Guy Stewart's Blog, page 31

POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY: CHICON 8 – #2 Does ANYONE Have the Right To Terraform Another World?(Alien Aliens Part 22)

Using the Programme Guide of the 2022 World Science Fiction Convention, ChiCON 8, which I WOULD have attended in person if I had disposable income, but I retired two years ago, my work health insurance stopped, and I’m now living on the Social Security and Medicare…I will be using the Programme Guide to jump off, jump on, rail against, or shamelessly agree with the BRIEF DESCRIPTION given in the pdf copy of the Program Guide. My opinions may bring glad hearts to some, or cause others to wish to stomp me into the muddy ground of Lilydale Park shortly after a long rain.

Colin Alexander: (moderator) writer, SF and F; pseudonym for Alton Kremer, physician, biochemist, medical researcher
Eva L Elasigue: writer - poetry, short story, and scripts
Kevin Wabaunsee: writer, biomedical research news editor, editor @ Escape Pod, Prairie Band Potawatomi.
Sue Burke: author, literary translator

If we terraform a planet, what happens to the living things that evolved there? Would an "Earth-like" planet have living things we could live alongside? How might Earth life integrate into an alien ecology? This panel will contemplate the ecological impacts of making another planet more Earth-like.

For ME, the first clear idea of altering a planetary environment in order for an intelligence to live there were the chtorr-a-forming alien Chtorr in David Gerrold’s novels that introduced the idea in WAR AGAINST THE CHTORR. That book is “Set in a devastated early 21st century United States with logical expected advances in current technology such as a fledgling moon base [it] describe the invasion of Earth by an alien ecology. The story is unusual in that the tactics used by the aliens eschew the usual direct attack in favor of terraforming the ecosystem.” (Like I noted above, that should be “chtorr-a-forming” our ecosystem to conform to their own.
While I didn’t see the presentation, I’m hoping that someone brought up Gerrold’s book. Lately, it seems that the Human creature has entered a time of deep, almost religious self-recrimination; consistently now bringing to light events that happened in the past and attempting to either make reparations to the descendants of those who were most harmed by the event (I live in the state where “On December 26, 1862, following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, the federal government hanged 38 members of the Dakota tribe in Minnesota. It was the largest mass execution in United States history.” (For an in-depth discussion, follow this link: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/11/09/dako-n09.html), and obsessing over details that may or may not be incidental – just as obsessively denying that either the event ever took place, or trying to put the event “into historical perspective” (Whatever that means. Usually it seems to mean, “They didn’t know what they were doing because that’s just the way things were then. I’m not responsible.”)

My question is why would we think that Humans alone would consider terraforming a planet to suit themselves?

Because we’re the only intelligent life in the known universe (– please don’t use the movie CONTACT’s argument that “Carl Sagan said, 'I'd say if it is just us ... seems like an awful waste of space.'" to somehow convert me to your POV that there JUST MUST BE ALIENS. As far as I can tell, Sagan never said this. It is “creatively expressed in the movie version of Carl Sagan’s novel, Contact…” – but thus far, there is NO evidence that there is life anywhere but HERE. A plethora of life, even more lifeforms if you consider all that have gone extinct (without Humans lifting a single, evil finger) – but anywhere else?

Nada.

In fact, if you want to get into the ethics of terraforming, let’s look at the Chicxilub Event. If you’re going to insist that THERE MUST BE INTELLIGENT ALIENS, then you have no choice but to consider the possibility that Earth was terraformed by asteroid impact that finished the extinction of the dinosaurs and initiated the upward climb and Age of Mammals. Even with today’s technology, Humans altered the orbital trajectory of an asteroid: “NASA has confirmed that its DART spacecraft has altered the trajectory of the asteroid that it crashed into two weeks ago, demonstrating the potential of this tool for planetary defense. A trial run at planetary defense has proven successful. Oct 12, 2022, https://physics.aps.org/articles/v15/156#:~:text=NASA%20has%20confirmed%20that%20its,this%20tool%20for%20planetary%20defense.&text=A%20trial%20run%20at%20planetary%20defense%20has%20proven%20successful.

So why do I harp on this point? Because if it’s possible, AND there is intelligent life Out There, then WE are as vulnerable as we assume other planets are.

As Earth’s “twin”, should we terraform Venus? Someone already thought of that in the 70s. Watch this. I show it to my Alien Worlds class every year. “Mind-slaughter” (1977) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVj2mgrTtU8 It STILL gives me the creeps! On the other hand, altering its atmosphere will NOT make it habitable. Venus will continue to have a day that would see (for example) the sun rise on the First Day Of Spring (March 20, 2023), and set 37 weeks later on December 4, 2023…I doubt that life As We Know It would survive after 243 days of daylight. Of course, the night would be the same if you stayed in the same place - 243 Earth-days long. The only way you could make Venus livable for Humans is to change the planet’s atmosphere, rotation...And therein lies the question implicit in any discussion of terraforming: “Who gave YOU the right to change…”

OK, what if we changed HUMANITY instead? Well, you could always change Human behavior. Create Humans with a society that would move with the incredibly slow terminator line… and therein lies the question implicit in any discussion of Humanoforming (aka, Genetic Engineering): “Who gave YOU the right to change Humanity…” For a novel that deals with this issue, try THE CHILDREN STAR (2009), by Joan Slonczewski. Fascinating read.

Do I think we just throw all caution to the wind and willy-nilly start to change planets, moon, atmospheres, and asteroids to make way for MORE Humans?

No. But I DO think we should take into consideration the possibility that if there IS Intelligent Alien Life Out There, that we may have already been the victims of terraforming – or may become the victims in the future.

So, aggression or naivete? Which one is the path to colonizing the Solar System, the Orion Arm, the Milky Way, and eventually the Universe? I leave that for an intellectual exercise of your own. I've certainly stirred myself up...

Program Guide: https://guide.chicon.org/; https://locusmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/chicon-8-twitter.png[GS1]
Image: https://space.nss.org/wp-content/uploads/terraforming-mars-large-kevin-gill.jpg

POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY: CHICON 8 – #2 Does ANYONE Have the Right To Terraform Another World?

Using the Programme Guide of the 2022 World Science Fiction Convention, ChiCON 8, which I WOULD have attended in person if I had disposable income, but I retired two years ago, my work health insurance stopped, and I’m now living on the Social Security and Medicare…I will be using the Programme Guide to jump off, jump on, rail against, or shamelessly agree with the BRIEF DESCRIPTION given in the pdf copy of the Program Guide. My opinions may bring glad hearts to some, or cause others to wish to stomp me into the muddy ground of Lilydale Park shortly after a long rain.

Colin Alexander: (moderator) writer, SF and F; pseudonym for Alton Kremer, physician, biochemist, medical researcher
Eva L Elasigue: writer - poetry, short story, and scripts
Kevin Wabaunsee: writer, biomedical research news editor, editor @ Escape Pod, Prairie Band Potawatomi.
Sue Burke: author, literary translator

If we terraform a planet, what happens to the living things that evolved there? Would an "Earth-like" planet have living things we could live alongside? How might Earth life integrate into an alien ecology? This panel will contemplate the ecological impacts of making another planet more Earth-like.

The first clear idea of altering a planetary environment in order for an intelligence to live there were the chtorr-a-forming alien Chtorr in David Gerrold’s novels that introduced the idea in WAR AGAINST THE CHTORR. That book is “Set in a devastated early 21st century United States with logical expected advances in current technology such as a fledgling moon base [it] describe the invasion of Earth by an alien ecology. The story is unusual in that the tactics used by the aliens eschew the usual direct attack in favor of terraforming the ecosystem.” (Like I noted above, that should be “chtorr-a-forming” our ecosystem to conform to their own.
While I didn’t see the presentation, I’m hoping that someone brought up Gerrold’s book. Lately, it seems that the Human creature has entered a time of deep, almost religious self-recrimination; consistently now bringing to light events that happened in the past and attempting to either make reparations to the descendants of those who were most harmed by the event (I live in the state where “On December 26, 1862, following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, the federal government hanged 38 members of the Dakota tribe in Minnesota. It was the largest mass execution in United States history.” (For an in-depth discussion, follow this link: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/11/09/dako-n09.html), and obsessing over details that may or may not be incidental – just as obsessively denying that either the event ever took place, or trying to put the event “into historical perspective” (Whatever that means. Usually it seems to mean, “They didn’t know what they were doing because that’s just the way things were then. I’m not responsible.”)

My question is why would we think that Humans alone would consider terraforming a planet to suit themselves?

Because we’re the only intelligent life in the known universe (– please don’t use the movie CONTACT’s argument that “Carl Sagan said, 'I'd say if it is just us ... seems like an awful waste of space.'" to somehow convert me to your POV that there JUST MUST BE ALIENS. As far as I can tell, Sagan never said this. It is “creatively expressed in the movie version of Carl Sagan’s novel, Contact…” – but thus far, there is NO evidence that there is life anywhere but HERE. A plethora of life, even more lifeforms if you consider all that have gone extinct (without Humans lifting a single, evil finger) – but anywhere else?

Nada.

In fact, if you want to get into the ethics of terraforming, let’s look at the Chicxilub Event. If you’re going to insist that THERE MUST BE INTELLIGENT ALIENS, then you have no choice but to consider the possibility that Earth was terraformed by asteroid impact that finished the extinction of the dinosaurs and initiated the upward climb and Age of Mammals. Even with today’s technology, Humans altered the orbital trajectory of an asteroid: “NASA has confirmed that its DART spacecraft has altered the trajectory of the asteroid that it crashed into two weeks ago, demonstrating the potential of this tool for planetary defense. A trial run at planetary defense has proven successful. Oct 12, 2022, https://physics.aps.org/articles/v15/156#:~:text=NASA%20has%20confirmed%20that%20its,this%20tool%20for%20planetary%20defense.&text=A%20trial%20run%20at%20planetary%20defense%20has%20proven%20successful.

So why do I harp on this point? Because if it’s possible, AND there is intelligent life Out There, then WE are as vulnerable as we assume other planets are.

As Earth’s “twin”, should we terraform Venus? Someone already thought of that in the 70s. Watch this. I show it to my Alien Worlds class every year. “Mind-slaughter” (1977) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVj2mgrTtU8 It STILL gives me the creeps! On the other hand, altering its atmosphere will NOT make it habitable. Venus will continue to have a day that would see (for example) the sun rise on the First Day Of Spring (March 20, 2023), and set 37 weeks later on December 4, 2023…I doubt that life As We Know It would survive after 243 days of daylight. Of course, the night would be the same if you stayed in the same place - 243 Earth-days long. The only way you could make Venus livable for Humans is to change the planet’s atmosphere, rotation...And therein lies the question implicit in any discussion of terraforming: “Who gave YOU the right to change…”

OK, what if we changed HUMANITY instead? Well, you could always change Human behavior. Create Humans with a society that would move with the incredibly slow terminator line… and therein lies the question implicit in any discussion of Humanoforming (aka, Genetic Engineering): “Who gave YOU the right to change Humanity…” For a novel that deals with this issue, try THE CHILDREN STAR (2009), by Joan Slonczewski. Fascinating read.

Do I think we just throw all caution to the wind and willy-nilly start to change planets, moon, atmospheres, and asteroids to make way for MORE Humans?

No. But I DO think we should take into consideration the possibility that if there IS Intelligent Alien Life Out There, that we may have already been the victims of terraforming – or may become the victims in the future.

So, aggression or naivete? Which one is the path to colonizing the Solar System, the Orion Arm, the Milky Way, and eventually the Universe? I leave that for an intellectual exercise of your own. I've certainly stirred myself up...

Program Guide: https://guide.chicon.org/; https://locusmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/chicon-8-twitter.png[GS1]
Image: https://space.nss.org/wp-content/uploads/terraforming-mars-large-kevin-gill.jpg

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 573

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them. Regarding Fantasy, this insight was startling: “I see the fantasy genre as an ever-shifting metaphor for life in this world, an innocuous medium that allows the author to examine difficult, even controversial, subjects with impunity. Honor, religion, politics, nobility, integrity, greed—we’ve an endless list of ideals to be dissected and explored. And maybe learned from.” – Melissa McPhail.

Fantasy Trope: Witchcraft For World Peace!!!
Current Event: http://wildhunt.org/2016/02/call-for-global-witchcraft-community-to-unite-against-terrorism.html

Saga Pai-Teles shook her head then said, “How much do you really expect us to accomplish?”

Djamel Vlach sighed, “I’m sure nothing, but what else can we do that might even conceivably make a difference? I’m not a soldier, and unless you enlisted in the Royal Marines or fought a stint with the Aegis Mercenaries in the past few months, I’m pretty sure you don’t have much experience with fighting, either.”

“But we’re not ‘fighting’ – not like that anyway. Our powers are of Earth, wind, ice, fire, and water.”

“Sounds like the name of an American band from the nineteen seventies.” She frowned at him and made a faint movement with her fingers. He laughed, “You think charms and wardings are going to be able to stave off the black market weaponry of Daesh, or Boko Haram, or the Taliban?”

“Shows how much YOU know! We’re not here to fight anger with anger. We’re here to fight anger with the power of nature and of the true spirit of Humanity. There are way more...”

Djamel wasn’t listening to her. His eyes had grown wide. “OK! Now you’re talking! Taking out Daesh with a hurricane or an earthquake or even a flood is totally cool! I could get into that and I even have a couple of spells that enhance water movement!”

“That’s not what I was talking about,” she stopped talking abruptly. “Then again, I have a couple of other spells that help anyone who’s got a gift for dowsing.”

“What’s that?”

She looked at him steadily and when she had his complete attention, she said, “Dowsing is all about FINDING water, Djamel. If I could find the water…”

“I could direct it.” Djamel scowled again. “My powers aren’t that…um…powerful.”

“Mine, neither. What we need is someone who can magnify or enhance our simple powers,” Saga said.

“I don’t have simple powers! They’re plenty strong enough!”

“That’s not what I meant! In order to deal world peace and muffle terrorism in our time, we have to overcome terror with peace. But it can’t be done if we’re weak.”

“We need, like, a talisman.”

“A crystal, or a…” Sag was saying.

Djamel cut her off, “The Vial of Trench!”

“What’s that?”

“A Vial of water collected from the bottom of the Marianas Trench.” He looked down at her, “Can you think of a more powerful talisman to increase our mission to bring peace on Earth than focusing our meager powers through a vial of water from the bottom of the Earth’s sea?”

“I can’t…”

“We’ll do it and it’ll start now?”

Names: ♀ Finland, Portugal; ♂ Algeria, Hungary
Image:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/98/71/e5/9871e52bbc09c525af21b8f6471eab15.jpg

Possibly Irritating Essays: MINING THE ASTEROIDS Part 9 – FINALLY! Serious Discussions About the Complexities of Asteroid Mining!

Initially, I started this series because of a presentation at the 2021 World Science Fiction Convention in Washington DC, DisCON which I WOULD have been attending in person if I felt safe enough to do so in person AND it hadn’t been changed to the week before the Christmas Holidays…HOWEVER, as time passed, I knew that this was a subject I was going to explore because it interests me…So, I’m going to make this an occasional feature of my blog…

It seems that Humans have taken a huge step toward mining the asteroids – instead of eye-rolling, pointing to such (now defunct) companies like Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries, or crying FOUL! about allocating resources to mining in SPACE!! when there are problems here on Earth that need the money far more than we need to be playing with spaceships and pretending we’re Star Wars/Star Trek/whatever Fantasy world you want to live it…What about Minneapolis bull-dozing homeless encampments???? We need to house them all! (https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/homeless-encampment-near-quarry-shopping-center-closure/89-9ee415ae-73a8-49b1-b83b-2128a41440e2)...

Individuals and companies seem to be talking about not only SOLUTIONS, but also about environmental issues (not in order to ban mining the asteroid) in order to make certain we don’t just carry current mining practices and problems into space and create problems for “future generations” to deal with. It appears we’re seriously discussing all of the issue above!

For example, where both PR and DSI seemed to be interested in building the industry from the ground up, one company is considering using technology that’s already on the shelf: “AstroForge is another company that believes space mining will become a reality. Founded in 2022 by a former SpaceX engineer and a former Virgin Galactic engineer, AstroForge still believes there is money to be made in mining asteroids for precious metals…To keep costs down, AstroForge will attach its refining payload to off-the shelf satellites and launch those satellites on SpaceX rockets…There’s quite a few companies that make what is referred to as a satellite bus. This is what you would typically think of as a satellite, the kind of box with solar panels on it, a propulsion system being connected to it…we didn’t want to reinvent the wheel…”

It's interesting that one of the articles I read was titled, “The Problems With Space Mining No One Is Talking About”. “The United Nations takes the view that space exploration should be done for the benefit of all. It is reasonable for society, which is being asked to fund investment in enabling technologies, to ask in return not only for a lack of harm from asteroid mining but for an equitable share of the positive benefits gained.” There’s sound philosophy and deep intent to avoid expanding “ ‘the mindset of colonialism to a truly cosmic scale.’ This mindset of colonialism is deeply intertwined with many of the stated motivations for resource exploitation in space and its ability to equip human expansion into the Solar System.”

Philosophers suggest that “ethics and anticolonial practices are a central consideration of planetary protection.” They recommend the space science community consider the ethics “short-term impact of largely unrestrained resource extraction on wealth inequality...This legacy of colonialist decision-making harming Indigenous people throughout history has left a stain on the profession of mining — a legacy space miners would do well to avoid.”

As well, “Weighing…ethical issues may become necessary in the face of climate change and ecosystem collapse. Planetary scientist Philip Metzger argues space mining will allow solutions to Earth’s increasing energy demands that are not currently feasible, such as beaming solar energy via microwave to Earth…there is little doubt that a human presence in space will entail harvesting resources from Near Earth Asteroids…a team of researchers from the University of Nottingham in Ningbo, China, examined the potential impact of asteroid mining on the global economy…market forces, environmental impact, asteroid and mineral type, and the scale of mining, they show how asteroid mining can be done in a way that is…for the benefit of all humanity.”

It also avoided one of the issues I’m curious about: with the ability to mine, refine, and transport the raw product, comes the ability – if not the practical methods and hardware – to MOVE an asteroid. If an entity like a government, company, or even individuals have a clearly demonstrated WAY to move an asteroid, what will prevent them from AIMING an asteroid at either a belligerent nation, island, or even a location and dropping it on that belligerent if they continue to refuse to give the “asteroid controller” what they want?

Obviously, rocks fall from space on Earth all the time. It’s also clear the SIZE of the object impacting Earth determines the degree of destruction. From the asteroid that slammed into the Yucatan Peninsula 65 million years ago and sealed the demise of the dinosaurs, reshaped the planet, its environment, and initiated the rise of mammals; it also gave rise to the phrase “extinction event” – but a meteorite strike doesn’t HAVE to be an “extinction event! On February 15, 2013 a meteorite slammed into the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia. While it injured over a thousand people, and damaged property, “The blast was stronger than a nuclear explosion, triggering detections from monitoring stations as far away as Antarctica. The shock wave it generated shattered glass and injured about 1,200 people.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRrdSwhQhY0 )

While Chelyabinsk was clearly a natural event, what would prevent disgruntled asteroid miners from doing the math (just because they’re miners doesn’t mean they’re stupid!), targeting a rock and sending it down to land in the laps of a particular group – or Board of Directors of the controlling corporation, for example?

All the philosophizing aside, THIS might be an issue we deal with sooner rather than later…

I’ll be looking at the other articles and mining (so-to-speak) an idea for my next post on this subject!

Resources: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/09/space-mining-business-still-highly-speculative.html ; https://impakter.com/the-problems-with-space-mining-no-one-is-talking-about/; https://phys.org/news/2022-11-asteroid-world-economy.html; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360895801_Asteroid_Mining_Opportunities_and_Challenges; https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/untold-riches-from-asteroid-mining-the-problem-no-one-is-talking-about-71662979594608.html
Image: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/A2D5/production/_114558614_hls-eva-apr2020.jpg

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 572

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them.

SF Trope: Archaeological Arms Race (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArchaeologicalArmsRace)
Current Event: http://io9.com/carbon-nanotubes-were-an-ancient-superweapon-1707615687, http://www.ryot.org/autistic-teen-becomes-youngest-astrophysicist-world/394809, http://msc.tsinghua.edu.cn/sanya/StringMath2015/speakers.aspx

Puteri Etini shook sand from his hands and stood up, brushing it from his jeans. “What are we supposed to do with it once we get it?”

Marama Daeng looked up from the excavation and said, “This sword was supposed to be able to split the hair of a vicuna into identical halves with ease.”

“And The Massachusetts Institute of Technology needs it…why?” She shrugged and continued her work of brushing debris from the object they were unearthing. “You think it has anything to do with the superstring energy project in Moscow?” She snorted then sneezed, doubling over the hole, intent.

She straightened up and looking into the distance, she said, “They’ve tried magnets – super-cooled and room-temperature, dipole and monopoles; they’ve tried coherent EM radiation at every frequency imaginable from radio to gamma; electrical fields of every strength. They have captured a string, balanced between Earth and the Sun. Everyone is in Vysokaya Lomonosov Moscow State University – and everyone’s enemies have gathered around to see what they do.”

“Who’s the idiot who thinks a depression in the space-time continuum can be touched by something physical?”

“Jakob Barnett.”

“The man who can’t speak? He’s...he’s…” Pateri said.

“…the intellectual equivalent of Hawking, Kadanof, Ellis, Dyson, Leung, Becker, and Silk all-rolled-into-one are the name’s you’re thinking of.”

“How...”

“If I knew that, then I wouldn’t be digging in the sand in a remote corner not far from the Syria- Iraq border, south of the Euphrates River. I can only believe that he can do what he says. How about you?”

He sniffed, grinned, and drew the .45 from his shoulder holster…

Names: ♀Malaysia ; ♂ Tahiti
Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Falcon_9_Demo-2_Launching_6_%283%29.jpg/220px-Falcon_9_Demo-2_Launching_6_%283%29.jpg

Stars of WONDER, "Star of Royal Beauty, Bright" Christmas 2022

Stars.

The foundation of science fiction is a journey to the stars. I remember as a kid searching for book titles with “star”, “planet”, “moon” or “alien” on the cover or the book spine.

One of Arthur C. Clarke’s most famous short stories is titled simply, “The Star” (Infinity SF, 1955). (If you never read it, try it here (it's short) https://sites.uni.edu/morgans/astro/course/TheStar.pdf
 Christmas lights.
What’s the connection between stars and Christmas lights? Most sources point to the practice of lighting Christmas tree candles or putting candles in the windows of homes as a measure of “pushing back the night” long, dark winter nights and having lifted various pagan religious practices in the process. Sites that are brutally honest say that Christians stole lighting, trees, yule logs and holly for the nefarious reason of subjugating all other traditions and belief systems to their own.

Others less brutal note that the reason for hanging lights at Christmas is at best unclear and at worst, disappeared like a ghost into Christmases past.

So I’m going to throw my own theory out there.

We do Christmas lights to add more stars to the universe we live in so that one particular star on one particular night might stand out even more than it already does. Adding stars to the universe – even imaginary ones on green coated electrical wire – seems somewhat silly when you consider that cosmologists number the stars in the observable universe at some thirty sextillion (30 followed by twenty-one zeroes). Others opine mathematically that the universe is infinite so that there are an infinite number of stars.

Cool! Ain’t God great?

OK, so rather than theorize why “we” put up Christmas lights, I’ll tell you that I like to put up Christmas lights in an infinite universe to mimic stars.

On that first Christmas night – whether it was December 25 or August 12 – a Star shone brightly in the night sky. It so outshone its usual companions that the star watchers or astrologers or magi of the Great Cultures at the time of the Christ’s birth – Ptolemaic Egypt, Carthage, Aksumite Empire in Ethiopia, Persia, Indus Valley Chera/Chara/Suaga/Satavahana, the Han Dynasty, Rome, Armenia, Scythia, the Three Kingdoms of Korea and Teotihuacan – made pilgrimage to where this bright star led them.

Three of them made it to Bethlehem in time for the Birth.

The strings of lights I put up are to celebrate the Star of Bethlehem. This celestial object seemed to hang over the City of David. The Roman Emperor had called for a census and Joseph and a very pregnant Mary had gone there. She had her Son, God Incarnate who came to Earth to solve the problem of Original Sin of humanity against God’s Sovereignty – because God loved the entire population of humanity everywhen so much that God chose to send the Son to redeem them with the only thing humans clearly understand: blood.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem as the unique Savior of all humanity – all of whom are free to accept that they are in need of saving or pass on the offer.

I choose to believe that I am in need of saving; I choose to accept Jesus as the Christ. I choose to believe that unlike what Arthur C. Clarke opines in his story, God did not capriciously wipe out a kindly advanced civilization to suit His own, cold whim. God used a cosmic celestial event to mark a cosmic spiritual event; and I use Christmas lights to remind me (and anyone who sees my lights) of the Bethlehem Star.

Someday, I want to write a story that responds to Clarke's -- not a vicious attack; not a mean-spirited diatribe; rather a gentle alternative to the one of an exploding star destroying a peaceful civilization of intelligences. I’ll let you know when my story, “The Winter Star” is done, but until then, in the words of Hub Pages columnist and fellow Minnesotan, Kika Rose: “These are my views. Attack me if you will, but I will believe what I will believe and you can’t change my mind for me.”

A Few Links To Follow:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observable_universe
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM75BS1VED_extreme_0.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wihttp://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM75BS1VED_extreme_0.htmlki/Christmas_lights
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071209222932AAaEltD
http://kikarose.hubpages.com/hub/Christmas-Just-where-did-all-those-traditions-come-from
http://larryfreeman.hubpages.com/hub/How-long-do-empires-lastImage: https://www.inspiringlivesmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/image-2-e1639268944963.jpeg

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 571

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them. Regarding horror, I found this insight in line with WIRED FOR STORY: “ We seek out…stories which give us a place to put our fears…Stories that frighten us or unsettle us - not just horror stories, but ones that make us uncomfortable or that strike a chord somewhere deep inside - give us the means to explore the things that scare us…” – Lou Morgan (The Guardian)

H Trope: (reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmutation. I think I’m going to mine THIS idea in various ways for a while!), more specifically covered here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underworld_(1985_film)

Current Event: http://altimatrix.com/2012-and-your-dna(Truth? I can’t imagine that ANY person would actually believe this. Really.)

 Let’s focus on this little tidbit: “According to what the dowsing reveals, there will be 6-9 DNA upgrades for these people before our critical juncture in the photon belt. Their ascension will take place at the same time as other people, however they will have more advanced evolutionary changes initially.  In the meantime these people’s subtle energy bodies will be exposed to even higher frequencies of consciousness than the average person.  This will be possible due to the individual’s higher self, having the option to do this.  Once the first 3 DNA upgrades are complete, the connection to the higher self is so much less corroded that the higher self can do this type of work for individual chosen for such a role.”

 

Snorri Benediktsson and Hofi Flosadóttir are going to college in Bemidji, Minnesota – they’re Icelandic exchange students.

 

He wants to be a radio producer and is going for a mass media degree; she’s a future physicist studying high energy particles that enter Earth’s atmosphere through the North Pole.

 

Late one night, they’re working together in the physics lab, he’s fiddling with making an electronic file and playing with special effects.

 

Hofi said, “Komdu og líta á þetta!”

 

He sighed. He hated when she used Icelandic. “We’re in the United States. We need to speak English.”

 

“Ekki allir hér tala ensku.”

 

“I know that. My roommate speaks better Spanish than he speaks English,” said Snorri.

 

“Mine is fluent in Ojibwe, but she speaks English most of the time. She does use her native language when she chants at night,” said Hofi.

 

“But we’re supposed to be experiencing a different culture.”

 

“So why are we dating each other? Shouldn’t you be going out with a ravishing Latina?”

 

“And you should be hanging out with some fratboy who only wants you for your body and has no idea you’ve got a brain that’s as sharp as your curves are mathematically perfect.”

 

Hofi blushed and turned back to the window in the lab that looked north, out over Lake Bemidji and toward the frigid air of the pole. A particle collector floated in the atmosphere some hundred miles north and twenty miles up, the display near the window was connected to the college through a satellite uplink. She pointed at the rippling  patterns in the sky. “That’s what I wanted you to look at.”

 

For a moment, even Snorri couldn’t ignore the display. When he finally worked up the nerve to put his arm around her, she turned away. “All right. This has all been done before. Electrons, ionized gasses and the lot has been done to death.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“I’m going to do something no one has ever done before.”

 

Scowling, he walked over to her humming machine. A small box, open on the side facing them, emitted an odd, pulsing sound. He said, “What are you going to do?”

 

“I’m going to really collect particles from the aurora. I’m using one of the new particle transporters from England to move some of the particles directly from the upper atmosphere to here.”

 

“Is that safe? I mean, I know I’m not a physics whiz like you, but I do know that high energy particles – like UV light – can burn human skin.”

 

She shrugged. “Sure. But there are other particles up there. That’s what I’m trying to measure. That’s what I want to find – the other particles up there.” She waited a moment and then said, “Stand back.” She flipped a switch. The box sparked and she fell back, covering her facing a screaming. An intensely pink colored, gaseous substance flowed from the box, coalescing on the floor around where Hofi was writhing on the floor.

 

Snorri dropped to his knees, hands grabbing her shoulders and coming into contact with the pink, amoeboid gas. For a moment he froze, then the cloud began to crawl up his arms. Both of the Icelanders shivered but otherwise didn’t move.

 

Instead, their skin began to crawl.

 

Literally… Names: ♀ ; ♂ BOTH Iceland
Image: https://cdn.britannica.com/40/11740-004-50816EB1/Boris-Karloff-Frankenstein-monster.jpg

POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAYS: Why Do ALIENS Intrigue Us (Well…ME anyway!)?

NOT using the Programme Guide of the 2022 World Science Fiction Convention, ChiCON 8, which I WOULD have attended in person if I had disposable income, but I retired two years ago, my work health insurance stopped, and I’m now living on the Social Security and Medicare…I WILL NOT use the Programme Guide to jump off, jump on, rail against, or shamelessly agree with the BRIEF DESCRIPTION given in the pdf copy of the Program Guide. This explanation is reserved for when I dash “off topic”, sometimes reviewing movies, sometimes reviewing books, and other times taking up the spirit of a blog an old friend of mine used to keep called THE RANTING ROOM…
I’ve been fascinated by “aliens” since I read THE SPACESHIP UNDER THE APPLE TREE when I was in sixth grade. That book propelled me into reading more and more science fiction, until it led to me writing the stuff…and now here I am!

The first aliens I really paid attention to – or understood, I suppose – didn’t happen until I reached adolescence. At that point, I got serious. By the time I was fifteen, I’d checked out every book from the library on UFOs and aliens that I could find: INCIDENT AT EXETER; FLYING SAUCERS: SERIOUS BUSINESS; UFOs EXPLAINED; PROJECT BLUE BOOK; CHARIOTS OF THE GODS; UFOs: HOAX OR REALITY; FLYING SAUCERS: SERIOUS BUSINESS. The photo above gives me chills to this day; it was in virtually every book about UFOs I read.

But what was the draw for me? Didn’t I want to play ball for the MLB, or NFL, or the NBA? Didn’t I wait with bated breath for the MLB Spring Training?

Nope. I was too busy trying to find a way I could see a UFO. I didn’t talk about it EVER, cause my family thought I was weird enough without saying anything about aliens and UFOs. Dad introduce me to “real science fiction” when he started to let me stay up and watch STAR TREK for the third season, 1968-1969 (I still have a fondness for peanut butter toast with a fried egg on it…he and I ate a late supper on “STAR TREK” nights. That was because besides steaks, Dad could cook one other thing: fried eggs.) I knew that people had seen UFOs – not because I actually KNEW someone who had, but just because…it had become a tenet of my personal philosophy that there HAD to be “someone else” out there.

I’ve since taught middle school through high school sciences – for forty years. I like to say I’ve taught every science at one time or another, from astronomy to zoology. I still use rigid science principles when I teach a summer school class to gifted and talented fourth to tenth graders. I even writer science fiction (look to the right of this column to see a few places you can read/listen to my stuff online.)

Because I’m a scientist (of sorts), however, I have to admit up front to myself and everyone else: There is absolutely NO EVIDENCE (the definition of science? “…the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained.”) for the existence of life on any other planet ANYWHERE but here. No evidence. Therefore, belief in aliens is no different than belief in elves or magic or perpetual motion – it’s an unsubstantiated psychological construct Humans had somehow cobbled together out of the abandonment of belief in something that we simply WANT to believe: in the 1997 movie CONTACT Jodie Foster, playing the astronomer Eleanor Arroway says, “The universe is a pretty big place. It's bigger than anything anyone has ever dreamed of before. So if it's just us... seems like an awful waste of space.”

NEWSWEEK Magazine gives Sagan’s quote as: “"The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space."

But Sagan – or any other astrobiologist (the singular most peculiarly HOPEFUL field of science on Earth) has no proof that there is life anywhere but here on Earth. Granted that life is sometimes in the most inhospitable places: black smokers leap to mind; and there’s even a bacteria that live on the walls INSIDE of a nuclear reactor… (“The most extreme extremophile that is known at the moment is the Deinococcus radiodurans. This microbe can survive extreme cold, drought, thin air and acid. It has even been found on the walls inside nuclear reactors, where the radioactivity would be instantly fatal for humans.”
(https://www.micropia.nl/dossiercontent/microworld/en/12/?ph=1#:~:text=The%20most%20extreme%20extremophile%20that,be%20instantly%20fatal%20for%20humans.)

There’s the POSSIBILITY of life on other worlds living at the extreme edges of temperature, pH, humidity, and without oxygen.

But NO EVIDENCE.

So, what keeps my faith alive that there IS life “out there?”

Why do I so desperately want to believe that there are aliens? Korin Miller on YAHOOLIFE has this to say: “…what makes someone believe that aliens exist? Experts say there's more to it than many people think…The need to believe in a higher power can fuel viewpoints.

“For some people, belief in a higher power means turning to religion; for others, it's believing in aliens. Mayer says that a "strong personality characteristic" of people who believe in aliens is "a person’s need to believe that something exists beyond the earthly reality they are experiencing."

"For these individuals, their life is not fulfilling enough — they are searching for something more to fill the void inside them," he says.

“But French says that the desire to know whether we're alone in the universe is "perfectly understandable."

“Arthur C. Clarke famously said, 'Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying,'” he says.”

And why do things like this STILL HAPPEN, even in the third decade of the 21st Century?

“DORSCH: There was a rider in the COVID relief bill requiring a report from the Pentagon about the current state of the unidentified aerial phenomenon investigations inside the Pentagon…”

“CORNISH: Do you think that this is enthusiasm that will last - right? - like, now that this report is out?

“DORSCH: It would not surprise me. This is what UFO interest does. It goes through these sorts of peaks and valleys. There will always be an enthusiastic community, regardless of how visible they are in the media. But I would not be surprised if in the coming months, the story dissipates and, like a UFO does, disappears sort of back into the stars for the time being.

“CORNISH: That's Kate Dorsch, science and technology historian at the University of Pennsylvania.”

Don’t worry, this isn’t the end. I’ll be taking the subject up again in a few weeks!

Resources: https://www.capradio.org/news/npr/story?storyid=1011043735, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291121000206 (VERY LONG paper!), https://time.com/4232540/history-ufo-sightings/, https://www.newsweek.com/arl-sagan-quotes-death-pale-blue-dot-astronomer-25-years-1661545, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremophile
Image: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2015/01/UFO-04.jpg

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 570

Each Tuesday, rather than a POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY, I'd like to both challenge you and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative and teen story ideas than I can ever use. My family rolls its collective eyes when I say, "Hang on a second! I just have to write down this idea..." Here, I'll include the initial inspiration (quote, website, podcast, etc.) and then a thought or two that came to mind. These will simply be seeds -- plant, nurture, fertilize, chemically treat, irradiate, test or stress them as you see fit. I only ask if you let me know if anything comes of them. Regarding Fantasy, this insight was startling: “I see the fantasy genre as an ever-shifting metaphor for life in this world, an innocuous medium that allows the author to examine difficult, even controversial, subjects with impunity. Honor, religion, politics, nobility, integrity, greed—we’ve an endless list of ideals to be dissected and explored. And maybe learned from.” – Melissa McPhail.

F Trope: black magic
Current Event: “In many popular video games, such as Final Fantasy, white and black magic is simply used to distinguish between healing/defensive spells (such as a "cure") and offensive/elemental spells (such as "fire") respectively, and does not carry an inherent good or evil connotation.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_magic)

Pastor Kim Dong Shik made a face and said, “I don’t dislike the game. I dislike the redefinition.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” said Martin Caine. A couple other boys from the youth group stood behind him, nodding.

Pastor Kim took a breath, but Trevor Mena cut him off, “You sure you’re not just trying to get us to stop playing a game you think is evil or something dumb like that?”

The pastor bit his lower lip for a moment then said, “Define ‘black magic’ for me.”

The third boy, Aagaard Zorilla said, “That’s easy – black magic is what you use to defend your characters from attack.”

“As opposed to what kind of magic?”

“White magic, of course!” said Trevor.

“Yeah, when you want to attack, you use black magic.”

“Or if you want to summon any of the elementals like earth, air, fire or water.”

Pastor Kim nodded. “So do you think that’s been the definition all along?”

All three boys looked puzzled. Finally Aagaard said, “That’s always been the definition I’ve used.”

“Care to hear a more…historical definition?”

All three rolled their eyes.

Pastor Kim laughed and nodded, saying, “Oh, I get it! Anything that’s older than you isn’t important anymore!” Even though Trevor and Aagaard laughed, Martin found himself stepping back. Pastor Kim smiled sadly then said, “So you don’t think I’m important anymore?”

The smile on the faces of two of the boys disappeared. Martin’s grew as he said, “Too bad you’re one of the only ones who noticed.” His voice had dropped an octave and his skin, instead of flushing red like a blush, was flushing black as if the toxins from pasturella pestis had flooded his blood vessels.

The pastor’s eyes bugged a bit, but Martin made a face. The old-fashioned “holy man” was supposed to run away, terrified of the spell the mage had cast over Martin a few weeks ago. The mage – a college professor Martin had heard speak at his sister’s college one night – had assured him that old-fashioned christianity wasn’t relevant, let alone imbued with the kind of power mages controlled.

When Martin had mentioned his pastor was pretty cool, the professor had laughed and asked if he wanted to be truly empowered – granted power great enough to make any old christian drop to their knees in quaking fear. Martin had shrugged and said, “Sure.”

At the moment, his chest swelled and he felt taller than he’d ever felt before. He seemed to be able to look over Aagaard and Trevor and down on Pastor Kim.

But instead of cowering, Pastor Kim…

Names: South Korean, American, Uruguayan
Image:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/98/71/e5/9871e52bbc09c525af21b8f6471eab15.jpg

Oddly Enough, This Appeared on My FACEBOOK Feed Today...

Oddly enough, this appeared on my FaceBook feed today via Writers Write who added a new photo to the album: More Quotes On Writing. The Quotable Anne McCaffrey.
Image: https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/318100563_6416266331733967_1497214251520542996_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p526x296&_nc_cat=108&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=0debeb&_nc_ohc=ClmKb0E3TVwAX_fi4MH&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=00_AfDUR9z9Up4CPEpaoFYP_sfvmOKzlkmTXSV0OBPbM_m4iQ&oe=63A154E8