This is going to be a regular feature on POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAYS. Rather than irritating you though, I'd like to both challenge and lend a helping hand. I generate more speculative 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..." 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 -- and that you can post in the comment section.
My wife ran across this on msn.com:
The comment at the end p
araphrases Fermi's Paradox: "the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of evidence for, or contact with, such civilizations."
Idea: What if every world with a technological, pre-atomic civilization is provided with a gate linking them to other worlds with other intelligences -- but the instant an atomic explosion occurs, the gate closes forever?
3 comments:
Although your question requires some begging, I suppose that then we have a really cool lookin' hunk of ex-gate out there somewhere.
Here's the real question to me: What is this "5:00 AM" time you posted at? I can't even imagine such a thing!
...snicker, snicker, snicker...While I didn't post this at 5 am, I was in fact quite awake at that time. I usually get up about 4:30, though...
This sort of thing happens in Dan Simmons's Hyperion Cantos, although atomic explosions don't have anything to do with it. (I've got you wondering now, don't I? Maybe now you'll give that series another try.)
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