Rocket Science: Chapter 21 – Smoking room

Dan Wild

Previous Chapter.. Mixed vapours of tobacco invaded their nostrils. Havana cigars shared their scent with Asian beedis and Victory Diamond ready rubbed rolling tobacco. Several butts of Cowboy Reds lay on the floor near the entrance, as if the smoker had consumed them one after the other while waiting for an announcement. Moszkowski unwrapped the …

Rocket Science: Chapter 20 – Human in distress

Dan Wild

Previous Chapter.. He butted his head on a plastic replica of the Cretan Eye dangling in his path. It swung back and hit him again in the same spot just above the eye. “Ow!” Moszkowski gently pushed the item away. “Marley we have to go. Zeen’s not coming with us. His craft’s been impounded. We …

Rocket Science: Chapter 19 – Cuthbert the Mutant Camel

Dan Wild

Previous Chapter Moszkowksi placed his bag of the day’s purchases on the floor and pressed a button on his wristwatch. “I can only give you 50,000 elon now, I am over the day’s limit.” He offered his wrist. Doooki wasted no time accepting the exchange. “Congratulations,” said Doooki, “Whether you strip it or fly it, …

Rocket Science: Chapter 18 – Second hand satellites

Dan Wild

Previous chapter.. “Go and have a look,” said Moszkowski. “It’s a sight not to be missed.” He extended his cane and started prodding through the pile of circuit boards that had tumbled from the storage room. Marley joined Doooki at the window. The Fooolzian pressed himself against it, hands splayed against the glass. Crete orbited …

Rocket Science: Chapter 17 – The Baconians

Dan Wild

Previous Chapter… Marley had always found the Baconians a little scary. Tall and slender with large deep black angular eyes, they were uncannily similar to the aliens of humanity’s imagination before first contact. And just like the idea of aliens in early Earthling pop culture, many also walked around naked. Moszkowski and Marley turned away …

Rocket Science: Chapter 16 – Keep smiling

Dan Wild

Previous Chapter They deactivated their gravity belts as the doors of Elevator D swung open. No magnetic tiling was needed in the primary areas. Centrifugal force generated by the Eye’s rotation kept boots firmly on the ground. The force generated closely approximated Cretan gravity, or 0.94 Earth G. Marley and Moszkowski strolled along the endlessly …

Rocket Science: Chapter 15 – Illegal mods

Dan Wild

Previous Chapter… Luhman 16A, the brown dwarf around which revolved Crete, reposed in the sky like a rusty coin on the black interstellar bitumen. Moszkowski tapped Marley on the shoulder and pointed through the viewscreen. Marley saw him pointing to the brightest star in the Cretan sky. “Alpha Centauri. Have you been there Professor?” “Twice. …

Rocket Science Chapter 13 – HeadSpin

Dan Wild

Previous Chapter A well sculptured chin below a large nose, a lofty brow attended by flowing amber hair falling over large green eyes: this was Zeen Crawdex, who until recently had been a paragon of success. But his poisoning at the hands of the cybernetic spider had hardly damaged his reputation, even if he looked …

Rocket Science: Chapter 14 – To the Cretan Eye

Dan Wild

Previous chapter The Cretan Eye majestically hung in the green-blue sky like a toy space station suspended above a crib. One kilometre in diameter, with a circumference of 3.141592654 kilometres, this vast satellite was a homage to nature’s most mysterious figure: π. A one mile diameter torus-style space-station orbited Mars, because Mars still used the …

Space Sweepers movie review – Korean science fiction

Dan Wild

Space Sweepers, directed by Jo Sung-hee, is probably Korea’s first venture into blockbuster science fiction film. Much of Korean TV contains fantasy elements, so sci-fi isn’t too great a leap into the unknown. The preview is full of visual eye candy. And across the full two and half hours Space Sweepers does not fail to …