June 28, 2011

IDEAS ON TUESDAY 19: STAR TREK, Here We Come!

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: interstellar travel

Current Event: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/06/17/pentagon-dreams-star-trek-style-interstellar-travel/

While you probably didn’t expect to find something like this in the weekly paper, there is no doubt in my mind that people are thinking beyond “today”. Other people, like “Taxpayers for Common Sense” simply want cash for their own programs and are unwilling to make any kind of effort to fund their own work – Steve Ellis fails to point out that any organization like his spends a million dollars on “travel expenses” and “paper, printing and copying” instead of giving THAT money to the poor and homeless.

Be that as it may, let’s set up a situation where a young adult has applied for and been accepted on the first interstellar exploratory mission. His parents are card-carrying members of TFCS and violently object to his/her involvement. When the young adult discovers a text message that both implicates his parents and threatens to destroy the ground facility supporting the launch of Humanity’s first starship…what does the YA do. Especially when the action they are going to do is both illegal and will involve murder…

Image: http://a57.foxnews.com/static/managed/img/Scitech/396/223/hundoyear.JPG

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