Re: Research For Sci-Fi Series
- From: Joseph Lazio <jlazio@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 13 Jun 2005 21:38:17 -0400
>>>>> "s" == swlucky <swlucky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
s> I plan to rewrite the Survival On Mars series, a science fiction
s> series I wrote during my 20s. Before I do, I would like to change
s> some of the obvious errors. In the original version, travellers
s> from the 7th manned flight to Mars encounter an advanced
s> civilization. The year was 2010. Obviously that is not going to
s> happen. Do you know information or can you recommend a site that
s> can make an educated guess when manned travel to Mars will occur
s> and how a future generation of risk takers might go about it?
NASA's Web site?
More generally, there's a Mars Society, and probably a couple of other
groups, interested in pushing the exploration of Mars, not to mention
any number of books.
s> I would also like to know more about stars in other arms of the
s> Milky Way galaxy. The original series uses nearby stars like
s> Altair and Rigel which brings up the question why they do not
s> return to Earth.
Rigel is a blue giant or supergiant. It has, by stellar standards, an
incredibly short lifetime. If the evolution of humans is any
indication, Rigel won't live long enough for an intelligent
civilization to develop.
More generally, most of the stars in the night sky are extremely
luminous, more so than the typical star. As a result, they are either
near the ends of their lifespans or they have very short lifespans.
Neither seems particularly well suited for the development of an
advanced civiliation. If you want a distant star with solar-like
characteristics, we'll know it probably just by some catalog number
(DH 98765 or something), if we know about it at all.
s> The maximum speed is about 1 light year per hour. Putting the
s> series in another arm of the Milky Way galaxy and slowing maximum
s> speed would make it close enough for the advanced civilization to
s> bring them to their planets, in about a year or so, yet far enough
s> away to make travel to Earth a rarity.
s> The main planet in the series in called Triax. It is a Jupiter
s> sized planet with an Earth like atmosphere containing a sizable
s> chunk of the galactic population. Should I make this the planet
s> where the advanced species originated or can such a world only
s> exist through advanced technology?
Another poster has already pointed out some issues with Triax.
I guess the more basic question is, How "hard" is this science fiction
intended to be? Why not invoke a Dyson sphere (in the original sense
of the term) or a ringworld?
Also, I think that you've set up a potential sociological issue. If
most of the Galaxy's population is concentrated on one planet, won't
they be interested in the few other planets containing life? There
would almost certainly be anthropological visits from Triax to the few
other planets known to host life.
--
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