Disc (33 page)

This is a comment on the “science” in this science fiction novel. I have always been partial to science fiction that posed a “what if” question. Not everything in the story has to be scientifically plausible, but you suspend your disbelief regarding one or two things that aren’t thought to be possible. Then you ask,
what if
something (such as faster than light travel) were possible, how might that change our world?

This story poses several “what ifs?” First, as in “Tiona” it proposes a reactionless drive in which thrust is generated by accelerating dark matter to produce thrust. Then it asks “what if” we had such a reactionless drive, what effects would such technology have on our lives? It certainly would find more uses than just for spaceflight.

The second “what if” hearkens back to “Vaz.” What would it be like if the preeminent genius of our times was a socially impaired person on the autism spectrum? There are socially impaired geniuses out there somewhat like this, though none with the capabilities of a Vaz. How might such a person deal with being kidnapped, could he really take down a nation state? With “hacking wars” currently underway in our world it’s actually a little frightening to contemplate the possibility of a
sociopath
with the brilliance to do such things.

A final note, North Korea is, if anything, much worse than it’s depicted in this story. Their penal labor camps (read about them on Wikipedia) don’t gas people like the Nazis did, they work them, starve them, beat them, torture them, and rape them. Their prisoners die—fairly quickly—and one can’t help wondering if they might have preferred to have been gassed.

I would like to acknowledge the editing and advice of Nora Dahners, Gail Gilman, Elene Trull, Allen Dietz, Hamilton Elliott, Jack Hudler, Kat Lind, and Kerry McIntyre, each of whom significantly improved this story.