Science Fiction: Space Opera Fiction
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A Very Short History of Cyberpunk
A Very Short History of Cyberpunk Marcus Janni Pivato Many people seem to think that William Gibson invented The cyberpunk genre in 1984, but in fact the cyberpunk aesthetic was alive well before Neuromancer (1984). For example, in my opinion, Ridley Scott's 1982 movie, Blade Runner, captures the quintessence of the cyberpunk aesthetic: a juxtaposition of high technology with social decay as a troubling allegory of the relationship between humanity and machines ---in particular, artificially intelligent machines. I believe the aesthetic of the movie originates from Scott's own vision, because I didn't really find it in the Philip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (1968), upon which the movie is (very loosely) based. Neuromancer made a big splash not because it was the "first" cyberpunk novel, but rather, because it perfectly captured the Zeitgeist of anxiety and wonder that prevailed at the dawning of the present era of globalized economics, digital telecommunications, and exponential technological progress --things which we now take for granted but which, in the early 1980s were still new and frightening. For example, Gibson's novels exhibit a fascination with the "Japanification" of Western culture --then a major concern, but now a forgotten and laughable anxiety. This is also visible in the futuristic Los Angeles of Scott’s Blade Runner. Another early cyberpunk author is K.W. Jeter, whose imaginative and disturbing novels Dr. Adder (1984) and The Glass Hammer (1985) exemplify the dark underside of the genre. Some people also identify Rudy Rucker and Bruce Sterling as progenitors of cyberpunk. -
Dark Council of the Sith Empire
The Force Shall Free Me Dark Council of the Sith Empire “Peace is a lie; there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me.” —The Sith Code Contents Letter from the Director ................................................................................................... 4 Mandate .......................................................................................................................... 5 Background ...................................................................................................................... 6 History .................................................................................................................. 6 Imperial Government Structure ............................................................................. 8 Key Planets to Know ............................................................................................. 8 Topics for Discussion ..................................................................................................... 10 Imperial Alliances ................................................................................................ 10 Sith and Non-Sith ................................................................................................ 12 Corruption .......................................................................................................... 14 Positions ....................................................................................................................... -
Hugo Award -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
10/10/2017 Hugo Award -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia Hugo Award Hugo Award, any of several annual awards presented by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). The awards are granted for notable achievement in science �ction or science fantasy. Established in 1953, the Hugo Awards were named in honour of Hugo Gernsback, founder of Amazing Stories, the �rst magazine exclusively for science �ction. Hugo Award. This particular award was given at MidAmeriCon II, in Kansas City, Missouri, on August … Michi Trota Pin, in the form of the rocket on the Hugo Award, that is given to the finalists. Michi Trota Hugo Awards https://www.britannica.com/print/article/1055018 1/10 10/10/2017 Hugo Award -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia year category* title author 1946 novel The Mule Isaac Asimov (awarded in 1996) novella "Animal Farm" George Orwell novelette "First Contact" Murray Leinster short story "Uncommon Sense" Hal Clement 1951 novel Farmer in the Sky Robert A. Heinlein (awarded in 2001) novella "The Man Who Sold the Moon" Robert A. Heinlein novelette "The Little Black Bag" C.M. Kornbluth short story "To Serve Man" Damon Knight 1953 novel The Demolished Man Alfred Bester 1954 novel Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury (awarded in 2004) novella "A Case of Conscience" James Blish novelette "Earthman, Come Home" James Blish short story "The Nine Billion Names of God" Arthur C. Clarke 1955 novel They’d Rather Be Right Mark Clifton and Frank Riley novelette "The Darfsteller" Walter M. Miller, Jr. short story "Allamagoosa" Eric Frank Russell 1956 novel Double Star Robert A. Heinlein novelette "Exploration Team" Murray Leinster short story "The Star" Arthur C. -
Star Wars: the Fascism Awakens Representation and Its Failure from the Weimar Republic to the Galactic Senate Chapman Rackaway University of West Georgia
STAR WARS: THE FASCISM AWAKENS 7 Star Wars: The Fascism Awakens Representation and its Failure from the Weimar Republic to the Galactic Senate Chapman Rackaway University of West Georgia Whether in science fiction or the establishment of an earthly democracy, constitutional design matters especially in the realm of representation. Democracies, no matter how strong or fragile, can fail under the influence of a poorly constructed representation plan. Two strong examples of representational failure emerge from the post-WWI Weimar Republic and the Galactic Republic’s Senate from the Star Wars saga. Both legislatures featured a combination of overbroad representation without minimum thresholds for minor parties to be elected to the legislature and multiple non- citizen constituencies represented in the body. As a result both the Weimar Reichstag and the Galactic Senate fell prey to a power-hungry manipulating zealot who used the divisions within their legislature to accumulate power. As a result, both democracies failed and became tyrannical governments under despotic leaders who eventually would be removed but only after wars of massive casualties. Representation matters, and both the Weimer legislature and Galactic Senate show the problems in designing democratic governments to fairly represent diverse populations while simultaneously limiting the ability of fringe groups to emerge. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of representative democracies. A poor evil is for good men to do nothing.” constitutional design can even lead to tyranny. – Edmund Burke (1848) Among the flaws most potentially damaging to a republic is a faulty representational “So this is how liberty dies … with structure. Republics can actually build too thunderous applause.” - Padme Amidala (Star much representation into their structures, the Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, 2005) result of which is tyranny as a byproduct of democratic failure. -
Fudge Space Opera
Fudge Space Opera Version 0.3.0 2006-August-11 by Omar http://www.pobox.com/~rknop/Omar/fudge/spop Coprights, Trademarks, and Licences Fudge Space Opera is licenced under the Open Gaming Licence, version 1.0a; see Appendex A. Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. Fudge System Reference Document Copyright 2005, Grey Ghost Press, Inc.; Authors Steffan O’Sullivan, Ann Dupuis, with additional material by other authors as indicated within the text. Available for use under the Open Game License (see Appendix I) Fudge Space Opera Copyright 2005, Robert A. Knop Jr. Open Gaming Content Designation of Product Identity: Nothing herein is designated as Product Identity as outlined in section 1(e) of the Open Gaming License. Designation of Open Gaming Content: Everything herein is designated as Open Game Content as outlined in seciton 1(d) of the Open Gaming License. Fudge Space Opera -ii- Fudge Space Opera CONTENTS Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Why “Space Opera”? . ......... 1 1.2 WhatisHere ........................................ .......... 2 1.3 TheMostImportantThing .............................. ............ 2 2 Character Creation 3 2.1 GeneralNotes........................................ .......... 3 2.2 5-PointFudge....................................... ........... 3 3 Combat 7 3.1 Default Combat Options . .......... 7 3.2 Basic Armor and Weapon Mechanics . ........... 7 3.3 Cross-WeaponScaleAttacks. .............. 8 3.4 Suggested Weapon Scales . ........ 9 3.5 DamagetoPassengers ................................. ............ 9 3.6 GiantSpaceBeasts.................................... ........... 9 3.7 When To Use Fudge Scale .......................................... 10 3.8 RangedWeapons....................................... ......... 11 3.9 Explosions........................................ ............ 12 3.10 Missiles and Point Defense . .............. 12 -iii- Fudge Space Opera CONTENTS 3.11 Doing Too Many Things at Once . -
1 Respiratory Motion Tracking in Magnetic Resonance Imaging With
Respiratory Motion Tracking in Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Pilot Tone Technology Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Mary Lenk Graduate Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering The Ohio State University 2018 Thesis Committee Dr. Lee Potter, Advisor Dr. Rizwan Ahmad 1 Copyrighted by Mary Lenk 2018 2 Abstract This thesis explores the hypothesis that Pilot Tone (PT) technology can encode respiratory induced motion of the heart to improve cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Pilot tone technology is advantageous due to its high sampling rate to provide high temporal resolution in tracking and predicting respiration. Also, the PT signal has the potential to provide motion information without interrupting the pulse sequence to perform motion compensated scans. A prediction model is hypothesized to account for in-plane and through-plane motions due to respiration. A proof-of-concept experiment was designed to explore the ability of the PT signal to encode respiratory-induced motion. The PT signal was processed retrospectively offline and compared to a reference for respiratory motion. The two signals had a high correlation and show preliminary success for the PT to detect respiration. A linear filter was then designed to predict motion from a training phase using the same reference signal. The linear filter was successful with peak/trough locations between the prediction and the reference signal having a correlation coefficient of 0.9999 for end-expiration and end-inspiration prediction. Furthermore, a PT transmitter was designed and constructed for implementation of additional experiments. -
Technological Singularity
TECHNOLOGICAL SINGULARITY BY VERNOR VINGE The original version of this article was presented at the VISION-21 Symposium sponsored by NASA Lewis Research Center and the Ohio Aerospace Institute, March 30-31, 1993. It appeared in the winter 1993 Whole Earth Review --Vernor Vinge Except for these annotations (and the correction of a few typographical errors), I have tried not to make any changes in this reprinting of the 1993 WER essay. --Vernor Vinge, January 2003 1. What Is The Singularity? The acceleration of technological progress has been the central feature of this century. We are on the edge of change comparable to the rise of human life on Earth. The precise cause of this change is the imminent creation by technology of entities with greater-than-human intelligence. Science may achieve this breakthrough by several means (and this is another reason for having confidence that the event will occur): * Computers that are awake and superhumanly intelligent may be developed. (To date, there has been much controversy as to whether we can create human equivalence in a machine. But if the answer is yes, then there is little doubt that more intelligent beings can be constructed shortly thereafter.) * Large computer networks (and their associated users) may wake up as superhumanly intelligent entities. * Computer/human interfaces may become so intimate that users may reasonably be considered superhumanly intelligent. * Biological science may provide means to improve natural human intellect. The first three possibilities depend on improvements in computer hardware. Actually, the fourth possibility also depends on improvements in computer hardware, although in an indirect way. -
Joining the Evil Galactic Empire a Review of Star Wars: Tie Fighter by Brennan Movius STS 145
Joining the Evil Galactic Empire A Review of Star Wars: Tie Fighter By Brennan Movius STS 145 Publisher: LucasArts Project Leads and Design: Lawrence Holland and Edward Kilham Very Special Thanks: George Lucas “The Emperor welcomes you intohis Imperial Fleet.. ..” As soon as I read those first words in ‘Tie Fighter’s Starfghter Pilot Manual, I was hooked. Fresh off the experience of ‘X-Wing’ ’, I was ready for its sequel. And with ‘Tie Fighter’,LucasArts promised to delivera very different gaming experience. While previously my exploits in the Star Wars universe had been limited to the perspective of the benevolent Rebel Alliance, this time, I was joining the ranks of the Evil Galactic Empire. And I was very excited to finally be playing the role of a bad-guy. So much so, in fact, that not ten seconds into the opening crawl I had already embraced the Empire’s ‘proactive’ stance on Galactic defense. And while it’s important to realize that there are two sides to every conflict (the Empire can’tbe all bad, can it?), somehow I sensed that my concerns we no longer with the unalienable rights of the galactic inhabitants. My allegiance was to law and order now and the Rebels,I was told, were tryingto undermine it. So let’s crush that traitorous Rebel scum! Serve the Emperor! Building on a Giant When LucasArts went about creating ‘Tie Fighter’ (the definitive, single-player, space- combat simulator) they had the enormous success of ‘X-Wing’ to build on. Indeed, ‘X- Wing’ combined many features that have now become standardon like-genre games, like pre-renderedcut-scenes, multiple crafts and weapons, 3D shadedgraphics, mission objectives, and in-game training. -
Pilot Stories
PILOT STORIES DEDICATED to the Memory Of those from the GREATEST GENERATION December 16, 2014 R.I.P. Norm Deans 1921–2008 Frank Hearne 1924-2013 Ken Morrissey 1923-2014 Dick Herman 1923-2014 "Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, And danced the skies on Wings of Gold; I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung high in the sunlit silence. Hovering there I've chased the shouting wind along and flung my eager craft through footless halls of air. "Up, up the long delirious burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace, where never lark, or even eagle, flew; and, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod the high untrespassed sanctity of space, put out my hand and touched the face of God." NOTE: Portions Of This Poem Appear On The Headstones Of Many Interred In Arlington National Cemetery. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 – Dick Herman Bermuda Triangle 4 Worst Nightmare 5 2 – Frank Hearne Coming Home 6 3 – Lee Almquist Going the Wrong Way 7 4 – Mike Arrowsmith Humanitarian Aid Near the Grand Canyon 8 5 – Dale Berven Reason for Becoming a Pilot 11 Dilbert Dunker 12 Pride of a Pilot 12 Moral Question? 13 Letter Sent Home 13 Sense of Humor 1 – 2 – 3 14 Sense of Humor 4 – 5 15 “Poopy Suit” 16 A War That Could Have Started… 17 Missions Over North Korea 18 Landing On the Wrong Carrier 19 How Casual Can One Person Be? 20 6 – Gardner Bride Total Revulsion, Fear, and Helplessness 21 7 – Allan Cartwright A Very Wet Landing 23 Alpha Strike -
Tor.Com, Which Averages 1 Million Unique Visitors and 3 Million Pageviews Per Month, with
TORDOTCOM JULY 2021 A Psalm for the Wild-Built Becky Chambers Just when the world needs it comes a story of kindness and hope from one of the masters of Hopepunk Hugo Award-winner Becky Chambers's delightful new series gives us hope for the future. It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. FICTION / SCIENCE FICTION / ACTION & ADVENTURE But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. Tordotcom | 7/13/2021 They're going to need to ask it a lot. 9781250236210 | $20.99 / $28.99 Can. Hardcover with dust jacket | 160 pages | Carton Qty: 28 8 in H | 5 in W Becky Chambers's new series asks: in a world where people have what they Other Available Formats: want, does having more matter? Ebook ISBN: 9781250236227 Audio ISBN: 9781250807748 PRAISE "This was an optimistic vision of a lush, beautiful world that came back from the brink of disaster. Exploring it with the two main characters was a fun and MARKETING -Long-term support for Hugo Award fascinating experience.” —Martha Wells winner Becky Chambers’ Monk & Robot series, including consumer & industry mailings & advertising targeting existing "I'm the world's biggest fan of odd couple buddy road trips in science fiction, and fans & readers of hopeful science fiction this odd couple buddy road trip is a delight: funny, thoughtful, touching, sweet, and one of the most humane books I've read in a long time. -
Human Exploration and Settlement of the Solar System
CORE 103G SPRING 2020 THE PROCESS OF CHANGE IN SCIENCE: HUMAN EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM *** Please make sure to see me ASAP if you were not present on the first day of class *** Prof. Vahé Peroomian Email address: [email protected] Phone: (213) 740-2386 Office hours: Mondays 12:00pm – 1:30pm, Tuesdays 2:00pm – 4:00pm, Wednesdays 12:00pm – 1:30pm, and by appointment Two centuries ago, it was “common wisdom” that aLL of the pLanets of the Solar System were inhabited and were each home to flourishing civilizations. Percival Lowell’s imagined observations of Martian canaLs in the waning years of the 19th Century further fueled this belief. Since 1965, when the Mariner 4 spacecraft found Mars to be a LifeLess, barren worLd, our imagination has taken a new turn – that of terraforming Mars and making it habitable for humans. More recentLy, both science and science fiction have considered the possibility of human settlement throughout the Solar System, not just on Mars but also in the seemingly inhospitable outer Solar System. In this course, we will consider the eventual human exploration and settLement of the Solar System not just from a scientific and technological standpoint, but also by examining the interdependencies of complex systems and the human and societal aspects of this endeavor. We wiLL first famiLiarize ourseLves with the Solar System, exploring not only the planets, but also the Asteroid BeLt and many of the Larger moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Each of these destinations wiLL offer unique chalLenges to human habitabiLity, some of which may not be immediately apparent. -
A Deepness in the Sky Free
FREE A DEEPNESS IN THE SKY PDF Vernor Vinge | 560 pages | 14 Jul 2016 | Orion Publishing Co | 9781473211964 | English | London, United Kingdom A Deepness in the Sky - Wikipedia Audible Premium Plus. Cancel anytime. A Deepness in the Sky years have passed on Tines World, where Ravna Bergnsdot and a number of human children ended up after a disaster that nearly obliterated humankind throughout the galaxy. Ravna and the pack animals for which the planet is named have survived a war, and Ravna has saved more than one hundred children who were in cold-sleep aboard the vessel that brought them. While there is peace among the Tines, there are those among them - and among the humans - who seek power. And no matter the cost, these malcontents are determined to overturn the fledgling civilization By: Vernor Vinge. A Fire Upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge's career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale. Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function. Set A Deepness in the Sky few decades from now, Rainbows End is an epic adventure that encapsulates in a single extended family the challenges of the technological advances of A Deepness in the Sky first quarter of the 21st century. A Deepness in the Sky information revolution of the past 30 years blossoms into a web of conspiracies that could destroy Western civilization.