“I think we’ll be good for a
month at least. More if we go on reduced
rations.”
“Which is a wise course of
action,” Hellatz replied.
“Agreed. Once the replicators are back online we can
replenish the supplies, but for now, it seems we’re going to have to tighten
our belts.”
“I do not wear a belt,
Captain. My uniform is tailored to my—”
“It’s a figure of speech,
Hel.”
(from Deep Space Boogie by Scott Baron)
7½*/10. The
full review is here.
.
With a good estimate for the
speed of light, we can come close to a reasonable estimate of the age of the
universe.
The concepts are not
exclusively cosmic. True, when you flick
on a wall switch, you don’t have to wait around for the light to reach the
floor. Some morning while you’re eating
breakfast and you need something new to think about, though, you might want to
ponder the fact that you see your kids across the table not as they are but as
they once were, about three nanoseconds ago.
Doesn’t sound like much, but stick the kids in the nearby Andromeda
galaxy, and by the time you see them spoon their Cheerios they will have aged
more than 2 million years.
(from Death By
Black Hole by Neil deGrasse Tyson)
9½*/10.
The complete review is here.
.
Even if it took centuries to
travel from star to star (…) this might be no obstacle to sufficiently
determined explorers. The technique of
hibernation, used on Discovery herself, was one possible answer. Another was the self-contained artificial
world, embarking on voyages that might last for many generations.
In any event, why should one
assume that all intelligent species were as short-lived as Man? There might be creatures in the universe to
whom a thousand-year voyage would present nothing worse than slight boredom…
(from 2001 – A
Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke)
8½*/10. The
full review is here.
.
“I can’t thank you enough for
introducing Nicholas to me.”
“Introducing Nicholas? Carol, I didn’t introduce you two. We were out on a date, you and me. I was attempting to ply you with
Cosmopolitans if you’ll recall. Then
that Nicholas guy showed up and took my stool and the next thing I know you’re
speaking French.”
“Oh, don’t be silly. It’s just that he is so different, so
interesting, so, so, romantic. He’s… oh,
I don’t know… so really different than you.
I mean in a number of good ways, I guess.”
That didn’t really help me.
(from Bombshell by Mike Faricy)
7*/10. The
complete review is here.
.
“And you spoke to a human?”
Tal listened for any trace of
disapproval in that, but he came up empty.
Torg only sounded curious, maybe even too curious. Consorting with humans had been forbidden
since the ashes settled on the Final War.
They weren’t even supposed to exist, and he’d announced himself like a
fool to the old hag. “She mostly spoke
at me.”
“What was she like?”
“Wrinkled.”
(from Horded by Frances Pauli)
7*/10. The
complete review is here.
.
