In my alternate-history science-fiction space opera setting, it’s well-established that first contact with alien intelligence was made by Ilmatar of Thalassa on, well, Thalassa (a planet of Proxima Centauri) around the year 2060. What’s not so well-established is that the Thalassans aren’t the closest alien … Continue readingAfter Thalassa: Squid Brains of Enceladus?
I just realized that as of today I’ve completed my personal challenge to paint at least one digital painting every day for a month. Well, not exactly every day; I did miss doing it one day over the past month, but I made multiple digital … Continue readingDaily Digital Painting for a Month: Challenge Complete!
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
After the solar system is colonized, settled, and developed, interstellar colonization is the next step in mankind’s journey through the final frontier. The distances between planets within our own solar system are easily surmountable once enough space infrastructure is built out to allow the mass … Continue readingWorldbuilding Near-Future Interstellar Demography
What would a truly advanced interplanetary transportation system be like? After all the near-future flags-and-footprints expeditions, research outposts, experimental space habitats, and space tourist centers we hear about so much are up and running, the build-out of space infrastructure will begin in earnest. In this … Continue readingInterplanetary Travel in the Solar System of the Near Future