Have dystopian futures produced a dystopian present? The world of “the pandemic” in 2020 is often compared with a dystopia, and with good reason. Official control of the minutiae of everyday life, the ruination of livelihoods, the casual slaughter of the dreams of countless millions, … Continue readingOur Dystopian Moment: The Fruit of Our Dystopian Futures
We hear much talk about globalization and its effects on fhuman societies, but relatively little about the promise a more globalized and technologically advanced world holds for improving fundamental aspects of our daily lifestyles. Much discourse around the topic over-complicates globalization, which is fundamentally the … Continue readingLifestyles in a Fully Globalized Future
2020 will undoubtedly go down in history as the year “lockdown” was introduced into most people’s vocabularies, the year in which mass imprisonment by decree, without charge, trial, conviction, or even any evidence whatsoever of being sick, was introduced by ruling classes the world over … Continue readingLockdown, the Culture of Fear, and the Politics of the Future
When doing some research for my novel, which now stands at 19.557 words, the Venus chapter (12,949 words) having been completed yesterday, I did some calculations for how long spaceflight would take under constant acceleration, the method the main characters in my novel are using … Continue readingConstant Acceleration: Across the Solar System and Beyond
The Hunt for Count Gleichen’s Treasure is now up to 13,355 words, the Venus section accounting for most of the additions. But rather than bore you with an incremental update on my novel, I will offer a change of pace by outlining a concept for … Continue readingWorldbuilding the Cool, the Romance, and the Fantasy into my Space Opera Setting
In my last post I elaborated upon the space opera world I am building, which is also an alternate history of the 20th and 21st centuries and has a near-future-level spacefaring phase. I’d like to take this occasion to announce that I have decided to … Continue readingBeginning the Adventure of writing a Novel
It looks like I’ve had science fiction and space opera on my mind lately, and I haven’t stopped since the last post, so I thought I’d share with you my thoughts on a science fiction world I’ve been building for myself. That is somewhat different … Continue readingWorldbuilding a Space Opera Setting of My Own
In the science fiction setting I am worldbuilding, Proxima Centauri b as in real life is a roughly Earth-sized planet with an orbital period of 11 days, and is the closest known exoplanet. In real life we don’t know much about Proxima Centauri b aside … Continue readingThalassa, or Proxima Centauri b: The Pale Green Dot
Click here for full resolution. This is my new oil-on-canvas piece, depicting a spherical space habitat in low orbit around Neptune, providing a natural living space with artificial gravity for a small community of human pioneers. The habitat currently has a great view of one … Continue readingSpaceplane approaching Neptune orbital Sphere
When worldbuilding a science fiction or especially space opera setting, it is often desired for the scope to encompass more than one solar system, spanning part or all of one galaxy or even beyond. There is just one big problem: no object with mass can … Continue readingWorldbuilding Faster than Light Travel