Perhaps we will explain this to you later. For now, understand that this base was built to make certain observations. Those observations did not olumoner, no, that is not the word,” Rome shook her head. “Did not shed luz…”
“Light,” OMCOM corrected.
“…light on how it is happening. There was one star in particular called Winfall that we expected to go away. But it is long past the time when it should have disappeared.
Winfall is still visible. So we are closing down this base. We are going back to… our home very soon.”
However, because of Rei's influence and invention of the star-probes, the crew at Tabit really did discover the cause of certain stars, Winfall in particular, disappearing. Once they had resolved that it was the Stareaters consuming stars, this was Ursay's reaction:
“We are abandoning this base. Now!” Commander Ursay said to Rome and moved to walk out of the room.
“Hold on a sec,” Rei shouted after him. “Why?”
Ursay turned back to him. “Because we must get this information to Earth,” Ursay said.
“Why?” Rei asked insistently.
“Because?” said Ursay shaking his head. “Did you not just see? Because there is a creature or creatures headed toward Earth that will destroy it.”
So regardless of the outcome (and we know everybody lived happily ever after), in the purest sense, the mission to Tabit was a complete success. They did discover why the stars were disappearing. I wonder if the other base, at Escobar, figured out the same thing.
Entry 2-158: June 2, 2014
Qubits
What is a qubit?
No, it isn't the unit of dimension for measuring Noah's Ark. That a cubit:
And no, it's not the video game with a little creature who uses a language all his own. That's Q*bert:
To understand a qubit, first you have to understand the computer term bit, which is a contraction of BInary digiT. A bit has two states: a one and a zero. It's at this level that all digital computers operate.
A qubit is a quantum bit which is actually an oxymoron. Qubits can simultaneously describe many values. They hold out both the possibility of a new generation of faster computing systems and the ability to create completely secure communication networks.
To see qubits in action, you should check out this article in which scientists have reported using entanglement to securely transmit data, possibly faster than the speed of light. In essence, they built a primitive version of a quantum computer. They produced qubits using electrons trapped in diamonds at extremely low temperatures.
You will recall in an earlier post, I discussed the death of Moore's Law and claimed the next leap forward in computing will be quantum computers. This is the type of computer that Rei Bierak took with him in Rome's Revolution and was featured in Rome's Evolution.
Also, don't forget, MASAL was built using the designs found after The Ark Lords were defeated. MASAL caused The Robot War among other unpleasantries. So be careful what you wish for!
Entry 2-159: June 3, 2014
Is the Algol part of a fleet?
In Rome's Revolution, the starship Algol plays an important role although it is usually in the background. I had always dreamed of it being this beautiful, graceful, awe-inspiring starship. Here is Rei's first view of the vehicle:
Soon they were approaching the base. Rome circled around once and Rei saw the Algol for the first time. Unlike the silver tugs, this starship was a graceful white presence, smooth, shaped like a tapered hourglass with large wings and thruster pods mounted on the wingtips.
“Wow,” he said. “That is some kind of starship.”
And later, when Rei thought he was all alone in the universe, releasing the VIRUS units, he got to see it taking flight:
When Rei got to 900 paces, he stopped because he could feel the ground shaking beneath him. At first, he thought it was another moonquake. He turned and looked back at the station. Off to his right, rising majestically above the rounded pyramid of the star-base was the Algol, pounding the dirt, whipping up the dust with its powerful EG lifters. The starship flew forward then executed a slow bank right until it came around and headed in his direction. He never realized how gigantic it was. The Algol was nearly half the length of the Ark II, but was much more graceful with huge thruster pods poised at the end of each airfoil. As it flew over his head, it waggled its wings. Rei raised his hand to acknowledge the gesture then stood by helplessly as it rose up into the air. After a short time, he saw it ignite the plasma thrusters and take off straight up. He watched it with tears once again welling up in his eyes as it became a tiny speck in the sky and then disappeared.
Unfortunately, my skills as an artist are limited to Visio, meaning everything comes out blocky:
So, pretend it is graceful. Is the Algol one of a kind or is it part of the Vuduri deep space fleet? Answer: it is the flagship but part of a fleet. A similar ship, the Altair, had flown to the star Escobar to watch for Stareaters from above the galactic ecliptic.
After it returns to Earth, the Algol is used for many other missions. It will appear one last time in the upcoming novel The Milk Run. Its use and its passengers will surprise you.
Entry 2-160: June 4, 2014
Stareaters and spiral arms
In the original long form of Rome's Revolution, I had envisioned the Stareaters as this huge, malevolent force that represented the end of life. I wanted Rei's (OMCOM-aided) ingenuity to be responsible for constructing a defense, namely the VIRUS units.
I even wanted to make the Stareaters responsible for the spiral arms of the Milky Way and other galaxies, eating into them, causing the gaps:
Here is the original take on that scene which presented this concept:
“Show us what you have,” said Ursay, hoarsely.
Rising above the plane of the ecliptic, a symbolic representation of the arms of the galaxy became noticeable. A bright yellow region appeared that followed the decreased density of stars between the spiral arms of the Milky Way. If the Stareaters were responsible for the gaps between arms, every galaxy had them, it would mean…
“How many of them are there?” Rome whispered.
“My probes are limited in number. This is just an estimate. It is possible that some of the stars disappeared for other reasons. But so far I have detected more than one thousand.”
When I crushed the three Rome's Revolution novels into an omnibus, it presented me with one of those rare opportunities to go back and rethink the preposterousness of the concept.
So I backed off, gave the Stareaters a purpose and let spiral arm galaxies just be a natural thing.
Entry 2-161: June 5, 2014
Science fiction as shorthand
I love science fiction. I like fantasy but I love science fiction. In the world of Rome's Revolution I don't even pretend that the genre does not exist. My hero, Rei, is a science fiction fan and constantly spouts off about it when needed.
Science fiction stories serve as a shorthand for me. For example, when Rei first thought of using the VIRUS units to defeat the Stareaters, the idea came (via OMCOM) from an H. G. Wells novel. Here is that scene:
“So find a way then. You can’t just let it go unchallenged.” Rei said.
“How?” Ursay croaked.
“Rei, perhaps you should tell them about H. G. Wells,” OMCOM offered.
“Which book?” Rei asked.
“War of the Worlds.”
Rei squinted, then opened his eyes wide. “You’re right, OMCOM!”
“What is it?” Rome asked.
“I know you guys don’t have fiction, but we did when I was growing up. One of the genres I loved reading was called science fiction which was speculation about possible futures.”
“How is this relevant?” Ursay asked. “The Overmind is familiar with the reference, but cannot see how it applies.”
“Well, there was a classic story,
written in the 19th Century by a man called H. G. Wells. It was called ‘War of the Worlds.’ It was about an invasion of Earth by malevolent creatures from Mars.”
Rome just shook her head slowly. “Rei, there is no life on Mars,” she said to him in a didactic tone.
“Yes, I know, dear. That’s why it was called science fiction.”
“Go on,” said Ursay.
“Anyway, the creatures from Mars were all-powerful. No Earth weapons could touch them and it looked like they were going to conquer the planet and destroy all life.”
“So did they?” asked Rome.
“No. They were defeated,” Rei replied.
“How!?” Ursay insisted.
“By bacteria,” Rei answered. “They got sick and died.”
“So you are proposing that we send bacteria to make the Stareaters sick? How would such a thing be possible?” Ursay asked, exasperated.
“Not bacteria,” Rei said.
Of course, Rei was referring to the VIRUS units. By using this famous science fiction story as a reference, I did not have to explain the concept to you, the reader.
A similar situation is coming in my upcoming novel The Milk Run. Aason Bierak needs Junior to extend his "roadgrader" cannons and bore his way through the Jenga-block forest on Hades. He doesn't have time to explain the maneuver to Junior so he references the movie The Last Starfighter (a great movie if you've never seen it) and tells Junior to execute a 2D version of the "Death Blossom" which Junior proceeds to perform.
Entry 2-162: June 6, 2014
Units of the Sun
When I was first constructing the story of VIRUS 5 way back before it became Rome's Revolution, the Stareater was always the nemesis and the VIRUS units were always the answer. However, I had to use a hand calculator to make sure that the Stareater could be killed. In fact, in the original story, the VIRUS units weighed one kilogram each and took about one hundred and eighteen days to reproduce to the proper volume, enough to slay the creature. They were clunky, flat things that looked like animated floor tiles with claws.
At least in the intervening years, Microsoft came out with Excel so I could do precise calculations on the volume of the VIRUS mass, given a starting weight and time to reproduce. Also, in the intervening years, the concept of nanobots and Gray Goo became well entrenched in the science fiction community which allowed me to switch the VIRUS units over to that methodology.
So, here you go. Excel in action! Rei presented his proposal to the group:
“It will take too long,” Ursay said.
“On the contrary,” OMCOM replied, “It will not take long at all.”
On the dome, OMCOM projected a series of numbers. “Assume that you start with one thousand one nanogram units. These units should be able to reproduce themselves within three minutes. At the end of the three minutes, you would have two thousand units. At the end of six minutes, you would have four thousand units and so on. Within 6 hours, the total mass of such a system would be, in theory, equal to that of the Moon. Thirty minutes later, it would achieve the mass of the Earth. Continued unabated, one and one half hours later, it would achieve the mass of the Sun.”
“How will they stand up to their own weight? Won’t they crush themselves after there are too many?” Rei asked.
OMCOM replied. “I will revise their two-dimensional structure to handle a gravitational stress much larger than that presented by the Stareater.”
“Give us the plans,” said Ursay. “Whether it works or not, we will transmit this information to Earth.”
I call it the power of the exponent and, of course, it is patently impossible. Or is it? Check out this story about a self-replicating milling machine. Kind of reminds of my original vision of VIRUS units way back in 1973!
Entry 2-163: June 7, 2014
Escobar
We learned in Rome's Revolution that Tabit was selected for the Vuduri stellar observatory because it was roughly 10 light-years below the galactic ecliptic. This was supposed to give them a better view of what was thought to be a hyper-speed interstellar cloud. Since Winfall was also slightly below the galactic ecliptic, the Vuduri felt this station would give them the best chance to observe why that star disappeared.
However, as mentioned several times throughout the novel, there was a second starbase established in the Escobar system. This star was selected because it was 12 light-years above the galactic ecliptic. We also learned four days ago that another starship, Algol-class, called the Altair was sent to Escobar.
Two questions arise. One, is Escobar a real star? And two, even if it was made up, what happened to the crew that was dispatched there? I am fairly certain there was no Ark that came tumbling through their system and therefore no Rei Bierak to help them 'crack the case'.
First, yes, Escobar is real. Its technical name is Gliese 222A or Chi1 Orionis. It is a binary star system located 28.3 light-years from Earth. The A star is very similar to the Sun. It is a G0V star with roughly the same mass as Sol. Its companion, the B star, is a dim red dwarf, barely visible from the Earth. Here is its position relative to Tabit:
With regard to the fate of the contingent sent there, I have no idea. The only thing we do know is it took them longer to get there than the Tabit crew. Rei was able to prove to OMCOM that the Vuduri routinely miscalculated the flow of time using the PPT star drive. We also know that the crew of Skyler Base was ready to throw in the towel. So it is safe to assume that the Vuduri at Escobar did the same thing.
We can guess that they returned to Earth with their tail between the legs having admitted defeat and utter failure. If the math works out perfectly and both teams had given up at the same stage of their observation, the crew aboard the Altair would have returned about a month after the crew from Tabit. Which means that Ursay would have already returned to Earth with the information about the Stareaters. I guess they couldn't have felt too, too bad then about missing the boat. Of course what to do next was a bit of problem for the Vuduri and all the humans of Earth.
Entry 2-164: June 8, 2014
Acronyms
I have always been a fan of clever acronyms. When I started the original novel, before it evolved into Rome's Revolution, it was always about self-replicating machines and I needed a clever name for them. I let Rei spout off the words but since he is fictional and I am real, I'm the one that came up with it. Here is that scene:
“How long before you can have these things ready?” Rei asked.
OMCOM replied, “Assuming you agree, I can have the first few prototypes ready within one half hour.”
“We need a name for them,” Rei said. “I think we should call the VIRUS units.”
“Where did you come up with that name?” Rome asked.
“In my day, we were big on acronyms. So I just figured they are Virtually Identical Replicating Unit Systems, ergo, VIRUS.” Rei said.
“Very clever,” OMCOM said, “but you still did not answer my question. Should I proceed?”
Of course, they did, hence the story accelerated to its dynamite conclusion.
Another acronym I came up with was MUSIC (Master Uniform System for Identifying Coins) and MAIL (Microsport Array Indexing Language). I also created an Inventory and Business Management system and hoped the IBM acronym stuck. However, the clients kept referring to it as the IBMS System so I changed the "S" to Support. It kind of lost something. At least they ended up with IQ (IntelliQuote), a coin quotation system.
One of my favorite acronyms that I ever came up with was when I had to develop a method of programming our MMC (another acronym which stood for Microsport Microcomputer) from the IBM PC (more acronyms). The MMC was a 6502-based microcomputer and it was tiny, only a 4" X 6.5" card. I used the Rockwell AIM 65 (AIM stands for Advanced Interactive Microcomputer) to program it but there came a time when I had to switch to the PC (Personal Computer). I invented a non-maskable interrupt or NMI-based system and hooked the whole thing up to
the serial port on the PC. I called it SERMON for Serial Monitor.
Finally, I invented a 64K DRAM serial port print buffer for the Commodore 64. I called it the Serial Box. Technically, it's not an acronym but am I cool or what?
Entry 2-165: June 9, 2014
The Magic Yellow Pill
At the very core of the major subplot beneath Rome's Revolution are the changes that OMCOM made to Rei's body after Rei ingested the magic yellow pill. Rome's constitution was also modified to a lesser degree. Everyone else from the Ark II that received a pill to fix their back took a white pill.
So what was in this pill and what did it do to Rei?
First off, it was gene therapy. It contained what was later known as the 25th chromosome. Here is Canus the medic's description:
“It is a combination of RNA transcriptase and DNA supplements. OMCOM said that once the altered genes have integrated within your cells, it would reactivate your disk generation mechanism and rehydrate the structures to achieve the proper balance for your age and physical condition.”
OMCOM strongly led Rei to believe that the sole purpose of the pill was to fix his back. In fact, when Rei and Rome were on their year-long journey from Tabit to Deucado, he gave her another yellow pill to fix her back pain due to her pregnancy. And it certainly did fix Rei's back.
However, there was far more to the pill than was known initially. The pill wired Rei's auditory cortex to his visual cortex and gave him sonar-vision, like a bat. Rei's super hearing only kicked in when he closed his eyes and OMCOM was kind enough to shut if off when Rei's head was horizontal so he could sleep. The pill improved Rei's healing ability, especially in his back so when he got blown up in Rome's Evolution and paralyzed from the waist down, MINIMCOM was able to reconstruct Rei's spine and Rei was able to walk again. The pill was also responsible for creating the structures behind the Vuduri bloco and stilo. This gave Rome and Rei the "cell-phone" in their heads.
Tales of the Vuduri: Year Two Page 19