ralph.ewig

We Have Always Lived On Mars - A great short story by Cecil Castellucci, posted over at Tor books. It’s a quick read, but paints a vivid image of what life on an isolated planetary colony with limited resources might be like. There are difficult choices to be made by its inhabitants, and worrisome parallels between their experiences and those of us today on planet Earth, which after all is still an isolated planetary colony itself; at least until we do at last spread our wings to reach other worlds.

Nina, one of the few descendants of human colony on Mars that was abandoned by Earth, is surprised to discover that she can breathe the toxic atmosphere of the Martian surface.  The crew, thinking that their attempts at terraforming and breeding for Martian adaptability have finally payed off, rejoice at the prospect of a brighter future.  But Nina’s about to unlock the mystery of the disaster that stranded them on Mars… and nothing will ever be the same.

There’s an interesting twist at the end too, read the full story at tor.com.

Power - my latest scifi short in the Crim and Denek series was published! You can get them all free of charge at Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble (Nook). It’s been tough finding time to write in the last year, but I’ve done a little more cross country traveling in the past weeks and those long flights are always great opportunities to get lost in fictional worlds. As the story is getting more complicated, I’ve also noticed that each episode has gotten a little bit longer than the previous one. There are still many more in my head that I’ll have to get on paper, but for now I hope you’ll enjoy this latest installment.

“What about our gear?” Denek asked him.
“You’ll be fitted with new armor on route.”

Crim raised an eyebrow at his friend. A trooper’s armor was custom fitted, highly sophisticated, and very expensive. Only after years of training and proven battlefield effectiveness did a trooper earn the qualifications to have it. Once issued, it was repaired and upgraded as needed, but never replaced. Nothing that could irreparably damage armor was survivable by the occupant who wore it.

“What’s wrong with what we have now?” Crim prodded.
“Incompatible with the mission,” the aide said enigmatically and kept walking.

[…]

As they cautiously rounded another equipment bay, deftly avoiding being frozen, burned, shocked, or blinded in this scientific minefield, they came face to face with their new armor. It was definitely not standard issue.

“Damn …,” was all Crim could think of saying for once, while staring speechlessly at the personification of destruction he was destined to soon bring to life.

Nothing defines a life more clearly, than its use of power.

Europa Report - I’m hugely excited about this film. It is rare to see really good hard scifi in mainstream movies, and even more so to see a story of near term space exploration without ludicrous monsters or psychopath human idiocy. IO9 posted a preview report, and it has me counting the days for its release:

Europa Report is hands down the most painstakingly accurate space movie we’ve seen in ages. You want some semblance of realism in the story of a three-year journey to Jupiter’s Moon Europa? AND a gripping narrative, you got it. 

[…]

Europa Report centers around a six-person crew on a three year trip to Europa. The cast is made up of both men and women — but there’s no drama. Don’t expect the aged Russian astronaut to drop trou with the female pilot, that shit doesn’t fly on this ship. Because they’re scientists, experts, athletes, and military folk who take their mission just as seriously as Cmdr. Chris Hadfield of the International Space Station. 

The brilliance behind this no-nonsense approach is seen the second real problems occur. The first time you witness a member of Europa Ventures (this trip is privately funded) breakdown or let out a tiny yelp, it hits you. Hard. 

So here then is a movie where the challenge of space exploration itself might just be what drives the story. In the days of the Apollo Moon landings it was this kind of entertainment that brought the wonder of space exploration to the masses; let’s hope Europa Report will revive that fire.