[LMB] (chat) new essay

[Michael R N Dolbear]

> From: Lois McMaster Bujold <lbujold at myinfmail.com>
> Date: 24 October 2007 21:48
> 
> We've added a new essay at dendarii.com  I wrote this piece as [...]
> for me next week.  My essay was more personal; the others seem more 
> formal, but oh well.
> 
> http://www.dendarii.com/space_opera.html
> 

Thank you.

While Lois is away and we should be playing nicely, we might discuss the
essay.

== .. writing skills began to develop and grow. I do indeed use a somewhat
generic “space opera” galactic background, with an entirely bogus means for
getting characters around the galaxy via “wormhole jumps”. Since this
violates both physics and economics, no one, least of all me, can consider
my space-faring story-background to be serious futurism. ==

Now, on the principle that Her Ladyship is always right even when she
thinks she's wrong, wormholes and wormhole transits have not, so far, been
shown to be in violation of the laws of physics.

See Kip Thorne  _Black Holes and Time Warps_

Now anti-gravity and artificial gravity (anti-grav and lift tubes in BiA)
may have to be a violation, does anyone know ?

As to economics, do we know enough ?

The imported food available on Kline staion in EoA ?

Combining physics and economics, we know the the Bujold Nexus has sources
of energy for its spaceship's 'norm-space thrusters' which allow
accelerations of 1 g for ordinary ships and rather more for couriers (times
in iVG). How this is done we don't know since fusion probably can't do it
and no other source is mentioned in Komarr.

Little Egret