A metal science opera
Characters created by Peter Watts
Artwork by Kim Holm
Name: Dr. Delacourt S. Poppet Position: Test-tube cleaner, Resident Lungfish Expert. Qualifications: PhDs in Comparative Genetics of Sarcopterygians, Archaebiology, Gender Studies. Postdocs in Molecular Barcoding, Ecosystem Engineering, Bedouin Nautical Literature, Synthetic Biology, and Interior Decorating. An oversmart underachiever in a world that does not, shall we say, put a high premium on intelligence, Poppet spent two decades Read More …
Name: Lady Elspeth Isis Fishcort Position: captain of the R/V Gadfly and trusted employee of MIS. There was once a time when Lola Larsen’s beseeching obedience was endearing. She did what she was told in matters both personal and professional, could be counted on to take out whatever trash was in need of disposal. After Read More …
Name: Paul Pott Position: Custodial Engineer, R/V Gadfly. Qualifications: M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering, U Cal, Berkeley. The pay’s good. The workload’s light. The hours are killer, but you sleep through most of them. For Paul Pott, it’s pretty much the perfect job. The technology’s, tried, tested, and self-maintaining. Mishaps are vanishingly unlikely, and when they Read More …
Picture: Kim Holm
Name: Gov. Lola Leydrew Position: Outgoing governor of the Mars Colony. All Lola ever wanted to do was what she was told. She’s never really been cut out for command. She feels safest in the shadow of those more— assertive than she is, comes into her own when bending to the firm will of some Read More …
Picture: Kim Holm
Picture: Kim Holm
Picture: Kim Holm
The Late Sleepers They are ancient— more ancient even than the Johnny-come-latelies who showed up at the beginning of “2001: A Space Odyssey” to save a handful of struggling hominins from extinction. These guys stopped by before mammals were even a twinkle in evolution’s eye. Unlike Kubrick’s magical beings they had no stargates, no ftl. Read More …
By the middle of the 21rst century, Humanity has pretty much kicked the land-meat habit. Historians are busy rewriting their textbooks to reflect the new narrative: how we finally realized the unsustainable burden we were placing on the Earth’s ecosystems; how we wisely chose in the nick of time to reduce that burden by eating Read More …