Continuing with themes in the stories for Lunatics… Here’s number seven: Theme #7 Agrarian Reality versus Technocratic Image I call this the “white plastic walls” fallacy. People have an idea of spaceflight that is derived from the images created in the 1960s Moon program and lots of science fiction shows that try to glamorize it as the ultimate “futuristic” and “urban” experience. Because back then, urban was cool, and rural was always bad.
Some of you may be wondering where this “Phase I” Kickstart (and the work it’s meant to support) falls in our overall plan, and just how far it will take us. I don’t know exactly how fast we can progress — whether we’ll be able to keep getting enough people interested in contributing directly to the project or how many rewards, pre-sale DVDs, or merchandise we’ll be able to sell to keep the project funded. That’s really going to depend on the fans.
Continuing with themes in the stories for Lunatics… Here’s number six: Theme #6 Risk Averse Society versus the Thrill of the Frontier Of course, being too safe is a little scary in itself. Part of the reason people want to go is because it’s exciting. But the mores of Earth-bound society make it a sin to take too large a risk. How will that morality conflict with the ambitions of our settlers? Will they be blocked “for their own good”?
Continuing with themes in the stories for Lunatics… Here’s number five: Theme #5 Failsafes and Adaptation Space is a dangerous place, don’t get me wrong. But then again, so is Siberia or Alaska. Or the Sahara. There are dangers all over the world that are quite sufficient to kill an exposed human without important life-support or supplies. We don’t worry about that most of the time, because we’ve adapted to these dangers. We do that through the equipment we carry (starting with clothes), through the behaviors we learn, and through the environments we create for ourselves.
I’ve reduced the prices on the original concept artwork sheets drawn by Daniel Fu by 50%. I’ve also made each one a separate reward, so you can pick which one you get. And I will include with each one a copy of the full-color concept-art poster, which includes portraits of all eight of the main characters, digitally inked and painted by me (I’ve been posting examples of these portraits as updates as I finish them).
I’ve realized that I haven’t actually posted scans of the original artwork that Daniel Fu created for us as concpet art. This is the sheet for Georgiana Lerner. Remember: this original artwork is for sale as one of our rewards! On Flickr From this, I created the digitally inked & colored version of “Georgiana Lerner” below, which will be on the “Concept Art Poster”:
If you’re an anti-spoiler purist, you might not want to read this one, but… Implicit in some of my posts about “No Children in Space”, is a story choice some American space fans probably find a little questionable, which is my decision to have Hiromi and Georgiana go up on a Soyuz launch vehicle which is (at least superficially) very much the same as today’s Soyuz launch system and Soyuz-TMA orbiter. Why not an American spacecraft? Are we (as Americans) being unpatriotic? Is this some liberal PC “world peace” thing? Photo Credit: Isaac Mao @ Flickr / CC By
Continuing with themes in the stories for Lunatics… Here’s number four: Theme #4 People Who Don’t Want to Be There Won’t Be Close on the heels of my previous complaint comes this one: In an effort to drum up sympathy from audiences, some writers have portrayed characters who are constantly whining about their “plight” on the frontier. This is totally ridiculous.
Continuing with themes in the stories for Lunatics… Here’s number three: Theme #3 Fatalism versus Can-Do on the Frontier One of the unfortunate memes in movie science fiction — especially European SF for some reason — is the recurrence of the “nobel sacrifice of life” or of the triumph of hopelessness and fatalism. Some character inevitably concludes that it’s all pointless and takes their helmet off to die in the “cold hard vacuum of space”. I guess this is supposed to be symbolic of something or other, but I find it incredibly annoying. Real space pioneers just won’t act like that. Being on a frontier really focuses you on basic survival needs.
