The planet Vulcan.
Her worldbuilding and writing skills, combined with the brilliance of Leonard Nimoy, brought the character of Spock alive. She created the characters of Sarek and Amanda, she was the one who established why Spock is half-Vulcan.
Roddenberry first hired Fontana to work on The Lieutenant - as his secretary. She already had writing credits at this point. He invited her to write Charlie X, the second episode of Star Trek. This was when Spock started to "speak to" her.
She proceeded to write eleven episodes of the original series including "Journey to Babel," and "The Enterprise Incident." She also wrote one episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series. She wrote or cowrote five episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
She was the "story editor" for Logan's Run and also wrote episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, War of the Worlds, The Legend of Prince Valiant, Babylon 5, Captain Simian & The Space Monkeys, ReBoot, Earth: Final Conflict, Silver Surfer and Beast Wars: Transformers.
She worked as a lecturer. And she may have completed one last work we haven't seen. According to IMDB she was working on the pilot for a TV show based off of Anne McCaffrey's The Ship Who Sang. (This is somehow the first I've heard of its existence. I really hope she finished it and the show goes forward as one last piece of her legacy).
It's no exaggeration to say that without D.C. Fontana, Star Trek would not be the cultural phenomenon it is. She was a major part of what makes it more than just a TV show.
And if Star Trek was not what it was I would not be who I am. Not only has Star Trek...and most especially Fontana's work on the Vulcans and the way it inspired Diane Duane's work on the Romulans...been a major influence on my writing.
It's also how I met my husband.
I am not exaggerating when I say that without Dorothy Catherine Fontana I would never have met the man with whom I have spent more than twenty years and whom I call by the Romulan endearment "sahe."
I have never met her, but she had an impact on my life that many people I have met could not understand.
The correct words are, I believe, "I grieve with thee."
But the voice I can hear in my head says "Live long and prosper."
Fontana was part of what shaped Star Trek. This remarkable woman was trusted by Gene Roddenberry with something very important: The planet Vulcan.
Her worldbuilding and writing skills, combined with the brilliance of Leonard Nimoy, brought the character of Spock alive. She created the characters of Sarek and Amanda, she was the one who established why Spock is half-Vulcan.
Roddenberry first hired Fontana to work on The Lieutenant - as his secretary. She already had writing credits at this point. He invited her to write Charlie X, the second episode of Star Trek. This was when Spock started to "speak to" her.
She proceeded to write eleven episodes of the original series including "Journey to Babel," and "The Enterprise Incident." She also wrote one episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series. She wrote or cowrote five episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
She was the "story editor" for Logan's Run and also wrote episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, War of the Worlds, The Legend of Prince Valiant, Babylon 5, Captain Simian & The Space Monkeys, ReBoot, Earth: Final Conflict, Silver Surfer and Beast Wars: Transformers.
She worked as a lecturer. And she may have completed one last work we haven't seen. According to IMDB she was working on the pilot for a TV show based off of Anne McCaffrey's The Ship Who Sang. (This is somehow the first I've heard of its existence. I really hope she finished it and the show goes forward as one last piece of her legacy).
It's no exaggeration to say that without D.C. Fontana, Star Trek would not be the cultural phenomenon it is. She was a major part of what makes it more than just a TV show.
And if Star Trek was not what it was I would not be who I am. Not only has Star Trek...and most especially Fontana's work on the Vulcans and the way it inspired Diane Duane's work on the Romulans...been a major influence on my writing.
It's also how I met my husband.
I am not exaggerating when I say that without Dorothy Catherine Fontana I would never have met the man with whom I have spent more than twenty years and whom I call by the Romulan endearment "sahe."
I have never met her, but she had an impact on my life that many people I have met could not understand.
The correct words are, I believe, "I grieve with thee."
But the voice I can hear in my head says "Live long and prosper."
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Asteroid Pool
The target has been finalized for the DART mission, which will be a test of concept to see if we can actually redirect an asteroid.
The method is simple: We're going to fly a robot into it.
The ESA has taken on the role of launching a probe, Hera, which will examine what the DART mission did, verify whether it worked, etc.
If this works we may have a plan to deflect the next citykiller (or planetkiller) before it hits Earth. Of course, we still have to track them all.
The method is simple: We're going to fly a robot into it.
The ESA has taken on the role of launching a probe, Hera, which will examine what the DART mission did, verify whether it worked, etc.
If this works we may have a plan to deflect the next citykiller (or planetkiller) before it hits Earth. Of course, we still have to track them all.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Farside Observatory
Those who know me know that one of the things I hope humanity builds at some point is an observatory on the far side of the moon.
The moon is tidally locked to Earth, meaning anything constructed on its far side has the bulk of the moon between it and our planet. This bulk blocks radio signals from Earth, making the lunar farside the perfect place for radio astronomy.
We now have our first radio observatory on the far side of the moon. As part of the Chang'e mission, the Netherlands-China Low Frequency Explorer (NCLE) will spend the lunar night sitting on the far side of the moon doing radio astronomy.
Obviously this is not the permanent facility I might envision as a science fiction writer, but it's a proof of concept that should give us useful science...and perhaps pave the way to such.
In Araña I called the first lunar farside settlement Chang'e City. Perhaps...
The moon is tidally locked to Earth, meaning anything constructed on its far side has the bulk of the moon between it and our planet. This bulk blocks radio signals from Earth, making the lunar farside the perfect place for radio astronomy.
We now have our first radio observatory on the far side of the moon. As part of the Chang'e mission, the Netherlands-China Low Frequency Explorer (NCLE) will spend the lunar night sitting on the far side of the moon doing radio astronomy.
Obviously this is not the permanent facility I might envision as a science fiction writer, but it's a proof of concept that should give us useful science...and perhaps pave the way to such.
In Araña I called the first lunar farside settlement Chang'e City. Perhaps...
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