Mars Update

Mars has been in the news lately – and the news has been pretty darn interesting.  First, on July 2nd there was an articleabout NASA’s idea of terraforming Mars using nanobots.  Well, technically I suppose the plan is to use nanobots to first survey Mars so that the ‘unique Martian biosphere’ can be preserved when Mars is terraformed.  But it is only natural to think we would then use those same nanobots already present to do the grunt work of terraforming – you know, producing oxygen from the carbon dioxide present so that the atmosphere could be altered to support humans and all our accompanying stuff.  Also, the nanobots would likely need to be self replicating, so it would be a good opportunity to practice that technology (and see if the dreaded ‘grey goo’ develops) without risking Earth.  Actually, that doesn’t sound great for the Martian biosphere.  Maybe we should set up a preserve….

Second, on July 3rd NASA announced more Martian news of note:  NASA Mars lander Phoenix discovered snow on the north pole of Mars.  This is the first confirmation we have had of an actice water cycle on Mars.  Aside from the general excitement of the scientific community at a new discovery, NASA is super excited about their theory being confirmed – based on what the lander had seen so far they were pretty sure there was a water cycle.  There is also, of course, excitement over what this means for the future of humans on Mars.  An active water cycle could mean a lot less work making the planet habitable.  Cool, huh?

Does anyone else find this as scary as I do?

According to Slashdot, a researcher at Stanford has successfully spliced light sensitive algae genes into human brain cells.  The cells can then be activated by laser light.  This is pretty scary on its own.  But here’s the money quote:  ‘Once the researcher attaches the other end of the cable to a laser, he or she has absolute and flawless control over that group of neurons.’

Holy #$%#!!!  Absolute control over someones neurons?!  What are they planning to use this for?  And even if there is some benign use in mind, how long will it take for some very malignant uses to be devised?  Sure, right now it requires being hooked up to a cable, which limits the potential for malicious use – at least they can only control a person’s mind in a lab.  But what happens when some other helpful scientist figures out how to control those neurons from a distance, or by remote control?

At least we don’t currently have a fascist president.  Silver lining, right?

Shared Worlds Interviews

Matt at Enter the Octopus is spreading the word about an interview conducted by author Jeff VanderMeer.  That lucky dog got to talk with 5 of scifi and fantasy’s top authors – Elizabeth Hand, Nalo Hopkinson, Ursula K. LeGuin, China Miéville, and Michael Moorcock – in a special interview to promote the Shared Worlds summer camp for teen writers, artists, and future game developers.  VanderMeer asked the other authors to talk about the most fantastic real-life city they know, the one that they based some of their fictional cities on.  Check out their answers here.  You get to hear from some awesome writers and help a good cause at the same time.

NASA plans to blow up the moon!

According to this articleon Slashdot (and there are lots more in various places – I just like Slashdot), NASA plans to set off an explosion on the moon that will create a 6 mile high debris plume so that they can look for water in the debris.

On the serious side, if they find a significant source water it would be another major step toward starting a real lunar colony, because water is one of the most important resources (right up there with air and soil – well, with hydroponics, I guess soil is less important) that are currently absent on the moon.

But, really, it’s very hard to be serious when you’re talking about NASA blowing up the moon.  I mean, have they thought about what could go wrong?  Two moons, anyone?  What would that do to our tides?  Ah, the imagination can run wild.  Thanks, NASA.

A new babysitter?

Pink Tentacle has an articleabout a robot that can read books.  The robot’s premiere had it reading a fairy tale, and the designers said that once they figure out how to put a little more feeling in its voice so it sounds, well, less like a robot, it will be ready for a job reading to children and the elderly.  Now they just need to program it to prepare meals, keep the kids (or grandma and grandpa) from wandering off, and put out fires – and it can take over babysitting duties!  Of course, it’s better than just sitting your kids in front of the tv and using that as a babysitter.

The Continuing Obsession with Rubber Ducks…

absolutely befuddles me.  And yet, there it is.  I am still getting 10 or more hits every single week just of people looking at my giant rubber ducky picture.  So for those ducky lovers out there, here are some sites devoted to our squeaky pals.

http://rubaduck.com/pictures/rubber_duck_pictures.htm

http://katiejeffreys.com/ducky/duckpix.html

http://duckshow.com/

http://www.getodd.com/duck/gallery.html

Enjoy!

Agent to the Stars – John Scalzi

In my continuing effort to read every book Scalzi has published, I picked Agent up from my local library.  I actually read the foreword (normally I skip them – they tend to be boring) and was pleased to discover this is the first novel he wrote.  It is a funny story, with a lot of Scalzi’s typical humor, which was good since that is a large part of why I read his stuff.

Agent to the Stars is the story of humanity’s introduction to an alien race for the first time.  The aliens are highly intelligent, ethical, and just want to be friends.  The problem is that they look like our collective worst nightmare – talking piles of goo – and they smell worse.  They first became aware of humanity when they started receiving our television signals decades ago, and have been studying us based on tv ever since.  So, of course, when they get here to meet us, they are aware that they have a PR problem.  And what do you do when you have a PR problem in the television age?  You hire an agent to sell you to the masses in the best light possible.

Enter Tom Stein, an up-and-coming young agent in LA.  He gets the unenviable task of figuring out how to introduce humanity to these talking piles of goo that look like the bad guys in many a sci fi movie in such a way that humanity accepts themas friends.  He also gets to be the 2nd person on Earth to make contact with actual aliens (his boss at the agency being the first).  I’d say that’s a hell of a perk.

This is not an action book, and there isn’t a lot of high drama.  But it is fun, and funny, and a quick read for a night relaxing at home.  Or a day at the beach, which is where I read most of it.

The Parable of the Sower – Octavia Butler

The only previous Butler I have read is Lilith’s Brood, which was very definitely science fiction, so I was expecting a very definitely sci fi type of book this time too.  That’s sort of what I got…

The Parable of the Sower is set in a near-future dystopia where the United States has pretty much fallen apart.  There is rampant poverty, environmental disaster, homelessness, violence, and drug use, and the few who try to maintain the old way of life live in walled communities and venture out as little as possible.  The story is centered on Lauren Olamina, a 15 year old girl living just outside L.A. when we first meet her.  She lives in on of the poorer walled communities, but her community has food and water, and some of the adults even have jobs that pay money instead of food or other goods.  Lauren sees the trend toward ever increasing violence, and doesn’t believe the sanctuary of the walled community will last.  Her father is a Baptist minister, but she finds his faith unfulfilling in the face of the horrors around her.  She begins to develop her own religious belief system which she calls Earthseed. 

Lauren’s fears of her home being destroyed are realized when her community is attacked by addicts one night and the entire community is burned, and most of the occupants are brutally killed.  Lauren and two others escape from the wreckage, and decide to make their way north to what they have heard is a better area.  Along the way she continues to develop Earthseed and share it with others.

The book is sci fi in the sense that it is set in the future, and there are a few technologies that while possible today are not available.  However, there are no aliens swooping down on us – either for attack or rescue.  There are no super-technologies to solve all our problems, and no super-humans with special powers either.  There are only people, struggling to make it through a nightmare world, and occasionally trying to make it better.  With Octavia Butler’s writing skill and command of language to back it up, it’s enough.

The Last Theorem – Clark & Pohl

The Last Theorem by Arthur C. Clark and Frederik Pohl is a clever little story about a young Sri Lankan mathematician named Ranjit Subramanian.  Early in his life Ranjit becomes obsessed with Fermat’s Last Theorem (which I admit I don’t understand at all) – it is a mathematical proof which A 16th century mathematician named Fermat supposedly solved but never published or apparently wrote down anywhere.  Mathematicians ever since have been trying to recreate the proof.  Due to circumstances largely beyond his control, Ranjit winds up being jailed in a foreign country where he is tortured before being isolated for many months.  During this time he returns to the Last Theorem as something to occupy his mind, and actually figures it out.  He is of course eventually rescued and publishes his proof.

At the same time progressively more dangerous weapons are being tested all over the world, producing effects which are eventually noticed by aliens.  These aliens take a dim view of species developing both war like tendencies and advanced technology, so they decide to exterminate humanity while their rapidly improving weapons are still primitive enough to be no threat.  Humans, of course, have no idea the aliens even exist, much less that they have noticed Earth and decided to take such drastic (at least from the humans’ point of view) action.

All of this is set against a modern landscape of wars, political conflict, and general disregard for life.  The book is quite current, having been published in 2008, which adds realism often lacking in classic science fiction.  On the other hand, it was written by two of the biggest names in classic sci fi and has the sense of style and scope found in older sci fi literature.  It was an easy and enjoyable read that also raised questions about our continuing development as a species, should one feel inclined to contemplate such weighty matters.  (It also used lots of big words and intellectual-sounding phrases, which may have influenced the tone of my review .)  I wish these two had done more together.

Ghost Brigades – John Scalzi

Ghost Brigades is the follow up to Old Man’s War, which I read a while ago but apparently did not review (it’s really good).  Although both are set in the same universe, and Ghost Brigade occasionally refers to events that occurred in Old Man’s War, it is not really necessary to have read the one to enjoy the other.  Though it does add that extra something.

The Ghost Brigades are super soldiers, and not just any super soldiers.  All the human soldiers in this universe are 75 year old humans from Earth who get brand new upgraded bodies with increased speed and strength, synthetic Smartblood, and other nifty toys.  But the Ghost Brigades (aka Special Forces) get all sorts of experimental upgrades as well, and they are built from the DNA of adult volunteers who died before they were able to be taken off planet for their basic training.  While the “realborn” soldiers have their 75 year old minds transferred into new bodies, the Ghost Brigades are born into adult bodies with brand spanking new minds and no previous experience.  Fortunately they have built in computers in their heads to provide them with needed knowledge until they gain their own experiences.

The story revolves around an impending war between humans and 3 alien races who suddenly and for no apparent reason stopped fighting each other and started conspiring against humanity.  A Special Forces mission to gain intelligence about this new situation reveals that a human has turned traitor and is working with the aliens.  And of course it’s not just any human, but a brilliant scientist who was working on military technology before he turned traitor.

Since I hate giving spoilers, I’ll stop there with the plot description.  The book is well written, clever, and uses some cool tech ideas.  I especially enjoyed the stuff about consciousness transfer.  There are a few info dumps early in the book that were a little irritating since I had previously read Old Man’s War and already knew the info.  Of course I might feel differently if the info had been new to me.  Like Old Man’s War, this book takes a fairly serious tone, but glimpses of Scalzi’s wicked sense of humor peak through.

Overall I highly recommend this book, as well as Old Man’s War, and pretty much anything else written by John Scalzi.