the children

[mellowtigger]

I still haven't written the increasingly-belated script for my story (archive copy) about The Children. It's a sci-fi story about human nature. It's set in the near future on various spaceships with human crew intended to pilot them across generations of inhabitants. Each spaceship chooses a different type of society to survive the long haul, so we learn about the long-term consequences of their choices.

This space race is initiated by two events. First, scientists publish a list of all habitable planets (nitrogen atmosphere with oxygen, plentiful water, suitable gravity and temperature) within a limited range (perhaps 200 light years) from Earth. Second, the Christian Broadcasting Network announces plans to build a spaceship to go populate one of these planets in an attempt to create a proper God-loving society. The space race ensues.

Scientists here in the real world are already making fast progress. Besides deducing mathematically the existence of planets in certain orbits around other stars, they are now starting to image them directly.



An exoplanet is any planet orbiting a star other than our own sun. The first (red) image is of a young still-cooling planet orbiting Fomalhaut b, 25 light years away. The second (purple) image is of two huge planets orbiting HR 8799, 130 light years away. Since this image was taken, a different telescope has observed a third exoplanet at HR 8799.

None of these planets is habitable for humans, but it's just a matter of time until we find one that is.

Comments

[dodecadragon.livejournal.com]

That first one looks like the Eye of Mordor.

My ex John wrote a novel called "The Empty Space", the premise behind that universe was that after colonization that no life on any other planet was ever found, and so the church became even more popular. The church ended up absorbing all the other religions by canonizing their holy people as saint.

He wrote it like a journal over the year from the perspective of a Cardinal's wife, who went on a mission to a planet populated by aliens.

I enjoyed the story as is, but he thinks he needs to rewrite and edit it, tie up loose end, clear up contradictions, and the like.

[anziulewicz.livejournal.com]

I have high hopes for the proposed Terrestrial Planet Finder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrestrial_Planet_Finder), which would use interferometry to detect Earthlike worlds ... although because of funding delays, I have doubts I will see it in my lifetime.

And speaking of generation starships and your story about The Children ... you should seek out Ursula LeGuin's collection of short stories, The Birthday of the World. Most of the stories are Ekumen-oriented, but the last story is about a generation starship on the way to a nearby star system, and its told in a very believable and ultimately touching way.

[otterlover01.livejournal.com]

I agree with anziulewicz that you might read Ursula LeGuin stories and novels. I am an U. LeGuin BIG, BIG, BIIIIIIIG fan. She has this ability to construct whole planets with different astronomical and geological conditions and insert beliveable societies in them using varied premises. How about a world in the middle of an Ice Age inhabited by hermaphroditic humans, for example? :o) Warm hugs and hope you are having a happy weekend. Luis. ;o)

OMG!

[otterlover01.livejournal.com]

A "God-loving society" PLANET built by people like those is one of the SCARIEST things I've ever heard of! :oO

Arthur C. Clarke "cites" the names of some of the spaceships built by some religious groups during an Earth exodus in his novel "The Songs of Distant Earth" with a certain dark humor: "The Sword of the Prophet"... :o)

Another scary thing is that moving announcment by LJ, here's a link to my Multiply page just in case. I don't want to risk losing contact with such an interesting man! : http://otterlover.multiply.com/

Warm hugs Terry,
Luis.