Science Fiction
carlyo | April 25, 2014
Guest Blog By Stacy Jannis
Science Media Producer and the Manager of the USA Science & Engineering Festival’s Kavli science video contest
Can science fiction influence science? Many theoretical physicists and astronomers seem to think so, and quite a few scientists say they were inspired to go into science by reading Jules Verne, or watching TV episodes of Flash Gordon and Star Trek. Do you think it’s just a coincidence that NASA’s first space shuttle was christened the Enterprise? At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, a formal partnership with science fiction writers was announced…
illconsidered | April 24, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 88
Table of Contents
Chapter 90
Chapter 89
The Beating, June 24, 2060
I hadn't spoken to Jon for 7 weeks. Quite frankly, I wasn't looking forward to it. I didn't know what his long term reaction would be to my asking about Mai Ling, but I suspected it wouldn't be good.
I called Haverfield at the designated time and was informed that Jon was in hospital. They wouldn't say why.
I called Bergmann, but he wasn't in his office and I didn't have a personal number. I left a message and began to prepare for the last class of the day, an introduction…
illconsidered | April 18, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 87
Table of Contents
Chapter 89
Chapter 88
Going North, June 15, 2060
I was worried about going North and leaving Edie alone while she was pregnant.
She had another opinion. "Don't be silly. I'm a big girl, Luc." She took my hand and held it to her barely showing stomach. "I can take care of myself, besides I have Anna and my friends to protect me. You go and do what you have to do."
She had that look about her. I knew it would be no use arguing. We compromised by arranging for Mark, the share-crop gardener, to check in when he did the garden…
illconsidered | April 10, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 86
Table of Contents
Chapter 88
Chapter 87
The Chinese Girlfriend, April 15, 2060
At the end of an Ecology 110 lecture the other day, Carman unobtrusively entered the back of the room and sat down. I was going through the history of DNA reading devices from Sanger and the discovery of Polymerase Chain Reaction [PCR] through the first microarrays to the terahertz readers and cascades of today.
I finished up by mentioning I would be away for most of the summer trimester on my trip North to document EF1.
After the class, Carman walked up to me. "…
illconsidered | April 4, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 85
Table of Contents
Chapter 87
Chapter 86
And Baby Makes Four, March 18, 2060
At the next UNGETF meeting, Rhamaposa reported that Group 12 was sponsoring an Arctic sunbug project. He didn't have a lot of details, just that Group 12 had contracted with Graves and Lorenz LLC to do the work.
"What you will hear in the media is a dispute with local Inuit over the location of the ground receiving station. Like all colonized peoples, they have a long history of fighting the powers that be."
I had sent Peter a report on my investigation of the…
carlyo | March 28, 2014
In an eventful two-day affair hosted by Anderson's Bookshops, don't miss the opportunity to meet and hear some of the nation's most exciting and inspiring authors in STEM at the Festival Expo's Book Fair.
Hear these authors talk about their books and adventures, April 26-27, 2014, plus get your favorite must-have books autographed. The Book Fair will also feature STEM-related games toys and learning kits for kids of all ages, and those who are kids at heart!
Here are just some of the amazing authors you will experience:
Michio Kaku. What does the future hold for the human mind and…
illconsidered | March 26, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 84
Table of Contents
Chapter 86
Chapter 85
Tephra, February 3, 2060
I got a late night call from Rhamaposa that shocked me awake. "I just wanted to check how you were coming with that Cambridge Bay inquiry," he said.
With a sinking feeling, I realized that between my funk and the holidays, it had completely slipped my mind.
For a second, I considered a Matt-style gambit, but I opted to come clean. "I'm sorry, Peter. I have been a little overloaded and haven't got around to it yet."
He took this admission in stride and signed off saying, "Okay…
illconsidered | March 19, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 83
Table of Contents
Chapter 85
Chapter 84
The Sorceror's Apprentice, January 27, 2060
A couple of days after the December UNGETF meeting, I got a call from Drew Matheson in Yellowknife. He was a field worker slash forester reporting to Group10. Behind him as we talked I could see great swathes of lichen, covering a stand of pine trees. I assumed it was EF1 --- it was blue-grey.
He wanted to know if I had investigated the interactions of EF1 and northern pine before I released it.
When I admitted that I hadn't, he looked more annoyed than…
illconsidered | March 14, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 82
Table of Contents
Chapter 84
Chapter 83
The World Park, December 3, 2059
The next UNGETF meeting opened like an autopsy. Peter started with a catalogue of the destruction wrought at the L1 point. "The command centre has been destroyed, as have several dozen of the 1 km. sunshields. But there were more than 2,000 of them, so a sizeable number still exist. Some were damaged by flying debris; many were not."
"Some factions have expressed a desire to repair and rebuild the cluster; however, with the AU forbidding financial support, Group 5 has…
illconsidered | March 7, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 81
Table of Contents
Chapter 83
Chapter 82
Rescued, November 20, 2059
The next day, Jon was formally charged by the IEC. they called it ecological crimes against humanity. Suddenly everyone had something to say. The media showed up. There were vloggers and agency stringers waiting for me when I left the university.
I answered a bunch of questions, many of them repetitious and silly. I had just declared, "the next person who asks me how I feel and not what I think will end the scrum," when a new stringer rolled up with half a dozen newseyes…
illconsidered | February 28, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 80
Table of Contents
Chapter 82
Chapter 81
Visitation Rights, November 19, 2059
I watched the days tick by, waiting for Wednesday. How would Jon receive me? What would his state of mind be? I was on tenterhooks when I placed the call. I should have known better.
"The prisoner Jon Fontaine can only receive visitation between 1400 and 1500." I was informed by a bored looking official.
It was just after 8 in the morning, and there was a one hour time difference which meant I had another 5 hours to wait. Plus I had a lecture scheduled at 10:00.
I…
carlyo | February 21, 2014
By Stacy Jannis
The Kavli Science in Fiction Video Contest challenges Gr 6-12 students to examine the science in fiction, including science fiction movies, TV shows, and games. Our contest advisors include science educators , scientists, and Hollywood scifi visual effects experts. Follow #SciInSciFi on twitter for contest updates.
Jeff Kleiser is president and co-founder of the visual effects studio Synthespian Studios. His pioneering work in computer animation has spanned the history of the medium. He has contributed to films with groundbreaking visual effects including Tron, Stargate, …
illconsidered | February 20, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 79
Table of Contents
Chapter 81
Chapter 80
Makeba, November 14, 2055
Aretha,
I would like to call your attention to an SRM device of which I have recently been apprised.
The rough theory is in the UNGETF database, keyword Sunbugs. An implementation is to be found in the FabNet archives, same keyword. It requires a Fraunhoeffer chemical synthesizer to which I do not have access, but I believe you do.
It might be a viable replacement for the sunshield.
Trust you are well.
cordially,
Luc Fontaine
Excerpted from _The Bottleneck Years_ by H.E.…
illconsidered | February 13, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 78
Table of Contents
Chapter 80
Chapter 79
The Military Industrial Prison Complex, November 14, 2055
What do you do when your brother is locked up for an unconscionable crime and you have good reason to believe he is guilty? You see that he has a good lawyer. I spoke to a friend in the law faculty and got the number of a lawyer in Ottawa who came highly recommended.
Then I tried to contact Jon. The Ottawa police were unhelpful. They didn't have him, they didn't want him and they didn't know where he was. The ecocops, or more properly the…
illconsidered | February 1, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 76
Table of Contents
Chapter 78
Chapter 77
Unburdening, November 12, 2059
I was in a state by the time I arrived at Centre City. I half expected the eco-cops to tap me on the shoulder at any moment.
Edie met me at the door. "I didn't expect you until tomorrow," she said with a big smile. "I just happened to see you walk past the front window."
Then she caught my mood. "What's the matter?"
"Do you know how to upload to FabNet?"
"Yeah... I used to do that for Matt every once in a while."
"Good. I have something I want you to distribute." I…
illconsidered | January 22, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 74
Table of Contents
Chapter 76
Chapter 75
Ottawa, November 7, 2059
Over the next month I watched and waited from my vantage point in UNGETF for some Solar Radiation Management [SRM] scheme to take the place of the sunshield. None was forthcoming. There was talk about restarting the Japanese Group 2 effort, even funding Baumgarten, but there was also opposition. The long and short of it was... no other SRM technique was forthcoming.
Finally I felt compelled to act. I was still worried about the unknown actors involved in Matt's death, so I…
carlyo | January 17, 2014By Stacy Jannis
Kavli Science Video Contest Manager
The Kavli Science in Fiction Video Contest challenges Gr 6-12 students to examine the science in fiction, including science fiction movies, TV shows, and games. Our contest advisors include science educators , scientists, and Hollywood scifi visual effects experts. Follow #SciInSciFi on twitter for contest updates.
James Kakalios is a physic professor at the University of Minnesota, lecturer, and author of the books, The Physics of Superheroes, and the Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics, which use science fiction, or speculative science, as…
illconsidered | January 16, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 73
Table of Contents
Chapter 75
Chapter 74
Waiting, September 18, 2059
I went back to the university and sat in my office. Luckily I didn't have any more classes that day. I tried to work, but it was no use. I ended up scanning half a dozen news channels looking for information about the sunshield and the rockets.
Finally I felt so useless, I headed back home. That meant I was offline for 35 or 40 minutes while I walked. I could have monitored the net with my padd, but I have always tried to pay attention to the real world around me: Be here…
illconsidered | January 14, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 72
Table of Contents
Chapter 74
Chapter 73
Sabotage, September 15, 2059
Anna was coming up on her fourth birthday when the rumblings of discontent from the Asian Union began to get louder. A mid-August snow in Japan had laid waste much of their fall crop. China was complaining about a loss of solar photovoltaic power.
Shortly after the Japanese snowstorm, Carillon admitted that there were some kinks in the system that needed to be worked out. The idea had been to keep the sunshields shading the northern hemisphere and have them switch…
illconsidered | January 10, 2014The Bottleneck Years
by H.E. Taylor
Chapter 71
Table of Contents
Chapter 73
Chapter 72
No Miracles, April 30, 2059
All that winter and spring, the sunshield count slowly increased. We passed 3,000, but nothing changed on Earth. Methane levels were still rising. Drought, flood and fire were constant. Grain reserves were less than a week, and some challenged those statistics, claiming they were just to make us feel good.
The demand went out for more sunshields. Brahmaputra got more money. That meant more factories and railguns to be built on the moon. Some 150 people in Hipparcus were…