IDEA ON TUESDAY 659

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: immortality
Current Event: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal_DNA_strand_hypothesis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109559/

While the Wikipedia entry explaining the Immortal DNA strand isn’t exactly a current event, the second entry IS and though it is a medical paper and written in medical language, it happens to be significant to the life of our family.

To make this understandable to lay people, I’d like to use those worn-out tropes of horror: vampires.

Let’s just say that the vampire DNA strand is immortal, but because so many vampires were killed in the 19th and early 20th century by various vampire slayers such as Koshiko Kamiyama, John Averill, Twelve String Digby (http://www.fvza.org/tophunters.html), Van Helsing and Buffy, it has become widely spread and doesn’t produce vampires any more.

It’s legendarily reported that the vampire slayings were in response to an outbreak of vampires in the 17th and 18th Centuries (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-real-vampire-slayers-397874.html).

It is the 21st Century now and people travel everywhere all the time. A chance college meeting leads to romance for a couple with old, Eastern European roots – Curtis Allen is the result and he discovers his vampiric leanings not long after his mom is transferred to the 3M headquarters in Minneapolis. He attends a prestigious private high school…but the story begins when his dad has to tell him about the birds, the bees and the bloodlust…

“Listen, Vlad, you’re thirteen now, there are things you need to know about yourself…”

Vlad snorted, “Dad, I know all about sex, so you don’t…”

“I know you know all about sex! This has nothing to do with sex. It has to do with a family…problem.”

Vlad frowned and said, “What are you talking about?”

His dad cleared his throat. “Listen, son, this is hard for me to talk about, but it has to do with when you get passionate with a girl…”

Vlad laughed. “Dad, you know I’m gay, right?”

His dad sighed, “A father can hope, can’t he? It doesn’t matter the orientation. It’s just that when you get passionate, you can…nibble on people.”

Vlad had no idea why it happened, but he was abruptly so embarrassed, his pale skin flushed red. His throat got tight, and he suddenly found that his hands, sitting in his lap, were worthy of intense study. He managed to croak, “Dad…”

“Listen, son, I can’t sugar coat this, so I’m just gonna say it out loud…”

“Don’t, Dad!”

“You’re a vampire, son, and when you ‘nibble’ on people, you’re passing the virus to them.”

Of all the conversations he’d imagined having with Dad, this was one he’d never thought to rehearse. He opened his mouth then closed it. Finally he managed, “You mean anyone that…has ever had a bite…is gonna become a vampire?”

Names: ♂ Romania

Image: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51niGRrH6DL.jpg

MINING THE ASTEROIDS Part 27: The Future Marches ON!

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…

Today’s Source: https://www.astroforge.com/updates/firing-on-all-cylinders-announcing-40m-and-mission-3
Foundational Resource: (A general Wikipedia post detailing what the authors currently know about asteroid mining: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_mining)

From the AstroForge website noted above: “From the day we started AstroForge, our goal has been the same – to unlock a cost-effective and sustainable mining solution that replenishes resources and safeguards our planet's future.”

I confess that this sounds like a rosy picture and some drastically serious advances. But are there any NAYsayers? These were a few questions asked by a member of the famous Reddit website:

“Back; r/science fiction icon; Go to science fiction; r/science fiction; 1 yr. ago [deleted]
“How do you think asteroid mining would work?
“How would a mining company offset the price of fuel for operating the machinery and spacecraft necessary for transportation of materials from the asteroid belt to Earth? “How long would miners be away from home?
“Would they drink the water from asteroids?
How much would be done by robots?
“These are a few of the many questions I can think of, I’d love to hear your thoughts!”

Here’s a link to a whole BUNCH of people who think mining asteroids is ridiculous: https://www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/17zs0z3/experts_and_entrepreneurs_explain_why_mining/

Yet Humanity has been mining for the 43,000 years: “The oldest-known mine on archaeological record is the Ngwenya Mine in Eswatini (Swaziland), which radiocarbon dating shows to be about 43,000 years old. At this site Paleolithic humans mined hematite to make the red pigment ochre. Mines of a similar age in Hungary are believed to be sites where Neanderthals may have mined flint for weapons and tools.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining) That’s a few years. Granted, mining the ASTEROIDS is something we’ve never tried (though we have technically mined the Moon (small amounts, nevertheless, “bringing back Moon rocks” was technically the first space mining.) At the dawn of the mining age, MOVING rocks from one place to another was the initial first step of “mining” when “Paleolithic humans mined hematite to make…red pigment... Mines of a similar age in Hungary are believed to be sites where Neanderthals may have mined flint for weapons and tools.”

Perhaps the steps AstroForge and others are taking are those initial primitive first steps.

Had those Paleolithic humans attempted to mine iron ore on the level of the great Iron Range Mines of Vermillion, Mesabi, and Cuyuna, they would have failed. By World War Two however: “…Minnesota's rich iron deposits were a vital component of America's war effort. About 70% of the iron ore that America devoted to the war came from Minnesota, amounting to more than 333 million tons, according to Pam Brunfelt, a retired Vermilion Community College faculty member and historian. ‘Without the Iron Range, we would not have won the war,’ said the Britt, Minn., native, who is writing a book about the phenomenon. ‘It was just the most astonishing accomplishment.’”

We haven’t really started mining the asteroids yet. Likely, we’re far from it. HOWEVER, as we deplete the ores easily available on the surface of the Earth and the environmental destruction caused by Earth-mining steadily mounts and the ridiculousness of the “environmentalists” who demand that we stop “raping the Earth” or “polluting the air” or destroying our future with “too much” CO2…all while DEMANDING that they have their cell phones, lithium-battery-powered cars (made at horrible Human cost by a mining procedure SO toxic is makes iron mining look like children playing in a sandbox), the COST of asteroid mining will seem paltry – IF you still want all of your electronic toys…

The skills that we’ve gained from decades in space, planetary landings, transporting (admittedly small) payloads of metal ore BACK to Earth for analysis, 26 years of constant occupation on the ISS (which STILL remains, despite immense odds!) an INTERNATIONAL Space Station; we continue to move toward mining asteroids.

Easy? Nope.

People gonna die? Yep (Today: “A cradle-to-gate attributional life-cycle assessment study…of a “gigafactory” for which “cobalt sulfate [from which “lithium-ion batteries” are “ produced in China, and the cobalt raw material is sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Potential health impacts from both emissions and occupational accidents…lead to…fatality rates in the artisanal cobalt mining in the DRC are considered: a high scenario at 2000 fatalities/year and a low scenario at 65 fatalities/year. The current main use of cobalt is in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which have become the dominant technology for rechargeable energy storage (OECD 2019).”
(https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11367-022-02084-3)

But do we need to do it? Yep.
Will we gain skills important to move Earth’s manufacturing OFF THE SURFACE TO SAVE THE SEA OTTERS? Yep.
We NEED to do it, so we WILL do it.

Noted 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
And Now Some NEW NEWS: https://payloadspace.com/astroforge-picks-up-first-commercial-deep-space-license/
AstroForge YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXvm_l29o-Q

Image: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/A2D5/production/_114558614_hls-eva-apr2020.jpg
Interesting Stuff The Might Apply To Mining Asteroids: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgej7gzg8l0o

IDEAS ON TUESDAY 658

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.

Fantasy Trope: The Quest
Current Event: http://contemplativequest.com/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice's_Adventures_in_Wonderland

Světlana Angelika pursed her lips, looking out over the hectares of forest. In the MSP Vertical Village, it was mostly deciduous trees – oak, maple, patches of white-barked birch, poplar – with a sprinkling of pine trees. The concourse she and Uthman Aali were on was packed with people. Not a hundred thousand, for sure, but too many to think. “We need to go somewhere,” she said abruptly, speaking in the too loud manner of all the inhabitants of Vertical Villages everywhere.

Uthman gave her a look that said, “You’re crazy.”

She slugged him in the shoulder. It was a little kid move – but then, they’d been friends since they were three years old. “No, I’m serious. We need to go somewhere real.”

Without changing his stare, Uthman said, “We can go up to the six hundredth floor...”

“No! I don’t mean here. This is all so...boring. We need to go,” she pause, “through a looking glass.”

“A what?”

“A looking glass! Haven’t you ever read Alice in Wonderland?”

“I might have seen a threevee of it once. Wasn’t it a cartoon?”

“Yes – and no, you haven’t seen this. Lewis Carroll wrote a novel, it’s true. But he was a mathematician. His logic is all over the book. Math. Everything.”

Uthman snorted, “It sounds like science fiction.”

“It’s fantasy – she steps through a mirror.”

“If it’s math and logic, it’s science fiction.”

“There are talking rabbits,” said Světlana. “And a talking, disappearing cat. As well as a talking, smoking caterpillar, talking mice, and soldiers made of playing cards.”

“OK. You win. It’s a fantasy. But what does it have to do with us? What kind of mirror can we jump through? I’m sure there are some here – but...”

“The windows. We can jump through one of those.”

“A window?”

“Come on, let’s go to the outer walls. We’ll leap through one of those!” She turned and ran, Uthman running after her.

Names: ♀ Czech, Roman; ♂ Arabic, Hindu 

Image: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/98/71/e5/9871e52bbc09c525af21b8f6471eab15.jpg

CREATING ALIEN ALIENS Part 39: The Exploration of Radiation-Proof Intelligences

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...

So, let’s stipulate that aliens who are sapient intelligences invade our Solar System and out of desperation, we use the most powerful of the vast store of Human weapons from around the world to attempt to halt their implacable invasion of Human space…

A barrage of nuclear weapons explode, including antimatter weapons Humanity has cobbled together solely in an attempt to save themselves.. The aliens keep on coming. Their ships are disintegrated as are some of the aliens, but a number of the bodies of the aliens themselves head for Earth, stopping to take out the Martian and Lunar colonies, and then swing around the Sun and take out the Venusian colonies.

Why didn’t our nukes stop them???

Using Earth’s elite space forces, we manage to capture several of the Invaders. Using physical impacts, we knock two dozen out and rush them to a Lunar research station.

Under an atmosphere collected from an Invader ship, we recreate their air and begin an extensive and detailed bioassay.

We also discover that no matter how much we try and sterilize the samples of Invader tissue to prevent the contamination of Earthly biological forms with the alien ones, they are impervious to RADIATION…in fact, once we get more samples, we discover that the Invaders have nothing even remotely resembling CANCERS or MUTUATIONS. Among FURTHER facts, the Invaders (and a few other non-sapient lifeforms we got while capturing the intelligences, appear to be virtually identical within a species…) Specifically, their “rat-equivalents” and “sparrow-equivalents” appear to be singular species. Their paramecia seem to all be one species. Even a sort of furry green ball with multiple eyes and several manipulation limbs are all identical – no variation. ALL OF THE “GREEN POOFBALLS” are the same. They are genetically identical.

ALL of the sapient, intelligent aliens are exactly the same as well…if you examine ONE alien from its external anatomy to its DNA, you find that each and every one is EXACTLY THE SAME… Baffled, an elderly physician sends a memo for a presentation that they think will explain what Humanity has just discovered. They have a theory based on the discovery of a bacterium during the first quarter of the 21st Century.

They have cells and DNA that are immune to mutation because RADIATION HAS NO EFFECT ON THE CELLS…

“In fact, it appears that every single intelligence we’re captured is essentially a clone of every other intelligence.”

The conference erupts into chaos…

The horror never abates. Fear grips the entire Solar System and there are plans to destroy the Moon along with all lifeforms on it. The plans proceed swiftly until someone realizes that heat, laser, and energy weapons are all radiation-based.

They have no effect on the Invaders. Almost immediately, the politicians and ambassadors assemble and a conference proposed to the Invaders through a modified form of Morse Code. They accept.

From then on, communication is perfect, but the psychology of Humanity and Invaderity appear to be mutually incomprehensible…even though they have created an artificial language both seem to be able to use to communicate mathematical concepts.

The rest of the Human and Invader experiences are mutually incomprehensible… Neither side appears to ONLY understand destruction of the other. They appear to comprehend one word: war.

Abstract
“This report presents the recommendations of an international group of experts convened by the World Health Organization, in association with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency to consider the implications of food irradiated to doses higher than those recommended in 1980 by the Joint Expert Committee on the Wholesomeness of Irradiated Food. Irradiation ensures the hygienic quality of food and extends shelf-life. The public perception of the safety of food irradiation has generally precluded its widespread use. However, current applications of food irradiation to doses over 10 kGy have been in the development of high-quality shelf-stable convenience foods for specific target groups such as immunosuppressed individuals and those under medical care, astronauts and outdoor enthusiasts. The Study Group reviewed data relating to the toxicological, nutritional, radiation chemical and physical aspects of food irradiated to doses above 10 kGy from a wide range and number of studies carried out over the last forty years. This report presents a comprehensive summary, along with references, of the effectiveness and safety of the irradiation process. It concludes that foods treated with doses greater than 10 kGy can be considered safe and nutritionally adequate when produced under established Good Manufacturing Practice.” (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10524010/)

Sources: Human-Induced Radioresistance as a Possible Mechanism for Producing Biological Weapons: A Feasible Bridge between Radioresistance and Resistance to Antibiotics and Genotoxic Agents - PMC ; https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4450694/ 

Image: https://image.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/alien-human-600w-136457129.jpg

What I've LEARNED WRITING, My PUBLISHED Stories, and LINKS To Online FICTION

PUBLISHED STORIES

• EMERALD OF EARTH March 2024
• STUPEFYING STORIES: March 24, 2024 "Feedback"
• Stupefying Stories: September 19, 2023 "Worlds At War"
• ANALOG SF Nov/Dec 2022 "Dinosaur Veterinarian"
• STUPEFYING STORIES, August 2021 "Doctor to the Undead"
• STUPEFYING STORIES Various Blog entries 2020-2024
• ANALOG SF Nov/Dec 2019 "Kamsahamnida, America"
• ANALOG SF Sept/Oct 2019 "Road Veterinarian"
• Nebula Tales Magazine -- Sept 2019 "Cockroach, Gecko..."
• ANALOG SF May/June 2019 "Robotic Space Killer..."
• Reprint of "Pigeon", SHORELINE OF INFINITY story April 2018
• STUPEFYING STORIES December "Bogfather"2017
• NANOISM February 2017
• ANALOG SF January/February 2017 "The Last Mayan Aristocrat"
• AURORA WOLF October 2016 "Carpe Hnub"
• DEVOLUTION Z January 2017 "Rolling Zombie Bones"
• THE MARTIAN WAVE September 2016 "Biking Mars"
• SciFutures Treatment March 2016
• CAST OF WONDERS November 2015 "Fairy Bones"
• SHORELINE OF INFINITY March 2016 "Pigeon"
• PERIHELION SF September 2015 "Prince of Blood and Spit"
• WORKING WRITER NEWSLETTER May/June 2015 "Learning Through Slushing"
• ANALOG SF, April 2015 "Whey Station"
• FIVE STARS -- Stupefying Stories "Best" of the Early Years August 2014
• SPACEPORTS AND SPIDERSILK January 2015 "I Need More Space!"
• PERIHELION SF July 2014 "612 See, 612 Do"
• PERIHELION SF November 2013 "A Woman's Place"
• STUPEFYING STORIES August 2013 "Oath"
• PERIHELION Science Fiction June 2013 "Invoking Fire"
• AURORA WOLF May 2013 "TechnoPred"
• CRICKET MAGAZINE FOR CHILDREN January 2013 "The Penguin Whisperer"
• SFWA Blog July 2012 "The Futures of YA SF"
• CAST OF WONDERS December 2011 "Peanutbutter & Jellyfish"
• HOPSCOTCH FOR GIRLS Aug/Sept 2011 "UBA Scientist!"
• TURTLE MAGAZINE Jan/Feb 2011 "Simple Science"
• AETHER AGE ANTHOLOGY November 2010 "Looking Down on Athena"
• STUPEFYING STORIES ANTHOLOGY September 2010 "Oath"
• STUPEFYING STORIES "Teaching Women To Fly" January 2010
• STORIES FOR CHILDREN (paper anthology), February 2009 Marcus and Eggplant Save Patokay""
• DRAGONS, KNIGHTS, AND ANGELS "The Baptism of Johnny Ferocious" April 2006
• THE WRITER (yeah, that one), March 2006 "A Matter of Time"
• ANALOG SF, October 2004 "Warning! Warning!"
• CICADA, January/February 2000, "Dear Hunter"
• CRICKET MAGAZINE FOR CHILDREN, July 2001 "Firestorm!"
• ANALOG SF, June 2000, "A Pig Tale"
• SIMPLE SCIENCE SERMONS FOR BIG AND LITTLE KIDS, CSS Publishing 1998
• CRICKET MAGAZINE November 1997 "Mystery on Space Station Courage" -- Nominated for Paul A Witty SS Award
• ANALOG SF, August 1996 "Absolute Limits"

LINKS TO ONLINE STORIES

• STUPEFYING STORIES "Feedback" March 30, 2024
• STUPEFYING STORIES "Worlds At War"
• "Doctor to the Undead" STUPEFYING STORIES, August 2021
• "Writing As a 9th Gendered Polyoriented Alien Wizard"
• "Prince of Blood and Spit" PEREHELION 2015
• "To Boldly Go..."
• "Oath" (reprise)
• "Writer's Constipation..."
• "The Penguin Whisperer" (page 7!)
• "Bogfather"
• "Nanoism" February 2017
• "Carpe Hnub", October 2016
• A REVIEW of "Fairy Bones" December 2015
• Technopred, May 2013
• Cast of Wonders -- Best of 2015
• "Fairy Bones" Nov 2015 CAST OF WONDERS
• AURORA WOLF May 2013 "TechnoPred"
• "Peanut Butter and Jellyfish" pt 1 at CAST OF WONDERS
• "Peanut Butter and Jellyfish" pt2 at CAST OF WONDERS
• My Rant Against YA Dystopian "Literature"
• "Oath" STUPEFYING STORIES
• "A Pig Tale" ANALOG, June 2000

WRITING ADVICE: Can I Use “Old” Ideas To Create New Stories? Aladdin, From A THOUSAND AND ONE ARABIAN NIGHTS (sort of...)

In September of 2007, I started this blog with a bit of writing advice. A little over a year after THAT, I discovered how little I knew about writing after hearing children’s writer, Lin Oliver speak at a convention hosted by the Minnesota Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Since then, I have shared (with their permission) and applied the writing wisdom of Lin Oliver, Jack McDevitt, Nathan Bransford, Mike Duran, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, SL Veihl, Bruce Bethke, and Julie Czerneda. Together they write in genres broad and deep, and have acted as agents, editors, publishers, columnists, and teachers. Since then, I figured I’ve got enough publications now that I can share some of the things I did “right”.

While I don’t write full-time, nor do I make enough money with my writing to live off of it...neither do all of the professional writers above...someone pays for and publishes ten percent of what I write. When I started this blog, that was NOT true, so I may have reached a point where my own advice is reasonably good. We shall see! Hemingway’s quote above will now remain unchanged as I work to increase my writing output and sales! As always, your comments are welcome!

Today, I thought I’d say something all on my own, unsupported by my published or unpublishable works

My wife and I watched the live-action version of Disney’s “Aladdin”. The tale itself is old, NOT part of the original Arabic “One Thousand and One Nights” which was recorded in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age, and NOT “not being part of the original Arabic text. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by the Frenchman Antoine Galland, who acquired the tale from storyteller Hanna Diyab. Historians consider Diyab the original author of ‘Aladdin’, with the tale partly having been inspired by Diyab's own life.” The story has been done dozens of times in venues ranging from the original story written some time before 1688 and told by its author, Syrian Diyab; to a British pantomime in 1788; to a Canadian video game in 2016.

Aside from the fact that Will Smith is a hero of mine – for all his body of work, not just his speculative fiction parts (“Independence Day”, “Men In Black”, “Hancock”, “I Am Legend”, the pre-production “Gemini Man”, and “I, Robot”, even “The Legend of Bagger Vance” – “Ali” was great and I love “In Pursuit of Happyness”. At any rate, I remember hearing speculation about whether or not he could pull off a part automatically associated with the late Robin Williams – Genie.

I think he did, but that’s not where I’m really headed today.

After watching the movie, I commented to my wife that while Disney had managed to retain the magic of the cartoon version, they’d made a subtle change that I applauded even more: Jasmine went from a strong-will Daughter Of The Sultan to a savvy – even brilliant – politician who had her eye on the throne of the mythical Arabian Sultanate (as opposed to a caliphate and an emirate (as in United Arab Emirates) because she both loved the land and people – in fact, she meets Aladdin because she’s going about among them in disguise. The story, which I’m sure originated as one of the :

“A caliphate is an Islamic state under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph, a person considered a political-religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of the entire ummah (Muslim community).”

“An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Arabic or Islamic monarch-styled emir. The term may also refer to a kingdom…Etymologically emirate is the quality, dignity, office, or territorial competence of any emir (prince, commander, governor, etc.)…The United Arab Emirates is a federal state that comprises seven federal emirates, each administered by a hereditary emir, these seven forming the electoral college for the federation's President and Prime Minister…Furthermore, in Arabic the term can be generalized to mean any province of a country that is administered by a member of the ruling class, especially of a member (usually styled emir) of the royal family, as in Saudi Arabian governorates.”

“Sultan is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning ‘strength’, ‘authority’, ‘rulership’…it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who claimed almost full sovereignty in practical terms (i.e., the lack of dependence on any higher ruler), albeit without claiming the overall caliphate, or to refer to a powerful governor of a province within the caliphate. The adjective form of the word…[is] the dynasty and lands ruled by a sultan are referred to as a sultanate…The term is distinct from king, despite both referring to a sovereign ruler. The use of ‘sultan’ is restricted to Muslim countries, where the title carries religious significance…”

(all above are taken from the entry in Wikipedia)

At any rate, the idea of a prince, princess, king, queen, etc. going out to hobnob with commoners isn’t new or singular to any culture (https://www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/87ve5x/did_kingsqueens_ever_dress_up_as_commoners_and/) and has become a trope (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething) actually it’s a SUB-trope of this one: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KingIncognito), though apparently now the live-action Jasmine has her own category (along with Princess Leia Organa): https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PoliticallyActivePrincess. (Which actually doesn’t surprise me at all as Disney owns both of them.

The fact that Jasmine changed from a passive character (while falling in love with Aladdin, of course) to a politically active one is a definite improvement to the cartoon version. I enjoyed the secondary love interest between genie and Jasmine’s maid servant as well, mostly because I like that “old romantic” aspect of him (he’s over a thousand years old!!!!!)

I have no doubt that while the heart of the story has remained the same for over three centuries and survived the telling through countless translations – minimally from Arabic to French to English – it has also changed through the telling. I found a hint that someone, somewhere is going to take Aladdin, Jasmine, and the genie to the 35th Century in “Aladdin 3477 – 1: The Jinn of Wisdom”. Could be interesting, certainly…

But what if I used the HEART of the story to write a completely different story. The 1995 movie “Clueless” was loosely based on Jane Austen’s masterpiece, EMMA though the resemblance is only noticeable to people who have read Jane Austen. Even though it was barely recognizable, it made bank. I think I could use “Aladdin” to write a science fiction story that might not be recognizable, either, yet owe its life to the tale.

I’ll need to alter quite a few aspects and I'm hip-deep into writing a SCIENCE FICTION PARABLE...so I'll keep you posted.

Image: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9f/22/3b/9f223b1e57a36e14db3eb13715fbe3f9.jpg

IDEAS ON TUESDAYS 657

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: "It occurs to me that robot stories about naturally-occurring robots present an untapped sci-fi resource in terms of commenting on what constitutes life, or a meditation on the machine like nature of biological man, etc."

Current Event: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/scientists-create-life-like-cells-out-of-metal/

Ebony Jones pursed her lips, tweaking the landing jets of the surface ship. “I don’t like how it looks down there.”

Marquis Deonte ran another scan, tapping one of the readouts as he said, “It’s mechanical life, sure. Maybe the first time we’ve ever run across it naturally...”

“There’s nothing ‘natural’ about ‘mechanical life’. It’s an oxymoron,” she almost added “Like you...”, but decided against it. They’d butted heads enough times on the trip out from Earth – mostly because you could only live out virtual adventures so many times before you got bored. You could also only prep for landing on an alien world so many times before you were twitching in your sleep with the movements you’d repeated a million times.

You could only tell someone you just wanted to be friends so many times before you both started to... Marquis cut into her litany, saying, “Didn’t you come out here to find life as we DON’T know it?"

“Of course it’s what I want! Just because I question the possibility of some sort of metallic, mechanical...”

“Look! Down there!” he said, aiming the external sensors at the roiling surface.

Ebony said, “Besides, water mixed with just about any kind of salt would be corrosive to metal...”

“Our bones are metallic,” he said, his voice taking on the deadpan, lecture mode they’d fallen into after they’d first become fast friends. Since about ten months into the flight to HD 196944, a star rich in heavy metals when they’d stopped being best friends and become the banes of their separate existences.

“True, that. But...”

“There’s something moving under the surface,” said Marquis.

“I don’t see anything...”

“It’s not visible in our part of the spectrum. Change the frequency reception of your scanner. I’m getting lots of movement in the UV band. Also IR.”

She tapped the screen, slid a spectrum bar and watched as the imaged jumped into view. There were larger shapes deeper down. Smaller ones close to the surface. They were angular rather than rounded; mechanical rather than biological. “What kind of ecology would they have?” she muttered. After a moment, she said more loudly, “There’s something – cloudy – under the surface. Seems to be...” she paused, defaulted to a space-view of the lander, zoomed in then added, “The cloud is matching the shape of our shadow.”

“Huh?” Marquis said.

“Our shadow! A cloud is forming underneath us in the water.” Below them, something burbled, as if the water were boiling. A larger bubble burst beneath the surface, splashing the lander. Ebony swung the imager to the belly of the lander and cried, “The ship’s skin is boiling! I’m taking us up!” Without waiting for his confirmation, Ebony pushed the throttle to full...

Names: ♀, ♂ Top 20 Whitest and Blackest Names (http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2470131) Resource: http://io9.com/5628989/ten-tropes-youll-find-in-science-fiction---over-and-over-
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Comments on OTHER Stuff: My “Evolution By Star Trek” (Sort of Like Trial By Fire…)

I was only 9 years old when STAR TREK premiered. But my Dad watched it and being a fan of THE SPACESHIP UNDER THE APPLE TREE and WONDERRFUL FLIGHT TO THE MUSHROOM PLANET...I was allowed to stay up the fall of Season 3. I turned 12 in the spring of 1969 and watched the third season of STAR TREK (at that time, there was no coda: THE NEXT GENERATION or THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY...it was, like it's later cousin, just plain old STAR TREK...)

From the moment I first watched it, I fell in love with Star Trek and it's been over half a CENTURY since then. I became a SCIENCE TEACHER because of Star Trek...and just retired after 40 years in the classroom. This (at the time) single show shaped my life.

How? I played Star Trek and Aliens instead of “Cowboys and Indians”…of course, I didn’t have the special effects crew to create beams of lambent light or make totally cool sound effects. (Wanna hear one? Click on this, but keep your volume low! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMFeEcSuX5Y (OOPS! Sorry…*wink*) actually THIS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbFmzZPyKlk) So I ran around shooting aliens with a hand-carved phaser painted green with a yellow stripe down the side. I’d cut a bit of wood at an angle in order to make a handle, then nailed five finishing nails into the “barrel”. To simulate the phaser sound effect, I let forth with a squeal while vibrating my lips like a trumpet player.

Star Trek ignited in me a deep desire to leave Earth and go to the stars. In those days, you had to be an astronaut and take your life into your own hands every day. Apparently you also had to be an elite soldier in the military. I couldn’t even do a PULL UP to pass the Presidential Physical Fitness Test…how would I possibly pull myself up by my bootstraps when I couldn’t even pull my pudgy body up high enough for my chin to reach the bar. And in the midst of the Vietnam War, I wasn’t real keen on enlisting before I got drafted, so that route was closed by a decision on my part. Star Trek came along just as I was finishing up THE WONDERFUL FLIGHT TO THE MUSHROOM PLANET and SPACESHIP UNDER THE APPLE TREE, and so I never completed the two series. But it was Star Trek (and growing up!) that launched me into the junior high library.

I started reading more science fiction. I blew through the juvenile works of Robert A Heinlein, Donald A Wollheim (who founded DAW Books), Andre Norton, A.M. Lightner (who I just now discovered was a woman!!!), Alan E. Nourse, and (of course), Madeleine L’Engle.

But, I’ll never forget perhaps the most influential of the YA science fiction novels I ever read: British author, John Christopher’s WHITE MOUTAINS Trilogy (eventually a quartet). I was in 7th grade when I first checked out the first book, THE WHITE MOUNTAINS – I give all kinds of details in SIX essays I wrote on my blog over the past nine years about the books. Needless to say, those books compelled me to keep the story going. They lit a deep desire in me to create my OWN worlds…( https://faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com/2013/05/slice-of-pie-no-new-writing.html, https://faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com/2021/06/slice-of-pie-in-terms-of-my-writing.html, https://faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com/2015/09/slice-of-pie-who-are-we-imitating-these.html; https://faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com/2019/11/slice-of-pie-teen-humor-combatting-grim.html; https://faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com/2012/09/possibly-irritating-essays-how-teenya.html, https://faithandsciencefiction.blogspot.com/2012/07/possibly-irritating-essay-on-this-tour.html)

Reading THOSE books compelled me to pick up my pencil and write a truly horrible piece called “The White Vines” it was also written in painstakingly neat cursive. I’m sure I reread the WHITE MOUNTAIN books several times (I have two sets in my own library today!), until I finally moved on when I discovered the adult SF section of the Public Library and a magazine that took my fledgling writing and set a fire under me to one day get a story published in a floppy, pulp magazine called ANALOG Science Fiction & Fact.

But when push comes to shove, it really comes down to the single most influential television show I was ever (allowed by my dad!) to watch. It introduced me to strange, new worlds that even the stories I was reading couldn’t quite match. I started writing science fiction because of ST. I teach a class called ALIEN WORLDS to gifted and talented kids during the summer and at other conferences and venues because of Star Trek. I teach a different summer school class called WRITING TO GET PUBLISHED…because of Star Trek, and it’s wonderful!

Admittedly, it's also sort of creepy – but in a cool way.

Program Guide: https://guide.chicon.org/; https://locusmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/chicon-8-twitter.png
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IDEA ON TUESDAY 656

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: the attack of the killer ALGAE

Current Event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT4LY2KcOrs

Jefferson Benson looked up from the microscope and said, “What do you mean, ‘it looks like it’s spreading’?”

Terace Miller shook her head, “I didn’t say that. It IS spreading.” She held out her hand. A thin patina of greenish-brown made the skin on her forearm look wet.

Jefferson leaned back. “What happened?”

“I was working late – I’ve got to have the slides examined and summary prepped for Dr. Hester by tomorrow at the latest. She said she wanted it today.”

“So?”

“So, I worked until about four this morning then fell asleep at the computer.”

“How’d you get algae skin from that?”

She slugged him in the shoulder with her uninfected arm. “I dozed off – slept sideways. My back was to the microscope and my arm was against a dish with a sample of the algae in it.”

“It crawled out of the dish?” he looked at her, scowling.

“Algae can’t crawl, idiot!”

“Hey! Just because my master’s thesis is in the histology tapeworms doesn’t mean I’m ignorant about plants!”

“It just means you’re plain ignorant,” Terace said. “Listen, for whatever reason, the algae got on my arm. I washed it off, but it grew back.”

“What?”

“It grew back in about an hour. Even after I swabbed it with alcohol and betadine.”

“You try salt water?”

“What?”

“Isn’t your algae a freshwater variety?” She blinked at him in surprise.

 “Hey!” he exclaimed. “I listen to what you talk about!”

“You just never…” she looked down at her arm, brushing over the slick spot. “I don’t know. I used the other things so I’m sort of afraid of trying saltwater. Besides, the same species has been found in freshwater aquariums and off the coast of California.”

“Really?”

She nodded slowly, stared at the slimy patch for a moment, then said, “What if the algae has taken up a commensal relationship with epithelial cells?”

“You mean like lichen?”

She pursed her lips, looked him in the eye and nodded slowly.

Names: ♀ French, Anglo-Scottish; ♂ Old German, Anglo-Saxon
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