RED MARS REVIEW - STAR TREK DISCOVERY UPDATE

Welcome my fellow Questerians, Trekkers and Martians! We're on a friendly blog fest today.  The last Friday of the month Armchair Squid is running a monthly Sci-Fi reading Quest for bloggers or anyone who can sign into google interested in geeking out with book nerds, haha. Of course, it doesn't have to be science fiction or Star Trek or Star Wars.  Just select your book and after your trek through the pages, comment, and review on your blog. Simple. Heres mine, Enjoy - sorry about delay  in time and space but hey what are friends for? I happily got carried away.

Hugo, Nebula, Asimov and Robert A Heinlein  Award winner, Kim Stanley Robinson has earned his place in sci fi history.  Mind you he's hardly a genius just brilliant but then who is? I have to say I love Red Mars so much I bought Green Mars and Blue Mars.

My verdict is out on which is the best. Robinson's 19 novels and short stories include his latest splashing, contemporary book "New York 2140" So Okay, I recant, lol. He is a genius. In 2016 KSR won the God of all Awards, Robert A. Heinlein, besides you have to hear him having fun with people.

ROBERT A HEINLEINS NOVELS

I quote Atlantic American Magazine "the gold standard of realistic and highly literary, for KSR science fiction writing. So why hasn't Earth built a ship to boldly seek out new lifeforms and civilizations on the red planet where no-one has gone before?

RED MARS LANDER/PROBE

Well in a way Science Fiction has, Red Mars and Star Trek being classic examples - exploring the outer limits being another. Top of the queue, NASA's Scientists and MIT, geeks contacted Gene Roddenberry to help create better Star Trek which we know and love today because hey we're all trekkers aren't we?

51 years on Star Trek lives on with Star Trek Discovery due out on the 24th of September.  Mean while here's Screen Junkies give a stellar analysis of the latest Star Trek Comic Con trailer 3.



Earths Mission Control had a totally cool plan sending John Boone to Mars to boldly explore in 2020.  Sounds impressive, doesn't it?  In reality, you might say he was our version of Neil Armstrong. Everyone was excited and impressed. The first 100 which followed their leader were the best scientists and nerds from Earth. All these guys geared up for the first interplanetary voyage aboard a joint American/Russian spacecraft. Earth had a lot to faith in this crew.

RED MARS SPACECRAFT

 The stakes are high with humanities resources dwindling but at last finally,  establishing colonies on Mars was no longer a dream. Earths happy ball of beings had the spaceship Ares, a symbol of true hope, moving technology and impassioned minds representing pure dedicated service to humankind.... That at least was the plan until everything slid off the rails for John Boone and splinter groups form on Mars! but lets not get ahead of ourselves which is what Red Mars does!

In the opening act of the book, Chalmers instigates a sequence of events that leads to his good American friend Boone being assassinated; much of what follows a retrospective examination of what led to that point.)



Red Mars is all about the colonization of our nearest habitable planet 54.6 million kilometers away. So much was right about it. The author Robinson infuses a fascinating mix of science fact into the story giving the characters punchy dialogue with unbelievable sci fi credibility.

 However, the scientists invariably squabble over the politics of taking orders from a distant government! Little did our friends realize that Earth's political climate was rife with lots of problems. Greedy Transnational corporations were taking over smaller nations and governments and calling the shots. Fluttering in the breeze the flag and power of UNOMA fades as nations bow to carnivorous corporations.

 I love the fact Arkady wants a Mars revolution from the beginning. The internal tension between the colonists is as exciting as their rebellion which follows. So what does Frank Chalmers do? He negotiates the Mars Treaty which cools boiling tempers for a while. The Mars Treaty was simply the best diplomatic solution ever made between two planets, Mars and Earth..... and riddled with faults.

Machiavellian American  SEXY RUSIAN American Astronaut  RUSSIAN ENGINEER/EXPLORER Russian Engineer

 I detect Nerd and Sci Fi fan curiosity now across our world, hehe!you guys will love studying these futuristic details in this Robinson masterpiece. Okay, I'll whet your appetites a tad more, the greedy corporations find loop holes in the "United Mars Treaty" Colonizing the Red Planet was a brilliant idea. The planet was perfect for terraforming with an endless supply of natural resources. It was a natural the scientists and colonists/terraformer would put aside their egos for humanities sake, right? Nope, Sadly not, Arkady the militant has strong political beliefs. As ideas go letting him roam the planet was a bad one. So there you have it the end of Part 1 of my first review. If you've read this far you deserve a first class trip to Mars! I'll put in a good word for you, hehe

 QUESTIONS: How do any of the the team of the first 100 explorers generate heat? Thicken the atmosphere and oxgenate the planet? Generate water and construct buildings in zero gravity? Can you explain tthe significance of the 39 1/2 minute gap between Mars and Earth in your thesis with the Mars year being 668.6 days long and Earth 365 days? What do you think of the Star Trek Discovery trailer?


Live Long and Prosper Trekkers and Trekkies

STAR TREK JAYLAH - YOU HELP ME, I HELP YOU

Star Trek Beyond's Jaylah (Sofia Boutella) is sitting pretty in the captain's chair. I've added Spock, Kirk and Dr McCoy's  thoughts on alien life form stand operating procedures - for some fun. Transwarp theories and equations aside our Enterprise pals do seem a wee bit mesmerized in this photoshop. Perhaps Jaylahs ample warp nacelles need adjustment, lol

Ibiritrekker

 The guy here in RED, Scotty sets the ball rolling with "AWW shes a beauty!" So without further a do "Two to beam over, Scotty!" the word is now given by Captain James T Kirk commander of the USS Enterprise NCC1701.


QUESTIONS:

Who stands the best chance of speaking to Jaylah first?
Which one of the Enterprise crew said : "I only use it for medicinal purposes!"


Live Long and Prosper, trekkies and trekkers.

TO BOLDLY EXPLORE THE ORIGIN OF UTOPIA PLANITIA

Utopia Planitia loosely translated means the plain of paradise. In 1976 NASA's space probe Viking 2 scored a touchdown on planet Mars on September 3rd. Think back and let's imagine our happy world in 1976. Faster than the speed of sound, Concorde made its first flight across the Atlantic Ocean in under three amazing hours.

USS ENTERPRISE NCC 1701-D 

 Conversely Star Trek's USS Concord NCC-68711 starship (TNG "All Good Things") takes seconds to cover that distance. The Apple Computer company was formed on February 4th, 1976. Earth's first spaceflight in the search for extraterrestrial life results in exploring MARS!!!

 In 1996 scientists discover microscopic evidence of ancient life on MARS!!!

The lander successfully sets down 54.6 million kilometers away in '76 and takes images for Earth's happy ball of beings. Unfortunately no Martians to high five us back but to quote Counsellor Troi in TNG, "I sense the holding back."

 A recent NASA discovery in 2016 revealed a large amount of underground ice in the Utopia Planitia region of Mars. So we now know it's possible to sustain humanoid life on MARS!!! Its only logical to surmise Martians are hiding somewhere on the Red planet."

READINGS INDICATE STRONG MARTIAN LIFEFORMS NEARBY

If only the inhabitants weren't so shy of Earthers somebody was just saying the other day.  In Star Trek's 51 year history, Utopia Planitia can be overlooked from the Martian hills walking along the surface. Starfleet's spaceship Yards orbiting the planet also gives a clear view of the largest impact basin 16,625 kilometers above the Utopia Planitia region on Mars! So where are the Martians hiding?

MARS WORLD

These starships: USS Fredrickson (NCC-42111) USS Galaxy (NCC-70637) USS Yamato (NCC-71807) USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) USS Odyssey (NCC-71832) USS Equinox (NCC-72381) USS Defiant (NX-74205) USS Voyager (NCC-74656) USS Sao Paulo (NCC-75633) were developed, refit and or built at Star Trek's Federation Utopia Planitia Fleetyards orbiting Mars.

Earth Scientists at NASA first discovered Utopia Planitia on Mars.

SIGNS OF ANCIENT FLOWING WATER ON MARS

Science Fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson author of Red Mars explores the future colonization and world building of "Utopia Planitia" on the Sci Fi world. (Research took 17 years)

QUESTION Which Sci Fi creator/writer began using "Utopia Planitia" in his Science Fiction work first?

1. Star Trek's - Gene Roddenberry 

2. Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson

You decide. Guess long and prosper!

SciFiVisions Parody

AURA (COMPUTER)

 A trekker I know withdrew from the original RPG Sci-Fi visions site a while ago, but at least the name lives on!. Heres what went down. Engineer Ernie was tranquilized sky high to oblivion for reasons which were completely illogical but because some other players weren't interested in collaboration.....

 There Ernie was pumped up with cordrazine like some science project isolated in Sickbay .... Believe me the USS Audacious RPG was the 23rd century version of the Titanic waiting to happen - which it did. Nubik vented in one quick post and well have fun reading.

First off, here's the inspirational poster for each sci-fi visions character:

T'Ehklah Ric Bermud Ernie V'ncent Aura Nubik

Now, a mini-post written in the style of each player.

V'ncent: "Kreena, beam us up!" says V'ncent. The planet suddenly explodes, taking the ancient population and its potential storyline for intervening in a civil war with it. The crew had beamed up only seconds earlier, but all other life forms were destroyed. "That was close," V'ncent says. "The planet has been destroyed," says Aura logically.

ERNIE SHIELDS

Ernie: Now wait just a darn minute - the whole planet blew up, just what in tarnation is going on? Does anyone have a clue whats going on?  We've got problems. Hey, let me out of here! help, someone, please. No no..... please not that again.

BERMUD

 Chief Engineer, Bermud: bermud beems down wit hipo cures all the peeple weres ernie?

RIC

Ric: Unknown to the rest of the crew, Blackhawk had been a researcher in an advanced science team working on transporter technology.

Ric calmly reconfigured the transporter pattern buffer for maximum compression using an implant in his left big toe, then transported the entire planet into the buffer mere seconds before the planet was destroyed.


 "I'll decompress it close to Terra and we'll just keep the bits we liked," he joked.

V'NCENT

V'ncent: A destruction wave from the planet hit Audi broadside. "The ship is breaking up," said V'ncent. "But look, there's another ship nearby. Let's beam aboard." Nubik, feel free to emote something at this point.

NUBIK

Nubik: Nubik scanned the ship, detecting at least one life form on the bridge and a group of them in the cargo bay. "Aura, bring the hypos that the EMH and Diane developed, we haven't all had our anti-virus shots. Perhaps we should send a marine crew aboard to check if it's safe?"

T'EHKLAH

 T'Ehklah: SORRY FOLKS I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT MY NEXT POST AND I'VE JUST BEEN INSPIRED.

T'Ehklah elbowed Nubik aside and scanned the ship quickly. "Audi, transport me directly to the bridge of that ship."

T'Ehklah knew instinctively that there would be a breathable atmosphere aboard the ship, just as she knew that there would be at most one lifeform on the bridge and some disposable lifeforms elsewhere. The lifeform spun around.

 "You!" it said. "Yes me! Now die!"

She swung her bat'leth in an arc and took the lifeform's two heads off in a single stroke. "The ship is safe to come aboard, I've taken the bridge," she sneered into her combadge, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow. TAG: everyone! That's about it.

Live Long and Prosper.

Star Trek Discovery Images and Trailer

Heres some fascinating new shots from Star Trek Discovery's stellar new Sci Fi series released only last week via Netflix.

USS Shenzhou - Captain and No1

 In the first visual, we see Captain Georgiou of the USS Shenzhou (Michelle Yeoh) and Commander Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) trekking through the desert but what is their mission?

Captain Georgiou

 All we know is the Captain and No1 are passing through "terra incognita" in a region from the pilot episode but the trailer reveals much more.... Meanwhile, in another visual No1 - Commander Burnham is planning on beaming over to a Klingon vessel....

Commander Burnham

 Only recently Star Trek's brand new cast took time out from filming to entertain San Diego comic con fans. A 45-minute trailer included news on the characters and a look at the series with fast paced action packed scenes, star wars phaser effect fighting, "fire first, questions later" show case video feature!



The show's debut in September 24th won't leave you disappointed believe me. Star Trek Discovery is boldly going to hyper drive fans with cosmic explosions, forcefields, smart aliens with analytical prowess determined to fight to the end. Available with Netflix, CBS and others. I guess its decision time.

UPDATE




Enjoy. Live long and Prosper