Alpha Centauri or Bust

The other day I found an article that could have many implications in terms of spaceflight and physics in general. It talked about ongoing experiments with "space-time warps".

From the article:

"They set up what they call the White-Juday Warp Field Interferometer at the Johnson Space Center, essentially creating a laser interferometer that instigates micro versions of space-time warps.

"We're trying to see if we can generate a very tiny instance of this in a tabletop experiment, to try to perturb space-time by one part in 10 million," White said."

Tabletop time warps...sounds like something straight out of science fiction. If they get the technology to work, I wonder if someone will apply it to board games.

Speaking of experiments, I've decided to try make some changes to my writing techniques...ones that I've stood by for over two decades now. I'm attempting to write directly on the computer, instead of writing the stories out longhand first, and then typing them in. I still plan on printing out the rough drafts and editing those with a pencil, but the goal is to write things faster than my usual pace. I initially balked at the idea, but then I thought about how I used to spend hours typing up rough drafts of stories and novels using an old manual typewriter (via the hunt and peck method). Old habits die hard I guess.

I've also started work on a project I'm calling "Fractal Standard Time". At this point, it is an interlinked collection of short stories that is potentially going to morph into a novel. I'm pretty happy with how the opening story is turning out, and hopefully it won't bend the laws of physics too much. An alternative working title to this project could be called "Mars or Bust" if that gives any hint as to where it is going. I also anticipate a sequel story to "The Mines of Mars" which can be found in my upcoming collection, Corridors.

Regarding Corridors, the cover art is being worked on. I've also created an audio version for a beta reader of mine (my wife). I'm considering posting a story from the book, but I will have to take it down once I publish via KDP Select (Amazon). Stay tuned...

A Preview of Corridors

The heavy lifting is done on the next book. Barring last minute changes, the upcoming short story collection, titled Corridors, will contain fourteen science fiction short stories. The cover artwork has not been completed yet, but I can give you the titles of the stories and the order in which they will appear:

Firebugs
The Bells of Copernicus
Image Management
A Fifth of Amber
Consider the Ant
Bridges to Eden
Between the Lines
Corridors
In Remembrance of Simplicity
The Mines of Mars
IM Forever
A Moveable Peace
The View From Under the Bridge
Cities of the Plain

There should be something for everyone here: electronic insect battles ("Firebugs"), robotic ants run amok ("Consider the Ant"), a washed-up interstellar musician who finds inspiration in an unlikely place ("Corridors"), to a machine that writes novels ("Between the Lines"). Then there is a story about a memory chip implant experiment ("In Remembrance of Simplicity") and another story that explores a potential darker side of transhumanism ("The View From Under the Bridge"). I'm hoping that everything will be ready to go by mid-October. I'd like to post an excerpt or two here, but I'm going to enroll the book in Amazon's KDP select, which makes things sort of complicated when it comes to excerpts.

Looking ahead, I have plans for a tightly linked set of short stories that would again fall under the realm of science fiction as well as plans for more novels. I'll also be doing a lot more posting on here again in the coming days and weeks.