Recent content by CordwainerFish

Just tell yourself that the Scouts who compiled the survey data may have made a mistake... or may have introduced one in order to [REDACTED]. I do not like this word canon. It is not the word of Ghu, it is just what has been done up to now.

Jupiter's Galilean moons are in low inclination, low eccentricity orbits, and I suspect they still spend little enough time in shadow to wreck their insolation energy budgets. (I'm cooking up an Earth-sized world locked to a Mars-sized moon and it's easy enough to make eclipse season a twice a...

Not if you cut through the Islands Cluster.

Which comes to about 1/6 g.

On a course to Constellation Urion.

India has entered the chat

Wonder if laser weapons have tunable wavelengths. Remember the scene in Ringworld wheee Louis Wu tried to shoot a dude whose shirt was the same color as his laser?

I'd expect an outer gas giant or fueling station if there isn't one, follow all instructions immediately and completely, under no circumstances engage radar or other active sensors. Maybe even be given a code to squawk at the starport you're departing, code changes on a regular basis. (I...

I used to drive almost that far to get away from light pollution for an evening. (Not sure that's enough drive to get away from Vegas' light dome. Or even just the Luxor all by itself.)

If I recall Heppenheimer's Colonies in Space, that's what was claimed there. (Anyone else remember that book?)

Made me look, and it turns out at least half of the Depots are the only way for a jump 1 ship to get from one arm of a main - sometimes a sizable main - to the other. So (my) logic demands there must be some approved arrangement for civilian traffic to refuel in them. (I dislike fuel bladders...

If the operating mechanism permits that and I'm not sure it can please stop making me think about laser physics it'll make me want to watch Real Genius again arrrrgh.

I really think I'd rather have a reflex sight. Doesn't give away that my target is being targeted, and I don't end up wondering which dot is mine and which is my buddy's.

I always thought they might be a homage to the space city in Niven's essay "Bigger Than Worlds".