Timothy Callahan

Almost science

I remember my first really bad comment on one of my stories. It was a story where I had the entire city of Chicago evacuating the city after a rather brutal alien invasion of the city. I had never really seen a mass evacuation, never really thought about the logistics behind millions of people walking down a highway toward a military base twenty miles away. I posted that chapter of a larger story on AOL's writing board and let people read and comment on it. I remember being pretty excited, I had posted a few short stories and they got some positive remarks so I was pretty confident that this epic tale would be no different. Heck, it had everything, a dynamic leader, some twists and turns, some heroism, everything I loved to read about and everything I love to write about. So, you can image my surprise when I get a very lengthy comment on the story ripping it apart line by line.

Thinking back on it now it actually wasn't that bad. The guy pretty much pointed out all the logical holes I had created, things that wouldn't be possible with so many people leaving the city. He asked good questions, how did they feed these people? How did they organize them? How did they all go to the bathroom, stuff that I really should have asked myself before writing the scene. But, at that time, 20 years or so ago when I wrote it, I was angry thinking that I didn't need to answer those kinds of questions, it was the story that was important, it was the heroes, that characters, the invasion, who cares what they ate or slept or peed. That wasn't the point!

Of course he was right, I need to ask myself questions before writing a technical scene like that. I need to figure out how to solve those kinds of problems and, since I write science fiction I can make magical solutions to the problems using science! Of course my science needs to be vaguely plausible and normally, I'm okay with that. A strange concept now could be common place in the future, I just need to nudge it in the direction of 'yeah, it could happen.'

I think I got pretty good at that. Wormholes can't open so I have to figure out a way to make it open. Okay, I saw a show on the Science Channel about Particle Accelerators and how they could accidently create Strangelets, an exotic particle that turns all other particles around it into a strangelet and could open a wormhole. Cool, that's prefect! So, I use it for my Arwen stories and it works well in the stories. Do I need to explain how we fit a particle accelerator into a starship when most of them today are miles and miles in circumference? Nah, I figured the people who are listening or reading can figure out that in 300 years we could probably scale it down to starship size so I didn't worry about that.

So, I think things through pretty well, for the most part, when I'm writing stories like this. Sometimes I'll think about it for weeks before even starting the story. I normally feel pretty confident sitting down that I can at least BS my way through the technical stuff until the second or third drafts but I can't cover everything and every time I post a story I worry if someone is going to send me an e-mail detailing why my science is wrong and why I should never write another science fiction story ever again.

I worry about that but it has never happened. When someone does comment on something I screwed up I take it in stride and move on. Heck, once it's out there it's really hard to bring it back so I just have to let the moment of stupidity hang there for everyone to see and read. And, to be honest, most of the time they're right and it forces me to think harder the next time I write a story in which a Dyson Sphere is 17 AU's in diameter. How will that affect, well, everything from its gravity signature to how close you need to be before you crash into it, how do the inhabitance live in it, stuff like that.

I love fantastic ideas and I love fantastic ideas in Science Fiction and, even if they don't make total sense when you really think about them, there really is a power to the imagination.

It’s the end of the World and I feel fine

So, yesterday the world didn't end. Why am I not surprised. I think most people believed we would wake up the next day without any issues other than maybe a hangover or some other drinking related mishap. It was Saturday night after all. Judging by all the posts on Facebook no one I knew took it seriously. I think that maybe some people used it as a way to reflect on their religion, maybe reexamine their relationship with God. All it really did for me is reawaken a question I've had for a very long time, one that's been bothering me for about as long as I can remember. What are people fascinated with being on Earth when it finally ends? If you believe in heaven, if you believe there will be a rapture, why do you want to be here when it happens?

Maybe it all comes from the fact that we're the only animal on Earth who knows it's mortal. I could be wrong, bears could easily have a rapture myth just like we do, but I doubt it. We're the only animals that know we'll die someday. Other animals do what they can to survive but do you think many of them stay up and night going, 'I'm going to die. I'm going to die.' That could be why my dogs bark and kick in their sleep, but once again, I doubt it.

We are smart, we are clever, we've figured out things about ourselves and about the world we live in. We are also really dumb, prone to trying to see patterns where there are none, and irrational to the extreme. We are all those things and I believe that is why so many people want to see the world come to an end and why they want to be here when it happens.

I'm pretty sure end of world myths go back before the stories in the bible. I would bet one of the first stories ever told was about the end of the world. The story of the flood and Noah was around thousands of years before it was put into the bible and I'm sure it was just one of many such stories being told at that time. We're still telling them now and if we headed 500 years into the future we'll probably hear them then as well.

That's just the way our minds work, we like to tell stories, we like to listen to stories, we also like to think that our lives have meaning and maybe, for some, the only meaning is to be here when it ends. That's why I sort of feel bad for those who build themselves up for the end only to be disappointed the next day.

It's pretty obvious to me that most of those that predict the end of the world are charlatans trying to get money out of weak willed people. But, it's those people that I wonder about. Can a rational mind believe that the world will end? Does it take someone who is easily manipulated to believe it? Can you be a smart, educated person and still listen to an 85 year of man, someone who had predicted things that never happened, and believe him this time?

I think this is always going to puzzle me until I can find a cause, or a person, that I can get behind so fully that I believe everything that's said and do everything that's asked of me. I'm a very cynical person when it comes to causes and people so I may never know for sure.

One more thing, the only time the world will actually end is when the sun goes nova. . .or a stray black hole passes our solar system. . .or if another planet collides with us. . .or if we're hit with a gamma burst. . .or, you know what, never mind, I've got more than enough to think about tonight as I sleep.

Things that make sense to me: Renewable energy

I sometimes picture God up there in heaven, looking down on us, complaining to any angel that happens to fly by saying, "I give them wind, the sun, tidal waves, and geothermal and they still insist on using the stuff that I specially placed deep underground for their energy. Geez, what else do I need to do?"

That's how I see it, God placed all the oil and coal underground because he didn't want us to use it, just like we place poison on a high counter top so our kids can't get to it.

I sometimes wonder what the world would be like if the companies that run the world had, when they first started, put their money and power toward the renewable energy resources we have on the planet. Imagine if, 100 years ago, Henry Ford thought, "I wonder if I could get this car to run on water instead of gas?" What if Thomas Edison thought, "Hey, I bet we can set up some wind mills to power this new light bulb thing I invented."

During the turn of the last century coal, gas, and oil were the best way to create the power that was needed and we never thought we'd need another way. It seemed limitless and abundant but now we know better so, shouldn't we be working harder to figure out how to use the sun to power our cars? How to use the tides or geothermal energy to power cities? The oil and coal we dig up won't last so wouldn't it be smart to look elsewhere?

I know we're trying and I think we've got a good start with hybrid and electric cars but really, that's just a small start. We're decades behind where we should be at this point in history. I've heard that the oil, coal and natural gas left could last us for another 100 years. I've also heard that we've reach the peak and we'll start to run out by 2020. I'm kind of hoping that it's 100 years because I'd like to believe by 2111 almost everything will be run on renewable energy.

I sometimes wish we had continued the research started in the 1970's during the energy crises. That really should have jump started the move from oil to other forms of energy but, thanks to some very smart oil people, it didn't. The companies that owned the oil fields saw what was happening here and decided to increase production of oil, lowering the price, making the government wonder why they should pump billions of dollars into renewable energy when we had plenty of cheap energy coming into the country. Look how well that turned out. It seems we're paying the piper now and it'll only get worst.

I remember when gas cost a dollar a gallon, that's when I first started to drive about 10 years ago. Now, 5 bucks a gallon doesn't seem that crazy at the rate gas keeps going up. We almost reached that a few years ago and we've come close a few times since then. I guess nothing jump starts a need for new energy sources like money.

Energy creation has always been hard on the planet and on us. When all we could burn was wood it caused entire cities to burn to the ground. Once we found other means it made some people insanely rich, and made some countries insane. I do often wonder if the Middle East didn't have so much oil would it nearly as important? I don't recall my history perfectly but I know that area has always been important for trade routes and spices and stuff but without oil would we really even care? I see that area as being just another Africa. You see, there are a lot of bad dictators in Africa but we really don't seem to care since those countries can't provide us with anything we really need If Libya didn't have oil riches would we really be bombing them? Well, maybe but I doubt it. Energy, the ability to have electricity so we can watch our TV's and gas so we can drive to the bar, that's what it's all about.

We need energy, we need it to run our lives. Energy creation provides billions of dollars to our economy in jobs, labor and taxes. How many people does it take to bring one gallon of gas to our country? What would happen if that just went away. I'm all for renewable energy but there does seem to be a dark side to it too. What would happen to our social and economic structure if, all of a sudden, everyone had a solar panel and windmill on their roofs providing energy for their homes and electric cars?

I see a future where power plants are located on the coasts; I figured that's the best way to get three out of the four major renewable energy sources easily. Wind, sun and tidal power. If you happen to be here a hot spot all the better, you can have all four! The power companies will still charge you for the service, only it would be simply to help upkeep the equipment. Would that make it cheaper? Probably but would they charge you less? Probably not. No company wants to drop prices if it they can avoid it, that includes the power plants.

I also see a future where gas stations are a thing of the past and instead you'll have charging posts along all the highways. Imagine that every few miles you see a charging station, which I see a simple pole with a solar panel and maybe a small windmill, high in the sky absorbing light and wind. You pay whatever they'll charge (would it be by the kilowatt or a flat rate? Not sure yet) it charges your car in less than a minute and you're off again. Hopefully the batteries in the future can charge the quickly.

I also see that the battery will be small enough to take out of your car and plugged into your home outlet to charge overnight. I've read stories on how people are experimenting with all kinds of ways to produce electricity, from photosensitive paint to cloths that, when you move, generate a current. Than would be really cool for your iPod, just plug it into your shirt and start walking!

But to get there we need to start now. My vision is at least 100 years away, I'll probably be dead but I would die happy if I knew we were heading there. It's going to take a huge reconstruction of our power system to get to that point and we need to start now, not tomorrow, but now.