Never Mind The Future -

Right Now Looks Ghastly!
One of the bonuses in having a lofty perspective is the spectacular view it affords - see yesterday's post for evidence of this.  Conversely, the very same view can serve to cast a pall over one's soul, if the weather is bad.  If you recall yesterday's photo - and you should be able to, it's only 24 hours past and you're not senile yet - then we could see all the way to the Pennines.  Not so today.  Art?

No, those are not rectangular UFO's, Victoria

      Kind of like The Langoliers in reverse; here your world isn't being dismantled, it's being smothered.  Or drowned.
     Well, now that your life has been rendered a little darker and more sinister, let the motley roll out in all it's febrile glory.

Back To "The Expanse" And "Leviathan Wakes" (By James S.A. Corey)
I've nearly finished reading LW (source material for the television program) and there's not been a single scene set on Earth.  You know, Planet Earth, tagline "It was good while it lasted".  
     The Amos of the novel is rather less of a psychopath than the program, it has to be said, and although snapshotted as "burly" a more apt term would be "menacing".  Jim Holden, in both iterations, retains his endearing quality of opening his mouth and sparking interplanetary war.  Some people just have that gift, I suppose.

There's Alex not looking fat

      Now, about the weapons*.  We have what's called the "Point Defence System", which amounts to a smaller and more numerous, yet just as capable, version of Goalkeeper.

Goalkeeper

     That is, multi-barrel, ultra-rapid fire machine guns.  The purpose of the PDS is to shoot to bits any incoming hardware that does not have the best interests of our heroes at heart.  It is the last line of defence, yet also serves to colander any nearby space vessels, or enemy troops; though that last is a bit of overkill.
     Then you have "Torpedoes", which are essentially guided missiles with a fusion engine, either High Explosive or nuclear-armed.  They come in varying sizes, yet are merely an updated version of what we have nowadays, or tomorrow in the case of the Norks.

Someone is about to have a really bad day

     A third weapons system is the "Rail Gun", firing Gauss rounds - presumably made of a niobium-steel alloy and accelerated via a linear electromagnetic ring array - and the South Canadian Navy has already trialled a prototype version in the here and now.  These things are massive, and thus it does make sense to mount them on a ship, as only such have the power and room to accomodate.

Close enough

     Here an aside.  Whilst reading my Collins Compact Dictionary, I came across Niobium, the element named after Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus in Greek mythology.  It's called Niobium because it's usually found combined with the ore Tantalum.  Father-daughter, yeah?
     As an aside to the aside, Tantalus is the chap who was condemned to suffer eternal thirst and hunger for angering the gods (probably double-parking).  Chained to a rock, if he tried to eat low-hanging fruit from a nearby tree, the branches moved away.  If he stooped to drink from the pool he stood in, the waters receded.  Poor feller probably got trench foot.

Think yourself lucky, mate - you could have a vulture pecking yer liver out daily

Conrad Is Unsure
Alas, Babylon.  Let us pause for a second in solemn remembrance of that great city.


     Now, I'm not entirely sure about this next.  Rest assured that Conrad does not take illegal drugs and I have a prescription for this bag of white pills, officer - but I could not resist.  I am weak - WEAK I TELL YOU! - when it comes to mucking about with words, and I came across #DrugTakingFilms on Twitter.  I know, I know, I should have looked the other way, so here are a whole host of film titles on a theme.

To Bong Foo Thanks For Everything

Amphetamine 2: Cruise Control

Iron Sky High

Lost In Spice

Angel Dust Heart

Field of Opium Dreams

Tango and Hash

Mushroom Ado About Nothing

The Halls of Marijuana

310 Grams to Yuma

Seaquest LSD

Loganja

The Killing of a Chinese Rocks Bookie

The Whizzard of Speed and Time

     That'll do for now.  Yes, I spent nearly 30 minutes doing this.  WEAK I TELL YOU! 

Well, I liked it.  SO there.

Have you been good?  Have you?  Really?  Oh very well then.

A real railgun -

And what it does.  Sweet!

*  Rubs hands gleefully

The Future Is Fright

I Don't Know If That's Being Too Clever
"The future is bright -" if you remember that one, which was the strapline for a company selling something suitably sunny.  It can't have been very effective, I can't remember what they were selling.

Probably not this

     Anyway, here we are today, and indeed the day has been treacherously sunny and rainy both, one of the banes of living in the Pond of Eden.  I can show you a shot of the scenery from the 18th floor - Art?

     This is from my bright shiny new employer's - did I tell you I was working again? -  Manchester premises in Arndale House.
     You cannot take it for granted that the weather will stay like this, as it had been raining on the way into work, so a coat is necessary, which means broiling like a chicken on the way home, all the more so as the bus had it's heating on.  First Bus?  Thirst Bus!
     Anyway, as per usual none of this has anything to do with what follows, because don't forget, BOOJUM! is pretty much the touchstone for non sequiteur.

"The Expanse" Versus "Leviathan Wakes" By James Corey
Television versus book, in case you were wondering.  Normally it's the inverse, as your humble scribe reads a work before seeing it on television.  Sadly for Conrad, when "V" turned up, it was an alien invasion saga, not the Thomas Pynchon novel.  
     Oh well.

Sigh.  A man can but dream.

     Anyway, here we have the television program; first of all, what kind of beast is it?  A pretty good definition of what "hard" science fiction is about; nothing present is impossible, even if it might be impractical.  No blasters, force-fields or anti-gravity here, thank you very much.  All real-world physics, with the exception of a fusion engine (the Epstein drive) that you hairless apes are likely to arrive at fairly soon, one fears*.  How does it compare to the novel "Leviathan Wakes"?  
     I thought you'd never ask!
     The program adds in a whole new character and perspective, an Earther politician entirely absent the novel.  Presumably this is to balance the otherwise rather masculine narrative of LW, and to fill in a background that the novel only adds to sparsely and economically.

Some of the ships involved

     The reason I said the future is fright is because both book and television have humanity taking all your vices into space with them - poverty, racism, violence, drugs, cheese, war, amorality and then some.  All the things that made "Babylon 5" more interesting than that Star Trek equivalent, whatever it was.  Credibility, I think it's called.
     Anyway, I have a lot more notes on this, too much to blow on a single post, so we will be revisiting this.  Rest assured!

That's Mine And I Will Have It Back
One of the things that you have to love about cats is their unerring instinct for being where they ought not to.  Take Jenny, as an example.  I had gone downstairs to make another refreshing pot of tea, only to be superceded - at least in her mind.  Art?

The cat sat on the WHERE SHE SHOULDN'T BE!

     She seemed unable to interpret the clearing of throat and polite "Excuse me" that I led with, so - she got dumped.  Much to her obvious disgust.

So You Want To Be A Supervillain?
Yes, let us continue to provide the Dummies Guide To World Conquest.  Of course you can't take all of it as gospel - Conrad doesn't want too much in the way of competition out there.

Minions And How To Acquire Them
Contradicting myself straight away, if you do have a gang, it's best not to call them  minions because, frankly, it's insulting.  "Members", "Crew" or <wince> "Homies", if you like, just not "mininos".  Nor "Henchmen" since that's discriminatory.  Now, it's a well--known fact that all criminal hirelings (value neutral phrase!) register with Reed Recruitment, so enquire within.
     If you place an advert for help, watch how you phrase it!  Avoid using the word "danger" and use "challenge" instead.  It also helps recruitment if you have special snazzy uniforms, but once again caution - never ever call these "costumes".

These guys, to be honest, are a bit drab

     I think that's enough random wibble for today as I feel the pangs of hunger gripping and griping.  Later!      



*  One reason I never accurately identify my homeworld.