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Science
Fiction in the News Articles
Related to material in Sail 25
by Jack Vance
“Henry Belt seemed a man of a different species. His face was broad, flat, roped with cartilage and muscle, with skin the color and texture of bacon rind. Coarse white grizzle covered his scalp, his eyes were crafty slits, his nose a misshapen lump. His shoulders were massive, his legs short and gnarled.”
“He leaned back in his chair, surveyed the silent group. “You’ve heard stories about me. Why haven’t they kicked me out of the service? Incorrigible, arrogant, dangerous Henry Belt. Drunken Henry Belt.”
“The voyages average about two years long: how can a man stand it? There’s only one who could: Henry Belt. I’ve got more space-time than any man alive, and now I’ll tell you a secret: this is my last time out. I’m starting to wake up at night to strange visions.”
Science fiction in the News articles describe real-world events that relate to the ideas and inventions in sf novels and movies. Select a news article:
Solar Sails Unfurled Over Japan
Two different solar sail designes were unfurled from a small rocket launched from Kagoshima, Japan on August 9th.
Jack Vance's Incredibly Thin Solar Sail
Jack Vance guessed the thickness of an ultralight solar sail propulsion system Alliant Techsystems and NASA have recently tested.
Gravity Assist Will Help Pluto-Bound Craft
Jupiter will offer NASA a real speed boost in February - who thought of how to do it first?
Ikaros Solar Sail Works!
The first push from sunlight has been felt by Japan's Ikaros spacecraft.
Solar-Photon Hoop Sails For Extrasolar Travel
Space tech from the 1950's and the sf of the early 1960's is brushed off for possible use.
The Amazing Gravity-Assisted Journey Of Rosetta
'...We used the [moon's] attraction to give us additional starting speed'- Ray Cummings, 1930.
Unrolling The Filmy Materials Of Space Tech
'When unfolded and unrolled... it became a tough, gleaming film.' - Jack Vance, 1962.
Ancient Ocean On Ceres?
'We sailed gently forward, hull down to the asteroid's surface... A little sea was now beneath us.'
An Ocean On Ceres
'We sailed gently forward, hull down to the asteroid's surface... A little sea was now beneath us.' - Ray Cummings, 1931.
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re: L. Ron Hubbard
(4/6/2024)
re: Louis Tucker
(4/4/2024)
re: Stanley G. and Helen Weinbaum
(4/2/2024)
