Hey There,
A quick mention, just to make sure everyone is in the know: the latest episode of "Voice From The Void", my podcast about Stardrifter, hit the audio feed last Monday. Check that out on my site, or over at Podbean, for a closer look at Corporatespace.
This was the setting for "Risk Analysis", though its been mentioned in many of the other stories. Episode 12 brings a bit of context to the society and culture of this unusual place, and I think it's a fun listen.
One of the reasons I'm attracted to far-future story-telling (and even a couple hundred years counts when it comes to space opera, since absolutely everything is different from our current lives in such a setting), is that speculations on science and its impact on society have a longer shelf-life. Near-future science fiction almost always ages poorly and quickly, wherein it either loses its appeal outright, or must be viewed through the lens of hindsight and nostalgia.
While aspects of space opera may become badly dated, especially in regards to technology, the idea of being "out there" remains evergreen. Flash Gordon, as a media property, can't be separated from the era of its creation and heyday (or subsequent appearances on the cultural horizon, when it was revised and reinterpreted for new generations), but it still takes in space, and/or upon alien worlds, where we have yet to make any serious inroads as a species. It still matters, as a view of the future, because, for all its corny characters, hackneyed plots, and near-total lack of anything like an adherence to science or logic, we have yet to outpace it.
Stardrifter is part of that camp. It has yet to come. Until we are really out there, with people actually living in space (not just visiting), who have unique cultures and technologies arising as a direct result, it will remain ahead of humankind, at least in the sense that it still has a chance of coming about, to one degree or other. The tech is fanciful and convenient, and therefore, my visions of social development based on the influence of that tech are as well. But it all happens in a place -- and kind of place -- that we have yet to see in real life.
Deep space has a certain siren call, much like that of the sea. I'll never get there, myself, but somebody will. Hopefully, lots of somebodies. And perhaps one or two of them, sifting through archaic literature for whatever reason, will find a Stardrifter tale buried in the digital sediment of the 21st Century. If so, I hope its quaintness and lack of scope will offer them a chuckle or two. It's about all you can hope for when you're past your expiration date.
See you next week.
Take care,
-David