Freeman Dyson in 2005.

Freeman Dyson has been a household name in Los Angeles sf fandom since he provided the inspiration for Larry Niven’s Ringworld, but that represents only a narrow slice of his life’s work. Dyson, born in England in 1923, began his career as a mathematician before turning to physics in the 1940s. His papers on the foundations of quantum electrodynamics have had a lasting influence on many branches of modern physics. He went on to work in condensed-matter physics, statistical mechanics, nuclear engineering, climate studies, astrophysics and biology. He even received the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion (2000).

Standing at the lectern, Dyson appeared a coil of energy with mischievous eyes.

“Saving society through engineering – I’ve always believed in that,” he said to someone aside. Then he launched into his presentation, rapid-firing ideas at a rate that hardly slowed for the next 45 minutes.

Dyson proclaimed we are now at the beginning of a revolution in space technology, when for the first time cheapness will be mandatory. “This is bad news for something that requires the investment of the Apollo Program. It is good news for people who will develop these technologies…. Cheapness now has a chance.”

Cheap manned missions will require new biotechnology, to survive after we get there. (“There is no future for humans tramping around in clumsy spacesuits on lifeless landscapes of dust and ice,” says Dyson in his Starship Century article.)

“My guess is that the era of cheap unmanned missions will be the next fifty years, and the era of cheap manned missions will start sometime late in the twenty-first century.” Dyson picks 2085 as the year humans will settle multiple sites in the solar system, 120 years after Apollo, using an estimate based on the elapsed time between Columbus and Plymouth Rock.

“It turns out scientific data is a lot cheaper than beautiful pictures,” he in a wry tone. “Missions to the planets have been few and far between in the past ten years because they became inordinately expensive. They were expensive because it was easier politically to obtain ten dollars for a space-science mission than to obtain one dollar for astronomy on the ground.”

Once the barrier of high cost is broken, missions will be more frequent and the pace of discovery will be faster. The next missions will explore the planets and asteroids in detail.

Eventually most of the population will be living in the Kuiper Belt where they will utilize light energy captured by mirrors requiring only a few thousand tons of metal and plastic to construct.

We shall not jump in one huge step from planetary to interstellar voyages. There is no reason to believe that the space between stars is empty. The universe probably contains more unattached planets than planets attached to stars. During the evolution of starships unattached planets will be like the islands of Polynesia where travelers can stop and collect fresh supplies.

We will prepare the way for human habitats by establishing robust ecologies in space consisting of many kinds of life. The speed of sequencing genomes is increasing and the costs decreasing. At that rate it may take only 20 years to sequence the genomes of all the species on our planet. So, as we learn more about the conditions in various locations of space, that information can be used to design a biosphere genome tailored to the place it is to be sent.

The first species to emerge from a Noah’s Ark egg will be warm-blooded planets designed to collect energy from sunlight and keep themselves warm in a cold environment. “Plants could be engineered to grow greenhouses the way turtles grow shells” The greenhouse would consist of a thick skin providing thermal insulation, with small windows to admit sunlight. Outside the skin would be an array of simple lenses, focusing sunlight through the windows into the interior. Groups of greenhouses could grow together to form extended habitats for other species of plants and animals. In that way, “We will be the machines getting life to grow all over the universe.”

Dyson speculates that “superhighways” will be in space. Sunlight will be the source of energy powering laser or microwave beams that propel small, light spacecraft. Unlike chemical rockets, these will not be carrying their own fuel. The beams may push against wire mesh sails.

Because voyages to stars will take longer than a human lifetime, we cannot expect humans to travel with them. Ships will carry eggs that grow into humans at destination. In the end we would populate the galaxy by sending the information for growing humans rather than sending human bodies in storage.

[This post is part of a series about the Starship Century Symposium held May 21-22, 2013.]

Sabrina Vourvoulias is the managing editor of Al Día News, Philadelphia’s leading Spanish-language newspaper. Her novel, Ink, was published by Crossed Genres Publications in October 2012, and she is currently working on a novel length collection of linked stories that ask the question: Do monsters cross borders with the immigrants who believe in them?

Barbara Krasnoff is also the author of a YA non-fiction book, Robots: Reel to Real (Arco, 1982), and is currently Sr. Reviews Editor for Computerworld. She is a member of the NYC writers group Tabula Rasa, and lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her partner Jim Freund.

Terence Taylor’s short horror stories have been published in all three Dark Dreams horror/suspense anthologies. His first novel, Bite Marks: A Vampire Testament, came out in September of 2009. Blood Pressure: A Vampire Testament, second in the opening trilogy of the continuing Vampire Testaments, was released in March, 2010.

The full press release follows the jump.

The New York Review of Science Fiction Readings present: . Barbara Krasnoff . Sabrina Vourvoulias Guest Host . Terence Taylor

Appropriate to June, we’re busting out all over — with great writers!

—Sabrina Vourvoulias was born in Bangkok, Thailand—the daughter of a Mexican-Guatemalan artist and an American businessman. She grew up in Guatemala and moved to the United States when she was fifteen.

Sabrina is the managing editor of Al Día News, Philadelphia’s leading Spanish-language newspaper. Her editorials and columns appear there and at www.pontealdia.com in Spanish and English. Her blog, Following the Lede (www.followingthelede.blogspot.com) was nominated for at Latinos in Social Media award in 2011.

In addition to journalism, she writes speculative poetry and short and long-form fiction. Her poetry has appeared in Dappled Things, Graham House Review, Scheherezade’s Bequest at Cabinet des Fées, La Bloga’s Floricanto, Poets Respond to SB 1070, and upcoming in Bull Spec; her fiction in Crossed Genres Issue 24, in the Crossed Genres Year Two, Fat Girl in a Strange Land and Menial: Skilled Labor in SF anthologies, and upcoming in GUD magazine and Strange Horizons.

Her novel, Ink, was published by Crossed Genres Publications in October 2012, and she is currently working on a novel length collection of linked stories that ask the question: Do monsters cross borders with the immigrants who believe in them?

She lives near Philadelphia, with her husband and daughter. Follow her on twitter @followthelede.

-Barbara Krasnoff’s short fiction has appeared in the anthologies Memories and Visions (Sturgis, ed.), Such A Pretty Face (Martindale, ed.), Escape Velocity: The Anthology (Nelder and Blevins, eds.), Descended From Darkness (Sizemore and Ainsworth, eds.), Clockwork Phoenix 2 (Allen, ed.), Crossed Genres: Year Two (Holt, Jennings, and Leib, eds.), Broken Time Blues (Holt and Gates, eds.), Subversion (Leib, ed.), Fat Girl in a Strange Land (Holt and Leib, eds.), and Menial (Jennings and Darrach, eds.). Her work has also appeared in the publications Amazing Stories, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Descant, Weird Tales, Sybil’s Garage,Escape Velocity, Behind the Wainscot, Doorways, Apex, Electric Velocipede, Space and Time, Crossed Genres, Atomic Avariceand Cosmos. Most recently, her story “The History of Soul 2065″ is appearing in Clockwork Phoenix 4 (Allen, ed.) while “Under the Bay Court Tree” will be in an upcoming issue of Space and Time. Her poem “Memorials” appeared in Poetica.

Barbara is also the author of a YA non-fiction book, Robots: Reel to Real (Arco, 1982), and is currently Sr. Reviews Editor for Computerworld. She is a member of the NYC writers group Tabula Rasa, and lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her partner Jim Freund. Her online home is at http://brooklynwriter.com/

-Terence Taylor is an award-winning children’s television writer whose work’s appeared on PBS, Nickelodeon, and Disney, among many others. After a career of comforting young kids, he’s ow equally dedicated to scaring their parents. His short horror stories have been published in all three “Dark Dreams” horror/suspense anthologies. His first novel, Bite Marks: A Vampire Testament, came out in September of 2009. Blood Pressure: A Vampire Testament, second in the opening trilogy of the continuing Vampire Testaments, was released in March, 2010.

The New York Review of Science Fiction Reading Series provides performances from some of the best writers in science fiction, fantasy, speculative fiction, etc. The series usually takes place the first Tuesday of every month, but maintains flexibility in time and space, so be sure to stay in touch through the mailing list, the Web, and Facebook.

There will be a raffle for all who donate for admission.

After the event, please join us as we treat our readers for dinner and drinks nearby.

–Jim Freund is Producer and Executive Curator of The New York Review of Science Fiction Readings. He has been involved in producing radio programs of and about literary sf/f since 1967. His long-running live radio program, “Hour of the Wolf,” broadcasts and streams every Wednesday night/Thursday morning from 1:30-3:00 AM. Programs are available by stream for 2 weeks after broadcast. (Check http://hourwolf.com/, follow @JimFreund, or join the Hour of the Wolf group on Facebook for details.)

The SoHo Gallery for Digital Art (www.sohodigart.com) is dedicated to re-establishing SoHo as an international center for the development of new artistic forms, concepts and ideas. A screens-instead-of-canvases approach allows a wide selection of art from around the world which would otherwise never make it to the City. The SGDA is available for private gatherings and events of all kinds. For bookings call (800) 420-5590 or visit http://sohogallerynyc.com/.

—WHEN: Tuesday, June 11th Doors open at 6:30 — event begins at 7

WHERE: The SoHo Gallery for Digital Art 138 Sullivan Street (between Houston & Prince St.) http://maps.google.com/maps?q=138+Sullivan+St.+New+York+NY+10012

HOW: By Subway 6, C, E to Spring St.; A, B D or F to West 4th; 1 train to Houston St; or R, W to Prince St.

There are many convenient bus lines that come within a couple of blocks of the gallery. Use the link above for an interactive transit map.

LINKS: http://hourwolf.com/nyrsf http://www.facebook.com/groups/157561920945872/

UPCOMING: July 2 . Kate Elliot . E. C. Ambrose

–The New York Review of Science Fiction magazine is celebrating its 21st year! Subscribe or submit articles to the magazine! New York Review of Science Fiction PO. Box 78, Pleasantville, NY, 10570 NYRSF Magazine: http://nyrsf.com/

The full press release follows the jump.

PRESS RELEASE #19 – LONESTARCON 3 RELEASES FOURTH PROGRESS REPORT

LoneStarCon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention

San Antonio, Texas

August 29 – September 2, 2013

press@LoneStarCon3.org

www.LoneStarCon3.org

Postal queries to: P.O. Box 27277, Austin, TX 78755

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, May 24, 2013

SAN ANTONIO, Texas: LoneStarCon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”), has published Progress Report 4 (PR4). The progress report is available now for immediate download from the LoneStarCon 3 website, while the printed version will be posted to members in approximately one week’s time.

Members may download Progress Report 4 from www.LoneStarCon3.org/publications/. Members who are uncertain whether they have requested electronic or paper progress reports may check their status with the membership team by emailing registration@LoneStarCon3.org.

Progress Report 4 contains a number of important items for LoneStarCon 3 members. This includes the Hugo Award Final Ballot and the Site Selection Ballots for both the 2014 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC) and the 2015 Worldcon. The Hugo Award Final Ballot process is open to all Adult, Military, Young Adult and Supporting members of LoneStarCon 3 who join by the voting deadline of Wednesday, July 31, 2013.

Progress Report 4 also includes articles and news from across the convention. This starts with new features on the Guests of Honor, Special Guests, and Toastmaster who will be at the heart of the convention. The Events, Exhibits, and Program Divisions have released new insights into their plans to make LoneStarCon 3 a truly memorable celebration of science fiction, while Member Services has confirmed the details of accessibility and childcare arrangements. Last, but by no means least, is a reminder that Worldcons are run entirely by volunteers. Working behind the scenes is a unique and rewarding experience, and LoneStarCon 3 invites willing fans to contribute a little of their time and energy to help make the convention a success.

ABOUT THE WORLD SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION

Founded in 1939, the World Science Fiction Convention is one of the largest international gatherings of authors, artists, editors, publishers, and fans of science fiction and fantasy. The annual Hugo Awards, the leading award for excellence in the fields of science fiction and fantasy, are voted on by Worldcon membership and presented during the convention.

LoneStarCon 3 is sponsored by ALAMO, Inc., (Alamo Literary Arts Maintenance Organization), a 501(c)(3) organization. For information about memberships or hotel accommodation, please visit our website at www.LoneStarCon3.org. Please send press questions, or requests to be removed from the LoneStarCon 3 press release mailing list, to press@LoneStarCon3.org, and send general queries to info@LoneStarCon3.org.

“World Science Fiction Society,” “WSFS,” “World Science Fiction Convention,” “Worldcon,” “NASFiC,” “Hugo Award,” and the distinctive design of the Hugo Award Rocket are service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.

Peabody Award accepted by Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman and Steven Moffat.

Doctor Who has been presented with a Peabody Award , one of the top honors in American television.

The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished achievement and meritorious service by broadcasters, cable and webcasters, producing organizations, and individuals. Selection is made by the Peabody Board, a 16-member panel of distinguished academics, television critics, industry practitioners and experts in culture and the arts.

The citation reads:

Seemingly immortal, 50-years-old and still running, this engaging, imaginative sci-fi/fantasy series is awarded an Institutional Peabody for evolving with technology and the times like nothing else in the known television universe.

[Thanks to David Klaus for the story.]

Peter Schwartz

Peter Schwartz, who presented “Starships and the Fates of Humankind” is an internationally renowned futurist and business strategist, Senior Vice President for Global Government Relations and Strategic Planning for Salesforce.com, and the former head of scenario planning for the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies in London (1982-1986.)

Speaking with buoyant enthusiasm and charm, Schwartz listed an array of possible outcomes to critical issues that control whether humanity will ever break out of the solar system.

Propulsive Energy: (1) No. (Won’t be enough for interstellar travel.) (2) Slow. (Voyages lasting more than a human lifetime.) (3) FTL. Are we constrained by physics/relativity? Schwartz argued that we don’t know all that is going on – perhaps the hard-to-explain things that seem symptoms of a complex universe may be explained by a fundamentally new insight about how it works, and open a possibility for faster travel. (But a questioner in the audience asked skeptically, “Are we really going to reinvent the universe?”)

Life Support: (1) Generation ships. (2) Sleep ships. (3) Relativistic ships. (4) Download ships. Schwartz commented about the last option that it would be a big leap to replicate our awareness.

Why Go? Humanity’s willingness and resources to go interstellar will be influenced by population growth. He looked at three predictions, each providing its own reasons for looking outward.

One prediction holds that by 2300 the population will be 36 billion. He titled this alternative “religious” and drew a laugh saying, “The biggest mistake I ever made in my career was assuming the world was going to become more secular.” In this scenario the world may live in Paolo Soleri-type arcologies. The world may look like Manhattan.

Another prediction is the world population may remain around 9 billion. We may solve all the problems of sustainability. Or we may fail to solve the social, political and environmental problems.

A third prediction is that population will fall to around 2 billion. Very few children. Ecological decay. Vast wealth.

Wild Card: ET? (1) None. (2) Extraterretrial life consists only of scum/biosphere. (3) Intelligent life.

Schwartz felt all these possibilities played into four major scenarios. (1) Stuck in the mud. We can’t get out. Don’t have enough energy. (2) God’s galaxy. There’s an interstellar race to evangelize aliens via a generational ship. After all, the Vatican has its own astronomer and a binder titled “What to do if aliens appear.” They have considered how to respond if the question comes up. (3) Escape from a dying planet. Save the species via sleep ship. Dealing with huge volumes of people and organic matter they’ll want to move into space. (4) Trillionaires in space. Explore the universe. Relativistic, download or FTL. The wealthy aren’t going in generation ships – like today’s rich people, they want to be out there.

He concluded there are many pathways, however, most of them lead to humanity reaching the stars. A galactic civilization is almost inevitable.

In the question period that followed, David Brin teased, if this is the historic day when starship planning began it will be watched by millions in the future (presumably using time-travel broadcasting). “Shouldn’t we turn and wave at the wall?” And having said it, he turned to the side wall and waved.

Schwartz answered someone else’s question saying he based his confidence on the inventive capacity of our society. That elicited an audience member’s critique — we’re enjoying a technological peak right now which suggests a positive outcome, but if we were looking at the future from the vantage of the ecological collapse of Easter Island we would say collapse was inevitable.

[This post is part of a series about the Starship Century Symposium held May 21-22, 2013.]

The two-day event, held on the UC San Diego campus, was collaboratively organized by the new Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination with Gregory and James Benford. When Sheldon Brown, Director of the Clarke Center, tallied off the first day’s speakers — Paul Schwartz, Freeman Dyson, Robert Zubrin, Neal Stephenson, Patti Grace Smith, Chris Lewicki, Geoffrey Landis, Allen Steele, a living highlight reel of people who have influenced space exploration over the past several decades – the audience knew they could expect brilliantly creative answers.

Continuing his introduction, James Benford illustrated a point about the dimensions of our galaxy by cradling in the palm of his hand a clear plastic cube of the size used to hold a baseball. He said if that cube represented the area containing the nearest star systems, to model the depth of the galaxy would require enough cubes to reach the high ceiling of the auditorium. Travel to Centauri A and Centauri B within human lifetimes – a destination that would give you two solar systems for the price of one – will require reaching speeds 10,000 times higher than achieved to date. It would take a continuous output equivalent to H-bomb energy to reach a small percentage of the speed of light. Despite these challenges some remained optimistic — he quoted Freeman Dyson who, in 1968, predicted that within 200 years, barring a catastrophe, interstellar travel will begin. Applause followed, for 89-year-old Dyson was in the audience.

Gregory Benford opened his comments by displaying a simple map of America in 1812, and repeating Thomas Jefferson’s prediction that it would take a thousand years to push the frontier to the Pacific. Yet at that time the first railroad engine already existed. He suggested the possibility that a combination of technologies nearly within our grasp like nuclear rockets, space robots and 3-D printers might effect an equally rapid leap to interstellar space.

[This post is part of a series about the Starship Century Symposium held May 21-22, 2013.]

The Return of Return of the Jedi: 30 Years and Counting, which shows elite geeks — among them Kevin Smith, Seth Green, Chris Hardwick, Jaime King, Topher Grace, Fall Out Boy, Eli Roth, and Jason Mewes — revisiting the movie in which tribal Teddy Ruxpins put down an Imperial invasion force with rocks, logs, and other Gilligan’s Island-esque props. Who saw that coming?

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the story.]

The answer involves a spoiler, so I’ve placed it after the jump.

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the question.]

According to the Memory Alpha wiki the first U.S.S. Bradbury was mentioned in the TNG episode “Ménage à Troi.”

In 2366, Bradbury ferried Starfleet Academy students from Betazed to Earth. Ensign Wesley Crusher of the starship USS Enterprise-D was scheduled to be transported by the Bradbury to the Academy to begin his classes. Because of an emergency aboard Enterprise-D, the Bradbury was forced to leave him behind to keep its schedule.

A second “alternate reality” U.S.S. Bradbury is referenced by Star Trek: Into Darkness:

The USS Bradbury was a Federation starship that was in service to Starfleet in the mid-23rd century. In 2259, Spock was transferred to the USS Bradbury under Captain Frank Abbott. (Star Trek Into Darkness).

The action-filled series is set between the events of Episode III and IV — an era spanning almost two decades never-before explored on-screen. Star Wars Rebels takes place in a time where the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights as a fledgling rebellion against the Empire is taking shape.

Executive producer Dave Filoni offers some general thoughts about Rebels to Pablo Hidalgo in this video from StarWars.com:

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the story.]

SPECTRUM 2013 GRAND MASTER
Brom

ADVERTISING
Gold Award: Dan dos Santos, “Dragon Empress”
Silver Award: Android Jones, “Ganesatron”

BOOK
Gold Award: Dave Palumbo, “Fed”
Silver Award: Charles Vess, “Tanglewood: I Didn’t Know She Was a Bottle Witch”

COMICS
Gold Award: Paolo Rivera, “Daredevil #10″
Silver Award: David Petersen, “Mouse Guard: Black Axe #4, pg. 19″

CONCEPT ART
Gold Award: Allen Williams, “Tree of Tales”
Silver Award: Daniel Dociu, “Guild Wars 2, Norn Lodge”

DIMENSIONAL
Gold Award: Virginie Ropars, “Acanthopis III”
Silver Award: David Meng, “Sashimi”

EDITORIAL
Gold Award: Sam Bosma, “Stability”
Silver Award: Sam Weber, “Cancer Monster”

INSTITUTIONAL
Gold Award: Kekai Kotaki, “Stampede”
Silver Award: Lucas Graciano, “Dragon Swarm”

UNPUBLISHED
Gold Award: Cory Godbey, “The Fish Master”
Silver Award: Andrew Mar, “Tell-Tale Heart”