Nonfiction
The Physics of a Populated Universe
There could be any number of physical laws in place instead of the ones we know, some of them possibly even more probable than the ones we know. But if other laws existed, we as humans may not.
There could be any number of physical laws in place instead of the ones we know, some of them possibly even more probable than the ones we know. But if other laws existed, we as humans may not.
Originally “constellations” was the theme of the anthology this story first appeared in and as soon as the subject was mentioned and I had the project to do I thought of how the patterns in the stars were manmade things.
We’ve come a long way from cultivating a handful of cancer cells in a lab, and every day scientists learn more about the particular wants and needs of our tissues and organs.
I will confess that I had absolutely no medical realities in mind when I conceived this story, just the dark emotions that drive it.
Welcome to issue seventeen of Lightspeed! On tap this month … Fiction: “Her Husband’s Hands” by Adam-Troy Castro, “The Little Bear” by Justina Robson, “Against Eternity” by David Farland, “Some Fortunate Future Day” by Cassandra Clare. Nonfiction: “The Care and Feeding of Your Disembodied Lungs” by Lauren Davis, “The Physics of a Populated Universe” by Dr. Pamela Gay, “Saving Your Brain to a Disk” by Jeff Hecht, “Feature Interview: Beth Revis” by Gwenda Bond.
I am always fascinated with the contrast of organic (alive) and mechanic (dead) things on our earth and how they both are somewhat connected.
Before you sign up for immortality, be forewarned: It isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Even in the comparatively sweet world of fiction there are plenty of souls embittered by immortality.
Lois McMaster Bujold is running out of things to win. She’s won the Hugo Award for best novel many times over. She’s won the Nebula Award twice, the Mythopoeic Award for adult novel, and three Locus Awards.
One of the primary influences for this story was a recent trip to Indonesia. While I experienced nothing like Trenchtown in my travels, the smells, sounds and sights of Indonesia permeate “Thief of Futures.”
In school we learn the Sun is eight light minutes away or about 150,000,000 kilometers distant. These are just large numbers, though, and we don’t really have a sense of them.