Posts tagged ‘sci-fi’
ELMO’S SOJOURN, CHAPTER 13
ELMO’S SOJOURN
CHAPTER 13
ELMO RETURNS TO EARTH
Mildred was watching TV when she detected footsteps coming up the cellar stairs. She immediately knew the sight that would soon greet her: a young Elmo and his alien friend. She also knew Elmo had returned because he wanted her to go back to Roth with him. Could she? Could she leave her family and friends to live in an alien world with Elmo? What would Elmo do if she said no? Would he willingly return to the body of an old man and finish their life together in this house? All this ran through her mind as the cellar door slowly opened.
Out stepped young Elmo and the alien. This time Mildred was able to handle their appearance much better. Valmid went upstairs to entertain himself with the computer and Elmo asked Mildred to join him at the kitchen table to discuss their future. They sat there for a long time, going over the pros and cons of staying on Earth or returning to Roth. Elmo finally said, “Mildred, the stay on Roth does not have to be permanent. We could return to Earth any time we wish. The residents of Roth time-travel with the ease of our driving to the store.” This argument pushed her over the edge. She replied, “You know Elmo, during all the years we’ve been together, I’ve done plenty of crazy things with you. This must be the craziest, but I’ll give it a try.”
“Mildred,” Elmo responded, “the last time I was this happy was when you said you would marry me. Let’s go explore the universe!” Elmo headed upstairs to get Valmid. But before returning downstairs he sat at his computer and typed out the following e-mail message.
My name is Elmo Baker. I am a retired scientist formerly employed at Los Alamos. What I have to say is unbelievable but true. I have traveled to the planet Roth. There I found that during the early twentieth century, monsters from the planet Gylex invaded Earth. The purpose of this invasion was to obtain women for the survival of their civilization because a virus had killed most of the females of Gylex. Unfortunately, all the women captured are no longer alive. I have included two attachments. One is a detailed report on how to protect the Earth from further invasions because it’s likely that these monsters may be returning soon. The second attachment is a video of one of the monsters attacking a house on the planet I visited. Please believe me and take action.
Elmo sent the e-mail to The New York Times, The Washington Post and every other major newspaper he could think of. He then shut the computer down and headed downstairs. As he entered the living room, he found Valmid laying out two time-space machines on the floor. Elmo told Valmid, “I’ve alerted some of our major newspapers. I hope to God they heed my warning.” Valmid then had Mildred stand in one of the machines, handed her the control box and told her to push the start button. With a face full of apprehension, she followed his instructions and was gone in a flash. Elmo and Valmid entered the other machine and made their exit from planet Earth.
HARD AND SOFT SCIENCE FICTION; WHAT ARE THEY
HARD AND SOFT SCIENCE FICTION
I’m sure science fiction addicts are well aware of the difference between hard and soft science fiction. But the occasional science fiction reader may not.
For soft science fiction, think Star Trek. The story line is science fiction but the scientific facts driving the story are not true science facts. The author creates the facts, and once created, must be adhered to them.
Hard science fiction is fiction where the story is created around actual science. The currently popular science fiction novel, The Three Body Problem, is a prime example of a hard science fiction story. Science using scientific facts to tell a story.
Soon I will offer a short story, The Ultimate Experiment, which is a hard science fiction story. As you read the story you will find fiction entwined with science fact.
Another story I wrote, The Universe in Balance, a hard science fiction story which, not long ago, I submitted to a publisher, and it was rejected. I did not mention to the publisher that it was a hard science fiction story. The publisher said that the story contained too much physics.
The story centered arounf the Big Bang which I consider the most mysterious subject in science.
To help explain the Big Bang Peter Higgs predicted the existence of the Higgs boson also known as “the God Particle”. Stephen Hawking proposed that “the God Particle” was the source of all the mass in the universe.
The existence of the Higgs boson was confirmed in 2012. Higgs won the Nobel Prize for his work the following year.
I submitted The Universe in Balance to another publisher explaining that it was a hard science fiction story, and it was accepted for publication by the Corner Bar Magazine. To find the story go to the Corner Bar Magazine website and to the Home page, then to Ostarablot, March 21, volume 9 issue 4. Hope you enjoy the story.
So, there you have it, the difference between hard and soft science fiction.
Walttriznastories's Blog 