M. Thomas Apple's Blog, page 25

Bringer of Light, Chapter 37: Transit Ceres to Luna

In a story long, long ago…

Sorry that it’s been almost three months since posting more fiction. The colonists on Mars are still undergoing training by Riss and Sanvi so that they can understand and control their new abilities. Meanwhile, Bardish has headed out into space, where he met his destiny.

And Gennaji, who had been headed to discover Bardish’s fate on Luna, is now approaching his own.

“Prepare to board that Loonie ship,” Gennaji said tersely, unstrapping his flight harness.

“Aye, Captain.”

Karel’s voice sounded void of emotion. As if the big man had gone numb.

Gennaji glanced over at his new navigator. It looked as if the man hadn’t slept at all since they left Ceres. Since their failure. Since Andrej betrayed him.

He couldn’t help himself. 

“Pining for that backstabbing vybliadok?”

Karel shot him a glare that Gennaji could not back down from. He planted his magboots firmly down on the control room deck and returned the glare. Neither spoke for a moment.

“He made his choice,” Karel finally said. He kept his eyes firmly on his captain.

“Yes,” Gennaji said, crossing his arms. “He did. And you?”

No response.

“You agreed to join this crew. Standard sixteen-month contract.”

“For two more weeks.”

“Yes, two more weeks! A man makes a promise, a man keeps it. You have a problem with being a man?”

Karel turned red, clenched his fists. 

“Captain,” said the pilot. “The Lunar skiff is changing course. Heading…directly at us!”

“What?” Gennaji took a step towards Orynko. He felt a big hand grab the back of his right upper arm, twisted him around to face behind him. The punch came in slightly off target, a glancing blow on the chin that sent him backward a step or two. He staggered, recovered, anticipated the left body blow and blocked with the inner part of his right arm. Karel fell forward, his momentum carrying him into his captain.

Gennaji immediately sidestepped, tripping the bigger man and forcing him into a headlock from behind. Left forearm under the man’s left shoulder and neck, right arm behind and locked with the left bicep. Twisted hips, pushed down to the floor, pinning his opponent down with his body weight.

Karel gasped, grabbed at the forearm, kicking futilely.

“Captain!” Orynko called over from her console. “150 meters now!”

“Get in my way again,” Gennaji whispered in Karel’s ear, “and I’ll end your contract early. With a toss out the airlock.”

He released the headlock, shoved the bigger man to the deck. Hard. Karel made no sound as his forehead struck the metal floor. 

Gennaji stood without a backward glance. “Ory, evasive. Now.”

The Sagittarius groaned as it shifted down and to the right. Gennaji staggered again and grabbed for a console. His knee violently banged against the captain’s chair and he fell backwards, landing with a crash.

“Is the ballbuster still loaded?” he shouted.

“Aye,” Ory shouted back. “But no way to aim—”

“Fire!”

She hesitated. Only the sound of pieces of the control console bouncing off the ceiling replied. He stood and seized the captain’s chair from behind with both arms.

“Hamno, I said fire!”

The ship lurched. Lights flickered, went down. In the dark, Gennaji felt a grip around his ankle. Instinctively he kicked out, hit nothing but air. The grip tightened. Another shudder. He felt himself floating, nearly horizontal. He held onto the chair more tightly. Shockwave, he thought. The nuke exploded too close to them.

The emergency lights came on, faint and dim red.

“Ory!” he shouted.

No answer. He looked over his shoulder as he wildly tried to kick loose whatever had grabbed him. The pilot was in her chair, harnessed to prevent her from falling. But unconscious and slumped sideways, arms akimbo.

He began to feel his weight settle down to the deck. Centrifugal force. They must be spinning. He looked down.

Karel. Blood streaming from a gash in his forehead, one eye shut completely, one barely open. The big man grinned and tightened his grip.

Enough.

Gennaji drew out his pistol from the side holster. Raised and aimed it at Karel’s face.

Pulled the trigger.

The resulting splatter came as grim satisfaction. But he took no pleasure in the deed.

He’d finally crossed the line.

Ory began to stir.

Magboots touching down again on the floor, Gennaji pried loose the dead hand. Placed the weapon in it, then kicked the empty head for good measure. Son of a bitch, useless…nobody would work for him now, even if he could spin this somehow. A mutiny. Suicide. Who would believe him?

Dark red bubbles floated up, colliding and collecting in the circulating air. Tiny white and grey bits as well. Something he’d have to clean up before the circuits were affected.

But he had more urgent matters.

A warning light blinked on Ory’s console. He ignored it. Leaned over her, held her head as she groggily straightened. He relaxed. She seemed unharmed.

He kissed her. Her eyes opened, tried to pull back. He held her in place, kissed her again, hard. She gave in, closing her eyes again.

He released her. She gasped. “Captain, I—”

The blinking light caught her attention. “Proximity alert!”

“What now? Didn’t we get it?”

He let his fingers fly across the console. No, it was too small. Not as big as the Lunar skiff that had come charging at them. A small object. The size of…

“A lifepod,’ he whispered. Not again.

Another light blinked. Incoming message.

But from where?

“Answer it,” he said. Ory nodded, flicked a switch.

A familiar bearded face appeared on the console’s tiny screen. Haggard, sagging on one side. Old and tired.

No. It can’t be.

“This is a pre-recorded message. I am Bardish. Perhaps you know me.”

Next: Bringer of Light, Chapter 38: United Mars Colonies, Cut the Tether

Neuroscience and the ethics of mind control

“Embedding a similar type of computer in a soldier’s brain could suppress their fear and anxiety, allowing them to carry out combat missions more efficiently.”

https://theconversation.com/amp/brain-computer-interfaces-could-allow-soldiers-to-control-weapons-with-their-thoughts-and-turn-off-their-fear-but-the-ethics-of-neurotechnology-lags-behind-the-science-194017

Sounds like science fiction, but it’s pretty close to reality. BCI (brain computer interface) is being tested in patients who lack muscle control but imagine if this tech gets weaponized (and what hasn’t been, eventually).

But what if BCI were used to suppress emotions in a healthy brain? Or used to implant thoughts? Or worse?

“…if a BCI tampers with how the world seems to a user, they might not be able to distinguish their own thoughts or emotions from altered versions of themselves…”

(same website as above…note that the PC version of WordPress does not do “quotations” correctly any more…)

PKD fans will instantly recognize this.

Androids don’t just dream of electric sheep.

(Fans of Ghost in the Shell and more importantly its movie sequel Innocence should also recognize the potential hacking danger…imagine if the government could control our emotions, thoughts, and memories…)

Call a spade a

Just saw someone on my morning commuter train wearing a fluffy beige coat with a single word in all capital letters, stretching across the back from left elbow to right elbow:

EXPLOIT

Yeah. That’s what happened, alright.

Think small

On Tuesday as I was walking back from work, much later than usual, my shoes were bothering me.

They felt stretched, loose, especially irritating on a rainy day.

I had spent too much time polishing them, I thought.

Too much effort making them “waterproof.”

Too much money on these damn useless things.

I resolved to throw them away and get a new pair.

But of course it would take time, and money, and effort to go get them.

Damn shoes. I would have to rearrange my entire week because of you.

The next morning, as I put my shoes on, I realized that the laces were loose.

So I re-tied them, and instantly they felt better.

Sometimes, when a small, insignificant problem arises, there is a simple fix.

Think small.

Why Japan and JAXA are definitely NOT the future of space exploration

Falsified space research? No problem. The “apology bow” (sha zai, 謝罪) makes it all better.

There is a reason why Japan’s newest “micro” satellite spectacularly failed to do, well, anything.

The Japan version of NASA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, called “JAXA” for some reason rather than “JAEA” — maybe the founder was a fan of X-Japan?) is riddled with incompetency and sycophancy.

Much like the rest of Japan’s government, one of the most corrupt of the world’s industrialized countries thanks to its strict “senpai-kohai” hierarchy where those at the top do no work and those at the bottom have no choice but to do what those at the top say – even if it’s illegal or immoral.

Secretaries routinely take the fall for corrupt department heads.

Underlings routinely are asked to cook the books and hide falsehoods.

Sometimes this even leads to suicide, and the courts routinely argue that such acts are not the result of institutional bullying and those in charge do not have a “legal responsibility to apologize or explain” why they force those beneath them to do illegal acts.

In the case of JAXA, those involved in research purportedly studying the long-term mental effects of living in space were actively falsifying data. They also had no idea how to assess the research and failed to keep decent research notes. This is the same problem former scientist Obokata had — a complete lack of adequate supervision.

But it’s all OK! In Japan, when you cheat, lie, or steal as a member of a government agency, all you have to do is say “I’m terribly sorry for bringing dishonor and shame to my group” in public and then bow deeply.

All forgiven!

So forget any Japan-based space project from doing anything at all.

Don’t forget that this “technologically advanced” country had a “Digital Ministry” created in 2021 and still has done very little on the whole to drag Japan kicking and screaming into the 1980s. And its first “Minister” didn’t even know how to use a computer!

Japan is a technological backwards country. And yes, I know what I’m talking about. I’ve lived here almost 25 years now, and though there are many things about Japan I love (most especially my wife and children!), the management has much to be desired.

Volcanos, Venus, and Earth 🌋 Hellscape unveiled

A new study shows that massive volcanic eruptions over an extended period of time may be responsible for changing the planet into what it is today. If there was simple life on ancient Venus, volcanism was its doom. The study also shows how powerful volcanic activity has played a role in shaping Earth’s habitability and how Earth only narrowly avoided the same fate as Venus.

https://www.universetoday.com/158696/volcanoes-are-the-worst-theyve-caused-extinctions-on-earth-and-probably-killed-venus/#more-158696

Venus is hot enough to melt lead, which is why no spaceship has ever survived to land on the surface.

And, no, there is nothing alive floating around in its toxic atmosphere.

But this is a neat article. Three future missions are planned for Venus (two by NASA – VERITAS and DAVINCI – and one by ESA – EnVision, which sounds more like a song and dance competition than a scientific probe).

Venus or bust!

Goodbye, Musk, and good riddance.

If you’ve been reading this blog, you probably noticed the “has over 1,200 followers” tag suddenly dropped to just over 200.

That’s because I deactivated my Twitter account.

I debated for a couple of weeks.

And then saw how its Chief Twit (seriously, this is how this psychopath called himself) treated his workers.

100+ hour work weeks? Haphazardly firing pregnant single moms? Reinstating Der DrumpfenFührer?

Enough.

Twitter is run by a narcissistic, megalomaniacal bully with delusions of grandeur, and I will have nothing to do with any company that supports him or is run by him.

“But…” the plaintiff cry “where will we get our news??”

Um.

Try an actual news organization.

An aggregator works just fine.

Here’s a primer:

https://www.lifewire.com/best-news-aggregators-4584410

(FWIW, Flipboard is my current fav, but my friends often rely on Google News and Apple News (if you have Apple devices, of course. And for the standard no-nonsense and no-frills approach, AP).

Anyway, I’m happy to be followed by 200+ WordPress fans.

Don’t worry. Science is still science. And naturally there is science fiction on the way.

I just need time to write it!

Japan to continue on ISS until…

Well, it’s official. Japan will remain a member of the International Space Station until 2030.

And of course, the next year it will fall to its death over the middle of the Pacific Ocean in “Point Nemo,” joining hundreds of other satellites at the bottom of the industrialized nations convenient sea junkyard.

Surely there is a better way to dispose of spacecraft that doesn’t involve polluting the ocean.

Well before then, Russia will no longer help out (obviously). And that’s problematic, since the propulsion part of the ISS is the Russian module.

Hmm. What to do, what to do…

How about we go to Mars instead?

Nah. Let’s have separate countries like India and China make their own space stations and then encourage private companies to make their own, too!

Um. What’s the point?

Ah. The “new space race.”

And don’t forget that Venus is “a Russian planet.”

These moron politicians shouldn’t be in charge of humanity’s future. The Earth is a round planet the last time I checked, everybody sharing the same air and water.

For now.

Astronomers found a black hole in our cosmic backyard!

Only 1600 light years away!

And it’s a binary system. Very odd.

It’s also “dormant.” Even stranger.

Ten times the size of our Sun, as far away from its companion star as the Earth is from the Sun.

Announced just in time for Halloween…

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/05/science/astronomy-black-hole.html

Another lost month…

Sigh.

A whole month of no posts. Sorry, everyone.

Last weekend was partly fun (Halloween party with our kids, pre-teen and teen) and partly melancholic (4th year anniversary of my mother’s untimely death from cancer).

But even before then, I just wasn’t feeling all that great. Not sick. Just sort of…not with it. On autopilot, kind of.

Now that fall is well and truly here, the pollen is going away and the skies are clearing.

Hoping I’ll find my muse again.

And, no, I’m not going to write anything about Twitter, elections, or crazy beliefs in satanic rituals making a comeback among the bonkers-crazy folk of my home country. Way too easy.