Fantasist's Scroll

Today is Frank Herbert’s Birthday.

Of course, we haven’t had him with us since 1986, the year I graduated from high-school, but his work lives on. Mr. Herbert is primarily known for his seminal work, Dune, and the Dune books that followed. Though, interestingly enough, he never intended to write sequels.
Often refered to as the science-fiction Lord of the Rings, Dune and the books that followed detail an amazingly rich science-ficiton culture. The novels are some of the first to have detailed political and sociological sub-plots, not to mention ecological sub-plots! The way Mr. Herbert used religion in his work is quite interesting as well. In a genre that often avoids discussing religion, he explored the topic in detail and with a depth that was personally inspiring.

There hasn’t been anyone else quite like Frank Herbert and I am in awe of the ways in which he influenced the genre.

Three-dimensional books. Cool.

There’s a project afoot that makes 3-d books a reality. It’s called Black Magic. So far, they’re still in the experimental stage, but it looks good. They’ve done a story about America’s Cup in 3-d and have a “simulation” that can be downloaded to a PC. The viewer itself seems to be a set of googles or eyepieces on a handle, not unlike the Victorian stereoscopic viewer. I guess everything old is new again. In any case, it seems like an interesting technology and I’ll be watching to see where, or if, it goes.

Space tourists.

Well, if Richard Branson is as spot on as he’s been, we may be flying Virgin Galactic into space for our vacations. Okay, so, maybe that’s a little “forward thinking”, but, according to this article on Wired News, he’s made a deal to to build an “aircraft” based on Burt Rutan’s SpaceShipOne craft. (Mr. Rutan, and company, is a contender for the X-Prize.) Apparently, Branson’s plan is to start making regular “flights” into space, one assumes with profit in mind. So, in spite of the flamboyant and sometimes downwright strange stunts he’s pulled, Branson may just fullfil the promise of the X-Prize: regular, commercial space-flight.

Cool.

A new age has dawned for spaceflight!

According to numerous sources, my favorite being National Geographic in this case, SpaceShipOne has won the X-Prize. What does that mean? It means that a privately built single-stage-to-orbit spacecraft has been built and successfully launched into space twice within a week. And, if you don’t understand the implecations of that, well… Well, I can’t imagine anyone who could find this blog on the web and not have some idea what that accomplishment means. Maybe I will see a mission to mars succeed in my lifetime. I might even see extraterrestrial mining. The possibilities are limitless.

Wow.

Okay, this tickled my funny-bone.

This website, A Primer in SF Xenolinguistics, really made me chuckle. It’s really a what NOT to do guide. In a nutshell, it lists all the things that begining writers make when dealing with language in science-fiction and fantasy. Actually, it’s a bit frightening how many people who should know better make these mistakes, too, but I digress.
It’s a fun read and, heaven help me, it’s informative, too.

Hey, it’s Friday, go check it out!

Cold fusion, that is.

According to this article on the IEEE website, cold fusion is alive and kicking. Well, at least, it may get a second chance. Apparently, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science will receive a report from a panel of experts on the prospects for cold fusion later this month. (Incidentally, for those of you who aren’t familiar, cold fusion is the “supposed generation of thermonuclear energy using tabletop apparatus.”) You can read more about it at the article.
The interesting thing here, for me, is that this one doesn’t seem to die. No one has been able to reproduce the results of that first experiment. At least, not with any degree of credibility within the scientific community. But, still, they chase the dream. “A reactor in every household!” I can see the slogans now… Ah, well, considering the story I brought you yesterday, I suppose it’s only a matter of time.

I stole that from the article.

This article at New Scientist, that is. It’s all about an idea the US government has come up with to help bring power to the powerless. It is, as the title indicates, a reactor in a box. SPecifically, it’s a small nuclear reactor/power-plant in a sealed container that is easily transportable. It can generate anywhere from 10 to 100 megawatts, depending on the size, but can still be moved “easily” by ship or large truck to where it’s needed. So, why in a sealed container? Why, to help make sure that the Third World countries we shop it out to don’t take it apart to make bombs, of course! So, how long before that happens, do you think? Well, anyway, I thought it would be a thought provoking article.
Enjoy!

And, for that matter, gaming.

One of my favorite constructed worlds, or “conworld”, is Tékumel, which is an ongoing project of M.A.R. Barker. One of Professor Barker’s assertions is that religous belief is very important to a created world, but often overlooked or done poorly. In games, we find poorly understood real-world religons being “modernized” or otherwise adapted to the game world in a very surface-level way. Or, religions are simply motions that people go through with little thought or belief behind it. And, while such things often occur in our own world, more people actually believe in a religion of some kind than simply take it as a set of rituals to perform. In any case, it is usually quite a bit more complicated than the way most folks represent. Professor Barker wrote an article about it which you can find in the Blue Room Archives at Tékumel.com It’s worth reading if you’re thinking about integrating a “real” religion into your work.