Congratulations, Apollo!

It’s the 29th anniversary of the first Moon Landing.

All that effort and these days we barely have a working space station with a fairly ropey supply chain in place…

I’m not sure exactly how development might have progressed on the Moon, but I think it’s demonstrably true that there are worse ways to spend the amount it would have taken than to spend it in Space. With a permanent manned station to support, either on the moon, or even in a high Earth orbit, after this length of time I’d expect us to have developed a working railgun, or some other space cannon – the slingatron, anybody? – to get loads up there, and maybe from there onward, cheaply…

But maybe that could only have happened in science fiction.

Jean Prattis; my Godmother

On thursday I attended the cremation service for my favourite aunt*. She died shortly after suffering a major stroke the previous week. The service was across at Dunfermline in an idyllic setting with a huge window overlooking lawns and trees, with a small river running through the grounds.

The minister was from her own congregation and gave a very touching eulogy. I had meant to use the bible she gave me at my baptism for the hymns, but I realised the numbers might all be different and I might not find the words, so I just used the songbook provided.
Afterwards we retired to a light lunch at the King Malcolm, close to the crematorium, and also not far from Aunt Jean & Uncle Bill’s home for the past 20+ years or so. We caught up with some family, failed to catch up with others, and eventually came home and Madeleine & I took a brief walk down through some fields, etc. I’ve known since I was a child and enjoyed the burgeoning crops and hedgerows bursting with butterflies and bees…

Back when I was growing up, we (my family) used to visit Jean & Bill fairly regularly and I used to really like their house – it was an upper flat of and end of terrace with a door at the side and an internal stair up to all the rooms. It was quite snug, really, when 7 people were in the lounge! When I got bored with the adults (or after Uncle Bill’s slide shows!) I used to wander through to the front dining room and admire/play with carefully(!) her collection of little glass animals, etc. which were laid out on a sideboard; other times I would be allowed out the kitchen door (one flight up!). Fortunately, it had a little landing and steps down to their garden at the back – and it had a stream at the bottom of it! Great fun, and sometimes we got access to the golf course on the other side, so long as we kept off the fairways, greens, etc.

A few years ago I walked up through the golf course and looked over – and their old flat was there, looking just as I remembered it, beyond a little stream, and a tidy back garden… Not sure the new owners still grew vegetables, though!

* really a 3-way tie with Auntie Rachel and Auntie Jessie, although I didn’t see so much of Aunt Jessie as she’s lived in Manchester all my life…

To Lay Bare the Brains of Earth

Alien mind-parasites!

I’ve just re-read this short novel for the first time in ages. It’s normally placed quite low in the ratings of Vance’s work but I still like it!

I still think it could have made a great ‘B’ movie, or an Outer  Limits/Twilight Zone episode; aliens, mind-control, weird hand-waving physics – it’s even got treasure (sort of)!
In fact, they could still make it today! What’s Will Smith up to these days!?

Humanoid aliens abduct an Earth scientist and take him to their war-ravaged planet to enlist his help in eradicating an evil menace.
But are they evil? Or even a menace? Probably, but everybody’s thoughts and emotions are being tampered with and the truth is a bit more obscure that the aliens would have it. Much anguish and brain-storming occurs but it’s no surprise that the plucky humans come through!

While it does involve the human mind and it’s latent powers, it’s certainly not Vance’s first foray into the territory – his very first story had the hero venturing into a virtual landscape of the villain’s making, and Parapsyche, The Phantom Milkman and Telek all explore some of the same themes… Probably others, too, that I’m forgetting.
Actually, speaking of Telek, I’d say Brains of Earth certainly comes higher up any ‘best of’ list…

And retitling it ‘Nopalgarth’ wasn’t necessary, IMO; the original title was part of a great line from the book!