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Alphane life (detail) , dome in distance
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Planet Surface (Detail)
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Book Cover for 'A Children's Crusade'
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Pseudo-shrubs (detail)
Book Cover for 'The Leftover Girl'

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Month: March 2016

We live in different times

We live in different times

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We live in different times…

Hi, this entry is designed to accompany and act as an introduction to Earthsister, chapter five of my saga. So, if you’re just joining me, please read chapters one to four, to avoid confusion…

In this chapter I wanted to confront two issues:

The impact of relativity on an undertaking like the Mission. Alpha 5 is 4.37 light years from home, and given that (in my Universe, at least), there is no possibility of faster than light travel, the colonists and home are effectively in two different time frames, separated by those 4.37 years!

Secondly, I wanted to dramatise how someone in the unique position of Marta would be socialized, and find out about where she came from… It’s also a good way to sneak a peek at how things are on Earth, needless to say!

The interstellar pen pal arrangement Marta has with her ‘Earthsister’, Miss da Guia, is also more than just a convenient dramatic device, as you’ll find out if you stick with the story.

The relationship here is very much ingenue and worldly wise older woman, inevitably considering the circumstances of Marta’s conception and upbringing; but the Mission Planners clearly know this and have built it into Marta’s education, as they don’t just want a competent scientist and explorer, they want a fully-rounded human being.

Hence our heroine has to learn ‘girl stuff’ as well as science…

If this all sounds a bit Space Family Robinson at the moment, don’t despair! Other darker themes will emerge in due course…

The above is not all this chapter is about, naturally… Our heroine gets into more scrapes and learns some more life lessons, and we learn a bit more about the planet and its inhabitants…

‘Til next time…     

The Lessons of History

The Lessons of History

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Hi,

I am about to post chapter four of A Children’s Crusade on to the site. Apologies for late posting this month, my plan remains to post a new chapter roughly every two weeks, and as there are twenty two in this book, you should have the whole thing by the end of 2016.

The chapter is called ‘History Lesson’, after the central conceit, which takes a lesson given to the Children about Earth’s recent history (from our standpoint, future history), and uses it as a metaphor for life lessons learned (specifically by Marta), during the action. We also learn something more about the dominant indigenous species, as our heroine, following up on her suspicion that the pseudo-crustaceans are smarter than they look, decides to conduct behavioural research on one of them!

My speculations on a possible future history of the United States act as a way into the action. Despite any appearance to the contrary, I’m not in any way anti-American. I’m a fairly frequent visitor, and a great admirer of the American Constitution and the ideals it embodies. Readers should see the political aspects of this chapter as an outsider’s contribution to (and comment upon), the ongoing cultural debate within America.

As a sidebar to this, I’d also like to point out that I’m also an admirer of another great American institution, the US National Park Service, which I volunteered for during the summer of 2013.

Happy Reading