Since I look like a Hobbit anyway, I thought I'd follow their custom and give away birthday presents to my party guests. The first one is for stevie_carroll: a snippet from the introduction to my original sci-fi verse Windswept. Stevie, I hope you like the new version better!
Excerpt: Dr. Paul Avakum, the most gifted engineer of his generation, not only on Earth alone but on all the human colonies, stood brooding on the observations deck of Skylab 273, a small communications satellite in stationary orbit above the domed city of Utopia Planitia, one of the semi-independent Mars Colonies. He looked out to the ceaseless activity at Orbital Station Ares: the oldest, biggest, most sophisticated shipyard in the entire solar system.
That was the place where the future of mankind began. Where the great colony ship Windswept, the cradle of a new world was being built. Dr. Avakum had been one of the initiatiors of this ambitious programme. He had been one of the creators of the new engines, made for endurance rather than for advanced speed – as time played only a minor role in this endeavour – and had followed the construction of the ship for the last eight years.
It was slow, patient work that required great attention to each and every minute detail; even with he current level of technology, the smallest mistake could have caused the complete failure of the project. Dr. Avakum bore the responsibility that no such mistakes happened – not alone, of course, but ultimately, he was the one overlooking everything – and the ship could leave the solar system on schedule.
This was the height of mankind’s expansion period, during which he nations of Earth had learned to unite their resources for grand, shared goals. The solar system was already populated to its limits, and humanity was about to make their first brave steps towards the conquering of nearby stars.
But none of those plans was braver, more determined than the one Dr. Avakum and his co-workers had conceived and set on its way. A dream, seemingly too far-fetched to become reality, had taken shape decades before the actual construction would have begun First they had needed to find the right destination, and that alone had taken many years of preparation.
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branchandroot
A birthday gift, in Hobbit-fashion
Date: 2011-10-02 10:21 am (UTC)Excerpt:
Dr. Paul Avakum, the most gifted engineer of his generation, not only on Earth alone but on all the human colonies, stood brooding on the observations deck of Skylab 273, a small communications satellite in stationary orbit above the domed city of Utopia Planitia, one of the semi-independent Mars Colonies. He looked out to the ceaseless activity at Orbital Station Ares: the oldest, biggest, most sophisticated shipyard in the entire solar system.
That was the place where the future of mankind began. Where the great colony ship Windswept, the cradle of a new world was being built. Dr. Avakum had been one of the initiatiors of this ambitious programme. He had been one of the creators of the new engines, made for endurance rather than for advanced speed – as time played only a minor role in this endeavour – and had followed the construction of the ship for the last eight years.
It was slow, patient work that required great attention to each and every minute detail; even with he current level of technology, the smallest mistake could have caused the complete failure of the project. Dr. Avakum bore the responsibility that no such mistakes happened – not alone, of course, but ultimately, he was the one overlooking everything – and the ship could leave the solar system on schedule.
This was the height of mankind’s expansion period, during which he nations of Earth had learned to unite their resources for grand, shared goals. The solar system was already populated to its limits, and humanity was about to make their first brave steps towards the conquering of nearby stars.
But none of those plans was braver, more determined than the one Dr. Avakum and his co-workers had conceived and set on its way. A dream, seemingly too far-fetched to become reality, had taken shape decades before the actual construction would have begun First they had needed to find the right destination, and that alone had taken many years of preparation.