#Interstellar Colonization

[ericartem]

Embracing Progress: A Vision for Humanity's Future

Content 14+ As a fervent advocate for progress and a firm believer in the potential of science and technology to propel humanity forward, I find myself compelled to offer my point of view of the sentiments expressed in “A World Where No Introductions Are Needed.” While the author eloquently raises concerns about the impact of technology on human identity and societal evolution, I must…

[runekept]

I've been having the most insanely vivid dreams for a couple weeks and the storyline is so bafflingly consistent between them that a more superstitious me would think they were visions

[quitepossiblyknot]

"quantum leap exchanged for a decent heading" - by Ekow Arthur $prismelanin *

Singularity, in carrying a single image, distal, gripping

Finger dithers, it soon is vestige, fits to what's augmented

An authentic position in getting the picture, switch first

Reaching the village, lungs filling, swelling of this worth

Sovereign, no longer impoverished, the coverage of what governs mental isn't obscured, what knowledge is stronger, pouring into her fixed cure

Ensure the lineage, to see a future with ya girl, leverage, which swirls a galaxy

Beginning of friends naturally, connection is a tapestry

Fist twirls to remove monitoring spirits, clearing the air, the feeling is weird of conquering appearances

Mask off, facing demons, slaying even ghosts, the impossible was finished

Shifting paradigm, pair of eyes remote view, paraphrase, phase loop, to go through a portal sorta scared

Time dilated, immortal here, all praise to free quince

Distorted lair, transported pair to a marble square where every fractal is a warp to stare in hyperspace

Hyper plane, parallel, imposition for the Cartesian points, important shares, no one cares about Elysian voiced, for the field is solely ours

So we scour to know da hours are nanoseconds, canon to apprehension, can't go to where average tech is

Fixture to flesh is atoms, Madame, over here we electron scattering, select how matter is, weapons shattered beyond fragmented, incandescent to select now

Gathering, reported fear so I recorded chairs in vestigial, preliminary, interosseous ligament to visual, isn't scary anymore

Marbling for every floor, figured out what you took my hand for, as tours of the universe in hyperdimension extended to this moment

Had to extrapolate at rates to gather the components

High off ya love, this is what a dose is

Every extract of channeling is a dosage

Deep conversations was the doses

Most is asleep to frequencies, however we entered where the frequenting of these speeds quantify as decent leaps

Quanta in the fourth

Marbles for a knob, remember all the keys I gave you, now we're at the door

Don't marvel at the stars, our ancestors stuck together for this momentous occasion, we made it here after all

Didn't make sense how you mentioned friends, it didn't connect then, koan to Zen when presented a message in text, lexicon of a kiss

Baby, you upper echelon with a twist

How do explain a rabbit hole and a trip?

The signet ring with its symbol evolved our subconscious to dissolve and what appeared before us was Cygnus Wall

Akashic records whispers tall, wherewithal of a knuckle to get this far

How'd we get here? At the knick of time when we hit 8 ball, enriched which corridor, to sink, installed, what you're afraid of is bliss with pause

It hits different when it's within walls, Richter, scale

If you cared as much as I do, next flight moves, dare light groove faster than our frequency

Frequenting your virgin Mary, symbolism of 8,000 nerves, masonry isn't scary in instances as profound as her depths, bending space to curve what's left of gravity

We slowed it down enough to access what would rapidly get us right, universe to verses, candidly in sight a momentum to where the hand is south of horizon like

Pisces on the cusp of Aries, prime meridian of eye, sine to tangent, wavicle for quantum slide, time of my life

Counted each variant to account for a tear in the sky, maybe anti-vertex was an exaggeration of why the two of us are inseparable to a vibe

Twin flames at the decan of Aquarius, the carriers of dragonflies to compare the signs is ecliptic to this disc inside what's squared to this square of mine

Circling four corners, boundaries made for borders, incantations as brick & mortar, stabilizing finally from dilation that distorted

Transposition of Rick & Morty, rook is little miss bun cake and Capricorn is king, my 10th house at the brink, vertex to the west for sagittal in plane, clear ya sinus just to think, Sagittarius in stellium, tropical to blink

Alchemizing helium, neon in the pink

Castor oil topical, told you to make room for the illogical

Eons in the brink, heaven too shall pass so I had gamma rays to waves, distinct to a particle

Magic in a computation, forwarded an article

Arxvis

Jargon might not be completely understood, knock on wood

Phase lock to the west, what's next to Scorpio is mood to the oud, so what's good?

Bear with me while Virgo is sigmoid to the hood, colon, ratio of unit for a move, we're growing in guiding

Souls realizing they're healthy for each other is a helping of another in the other world

Otherworldly motherboard, matrices to cover pearls

Never cast to swine

Axis vertebra, reverse the weight, reverberates to match divine

At the center of a nebula, don't you dare ask me the time

Unexpected brat fell in my lap, so now I share the shine, justified emanation, explanation for the beacon, steradian was seeking me in a sequence of preparing this to prime vertical, working both Leo and Cancer

Neo in answer, timeless is where passion and joy find themselves carried away

Yod of orb, five on the face of die, northeast to a trace of nigh

Gemini, my dear

Nadir

I fear we got too close

Closing this portal for the portico, the sorta soul to program hematite

Even I make mistakes, seems polite to forewarn

Energetic signature to your warm is more for what's universal

Taurus at the midheaven, northeast to our core

Hopefully you've caught on... How many months til u get it? Need four more? 👀

Toroid in her for sure

Two things for certain, working to unite entails that inner workings serve a purpose and the circling of purple is what works in stating service

Coloring uncovering auric field to serving what's magnetic in electric flux, who knew prime meridian was circuits to computation of selected touch to let in lovingly what a seed speaks to breed kinks

Ovulation

Contemplating higher realms, she's drawn to how I'm constellation, now we delve to discovering what it takes

Angstrom to oersted, undulate

Interatomic distances, forehead kisses, misses is instinctive with conscious decisions, skipping stones to asteroid belts, extract voids well enough to living poem, neutrino entelechy, spreading both her cheeks between a smile and the webbing

Sticky situation thinking of a title for the heading

Blogging something nuanced to seeing where she is headed

Felatio is head if sentence is in an ending, period near Sirius is Ceres at the wedding

Intentions as pure is this is seeing where I'm heading

Feeding curiosity to recently a sending of right ascension while ascending

I don't know how to express a micro-dose, my ascendent sign is your rise, what arises in a quest is how the best is face-to-face and why I'm tending to a poetic styling, the emphasis is finding out directly

Even if I'm teacher it doesn't mean I don't stand correcting, to plans erecting

Planets projecting what a section of an upgrade is, what phase is lunar to the sooner that we get it

** her favorite underdog

* for now, I only have love to give...

Quitepossiblyknot ©

The Cygnus Wall

[screamingeyepress]

🚀 New planet. New life. New problems. 👽 In The Conquistadors Come, Mary Elizabeth Counselman shows us what happens when humans try to “save” an alien race—with disastrous consequences. Are we helping, or are we only making things worse? 🤔 This sci-fi story had me hooked from start to finish.

[hillbowman]

..........

.......The Necessities of Survival

Premonition:

By

…

Hill Bowman

December 1st 2018 ©

…

Dedicated to

Hilda Sue Bowman

my mother

…

Above photographs compliments Google News September 13th 2023

…

…

Chapter 1.

The Bigger Picture

or

Need To Migrate

…

Chapter 2.

Earth Is A Closed Ecosystem

…

Chapter 3.

Resources Are Limited But

B.S. Is Perpetual

…

Chapter 4.

A Battle Against Principalities

…

Chapter 5.

Crowdfunding

Open Research

…

Chapter 6.

Tomorrow Starts Today

…

Chapter 7.

Extrapolation On Moore’s Law

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Chapter 8.

You Are Here

…

Chapter 9.

The Necessity of Cross Referencing

…

Chapter 10.

Road Map To Survival

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Chapter 11.

Integrated Parts

…

Chapter 12.

Unified Survival Theory

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Chapter 13.

Requirement Of Migration

…

Chapter 14.

…

Chapter 3.

Resources Are Limited But B.S. is Perpetual

…

It is worthless to argue over a moot point such as Environmental Conservation.

The reason Environmental Conservation is a moot point is because individual, immediate, Self Indulgence will outweigh long-term catastrophic possibilities. Until imminent catastrophic possibilities become an imminent mutually assured destruction .

And of course by then it is too late... and perhaps that is the focal point of what this book is about.

I would like to suggest that we get the move on today while the sun is shining instead of waiting for it to be hailing sleet, snow, thunder and lightning before we get on to doing some things that we really need to address…

…

One thing I would like to suggest that has been on the drawing board for a very long time now nearly 50 yrs…

Is a gravity ring

It kind of looks like a bicycle wheel, but 10,000 times larger.

The center hub would contain rocket and electric thrust

Solar sail would be streched from the outer rim to the hub. Solar Thinfilm (flexible solar panels) should be stretched on the opposite side of the rim.

Off the shelf compressed gas or electric thrust can be used for rotation and stability control and for artificial gravitational effect around the rim.

Continuing with the bicycle wheel analogy…

What we have discussed so far is the frame and propulsion systems. Attached to the rim of the gravity ring (Where a bicycle tire would be on a bicycle rim) would be modular habitat’s.

These modular habitat’s would be interconnected with air locks. And sheathed with 2mm steal plates. Each habitat would be 50 meters long by 30 meters diameter. Each habitat divided down the length into four compartments…

Lower most compartment:

for infrastructure:

( 5 meter ceiling )

plumbing, electrical, heating , equipment storage.

.

Bottom -center compartment:

(10 meter ceiling )

for agriculture.

5 meters of high grade top soil Actively growing…

grains. Fruits, vegetables, and live stock (chickens sheep, possibly fish

.

Top-center compartment:

(10 meter ceiling )

Living habitat for crew

Research labs, food storage & cafeteria, ship command (navigation, propulsion, critical resource management ect)

.

Top – most compartment:

( 5 meter ceiling )

is for systems infrastructure,

resource harvesting conduits for critical industrial systems (raw resource harvesting smelting, materials fabrication, particle accelerator configuration intake / exhaust harvest, Bot deployment bay, heavy equipment storage…etc.).

…

Keep in mind that size in space is relative to ambition, cash flow and supply line.

If the frame work of the gravity rim is 500 meters radius (1killometer diameter) and circumference of 3,140 meters divided by 50 meters/habit would allow room for 62.8 habitat modules

If the gravity ring only has 1level of habitation module’s there would be enough room on the rim to secure approximately 60 habitat modules. That’s sounds like a lot of space but this vessel can permanently house a crew of 2,500 with room to accommodate 2,500 transient passengers.

Since the habit’s are modular you can stack them like building a modern hi-rise four or five high with only marginal difference in the perception of gravitational pull.

Crew can accesses any part of the vessel by use of air tight elevator/stairwell shafts built into the frame work of the gravity Rim .

And use of public / agricultural division of the habitat modules to traverse the circumference of the habitat Ring.

…

This vessel would be capable of sustaining populations for very long journeys or function as a geosynchronous ship yard or as an orbital scientific colony or as a roving harvester

However the primary purpose for the “Stepping Stone” vessel is as ~

automatic raw resource harvester, self replicating ( macro bot ), interplanetary transport vessel.

~

The self replication of the “Stepping Stone” is accomplished through swarm technology.

There are three main components to the “stepping Stone” vessel

The brain ~ (CAMF AI)

The body ~ “Stepping Stone” electromechanical vessel and appendages.

MOM “Mission Objectives Mech”

NOTE: A lot of people fail to grasp what MOM really is, but fear not. Well talk in more detail about MOM a little later on.

In short…

MOM is the collective sum of (CAMF AI) and the “Stepping Stone” vessel exercising autonomous situational comprehension, comparative tactic analysis, harvesting resources, material retrieval, manufacturing, navigation, self repair/replication and much more…

How MOM Works…

Harvesting targets and directives are issued by Central Assessments Main Frame narrow AI (CAMF AI) and confirmed with human oversight (or with complete autonomy like unmanned vessel )

Once targets / objectives are established the electromechanical components of the “Stepping Stone” under direction of CAMF AI issues objective/directives, target coordinates to required harvester bot's.

Bay doors are opened, harvester bot’s are deployed, supervised, retrieved, raw ore, gas, ice, ect. are unloaded and funneled to proper smelter or storage containment. All under direction of (MOM).

. Further you could carry a genetic library and of course seed bank and pollination bank(insect specific) along. In doing so you can grow what you need invetro fertilization… so that after crusing through the Milky Way Galaxy for 7 generations your great, great, great, grand children will still know what chicken taste like and look like because you could grow them as you need them. Chicken’s, cows, pigs, sheep, whatever floats your boat.

Actually come to think of it you could do invetro fertilization for people too but there’s a lot of argument among many groups in the human species as to the morality and ethic’s as far as invetro harvesting people. Crewing an interplanetary vessel with ’Test-tube people' or whatever like that, I’m sure, would get the hairs on the back of a Nay Sayer’s neck standing straight up.

I don’t think an Invetro crew is anything to worry about until the prospects of immediate intergalactic travel is upon us.

.

But we do have the technology to do it.

.

Further, the scientific research for advancement into the stars, feasible energy/propulsion systems and sustainability of biological systems to colonization of other planets will inevitably and inextricably lead toward advancements in every aspect of human understanding. From geosynchronous or roving interplanetary library’s (appended with research) to interstellar propulsion systems to exoagricilture to main stream galactic navigation (passenger space liner for everyday earn a buck two-leggers like me and you) …and so much more.

If you enjoy doing mazes when you were in school then you probably know that it is easier to solve the puzzle of a maze by going from the back to the front. From end to beginning almost always yield’s the path of least resistance in solving the maze.

This approach encapsulates one of the ‘principles’ in ”7 habits of highly effective people “

‘~Begin with the end in mind~’

And so, this book is written by Design from the back to the front starting with the big picture: The End Objective.

.

Therefore

Establish a specific objective:

1. Finance and build the “Stepping Stone” vessel.

.

2. Establish earth to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Supply Line.

Reusable rockets, Space X

.

3. Establish research, engineering and construction provider’s

~“Orbital Platforms “~

low earth orbit ‘extrusion of space station frame work’.

.

4. Establish construction methodology

~ Reusable rockets~ deliver modular components to build location.

First pay load is a single modular habitat that shipyard crew can live in during construction of first “Stepping Stone “vessel

.

5. Coordinate R&D, fabrication and construction provider’s

.

6. Establish financial base

Crowd funding

~One billion people *$10 each~

.

The research needs to be across the board with specific goals that can be Unified into a spear head toward a specific objective.

…

Short term benefits:

1. Build first “Stepping Stone” self replicating vessel .

2. Construct reusable geosynchronous ship yard .

3. Establish financial base.

4. Crowd funding ~.

One billion people * $10 each

5. Construct Earth knowledge bank… (geosynchronous library)

6. Guarantee survival of humanity and accumulated knowledge of humanity by expanding out in to the solar system and later the Milky Way Galaxy at large.

7. Harvesting raw resources exploration & cataloging.

8. Colonizing planets that can be terraformed or directly inhabited.

9. The Preservation of our biosphere Earth.

10. The Preservation of the other organisms and resources within this biosphere that depend on it.

.

The Catalyst that can accomplish this daunting task is the innate need for…

11. Survival As A Species.

With our collective knowledge, technology, science, and culture as a species intact

…

Most important of all and most fundamental to our primitive and instinctive nature is that We (Human beings) are apex predators, like lions. Also, we (Human beings) are pack animals in the same sense that lions are pack animals.

lions do have their pride (pack) and there are rules too being in the pride.

When a young lion has grown past adolescence they get kicked out of the pride if that lion has Not found a mate and Started his own pride.

The lion pride is structured in this way by instinct

First because the young lion will eventually clash with the pride Alpha male. This usually ends with injury to the Alpha as well as death for the challenger

Lions seem too also realize instinctively that the challenger will be a drain on resources until he learns to successfully hunt, mate, and establish his Own pride.

The social structure of people is not all that different.

Due to this fundamental of our nature as predators in the animal kingdom We are nervous when we are around other human beings that we do not personally know. Therefore it is to the benefit of our survival as a species to expand off of this planet so we do not gnaw at each other.

No, I’m not talking about a nuclear war. Or a collision with the asteroid Apophis ( both of which Are possible), I’m just saying in general; from drug sponsored street violence, police brutality, ethnic, religious racial tyranny all the way up the line to conflicts of state and terrorism we’re just good at killing each other. We are in our own documents in history prove to be the apex predator on this planet and a blood thirsty near genocidal species. So let’s just admit that truth and move forward with that because it’s a fact. And of course there is the ever present military ambition to control the high ground which in space means the outer perimeter sphere of human colonization and population and economic activity’s)

also the fundamental greed of Industry by the mining of resources in the process of seeking out habitable planets as well as the inevitable revenues generated buy rare goods as well as food supplies generated by the established colonies through enter planetary trade and tourism. And on top of all that add the individual human drive to acquire

…

On a brighter note this of course is not the only reason that human beings occupied territories in the age of exploration (colonial expansion, 1500-1800) people came west to grow farms, to raise cattle, to prospect gold, for game, to live quietly in the mountains, to be peaceful and go out fishing every Sunday because that’s what they love to do. People will travel out into space for many of the same reasons first as tourists to the moon just for the experience, to tell their neighbors. Later on for more serious endeavors because industry will be paving away

…

Please know Elon musk says he's going to be having relay ships running between Mars and Earth on a 1 year or a 6 months schedule some time in the next 10 years

Note this is not exactly accurate text because I'm out of date on this specific topic but something like that was considered…So all I can say to that is,

Right On… That’s what’s up ,😀!!!

…

But getting back too the “Stepping Stone” project

.

I think that such an artificial gravitation habitat such as described above; as I call the “Stepping Stone” would be the most fruitful first step towards the human species seriously moving out into the solar system and populating beyond the planet Earth.

For example, we could definitely build two of these platforms under 10 years. Design research development and implementation on the first stepping stone would take approximately 7 years start to finish.

The second one will simply be franchised as they say in the business community or replication as they would say in the technology community.

But yeah, basic replication of the technology developed in the first stepping stone... Especially the technology of self-replication so that the first “Stepping Stone” vessel actually constructs the second “Stepping Stone “vessel.

Once this is accomplished we could establish orbit for “Stepping Stone1” around the earth and the moon, simultaneously establishing orbit for “Stepping Stone 2” around Mars and the. moon Like an interplanetary bus rout. The “Stepping stones” will be a self contained colony even before you touch down on a planet. The “Stepping Stone” vessel will provide everything the colony would need indefinitely to sustain itself.

Or The “Stepping Stone” can just roll about space on controlled power, solar sails, rocket thrust( H-H-O) or particle accelerator ejection (exhaust). Harvesting and mining resources and raw materials for self replication, for purposes of extending out farther into the planets, the keiper belt and Milky Way at large..

But wait!!

In 5 years (with abundant harvesting resources) The first two stepping stones will self replicate two more stepping stones making a total of four which can easily put us on the route to an interplanetary bus route, so to speak, that reaches out to Jupiter possibly and beyond... All in 15 years or less.

The self replication of the “Stepping Stone” is exponential

Max speed to self replicate is 5 years so consider 7 years the average replication time

The first two “Stepping Stones” will replicate two more “Stepping Stones” in 7 years

All 4 “Stepping Stones” will self replicate In another seven years totaling 8 vessels. All eight vessels will self replicate in seven more years totaling 16 “Stepping Stone “vessels. And on and on…32…64..

In seven revolution of self replication you will have 128 vessel…

Eight self-replication revolutions

Yealds256 vessel…

Nine revolutions yield’s 512vessels and so on…

Quick math:

512 “Stepping Stones”= 9 revolutions of 7 years each

So

Revolutions 9

x Years 7

= 512ships = 63 years

This proses continues indefinitely

And Now you might grasp how the “Stepping Stone” project can and will build a network spanning the solar system in 50 years or less; and extend a network across the milky way galaxy in short order (perhaps 500 years or less).

In about 60 or 70 years (2099 – 2110) We have a whole fleet of “Stepping Stone “vessels. We’d be harvesting raw minerals, discover new methods of transportation, existence, survival and commerce…

THROUGH INTERPLANETARY COLONISATION AND INTERPLANETARY MARKET’S…

and all kinds of really cool stuff …

….

But let me digress a little bit It's fun…

We have talked a lot about science and technology but now lets consider people for a bit…

…

the fundamental nature of human curiosity to explore and discover for the sake of exploration and discovery.

.

The silk road, the imperial Battle for the American colonies, the reach for the moon and beyond. All are driven by the same motivation within the human spirit both as the individual biological animal that we are and as we compile ourselves into the social entity of nations that we are also.

Insatiably self destructively curious.

…

Book Recommendations:

Note: Google search

‘Pdf’+’7 habits of highly effective people’

…

Google search

‘pdf '+’update’+’colinization of mars’+’elon musk’+’space x'

“ “ “

Document title…

The details of Elon Musk and SpaceX plans to establish a

permanent settlement on Mars

“ “ “ Google search parameters for next chapter 4.

.

‘Forbes, 128 companies that own everything

[techtoio]

Breakthroughs in Space Technology: What’s on the Horizon?

Introduction

Space technology has always captured our imagination, pushing the boundaries of what is possible. As we venture further into the cosmos, remarkable breakthroughs are paving the way for new discoveries and advancements. In this article, TechtoIO delves into the exciting world of space technology, highlighting the latest innovations and what’s on the horizon for space exploration. Read to continue link

[pinejay]

my mind is breaking thinking abt how all the ender's game books (that aren't garbage and matter to me) are in the category of "a stranger comes to town" bc that's like, the essence of first contact

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: black science fiction

As february and black history month nears its end, if you're a reader let's not forget to read and appreciate books by black authors the rest of the year as well! If you're a sci-fi fan like me, perhaps this list can help find some good books to sink your teeth into.

Bleak dystopias, high tech space adventures, alien monsters, alternate dimensions, mash-ups of sci-fi and fantasy - this list features a little bit of everything for genre fiction fans!

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

If you want more book recs, check out my masterpost of rec lists!

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor

Something massive and alien crashes into the ocean off the coast of Nigeria. Three people, a marine biologist, a rapper, and a soldier, find themselves at the center of this presence, attempting to shepherd an alien ambassador as chaos spreads in the city. A strange novel that mixes the supernatural with the alien, shifts between many different POVs, and gives a one of a kind look at a possible first contact.

Nubia: The Awakening (Nubia series) by Omar Epps & Clarence A. Hayes

Young adult. Three teens living in the slums of an enviromentally ravaged New York find that something powerful is awakening within them. They’re all children of refugees of Nubia, a utopian African island nation that sank as the climate worsened, and realize now that their parents have been hiding aspects of their heritage from them. But as they come into their own, someone seeks to use their abilities to his own ends, against their own people.

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown

Novella. After having failed at establishing a new colony, starship Calypso fights to make it back to Earth. Acting captain Jacklyn Albright is already struggling against the threats of interstellar space and impending starvation when the ship throws her a new danger: something is hiding on the ship, picking off her crew one by one in bloody, gruesome ways. A quick, excellent read if you want some good Alien vibes.

Dawn (Xenogenesis trilogy) by Octavia E. Butler*

After a devestating war leaves humanity on the brink of extinction, survivor Lilith finds herself waking up naked and alone in a strange room. She’s been rescued by the Oankali, who have arrived just in time to save the human race. But there’s a price to survival, and it might be humanity itself. Absolutely fucked up I love it I once had to drop the book mid read to stare at the ceiling and exclaim in horror at what was going on. Includes darker examinations of agency and consent, so enter with caution.

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson*

Utterly unique in world-building, story, and prose, Midnight Robber follows young Tan-Tan and her father, inhabitants of the Carribean-colonized planet of Toussaint. When her father commits a terrible crime, he’s exiled to a parallel version of the same planet, home to strange aliens and other human exiles. Tan-Tan, not wanting to lose her father, follows with him. Trapped on this new planet, he becomes her worst nightmare. Enter this book with caution, as it contains graphic child sexual abuse.

Rosewater (The Wormwood trilogy) by Tade Thompson

In Nigeria lies Rosewater, a city bordering on a strange, alien biodome. Its motives are unknown, but it’s having an undeniable effect on the surrounding life. Kaaro, former criminal and current psychic agent for the government, is one of the people changed by it. When other psychics like him begin getting killed, Kaaro must take it upon himself to find out the truth about the biodome and its intentions.

Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh

Young adult. A century ago, an astronomer discovered a possibly Earth-like planet. Now, a team of veteran astronauts and carefully chosen teenagers are preparing to embark on a twenty-three year trip to get there. But space is dangerous, and the team has no one to rely on but each other if - or when - something goes wrong. An introspective slowburn of a story, this focuses more on character work than action.

The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

After the planet Sadira is left uninhabitable, its few survivors are forced to move to a new world. On Cygnus Beta, they work to rebuild their society alongside their distant relatives of the planet, while trying to preserve what remains of their culture. Focused less on hard science or action, The Best of All Possible Worlds is more about culture, romance and the ethics and practicalities of telepathy.

Mirage (Mirage duology) by Somaiya Daud

Young adult. Eighteen-year-old Amani lives on an isolated moon under the oppressive occupation of the Valthek empire. When Amani is abducted, she finds herself someplace wholly unexpected: the royal palace. As it turns out, she's nearly identical to the half-Valthek, and widely hated, princess Maram, who is in need of a body double. If Amani ever wants to make it back home or see her people freed from oppression, she will have to play her role as princess perfectly. While sci-fi, this one more has the vibe of a fantasy.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Life on the lower decks of the generation ship HSS Matilda is hard for Aster, an outcast even among outcasts, trying to survive in a system not dissimilar to the old antebellum South. The ship’s leaders have imposed harsh restrictions on their darker skinned people, using them as an oppressed work force as they travel toward their supposed Promised Land. But as Aster finds a link between the death of the ship’s sovereign and the suicide of her own mother, she realizes there may be a way off the ship.

Where It Rains in Color by Denise Crittendon

The planet Swazembi is a utopia of color and beauty, the most beautiful of all its citizens being the Rare Indigo. Lileala was just named Rare Indigo, but her strict yet pampered life gets upended when her beautiful skin is struck by a mysterious sickness, leaving it covered in scars and scabs. Meanwhile, voices start to whisper in Lileala's mind, bringing to the surface a past long forgotten involving her entire society.

Eacaping Exodus (Escaping Exodus duology) by Nicky Drayden

Seske is the heir to the leader of a clan living inside a gigantic, spacefaring beast, of which they frequently need to catch a new one to reside in as their presence slowly kills the beast from the inside. While I found the ending rushed with regards to plot and character, the worldbuilding is very fresh and the overall plot of survival and class struggle an interesting one. It’s also sapphic!

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah*

In a near future America, inmates on death row or with life sentences in private prisons can choose to participate in death matches for entertainment. If they survive long enough - a rare case indeed - they regain their freedom. Among these prisoners are Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker, partners behind the scenes and close to the deadline of a possible release - if only they can survive for long enough. As the game continues to be stacked against them and protests mount outside, two women fight for love, freedom, and their own humanity. Chain-Gang All-Stars is bleak and unflinching as well as genuinely hopeful in its portrayal of a dark but all to real possible future.

Parable of the Sower (Earthseed duology) by Octavia E. Butler*

In a bleak future, Lauren Olamina lives with her family in a gated community, one of few still safe places in a time of chaos. When her community falls, Lauren is forced on the run. As she makes her way toward possible safety, she picks up a following of other refugees, and sows the seeds of a new ideology which may one day be the saviour of mankind. Very bleak and scarily realistic, Parable of the Sower will make you both fear for mankind and regain your hope for humanity.

Binti (Binti trilogy) by Nnedi Okorafor

Young adult novella. Binti is the first of the Himba people to be accepted into the prestigious Oomza University, the finest place of higher learning in all the galaxy. But as she embarks on her interstellar journey, the unthinkable happens: her ship is attacked by the terrifying Meduse, an alien race at war with Oomza University.

War Girls (War Girls duology) by Tochi Onyebuchi

In an enviromentally fraught future, the Nigerian civil war has flared back up, utilizing cybernetics and mechs to enhance its soldiers. Two sisters, by bond if not by blood, are separated and end up on differing sides of the struggle. Brutal and dark, with themes of dehumanization of soldiers through cybernetics that turn them into weapons, and the effect and trauma this has on them.

The Space Between Worlds (The Space Between Worlds duology) by Micaiah Johnson

Multiverse travel is finally possible, but there’s a catch: No one can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive. Enter Cara, whose parallel selves happen to be exceptionally good at dying. As such she has a very special job in traveling to these worlds, hoping to keep her position long enough to gain citizenship in the walled-off Wiley City, away from the wastes where she grew up. But her job is dangerous, especially when she gets on the tracks of a secret that threatens the entire multiverse. Really cool worldbuilding and characters, also featuring a sapphic lead!

The Fifth Season (The Broken Eart trilogy) by N.K. Jemisin*

In a world regularly torn apart by natural disasters, a big one finally strikes and society as we know it falls, leaving people floundering to survive in a post apocalyptic world, its secrets and past to be slowly revealed. We get to follow a mother as she races through this world to find and save her missing daughter. While mostly fantasy in genre, this series does have some sci-fi flavor, and is genuinely some of the best books I've ever read, please read them.

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings*

In an alternate version of our present, the witch hunt never ended. Women are constantly watched and expected to marry young so their husbands can keep an eye on them. When she was fourteen, Josephine's mother disappeared, leveling suspicions at both mother and daughter of possible witchcraft. Now, nearly a decade and a half later, Jo, in trying to finally accept her missing mother as dead, decides to follow up on a set of seemingly nonsensical instructions left in her will. Features a bisexual lead!

The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden

South African-set scifi featuring gods ancient and new, robots finding sentience, dik-diks, and a gay teen with mind control abilities. An ancient goddess seeks to return to her true power no matter how many humans she has to sacrifice to get there. A little bit all over the place but very creative and fresh.

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson*

Young adult. Young artist June Costa lives in Palmares Tres, a beautiful, matriarchal city relying heavily on tradition, one of which is the Summer King. The most recent Summer King is Enki, a bold boy and fellow artist. With him at her side, June seeks to finally find fame and recognition through her art, breaking through the generational divide of her home. But growing close to Enki is dangerous, because he, like all Summer Kings, is destined to die.

The Blood Trials (The Blood Gifted duology) by N.E. Davenport

After Ikenna's grandfather is assasinated, she is convinced that only a member of the Praetorian guard, elite soldiers, could’ve killed him. Seeking to uncover his killer, Ikenna enrolls in a dangerous trial to join the Praetorians which only a quarter of applicants survive. For Ikenna, the stakes are even higher, as she's hiding forbidden blood magic which could cost her her life. Mix of fantasy and sci-fi. While I didn’t super vibe with this one, I suspect fans of action packed romantasy will enjoy it.

Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany

1960s classic. Rydra Wong is a space captain, linguist and poet who is set on learning to understand Babel-17, a language which is humanity's only clue at the enemy in an interstaller war. But Babel-17 is more than just a language, and studying it may change Rydra forever.

Pet (Pet duology) by Akwaeke Emezi

Young adult novella. Jam lives in a utopian future that has been freed of monsters and the systems which created and upheld them. But then she meets Pet, a dangerous creature claiming to be hunting a monster still among them, prepared to stop at nothing to find them. While I personally found the word-building in Pet lacking, it deftly handles dark subjects of what makes a human a monster.

Bonus AKA I haven’t read these yet but they seem really cool

Lion's Blood by Steven Barnes

Alternate history in which Africans colonized South America while vikings colonized the North. The vikings sell abducted Celts and Franks as slaves to the South, one of which is eleven-years-old Irish boy Aidan O'Dere, who was just bought by a Southern plantation owner.

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

Young adult dystopia. Ellie lives in a future where humanity is under the control of the alien Ilori. All art is forbidden, but Ellie keeps a secret library; when one of her books disappears, she fears discovery and execution. M0Rr1S, born in a lab and raised to be emotionless, finds her library, and though he should deliver her for execution, he finds himself obsessed with human music. Together the two embark on a roadtrip which may save humanity.

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

Lelah lives in future Botswana, but despite money and fame she finds herself in an unhappy marriage, her body controlled via microchip by her husband. After burying the body of an accidental hit and run, Lelah's life gets worse when the ghost of her victim returns to enact bloody vengeance.

Orleans by Sherri L. Smith

Young adult. Fen de la Guerre, living in a quarantined Gulf Coast left devestated by storms and sickness, is forced on the run with a newborn after her tribe is attacked. Hoping to get the child to safety, Fen seeks to get to the other side of the wall, she teams up with a scientist from the outside the quarantine zone.

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

A neo-victorian alternate history, in which a part of Congo was kept safe from colonisation, becoming Everfair, a safe haven for both the people of Congo and former slaves returning from America. Here they must struggle to keep this home safe for them all.

The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa

Space opera. Enitan just wants to live a quiet life in the aftermath of a failed war of conquest, but when her lover is killed and her sister kidnapped, she's forced to leave her plans behind to save her sister.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them: The City We Became (Great Cities duology) by N.K. Jemisin, The Lesson by Cadwell Turnbull, The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole

[milkloafy]

HEY, BEAUTIFUL STRANGER — DAN HENG

⋆｡˚ ❀ summary: in which you are trying to enjoy the wardance on the luofu, the ipc guards ruin everything, and a beautiful stranger comes to help you.  ⋆｡˚ ❀ contents: fluff, first meetings (at least in this lifetime…), fem!reader, vidyadhara!reader, reader is anti-ipc uwu, warning for shitty sexist pathetic ipc guards who try to harass reader >:( ⋆｡˚ ❀ wc: 1.7k+ ⋆｡˚ ❀ a/n: was playing the 2.4 update and this idea was spawned <3 i missed my mans !! was so happy for the dan heng content i can live well again :3 also i hate the ipc so if ur an ipc lover i would scroll past this fic :>

You knew you were capable of defending yourself. 

Verbally, at least.

You were once a distinguished Vidyadhara healer in your past life, aiding in the war efforts to heal wounded fighters on the field, and you were no less capable now in your more normal current life. However, being gifted in the Cloudhymn magic that specialized in healing powers did not mean that same strength carried onto the powers that could part seas and send waves crashing down. 

In short, while you hoped you could be intimidating and defend yourself when needed, in actuality, your physical prowess…lacked. 

Still, you never would have guessed that one of the most humiliating moments in your life would come during a time of festivities at the Wardance when some IPC guards decided to stir up trouble with the unfortunate passerby who accidentally bumped into them on the streets of the Luofu. 

And to be clear, you were that unfortunate passerby. 

“Hey! Watch where you’re going,” sneered an IPC guard as you tripped in front of them, getting distracted by the bustle of Starskiff Central and not noticing the curb beneath your feet. The guard looked to his friend and shook his head with a scoff. “These people here.”

“How shameful of me to have never known the IPC was full of such charming and chivalrous men,” you said sweetly with a smile dripping of honeyed poison as you pushed yourself off the floor and dusted off your skirt with a swift flick of your hands. “I appreciate you both so much for partaking in the simplest task of helping a fallen damsel and being decent humans.” 

The guard who had yet to talk finally spoke up. And you truly wish he hadn’t. 

“You know, you could actually be pretty if you didn’t have such an big mouth,” he said, his metallic voice grating your ears as you fought off the urge to roll your eyes. “Maybe I would’ve helped you up if you just sat there and said sorry instead.”

You folded your arms lazily, a yawn coming out of you from having to engage in such a bothersome and useless conversation. Still, you couldn’t help yourself from continuing to bite back. If there was one flaw about you, it was perhaps that your mouth went running off before your brain and legs could catch up. 

“It’s rather humorous of you to assume I’d want your help in the first place,” you stated as you looked at the guards’ IPC uniforms in disdain. What business would you want with such pathetic interstellar colonizers? “It is also appalling that you place yourself in such high of a pedestal that you would assume I care about what you think of me.” Before the guards could reply, you flipped your hair behind your shoulder and turned sharply on your heels. “Now, this conversation has taken up too much of my time. I have a festival to enjoy. So, if you would please excuse me—”

You felt a heavy hand grab your elbow to prevent you from walking away. Blowing air out of your mouth, you gritted your teeth and tugged your arm to no avail. 

You silently cursed yourself for never taking up martial arts. As much as you liked watching the performances, you personally believed you had seen enough violence in your past life and didn’t see the need to learn any swordsmanship in your current reincarnation. 

All your past lives were cursing at your arrogance now, you could feel it. Or perhaps it was just you internally scolding yourself. 

How much more badass would it be if you had the strength to easily shove the IPC guard’s out of the way and carry on with the Wardance? Instead, you were like a fly caught in a sticky trap, kicking and fighting with no real chance of escape. It was hopeless and embarrassing. 

You felt your face grew hot with humiliation. This is why past you stuck with healing, it seemed. 

“Oh, how cute,” the first IPC guard snickered, looking down at you with a patronizing grin. “Look who finally shut up. If I knew some force was all it would take, I would’ve done this much earlier instead of listening to you talk and talk about how much you—”

“Can you finish talking already?” you asked impatiently, tapping your foot on the floor. “You’re too close to me and your breath stinks.” 

His grip tightened in anger and you hoped he couldn’t see the grimace on your face from the slight feeling of pain in your arm. 

You really did it this time, you thought dryly to yourself. Pissed off the IPC guards just by tripping and opening your mouth. This would be your shortest life yet, at this rate.

Surprisingly, the feeling of pain didn’t last long and a soothing wave of comfort washed over you instead. Your body knew before your eyes could see— A Vidyadhara was around you, helping you. Not only that, but the smallest part of you felt they seemed the slightest bit familiar. 

“Is everything alright here?” a cautious, yet firm, voice asked. 

You looked up and saw a man step in front of you and swiftly yank the guard’s hand away from your arm. The force seemed minimal and effortless, but you knew this familiar stranger had to be strong to fight the burly guard off so easily. 

“That’s none of your business,” scoffed the guard on the left.

Your newfound savior stood resolute and unwavering. “I desire no involvement in your affairs. I only wish to ensure the safety of the Wardance attendees.”

“And you think we’re a threat to safety?” questioned the IPC guard, folding his arms over his chest and frowning. “Seems to me like you’re targeting the IPC. What will they think of the Xianzhou Luofu endlessly bothering the IPC? First, the cargo, now, this.” 

The man in front of you simply shrugged. “Believe what you will.” Instead of engaging in the endless bickering any longer, he turned around and offered you a smile. “Would you like me to escort you to the festivities, miss?” 

Quirking your head to the side, you grinned back and nodded playfully. “Yes, please! You seem like much better company than these idiots over here.” 

“You brat—!”

Eyes widening as the IPC guards began to draw their weapons, you exchanged glances with the grey-eyed man grabbed his wrist, running head first into the crowd and away from the guards with him only a step behind you. 

You would be the death of yourself one day, with no one else to blame, you were sure of it. But for today, you escaped happily. With a cute boy in tow. Somehow, you felt like you won this time. 

Once you were certain the guards lost you, you finally slowed down to catch you breath, a wide smile on your face when you noticed the man stopping next to you, realizing that meant he dutifully followed you amidst the crowd. 

“Thank you for your help…” you trailed off, prompting him for his name. 

“Dan Heng,” he introduced with a nod of greeting. 

“Dan Heng,” you repeated with a chirp. “I’m not sure if I could’ve removed myself from that situation safely without you.” 

He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. “My intuition tells me you would have found a way. Still, I’m glad to be of assistance.” 

You looked around at the booths around you. The streets weren’t filled with vendors like Aurum Alley, but it had its fair share of food stalls littered around. The smell of sweet berrypheasant fruit filled your senses as you immediately perked up at the thought of a treat after a tiresome encounter. 

“Can I get you a little something to show my gratitude?” you asked, with a hopeful glint in your eyes. For whatever reason, you felt comfort and familiarity around Dan Heng. A remnant from your past lives, you considered. “It’s nothing big! But the best berrypheasant skewers are nearby. This food stall even coats the fruit in melted sugar! You have to try it.”

Dan Heng hummed to himself, as if genuinely considering your offer. “I do have to return to the Palace of Astrum soon, but a short detour for some snacks wouldn’t hurt.” He gave you a small smile as he finally made his decision. “Okay, I will join you.”

You clasped your hands together in excitement, leading him over to the beloved skewers you were talking about. 

It took almost getting your ass handed to you by two meathead guards, but at least you managed to meet Dan Heng along the way. Whoever he was.

“Do I seem familiar to you, too?” you blurted without thinking. 

His step faltered but he continued on after a brief pause. “It’s vague, in all honesty. But…yes. There’s some sort of subtle tug.” 

You noticed his slight tone of discomfort and decided not to press the subject. Even if there was a sense of familiarity between the two of you, it was likely in your past lives. And for some Vidyadhara, they preferred the past stayed in the past. Or, they would at least prefer not to share their past with a completely random stranger such as yourself. While that wasn’t the case for you since you seemed to lack self-preservation, you truly wanted respect that about Dan Heng. 

“Cool!” you said simply, quickly changing topics. “Now let’s get some fruit skewers!” 

Slightly taken aback, he bit out a noise of laughter and stood in line next to you. “Gladly.”

You looked up at him with a smile. “And maybe, we can get to know some more about each other. Our current lives.” 

Dan Heng nodded in agreement. “There is still some time before I have to return to the Express. I would enjoy getting to know you more before then.” 

Ecstatic that he agreed, you ordered some fruit skewers and handed one over to him. The two of you happily crunched on the delightful treat and shared a moment of contentment. 

You smiled to yourself as you exhaled happily. Dan Heng requested another skewer and shared a piece with you. 

Nothing could beat good company and a sweet treat. 

For once—just this once—something good came out of the IPC. 

[memories-of-ancients]

A while ago I finally watched the movie Interstellar and I got some problems with it. First of all the plot has some problems. Earth is dying due to a crop blight and soil degradation. It's only a matter of time before humanity dies out due to crop failures and food shortages. So the plan is to find a new planet to live on at the other end of a wormhole and resettle there. The movie ends with humanity living on a big O'Neill cylinder flying through space to colonize the new planet. So wait, by that time in the future humanity has the ability to engineer, build, and launch into space a bigass O'Neill cylinder but they can't genetically engineer crops that are blight resistant and do soil reclamation and revitalization programs? Like, flying humanity through a wormhole in a bigass O'Neill cylinder is the simpler solution?

And bruh you can't just fly into a giant black hole. Don't even worry about sphagettification because you would be crushed like a bug long before you came close to the event horizon of a black hole. Which is also something you wouldn't have to worry about because you would be burnt to a crisp before you came close to being squashed like a bug. Which is also something you wouldn't have to worry about because you would die of gamma radiation poisoning before you came close to being burnt to a crisp and squashed like a bug. Love isn't a mystical force that is gonna save you from the gravitational effects of a block hole.

[etherclan]

The most significant laws to come out of the controversy banned modifications that went beyond animal health and benign aesthetic purposes. Less relevant to ALLEY Corp., however, direct genetic modification of livestock animals that were meant for consumption was also prohibited... at least until recently. There has been a BOOM in interstellar colonization following the invention of practical faster than light travel. Genetic material and artificial wombs are much easier to transport than fully grown livestock animals. Terran governments can't do much to stop people from producing modified breeds that might better survive on their target worlds. The colonists of Gliese 667Cc may have unintentionally unleashed some human-level intelligent cats on an alien planet.

A sadder and more ironic outcome of the controversy and the tragedy of Folly was a boom in modified pet numbers. Symmetrical torties, dubbed "Folly-mollies", became incredibly popular once the outrage faded.

[cantsayidont]

When attempting to critique the values of a long-running franchise like STAR TREK, it's important to draw a distinction between superficial issues and structural ones.

"Superficial" in this sense doesn't mean "minor" or "unimportant"; it simply means that an issue is not so intrinsic to the premise that the franchise would collapse (or would be radically different) were it changed or removed. For example, misogyny has been a pervasive problem across many generations of STAR TREK media, which have often been characterized by a particular type of leering-creep sexism that was distasteful at the time and has not improved with age. However, sexism and misogyny are not structural elements of the TREK premise; one can do a STAR TREK story where the female characters have agency and even pants without it becoming something fundamentally different from other TREK iterations (even TOS, although there are certainly specific TOS episodes that would collapse if you excised the sexism).

By contrast, the colonialism and imperialism are structural elements — STAR TREK is explicitly about colonizing "the final frontier" and about defending the borders, however defined, of an interstellar colonial power. Different iterations of STAR TREK may approach that premise in slightly different ways, emphasizing or deemphasizing certain specific aspects of it, but that is literally and specifically what the franchise is about. Moreover, because STAR TREK has always been heavily focused on Starfleet and has tended to shy away from depicting life outside of that regimented environment, there are definite limits to how far the series is able to depart from the basic narrative structure of TOS and TNG (a captain and crew on a Starfleet ship) without collapsing in on itself, as PICARD ended up demonstrating rather painfully.

This means that some of the things baked into the formula of STAR TREK are obviously in conflict with the franchise's self-image of progressive utopianism, but cannot really be removed or significantly altered, even if the writers were inclined to try (which they generally are not).

What I find intensely frustrating about most modern STAR TREK media, including TNG and its various successors, is not that it can't magically break its own formula, but that writer and fan attachment to the idea of TREK as the epitome of progressive science fiction has become a more and more intractable barrier to any kind of meaningful self-critique. It's a problem that's become increasingly acute with the recent batch of live-action shows, which routinely depict the Federation or Starfleet doing awful things (like the recent SNW storyline about Una being prosecuted for being a genetically engineered person in violation of Federation law) and then insist, often in the same breath, that it's a progressive utopia, best of all possible worlds.

This is one area where TOS (and to some extent the TOS cast movies) has a significant advantage over its successors. TOS professes to be a better world than ours, but it doesn't claim to be a perfect world (and indeed is very suspicious of any kind of purported utopia). The value TOS most consistently emphasizes is striving: working to be better, and making constructive choices. Although this can sometimes get very sticky and uncomfortable in its own right (for instance, Kirk often rails against what he sees as "stagnant" cultures), it doesn't presuppose the moral infallibility of the Federation, of Starfleet, or of the characters themselves. There's room for them to be wrong, so long as they're still willing to learn and grow.

The newer shows are less and less willing to allow for that, and, even more troublingly, sometimes take pains to undermine their predecessors' attempts along those lines. One appalling recent example is SNW's treatment of the Gorn, which presents the Gorn as intrinsically evil (and quite horrifying) in a way they're not in "Arena," the TOS episode where they were first introduced. The whole point of "Arena" is that while Kirk responds to the Gorn with outrage and anger, he eventually concedes that he may be wrong: There's a good chance that the Gorn are really the injured party, responding to what they reasonably see as an alien invasion, and while that may be an arguable point, sorting it out further should be the purview of diplomats rather than warships. By contrast, SNW presents the Gorn as so irredeemably awful as to make Kirk's (chronologically later) epiphany at best misguided: The SNW Gorn are brutal conquerors who lay eggs in their captives (a gruesome rape metaphor, and in presentation obviously inspired by ALIENS) when they aren't killing each other for sport, and even Gorn newborns are monsters to be feared. Not a lot of nuance there, and no space at all for the kind of detente found in TOS episodes like "The Devil in the Dark."

[seat-safety-switch]

When I was a kid, the weird kid down the block got an alien buddy from space. He found some kind of weird egg or something. Happens way more often than the media would want you to believe. One weekend, he had a harrowing emotional journey of the imagination that happened to be a metaphor for the struggles of growing up and loss, whereas I pretty much sat on my ass and played Aero the Acro-Bat a few more times. Hey, it was a rental. You gotta get your money's worth.

Thing is, we kept in touch. After the whole alien thing was over, he realized that he had been being a jerk to the other kids in the neighbourhood, ignoring them in favour of his interstellar saviour figure. We became school friends, helping each other with homework. My folks knew all about the alien thing, though, and they wouldn't let him come in the house in case he was radioactive. So now we're just "Facebook friends."

Now, I know what you're gonna say. No, he doesn't work for NASA. He doesn't even work for the Canadian space agency, where they spend most of their time bragging about how cool the space shuttle's arm thing is. No, in the stark midday light of adulthood, he realized that he was incredibly lucky to have survived his first encounter with shadowy otherworldly forces, and decided to keep things closer to Earth for the rest of his life. Also, he got married and his wife had one hell of a monthly payment on her Audi Q5. No time to knock off a day or two in order to go looking for more strangely glowing eggs.

Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if I got to hang out with a real live alien. With my luck, though, it would be some kind of space colonizer, who would force me to show up to an office every day and only have a maximum of 30 minutes for lunch. Maybe they'd even force me to participate in weird rituals, like filling out a timesheet in order to get paid. Sure am glad that didn't happen.

[foone]

Warp gates are cathedrals. Giant projects that take generations to build, incredibly important to the people served by them, and held as sacred neutral ground by all involved.

A warp gate is so important to the system it serves that everyone agrees it must be protected and supported.

No seafaring canal's blocking or weather event preventing airflight could compare. Interstellar colonization is an expensive business, and only the existence of warp gates makes it remotely possible. A planet without a warp gate may not starve immediately, but without spare parts and medical supplies and fuel coming through the gate, it will quickly lose most of the benefits of civilization. Will it still be there to rescue in the decades it will take to bring a new warp gate to them? No one wants to find out. That's why no one has ever destroyed (or even seriously damaged) a warp gate.

Perhaps the best example of this near-universal protective feeling was seen in the final days of the Consolidation War: the M.S. Uncertain Returns fired a nuclear weapon on the privateer Anne Bonny, while it was only 300,000 klicks from the k1544 gate, a smaller distance than the moon orbits the earth.

This violation of the gate's safety zone was so egregious that before the missile even had detonated, hostilities in the k1544 system had stopped due as a temporary ceasefire was called, and 29 warheads had been fired at the Uncertain Returns, 17 of which came from other Merchant's Guild ships. The message was clear: They would rather destroy an entire starship of their own defense force than risk damage to a warp gate, and they wanted to make that abundantly clear to all sides of the conflict, lest this desperate moment of sacrilege cause them to suddenly become Enemy #1 of every other faction in the galaxy. The gate wasn't damaged by the explosion at this range, but even a minor violation of the safe zone rules threatens the very basis of the entire interstellar transportation system.

A group who has damaged even one warp gate is going to find no berth at any harbor. Every armed ship in range is going to attack them immediately. There will be no surrender, no peace treaties, no opportunity to explain. Only immediate retribution.

No one kneels and worships at the warp gates, but would you really be surprised if they did?

[virginiaoflykos]

What to read after Light Bringer? (Series similar to Red Rising)

August 2023 update!

Red Rising is my favorite series of all time, and since I first read it, I have sought series and books similar in both spirit and execution. Some of these recs are books I haven’t read personally, but have often come up in discussions with other users!

1. The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

Status: ongoing, expected 10 books in total, 4/10 out at the moment

Book 1: The Way of Kings. The Way of Kings takes place on the world of Roshar, where war is constantly being waged on the Shattered Plains, and the Highprinces of Alethkar fight to avenge a king that died many moons ago.

2. The Craft Sequence by Max Gladstone

Status: finished, 6/6 books out.

Book 1 (in publication order): Three Parts Dead. Comprised of 6 standalone books set in the same universe, the Craft Sequence tells the tales of the city of Alt Coulumb. The city came out of the God Wars with one of its gods intact, Kos the Everburning. In return for the worship of his people, Kos provides heat and steam power to the citizens of Alt Coulumb; he is also the hub of a vast network of power relationships with other gods and god-like beings across the planet. Oh, and he has just died. If he isn’t revived in some form by the turn of the new moon, the city will descend into chaos and the finances of the globe will take a severe hit.

3. Hierarchy by James Islington

Status: ongoing, 1/3 planned books out

Book 1: The Will of the many. The Will of the Many tells the story of Vis, a young orphan who is adopted by one of the sociopolitical elites of the Hierarchy. Vis is tasked with entering a prestigious magical academy with one goal – ascend the ranks, figure out what the other major branches of the government are doing, and report back. However, that isn’t quite as easy as Vis or anyone else thought it was going to be…

4. Suneater by Christopher Ruocchio

Status: ongoing, 5/7 books out

Book 1: Empire of Silence. Hadrian is a man doomed to universal infamy after ordering the destruction of a sun to commit an unforgivable act of genocide. Told as a chronicle written by an older Hadrian, Empire of Silence details his earlier adventures and serves as an introduction to the characters and the setting.

5. Dune by Frank Herbert

Status: completed, 6/6 books out

Book 1: Dune. Set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefs. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange, or "spice", a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities.

6. The Expanse by James S A Corey

Status: completed, 9/9 books out

Book 1: Leviathan wakes. Set hundreds of years in the future, after mankind has colonized the solar system. A hardened detective and a rogue ship's captain come together for what starts as a missing young woman and evolves into a race across the solar system to expose the greatest conspiracy in human history.

7. The First Law by Joe Abercrombie

Status: completed. 3 books in the original trilogy + 3 standalone books + 3 books in the newest trilogy

Book 1: The Blade Itself. The story follows the fortunes and misfortunes of bad people who do the right thing, good people who do the wrong thing, stupid people who do the stupid thing and, well, pretty much any combination of the above. Survival is no mean feat, and at the end of the day, dumb luck might be more of an asset than any amount of planning, skill, or noble intention.

8. Cradle by Will Wight

Status: completed, 12/12 books out

Book 1: Unsouled. Lindon is Unsouled, forbidden to learn the sacred arts of his clan. When faced with a looming fate he cannot ignore, he must rise beyond anything he's ever known...and forge his own Path

9. Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons (one PB’s favorites)

Status: completed, 4/4 books out

Book 1: Hyperion. The story weaves the interlocking tales of a diverse group of travelers sent on a pilgrimage to the Time Tombs on Hyperion. The travelers have been sent by the Church of the Final Atonement, alternately known as the Shrike Church, and the Hegemony (the government of the human star systems) to make a request of the Shrike. As they progress in their journey, each of the pilgrims tells their tale.

[nixite117]

Worldbuilding

If there’s anything I suck at more than anything in fiction, it’s world building.

So let’s get started.

The general idea of my sci fi world is that Earth has just joined the stars. While this is public knowledge, there is very little known about its dominating species, “humans.” However, Earth has been classified as a Class D planet.

Every planet in the universe can fall under certain labels and classifications based on their abilities to sustain life. N Class planets are incapable of sustaining life, and are what make up most of the universe. Whenever a planet with life is found, it is first classified by what kind of life inhabits it. The two options are sentient and non-sentient. Then, if sentience is recognized: advanced or primitive? A society becomes advanced when they have an established connection to technology.

If no sentient species is established, then the planet is analyzed for threat levels of wildlife and disease. This is their “danger class,” and trumps all other classes. If the danger class is high enough, it is then considered a “death planet” and thus is much too dangerous to land on.

The Interstellar Safety Commission is the governing body responsible for this, and publicizes information about such on all planets that are candidates for resource harvesting and/or colonization. They also do this for private companies who are hoping to mine out various planets.

This organization has existed for almost 30,000 years.

Earth was the subject of this classification just before human’s began building civilizations. At the time, not only did the federation find that the planet had, at one point, been hit by an asteroid, but that the planet was teeming with violent creatures. The federation was newer at the time, it’s many members being unfamiliar with the many shapes that life can take. Thus, sights like the glyptodonts and prehistoric hippos were new and unfathomably terrifying.

Because of the mass amount of planets across the universe, typically the solar system around a “death planet” will be quickly archived. Organizations that apply for legal planet mining can easily find new ones nowadays as tech has grown significantly since the start of the ISC. So Earth was largely forgotten, as was our solar system. So much so that our little corner of the Milky Way was one of many little things that was forgotten. This is a loophole that many exploit but that will be discussed later.

Because there was no observation of our planet after this, Earth was pretty much left to evolve in peace. 10,000 years later, it’s the year 2088 and Earth has joined the stars. Upon reviewing the planet we came from, the ISC was baffled by our ability to survive, much less evolve on what is largely considered a “death planet.” Due to this information being public, many rumors started about the human race. We’ve been amongst the stars for almost a decade, which is nothing in the great span of the universe.

Humans have barely begun diplomatic missions with the universe, as our tech is extremely primitive in comparison to most alien tech. This contributes to the grand mystery around humans.

The main misconception is that humans are naturally aggressive and deadly. They are also all huge, hulking creatures with sharp teeth and a kick like no other. As time passes in space, and we learn more about our place among the stars, many of us learn one great truth about our impression on the universe.

Humans.

Are space orcs.