IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 593

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. Octavia Butler said, “SF doesn’t really mean anything at all, except that if you use science, you should use it correctly, and if you use your imagination to extend it beyond what we already know, you should do that intelligently.”

SF Trope: Interstellar Travel
Current Event: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20110015936.pdf

Giovanna Mukhomorov shook her head slowly as she stared through the meteoroid [meteor = “celestial (brighter among the stars) phenomenon”; oid = “still seen”; ite = “a piece of”]-scarred window of the International Space Station. “When the old NASA announced this in 2014, my mom said she cried.”

Artyom Pai-Teles snorted, staring out the same window. “My fathers both shook their heads and said, ‘American hubris’.”

Gio didn’t bother looking at him as she said, “Thirty years later, the same might be said of them when they first planned your genstruction.”

“Hey! I was a successful...”

“How many times did they have to try, AP?”

He could do nothing but grunt. They’d been best friends up here since the day they’d arrived in space. Two years ago. Sometimes he thought it was too bad she was straight gay.

He sighed and she added, “It’s never gonna happen, AP.”

He said, “A man can dream about stroking those massive engines, can’t he?”

She slugged him, forgetting to hold herself down and floated away and into the main stream of older men and women, prime-age men and women, young adult men and women, and a smattering of boys and girls. Most of them politely excused themselves, bouncing like oddly-shaped ping pong balls as they moved hurriedly around Gio.

One of them did not. A young adult grabbed a bar near her feet and said, “You need to stay out of my way, kid.”

Flicking her toes, she came within a millimeter of his rather big nose. He flinched but didn’t move. Impressed despite herself, she said, “Titus, you’re ninety-one days older than me. You were one grade behind me. Even if you do the simplest math you’re most capable of, you still come out behind and I still don’t like you.” She pulled herself up and shoved herself toward the assembly area. “Come on Artyom. We have a galaxy to explore.”

He followed her, taking her hand, but she didn’t see the look on Titus Polamalu’s face. He did.

He not only didn’t like the look, somewhere deep down inside of him, he found himself terrified of the mind of the man who watched his best friend.

Names: ♀ Brazil, Russia; ♂ Russia, Brazil, ♂ Hawaii, Hawaii
Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Falcon_9_Demo-2_Launching_6_%283%29.jpg/220px-Falcon_9_Demo-2_Launching_6_%283%29.jpg

MINING THE ASTEROIDS Part 14: Maybe THESE Are The REAL Space Pirates?

Initially, I started this series because of the 2021 World Science Fiction Convention, DisCON which I WOULD have been attending in person if I felt safe enough to do so in person AND it hadn’t been changed to the week before the Christmas Holidays…HOWEVER, as time passed, I knew that this was a subject I was going to explore because it interests me…

WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY defines is like this: “the status quo noun: the current situation : the way things are now [as in] ‘He's content with the status quo and isn't looking for change.’” Surprisingly, in a Physics.org article in the January 2023, by Juliana Segura-Salazar and Kathryn Moore, state in various parts of the article (with grave and great authority):“…mining in space won't save the Earth”

“Our research casts doubt on many of them…”

“Whether mineral deposits lying beyond Earth are commercially viable has not yet been proven.” [The remains of asteroid strikes apparently are NOT any kind of proof of not only present but viable: “The largest meteorite found on Earth is the Hoba meteorite discovered in Namibia in 1920. The Hoba meteorite weighs roughly 54,000 kilograms (119,000 pounds). The Hoba meteorite is so big, and so heavy, it has never been moved from where it was found! I’d emphasize “found” and “1920”; 15 seconds later, I found this: “Meteorites Were the Origin of All Things Iron Predating the Iron Age”…]

“…research suggests that, except for platinum group elements, the concentrations of most metals in space materials may be lower than on Earth.”

“To date, there are no regulations or adequate waste management plans for mining off-Earth. Space mining has a lot to learn from the best practices and missteps of mining on Earth.” [Did the authors read this statement out loud? Mining on Earth takes place in a living, breathing environment. In space there IS no environment; they also make the statement: “we know space debris already falls to Earth quite frequently.” [HOW frequently? Thirty seconds of research gave me this: “Although most debris burns up in the atmosphere, larger debris objects can reach the ground intact. According to NASA, an average of one cataloged piece of debris has fallen back to Earth each day for the past 50 years. Despite their size, there has been no significant property damage from the debris. Burning up in the atmosphere may also contribute to atmospheric pollution.”]

“But the technology for accessing these minerals is still a long way off (if it happens at all). But the renewable energy transition must happen urgently—and for now, the minerals will be extracted on Earth.” While the continued extraction of ores from this planet will absolutely continue, I am unsure how two highly intelligent physicists can write a sentence like this. In 1955, the technology to put anything into space was “a long way off”; in 1962, JFK’s challenge to land a Human being on the Moon was still “a long way off” – turned out “long way off” was seven years. What’s this supposed to mean, anyway?

Are these writers TRYING to use their intelligence and authority to derail a step off of Earth? Are they attempting to use the weight of their degrees as proof of authority that mining the asteroids is not only useless, economically non-viable, not even possible because the metal others say are there ISN’T, “it’s unregulated”, and guaranteed to be dangerous (with two examples of exactly HOW dangerous it will be!) to both to Humans on Earth AND the environment. [BTW – this is biology: my undergraduate field]

Are they intentionally trying to steal the future of Humanity – pirating the future of the our whole world with weakly supported claims of virtually certain failure. And worse, we should even bother trying…

If a social scientist made a definitive statement regarding physics, it seems likely that the two scientists would laugh at them – but they predict, without a shred of evidence or academic verity that “The current space race reflects a colonial mindset in which the powerful rush to stake a claim in new territories—and whoever gets there first gets the riches. This narrative is one of ‘techno-futurism’, where progress is measured by wealth generation, which in turn relies on technology development. Should this gold-rush style bonanza prove viable, only a small proportion of people would pocket the profits. The gap between the very rich and the rest of society would only widen.”

Finally, they write: “Look down, not up. Viable and responsible space mining is a very distant prospect. But climate change is an urgent problem that needs solutions right now. Despite the many downsides, mining on Earth remains essential to the transition to a low-carbon energy economy. Rather than space mining, positive environmental and social outcomes on Earth are better achieved by ensuring terrestrial mining is done in the most sustainable way possible.”

The fact is that after we deplete the mineral resources of Earth – or more likely make it nearly impossible to dig out what’s left…we will need to get those minerals from SOMEWHERE…even the lithium used in electric cars is extremely rare. Copper that (rarely mentioned and NEVER explicitly stated) winds the core of EVERY electrical generator on Earth, including the ones foisted on us to generate “green energy from the wind”…which, of course necessitates tearing the ground up to find more and more deposits of copper…

I don’t know, this just seems to be a (perhaps) unintentional attempt to pirate EVERYONE’S future – because it is undeniable (maybe they don’t see this???) that you need COPPER (and everything the mining of copper entails, they seem to be of the mindset that if we recycle it, it covers over the sins of the devastation the mining wrought in the FIRST place.

I’m still convinced that asteroid mining is BOTH needed and possible. I just hope these space pirates don’t take out too many of the messengers of hope…

New Sources: https://phys.org/news/2023-01-hype-world-space-wont-earth.html, https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/osiris_rex_factsheet5-9.pdf, https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpacePirates, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris, https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2017-12-05/ty-article/all-iron-artifacts-from-pre-iron-age-made-of-meteorite-metal/0000017f-f71f-d460-afff-ff7f1ae80000, https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/24d5dfbb-a77a-4647-abcc-667867207f74/TheRoleofCriticalMineralsinCleanEnergyTransitions.pdf, https://federalmetals.ca/how-does-copper-mining-affect-the-environment/#:~:text=Often%2C%20the%20water%20surrounding%20a,fish%2C%20wildlife%2C%20and%20farmland.
Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_asteroid_close_approaches_to_Earth, https://www.pharostribune.com/news/local_news/article_7fcd3ea5-3c14-533f-a8d5-9bf629922f34.html, https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/04/29/like-asteroid-mining-be-careful-what-you-wish-for/, https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/learn/historyculture/theroadtothefirstflight.htm, https://hackaday.com/2019/03/27/extraterrestrial-excavation-digging-holes-on-other-worlds/, https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/every-small-worlds-mission
Image: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/A2D5/production/_114558614_hls-eva-apr2020.jpg

IDEAS ON TUESDAY 592

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. Regarding horror, I found this insight in line with WIRED FOR STORY: “ We seek out…stories which give us a place to put our fears…Stories that frighten us or unsettle us - not just horror stories, but ones that make us uncomfortable or that strike a chord somewhere deep inside - give us the means to explore the things that scare us…” – Lou Morgan (The Guardian)

H Trope: auto-cannibalism
Current Event: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-cannibalism

Kari leaned from behind him while the movie in Forensics flickered on the screen in front of the class, whispering in his ear, “You know, if you bite your fingernails, the pieces will poke through your intestines and you’ll get a bleeding ulcer.”

“Shut up,” Mark hissed back at her.

Mr. Stanton looked up from the paper he was correcting and scowled at the two of them.

After class, Kari tapped Mark on the shoulder and said, “You’re the one who asked me to bug you about it.”

“Yeah, but…” he stopped talking as a pair of freshmen boys ran like elementary kids down the hall, cutting between him and Kari. It was a good thing, Mark decided. He’d almost told her the real reason he wanted to stop biting his nails. Or horking his snot or sucking the blood from a hangnail or any of the other instances of him eating his own flesh and blood. It started out as accidental. He’d been playing boot hockey over Christmas break and he’d been whanged in the nose and gotten a fierce nosebleed. Swallowing the blood to keep from grossing everyone out by spitting it on the ice had started something inside of him.

“‘Yeah, but’ what?” Kari asked when they pulled together again.

Mark shrugged and said, “I’ll tell you at lunch.”

Inside, he heard his Inner Voice say, “No you won’t. You won’t tell anyone about me. You just keep feeding me and when I’m big enough, I’ll come out and we’ll take over the world…”

Name Source: Local, Minnesota
Image: https://cdn.britannica.com/40/11740-004-50816EB1/Boris-Karloff-Frankenstein-monster.jpg

WRITING ADVICE: Creating Alien Aliens, Part 28 A: How Would Intelligent Reptiles Think and Behave?

Five decades ago, I started my college career with the intent of becoming a marine biologist. I found out I had to get a BS in biology before I could even begin work on MARINE biology; especially because there WEREN'T any marine biology programs in Minnesota.

Along the way, the science fiction stories I'd been writing since I was 13 began to grow more believable. With my BS in biology and a fascination with genetics, I started to use more science in my fiction.

After reading hard SF for the past 50 years, and writing hard SF successfully for the past 20, I've started to dig deeper into what it takes to create realistic alien life forms. In the following series, I'll be sharing some of what I've learned. I've had some of those stories published, some not...I teach a class to GT young people every summer called ALIEN WORLDS. I've learned a lot preparing for that class for the past 25 years...so...I have the opportunity to share with you what I've learned thus far. Take what you can use, leave the rest. Let me know what YOU'VE learned. Without further ado... If this were a sapient alien, how would it THINK? WHAT The Heck would it think??? 

Scientists have been tracking this turtle among several dozen others. What I want to think about is if these creatures grew to become sapient – or were a primitive form of a sapient alien we might one day meet – what would they be LIKE? How would they behave? How would we be able to communicate with them?

My depiction would hardly be the first time writers tried to figure out what a sapient turtle would be like – behavior, speech, thought, and scientific advancements. One is THE SINGERS OF TIME by Frederich Pohl and Jack Williamson; shell-less alien turtles from Laserblast!; snapper aliens from Stellaris’ Let’s Play Happy Turtles; Turgle from Star Wars Jedi; the Chelonians from several episodes of Doctor Who; Star Citizen’s Xian; the Clutch Turtles of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller; and lastly, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – though they can’t count as aliens because they are still from Earth, though mutants…

A serious study "Given the Cold Shoulder: A Review of the Scientific Literature for Evidence of Reptile Sentience"

(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6827095/), looks at the evidence of what they call reptile sentience. I'll draw more on that later, but for now, let's keep going.

Most of the examples above seem to create “aliens” who, while they look like turtles, behave like Humans in funny suits – which is what the “aliens” from Star Wars, Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy, and countless other movie depictions that are supposed to show us “alien life forms”. On Earth, turtles – which include Galapagos Tortoises, Painted Turtles, Alligator Snappers, and Sea Turtles and are wildly different animals that might spark wildly different sapient life forms.

So, what are the characteristics of the turtles and tortoises?

· Shell size can range from about 3 inches up to about 8 feet
5 ounces to 1,800 pounds
· They mature between 5 to 25 years
· lay anywhere from a few or over 100 eggs, hatchlings will be from 1 to 3 inches
aquatic species can live up to 70 years while some of the land tortoises can live 150 years or more.
· quiet, shy, and harmless yet display intelligence
· very sensitive to loud noises, vibrations, and sudden bright lights
· quick to frighten if they feel threatened; most will withdraw their head, legs, and tail into their shells; aquatic turtles will first try to swim quickly away.
· Those with less shell have developed other defense mechanisms; like the snappers who have an extremely strong mouth, the musk turtles which can emit a rather distasteful odor, and some that have strong claws or extreme agility. Once they have withdrawn, they are often very slow to re-emerge.
· content being single.
· Mostly fine with community, there can be territorial tension, especially when in breeding mode.
· Some tortoises have been known to ram and even kill other tortoise species.
· Water (mostly freshwater, some brackish water, only sea turtle are salt) species, usually have webbed feet for swimming. Basking Turtles: These climb onto a log or a rock to sun themselves; Non-basking Turtles: These bask at the surface of the water or on top of floating vegetation.
· Aquatic turtles notorious as carriers of the salmonella bacteria which can be transmitted to humans and a potential health hazard.
· Terrapene (4 species) the familiar box turtles, and Cuora, the Asian box turtles, 
Tortoises (tortoise): Tortoises are exclusively land bound. With only a couple exceptions they have highly domed shells. The burrowing species have spade-like flattened front feet; can get very big; very specific temperature and humidity requirements; subject to more serious health problems; very long lived
· turtle or tortoise has a specific type of environment that it needs: aquatic turtles, the semi-aquatic turtles, land turtles, box turtles, and tortoises
· All turtles and tortoises thermoregulate their body temperature by sunning themselves. A general rule of thumb is that Chelonians will be most content in daytime temperatures between 75 - 85° F plus a cool secluded area to sleep.
· aquatic turtles often sleep submerged, but near to the surface around twigs or vegetation. Semi-aquatic turtles will sleep burrowed into grassy areas or a sphagnum moss substrate. Land turtles and tortoises will do well with a small shed or bushy area.
· Aquatic turtles eat vegetable matter, but also insects and worms; adults becomes primarily a vegetarian, eating dark green leafy plants.
· Land turtles are omnivorous their whole life, eating many kinds of vegetables and fruits as well as earthworms and even occasional bits of dog food.
· Tortoises are primarily vegetarians, wide variety of vegetables and some fruits

OK – now to pick the aspects of turtles, land turtles, and tortoises that would make interesting characters…

I’m going to stay away from aquatic turtles for the time being as it doesn’t seem likely that they would develop a technology I would recognize, being a land animal myself. Tortoises are the larger of the two land Chelonians, so let me pull out the characteristics of wild Chelonians:

· Shell size can range from about 3 inches up to about 8 feet, 5 ounces to 1,800 pounds
· They mature between 5 to 25 years
· lay anywhere from a few or over 100 eggs, hatchlings will be from 1 to 3 inches; land tortoises can live 150 years or more.
· quiet, shy, and harmless yet display intelligence
· very sensitive to loud noises, vibrations, and sudden bright lights
· quick to frighten if they feel threatened; most will withdraw their head, legs, and tail into their shells.
· Those with less shell have developed other defense mechanisms; like the snappers who have an extremely strong mouth, the musk turtles which can emit a rather distasteful odor, and some that have strong claws or extreme agility. Once they have withdrawn, they are often very slow to re-emerge.
· content being single.
· Mostly fine with community, there can be territorial tension, especially when in breeding mode.
· Some tortoises have been known to ram and even kill other tortoise species.
· Tortoises are exclusively land bound. With only a couple exceptions they have highly domed shells. The burrowing species have spade-like flattened front feet; can get very big; very specific temperature and humidity requirements; subject to more serious health problems; very long lived
· tortoise has a specific type of environment that it needs.
· All turtles and tortoises thermoregulate their body temperature by sunning themselves. A general rule of thumb is that Chelonians will be most content in daytime temperatures between 75 - 85° F plus a cool secluded area to sleep.
· Land turtles and tortoises will do well with a small shed or bushy area.
· Tortoises are primarily vegetarians, wide variety of vegetables and some fruits

Narrowing further: huge shell, takes 25 years to mature, lay 5+ eggs, smart, but quiet/shy, sensitive to extreme light/sound, quick to frighten and withdraw to shell, strong mouth, emit strong musk, long claws, (shockingly) agile, OK with single life, can become territorial, especially during breeding time, will ram, kill other tortoises, specific natural environmental requirements, primarily vegetarians...

FINALLY: I’ll call them the Chelonians. These have become bipedal by necessity, but function just fine on four feet. Their forward feet have fingers that fold into a tough pad when on four feet; but the fingers are agile and they move quickly – despite how they look (slow-and-steady; these aliens embody the aphorism: “Slow and steady wins the race”), they CAN be startled fairly easily – hence they are extreme “planners” and orchestrate the direction they personally take as well as a civilization. They do everything to make CERTAIN there are no surprises. Their ships are uncomfortably warm to Humans, but within our tolerance – Humans from civilizations that grew in high temperature/humidity regions of Earth adapt most quickly to Chelonian ships and worlds; they have health problems (some are health COMPLAINERS, others talk about their health like “little old Earthmen”), long-lived and VERY particular about their environment and homes – they are fanatic art collectors, though no one has been able to figure out WHAT Chelonians view as art – or WHY, thermoregulated, almost exclusively vegetarian, though certain Chelonian cultures have peculiar NON-vegetarian delicacy choices, can and DO become territorial unexpectedly

That’s it for today. I need to get this posted. However, next time, I’m going to play with a Human-Chelonian interaction…and I’ll be thinking about it…and I'll be using the information in the article above as well.

Source: https://hasanjasim.online/how-butt-gas-drugs-and-incredible-memories-lead-to-this-odd-turtle-photo/?fbclid=IwAR0_G2K5R_mE5wbqD4QVl1MvIFFztYhdHSYWVa5b3h2ZTRHKb0oK4g15nb4
Image: https://image.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/alien-human-600w-136457129.jpg

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 591

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. Regarding Fantasy, this insight was startling: “I see the fantasy genre as an ever-shifting metaphor for life in this world, an innocuous medium that allows the author to examine difficult, even controversial, subjects with impunity. Honor, religion, politics, nobility, integrity, greed—we’ve an endless list of ideals to be dissected and explored. And maybe learned from.” – Melissa McPhail.

F Trope: transmutation (reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmutation)

“Transmutation circle, a circle used to perform alchemy” I think I’m going to mine THIS idea in various ways for a while.
Current Event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZjp32EiTzM

Achemy is thought to have been the deepest roots of the science we know as chemistry. As such, it had its origins in many, many cultures – from Pharaonic and Hellenic Egypt, Eighth Century Arabia (the name “chemistry” comes from an Arabic word, al-kimia), Medieval and Renaissance Europe, India, and China – then matured into the science.

Ishaq ibn Musa and Meitreyi Nur Jehan are friends at Obama Middle School. Ishaq – who tries really hard to go by the nickname, IM – was skimming TreeFlicks (3D online streaming videos) when he downloaded a flik of a person drawing a transmutation circle.

He got the measurements and veeked – visually communicated – with Meity J and told him to meet him at a nearby playground after school...

Meity waited for Immy with her arms folded over his chest. It was cold today, even though it was late August. “So much for Anthropogenic Global Cooling,” he muttered. He veeked him again, but he wasn’t answering.

Suddenly someone behind him shouted, “Boo!”

Meity J turned around and said, “It’s not even close to Halloween yet Immy.”

He grunted and said, “Who spat in your bean curd?”

“No one! It’s just that I have a hundred things to do before school starts next Tuesday!”

“Like what? We’re just starting a new school. Nothing’s going to be different...”

“Except in high school, we might actually get to see a physical teacher!”

He grunted and put down a small plastic bucket. His jacket bulged in odd directions, as if he were carrying packages underneath. “That has about as much of a chance happening as me turning you into an oriole.”

“Orioles are extinct,” he said, irritated that he chose NOW to pick on her favorite extinct animal. “That was really mean of you.”

“What,” he said, straightening up, “If I told you I could turn a pigeon into an oriole?”

“I’d say, ‘fat lot of good that will do the species!’ You can’t repopulate a species with one bird, stupid!”

With a flourish, he reached under his jacket and pulled out a plastic box. Inside, something brilliantly orange and black squirmed. He said, “What if you had one male and one female?” He popped the top off and an oriole – the first one Meity J had seen since he was a kindergartner and her director had used query markers on colorful birds to lead the class to a discussion about ‘extinction’ – flew out. He removed another box. This one had a pigeon in it.

“What are you going to do with that thing?”

He grinned, set the box down and started clearing a circle on the concrete game square. “We’re going to make a transmutation square and start making orioles out of pigeons!”

Meity J scowled for a bit, then said…

Names: ♂♂ -- Yemen, Pakistan
Image:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/98/71/e5/9871e52bbc09c525af21b8f6471eab15.jpg

POSSIBLY IRRITATING ESSAY: The Unspoken Messages of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 3…

This essay isn’t based on anything that happened at any WorldCon…it came from life events, something I read, or even just a thought I had. This time, it’s something that happened and that might be either irritating or relate to speculative fiction, writing, or Christianity…This explanation is reserved for when I dash “off topic”, sometimes reviewing movies, sometimes reviewing books, and other times taking up the spirit of a blog an old friend of mine used to keep, called THE RANTING ROOM… After reading a number of reviews about GotG3, I thought I’d toss my hat in the ring – but rather than 30-word rant, I’m going to do this on my own blog and work hard to keep my randomness under control.

So, the themes of GotG3 are fairly plain:

Obviously anti-animal-experimentation/abuse.

Clearly Rocket and the Sovereign and the Counter-Earth 1980s Humanoid Animals are all creations of the High Evolutionary – and thus equal pawns of a cruel and sadistic Human god.

I also think the story intends to show that Rocket and Adam are more similar than different, both suffering because they appear to have been a “mistake”…which High Evolutionary (the really, really bad guy played by black, Nigerian-British actor Chukwudi Iwuji. BTW, Nigeria was a British colony for 110 years) wanted to use for his own purposes. It turns out that Counter-Earth is also a mistake and the High Evolutionary blasts the entire world into oblivion…In fact, the High Evolutionary appears to have created nothing but mistakes…

The first thing that bothers me is that people appear to be COMPLETELY DISCOMBOBULATED about the “animal abuse” that takes place when the High Evolutionary and his minions remove parts and replace parts on the animals (who have been pre-selected for the MAXIMUM cuteness-effect and likely chosen strictly because the movie makers knew that people would be far more horrified when surgery was performed on an adorable otter – than they would have been if the exact same surgery had been performed on say, an alligator snapper or an anaconda or a Komodo dragon.

As mammals, are we are predisposed to feel warm and fuzzy thoughts (you knew what I meant there, didn’t you? What if I’d written “we a predisposed to feel cold and scaled thoughts? on an adorable…cockroach”) about other mammals? Or can we have broader sympathies?

Most people aren’t going to feel the same ways about the chickens that are slaughtered by equally heinous methods…so we can have our Chicken Nugget Meal™ at MacDonald’s.

The Marvel Universe producers and writers and directors made another clearly hyper-emotional choice. That they chose a hold full of adorable children to tug at our heartstrings instead of a hold full of surly, angsty adolescents is telling as well. How many people would have wept if the TEENS were to be victims of nefarious machinations (and you can, with me, imagine what kind of things enslaved teenagers might be “used” for…)

Marvel…ous Manipulations, eh?

Another thing that worries me, commenters who expressed horror and strong revulsion over the animal mutilations implied by the story line seemed to have no problem at all with the “animal-humanoids” whose entire WORLD was vaporized because some of them deal with drugs and were violent…

Not a single horrified voice about the “animal-humanoid” drug dealers or thugs. Not a peep about Marvel’s depiction of the monstrous High Evolutionary villain being a Black man…whose face was torn off at the end after he destroyed Counter Earth (which was ALSO oddly void of any dark-skinned/furred denizens…not a single objection that I could read.

A couple reviewers also pointed out that “The obvious thematic parallel between Rocket and Adam – that they are both creations of the High Evolutionary – isn’t even used in Adam’s redemption, since Groot is the one who offers him a second chance, not Rocket. All this adds up to make Adam feel like a tangent in a film that already had too much going on.”; “But turning Adam Warlock into just another generic doofus so he could fit in with the pre-established tone of the Guardians films feels like a missed opportunity to make him distinct from the rest of the cast.”

Couple of comments here: As I pointed out above, the people of Counter-Earth, the Sovereignty, and an implied a universe of other creatures made by High Evolutionary: “High Evolutionary presented himself…as a harbinger of the perfect society and species…[with] no compassion for the lifeforms he created and had no problem with killing them if they didn't meet up to his expectations. Killing Lylla and the inhabitants of Counter-Earth without a second thought and committing…genocide every time his ‘perfect’ society didn't meet his expectations.”

Most people thought that Adam Warlock was pretty much a toss-off character in the movie, yet I found him sadly sympathetic…almost a bridge linking the Guardians to the Sovereignty, Counter-Earth, and even Antman and some of the other genetically-manipulated Avengers (Spiderman; the Black Panthers (which are not only the result of genetic engineering, but have a spiritual aspect that hasn’t been explored most of the Marvel Universe); Captain Marvel; I would include Dr. Strange in there as well (though that’s more by implication rather than explicitly); Vision has an odd spirituality as well…who knows, maybe I could explore that, too…)

Even in GotG3, Adam Warlock, while his changes appear mostly off-stage, he goes from clumsy, unaware kid trying to please his “mom”, to making some difficult choices to stand against his entire civilization. Invisible, but imaginable, he’s clearly been indoctrinated against the Guardians and everything they stand for. I don’t think he’s aware until the very end, that he has more in common with Rocket – who, by the way has the spiritual avatar of Groot as a counterbalance to his rigid (justifiably so in his case) prejudice against the rest of the universe. I believe it’s not only why he keeps Groot close beside him, it’s why he literally trains Groot-Twig to be the same as their progenitor. He acts like the gruff “father” to Twig (not unlike my own dad.) Adam needs that same guidance; Groot-Twig sees that; and that’s why it’s HIM who saves Adam…Too bad we’ll never see a Adam Warlock movie. I rather like his vulnerable attempts at becoming Sovereign-Human…

References: https://www.ign.com/articles/why-is-adam-warlock-even-in-guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-3; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardians_of_the_Galaxy_Vol._3; https://marvelcinematicuniverse.fandom.com/wiki/Guardians_of_the_Galaxy;
Image: https://preview.redd.it/wbrrjk33sc081.jpg?auto=webp&s=4d49cab72129f75cbf68c8c5b66b9bb5605af203

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 590

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. Octavia Butler said, “SF doesn’t really mean anything at all, except that if you use science, you should use it correctly, and if you use your imagination to extend it beyond what we already know, you should do that intelligently.”

SF Trope: Aesoptinium ((http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Aesoptinum)
Current Event:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mindreading-rodents-scientists-show-telepathic-rats-can-communicate-using-braintobrain-8515259.html

Sophie Sperl stared at the researcher and pursed her lips. "How is this legal?"

The technician who was hooking up the wires that led into the helmet shrugged. "You're like fourteen?" Sophie nodded slowly. He continued, "And you're in a maximum security prison, so I figure you probably committed some really bad crime, so you have no, like, rights or anything." Sophie growled and squirmed. The tech looked at her and said, "I should let you know that the room is completely monitored and I'm armed with a taser, and whoever's watching can send sleep gas into here in a second." He worked for a while then said, "What'd you do?"

Sophie snorted. "I killed someone."

"Duh," said the tech.

Sophie looked at him and said, "What's your name, handsome?" She squirmed in the chair until the straps pressed up under her breasts.

"Arnava Boqpool, and I'm gay."

Sophie looked disappointed and squirmed until she was comfortable again.

"Sorry, kiddo."

"You're the same age as me! I'm as much of a kiddo as you are!"

He shrugged, finished the contacts in the helmet and said, "Yeah, but I'm a genius."

"I am, too."

"You're a genius at murder. I'm a genius at being a sponge."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He picked up the helmet and tried to place it on her head. She snapped her head back and forth until he stopped and said, "You can be conscious for this or I can tase you out cold." He shrugged. "Up to you."

She stopped struggling and let him put the helmet on her head. He snugged a strap under her chin and said, "There. This shouldn't take too long. They say your brain is no match for mine."

He sat down across from her and lifted an aluminum bad bristling with wires and spikes and placed it on his head.

"What, you're a refugee from GAME OF THRONES?"

"Nope." He leaned to one side and said, "When I turn on the interface, we'll meet mind to mind. You'll try and kill me. I'll absorb you like so much spilled Koolaid." He flashed a smile that had nothing to do with friendliness and everything to do with the predator-prey relationship...

He flipped the switch.

Names: ♀ India ; ♂, Germany
Resource: “Robert Sawyer…Neanderthal Parallax…plans sent by aliens…lets people read each other’s minds...strongly implied that this will lead to utopia.”
Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Falcon_9_Demo-2_Launching_6_%283%29.jpg/220px-Falcon_9_Demo-2_Launching_6_%283%29.jpg

MINING THE ASTEROIDS Part 13: New Kids On the Launchpad!

Initially, I started this series because of the 2021 World Science Fiction Convention, DisCON which I WOULD have been attending in person if I felt safe enough to do so in person AND it hadn’t been changed to the week before the Christmas Holidays…HOWEVER, as time passed, I knew that this was a subject I was going to explore because it interests me…

ASTROFORGE is the most recent company to (starting from scratch as several others have already attempted…and dropped to the wayside…) to make claims to bring down the riches of the asteroids.

You’ll find two links to their website below, but for now, emblazoned across their Homepage, you’ll see “At AstroForge, our mission is to make space resources accessible on Earth. We mine asteroids to extract valuable minerals in space at a lower cost and smaller carbon footprint than the current terrestrial mining methods.”

I absolutely respect optimism, and the magnitude of the attempt to reach space NOT for show or to “beat the…” isn't viable anymore. AstroForge's plan is practical and they have a business model.

If you think about it and are reading this in North America, it was the almighty peso/franc/escuedo/ringsdaler/lire/pound that drove the European invasion of this continent. (And lest everyone forget – as they apparently have – those first invaders weren’t AMERICANS. The Norse, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch (I’m sure no one has ever heard of the Dutch East India Company, eh?) Denmark-Norway, British, and Italian all landed original “exploratory sorties” here with exactly ONE intent: to make money. Why?

The Turkish Empire had blocked Europe from making money East of them, so they turned West.

As there are no more continents on Earth [and we’re mostly afraid of the water (which is, actually kinda weird as 76% of the planet is water…I actually had a few things to say about that subject, if you’re interested: https://faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com/2018/03/slice-of-pie-exploring-solar-system.html], we’re looking “up”.

The Moon seems sorta doable; certainly we have our sights on Mars, but I honestly can’t see how that one is going to work out in the long term unless we redesign Humanity (not such a big deal for the Moon as by the time we have real cities there, it’ll be like commuting to Seoul from Minneapolis (13 hours, 45 minutes in case you were wondering)), but long-term occupation of Mars means things will have to REALLY change for the Humanity who lives there.

The Moon and Mars seem to me to be pipe dreams – in particular, there’s no real economic driver for colonizing them.

The asteroids are QUITE different. Typically, proponents of asteroid mining bandy about numbers that would return MILLIONS on the dollar invested and the saleable minerals and metals on some asteroids are enthusiastically estimated at TRILLIONS of dollars. Conceivably, the return (they don’t care about “exploration” except when it has the word “metal” in front of it) would be enough to make truly powerful people out of a very few – in the process making Arnault, Musk, Bezos, Ellison, Buffet, Gates, et al look like paupers in comparison.

HOW can AstroForge do this when so many others before them dreamed and drowned? Their tagline certainly sounds impressive – until you realize that they’ve DONE NOTHING YET; they have no spacecraft, they’ve never landed on an asteroid, let alone drilled into the surface of one. Don’t even get me started on the fact that they’ve no returned a speck of asteroid dust to Earth. Yet, they claim “We mine asteroids to extract valuable minerals in space at a lower cost and smaller carbon footprint than the current terrestrial mining methods.” It makes it sound as if it’s a done deal…

I suppose you could say it’s bold; I’d venture a different word like, say, fatuous…(the mildest synonym I’d go along with is “wild-eyed optimism”). As evidence, I offer this quote from the most recent article on their website: “The first launch, scheduled for April 2023, will test AstroForge’s technique for refining platinum from a sample of asteroid-like material. The second, planned for October, will scout for an asteroid near Earth to mine."

“The missions are part of AstroForge’s goal of refining platinum-group metals from asteroids, with the aim of bringing down the cost of mining these metals. It also hopes to reduce the massive amount of carbon dioxide emissions that stem from mining rare Earth elements on our own planet, Chief Executive Officer Matthew Gialich said in an interview.”

An April 13, 2023 article on Mining.com states: “The first launch, scheduled for April 2023, will test AstroForge's technique for refining platinum from a sample of asteroid-like material. The second, planned for October, will scout for an asteroid near Earth to mine.

"The missions are part of AstroForge’s goal of refining platinum-group metals from asteroids, with the aim of bringing down the cost of mining these metals. It also hopes to reduce the massive amount of carbon dioxide emissions that stem from mining rare Earth elements on our own planet, Chief Executive Officer Matthew Gialich said in an interview.” (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-24/asteroid-mining-startup-astroforge-plans-first-platinum-refining-space-missions?leadSource=uverify%20wall)

That was Friday, April 14, 2023 (two and a half weeks ago as I write this…).

Did it happen? Hmmm?

IT DID!!! “The spacecraft will be operated by a variety of customers. The main payload, for example, is the Imece Earth-observation satellite, which was provided by the Turkish government. Another three belong to Canadian company GHGSat, which detects greenhouse gas emissions from space. And another satellite, called Brokkr-1, will be operated by AstroForge, a California-based startup that aims to mine asteroids. ‘During this mission, we will demonstrate our refinery capabilities with the goal of validating our technology and performing extractions in zero gravity,’ AstroForge wrote in a January blog post. ‘The spacecraft will launch pre-loaded with an asteroid-like material that the refinery payload will vaporize and sort into its elemental components.’”

The AstroForge website didn’t have an update, and while it seems to be the mission was small potatoes, these people GOT FARTHER THAN ANY OTHER ASTEROID MINING COMPANY THUS FAR!!!

Maybe, folks, this is IT. I can only HOPE from today onward!

New Sources: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/astroforge, https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/startups-are-still-keen-mine-space-rocks-rcna68256, https://www.astroforge.io/
Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_asteroid_close_approaches_to_Earth, https://www.pharostribune.com/news/local_news/article_7fcd3ea5-3c14-533f-a8d5-9bf629922f34.html, https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/04/29/like-asteroid-mining-be-careful-what-you-wish-for/, https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/learn/historyculture/theroadtothefirstflight.htm, https://hackaday.com/2019/03/27/extraterrestrial-excavation-digging-holes-on-other-worlds/, https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/every-small-worlds-mission
Image: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/A2D5/production/_114558614_hls-eva-apr2020.jpg

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 589

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. Regarding horror, I found this insight in line with WIRED FOR STORY: “ We seek out…stories which give us a place to put our fears…Stories that frighten us or unsettle us - not just horror stories, but ones that make us uncomfortable or that strike a chord somewhere deep inside - give us the means to explore the things that scare us…” – Lou Morgan (The Guardian)

H Trope: personally experiencing the death of a _____________
Current Event: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/popular-culture-meets-psychology/201209/near-death-experience

“How do you know how other people experience death?” asked Mr. Folgers, the senior psych teacher.

Carl Haven leaned over to his best friend, Clarke Halverson and whispered, “How do you know when a teacher has gone over the edge?”

“Mr. Haven? The Other Mr. Haven? If you have something to share, let the whole class experience your wisdom.” Mr. Folgers snarled, then spun away from the class back to his Powerpoint presentation.

Clarke glared at the teacher’s back then turned his glare on Carl. A moment later he curled over his notebook and started writing furiously.

Carl looked over his best friend at Se’Anna King whose seat was in the next row. Her eyes widened. He lifted an eyebrow and shrugged.

When the bell rang, Clarke was out of his seat like a shot and out of the room. Carl said to Se’Anna, “What’s wrong with...”

Mr. Folgers walked up to him and handed him a yellow slip of paper. Carl exclaimed, “What am I getting a detention for?”

“I believe we have some catching up to do, Mr. Haven Your current grade in the class stands at an NC.”

“What? How can that be? I had a C+ last week!”

“That was before the test you and the Other Mr. Haven cheated on together. You both failed. That and your clone’s repeated missing of due dates and generally sour behavior have placed his otherwise untarnished Grade Point Average in jeopardy.”

Carl snatched the detention slip and muttered darkly under his breath as Mr. Folgers said, “I’ll see you later this week, Mr. Haven. Oh, and send your recalcitrant friend my way as well. I have a slip for him. Right after I call his parents tonight.”

Carl froze, his anger draining away and turned around. “Don’t call his dad, Mr. Folgers! Please? It’ll just make matters worse!”

The psych teacher sniffed, “A phone call in the past has brought amazing results, Mr. Haven. Now hurry to lunch or you won’t be able to have your daily infusion of Mountain Dew to maintain your sunny disposition.”

Carl glared at the teacher’s back then stomped out of the room. The door had a spring-loaded closer, so it was impossible to slam. He stopped in the lav on his way to the foyer where he’d meet his girlfriend Nyota and her passel of gfs and they’d head out to lunch together. He was washing his hands when it felt like someone kicked him in the chest.

He staggered backwards, gasping, stumbled and fell to the floor between the pair of urinals he’d just turned from. From the open lav door, he heard a scream. Then a horrible burning lanced up his leg from his foot to his thigh. He couldn’t help but scream. It felt like someone had blown his leg off!

He looked down expecting to see blood, but there was nothing. Only dirty lavatory floor. An instant later, a younger kid – probably a freshman – ran into the lav, yanking the door closed behind him. Not looking at Carl on the floor, he staggered past and went to the handicapped stall and slammed the door.

On the floor was a red footprint. Carl was staring at it when another wave of searing pain shot up his arm from his hand…

Names: ♂ Sweden, England; ♂ Ireland, Scandinavia
Image: https://cdn.britannica.com/40/11740-004-50816EB1/Boris-Karloff-Frankenstein-monster.jpg