The Expanse and its compatibility with OA

[Noclevername]

...I wonder if we'll ever get a good hard space SF with no one big lie.

Well, it's science fiction, so... no. 

But, I know what you mean. TV is not the medium to expect it from, though. I think the Expanse is about as close as we're likely to ever get.

[Drashner1]

I would suggest that the issue of 'overly fast travel' with a lot of TV and film SF has more to do with a psychological quirk or blind spot that seems to be quite common in RL, at least in SF circles (it even pops up in OA discussions from time to time).

Specifically - the idea that travel must be ultra fast because doing things ultra fast is an inherent good in itself. This is both untrue and also something that both TV and film can and do sidestep when they want to - leading to the conclusion that when they don't do it, it's because they don't want to.

For examples of this see Star Trek (TV and films) in which a ship takes off to some distant location, we cut to a commercial, and come back to either have the ship arriving at it's next point of adventure (presumably anywhere from hours to days later, at least) or en route with it virtually guaranteed it will arrive by the end of the next commercial break. Film handles this a little different, usually by cutting from one scene to another, possibly involving a different group of characters.

If we were to actually stop and think about it we'd easily see that hours or days or longer must be going by if the show is being consistent with the performance it claims for its spacecraft - but this stretch of time is just ignored and the audience just goes along with it.

There is no real reason the same couldn't be done for other shows.

On a related note, it is sometimes presented to OA that the comparatively long travel times in the setting would complicate stories or roleplaying in the setting. Unless RPG scenarios literally run as long as a multi-day adventure with no 'editorial' tricks to get around time spent sleeping in the game or the like or expect everyone to suspend disbelief that an entire massive adventure could literally happen in a few hours - I suspect that some amount of 'editorial time travel' takes place and could also easily take place in OA.

Todd

[stevebowers]

Karl Schroeder has been trying to write scifi without any real big lies for a long time. Some of the best bits of OA are inspired by his writings. His take on editorial time travel, (Lockstep) is an interesting idea, and something along those lines could be explored further in OA.

In theory a population of sophonts could be suspended in time, using nanostasis, while awaiting the next interesting historical event, such as the arrival of a visiting spacecraft or ISO. No doubt there would be refusniks who decline to be suspended, and continue to live in real time during the boring bits.

[Noclevername]

In theory a population of sophonts could be suspended in time, using nanostasis, while awaiting the next interesting historical event, such as the arrival of a visiting spacecraft or ISO. No doubt there would be refusniks who decline to be suspended, and continue to live in real time during the boring bits.

Isn't that the premise of a sleeper ship? Wait out the boring parts until you reach a more desired frame of reference in spacetime.

[stevebowers]

Yes; but the idea of a sleeper ship could also be extended to whole static communities. Since the body is biologically active during nanostasis, it could even be possible to have virtual experiences during this period of inactivity, although these experiences need not happen at a normal subjective rate.

[Noclevername]

Nano advanced enough to do so has medical and other implications as well. But the Expanse sidesteps most personal and biological alterations, I guess because they figure human audiences can't relate to posthumans. Same reason Star Trek had the Federation outright ban human engineering, as do most media portrayals of the future. People want to see other people. The shows and films that do have some form of human modification, usually show it in a purely negative light. (KHAAAAAAAN!) Or as a way to get super-powers.

Which is a shame. I'd love to see a hard science show about developing posthumans, complete with social implications.

[stevebowers]

Russell T. Davies' new series, Years and Years, is about the near future, and has one character who wants to become a transhuman; this is probably a bit early for that sort of thing, but at least it is out there.

[Noclevername]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned the lack of radiator. ... Without radiators, the waste heat from the drive would immediately turn the ship into plasma. While they can indeed be reduced, I don't believe we can completely direct all energy into the thrust. Some will remain as waste heat that you need to use gigantic radiators to dissipate.

Idle thought: open cycle coolant. That's really why Ceres ran out of water, they blew it all out into space as steam keeping their ships cool!

Now they have to use something less valuable as a coolant. Molten regolith? Aluminum? Vaporized into the torchdrive exhaust as a minor contribution to reaction mass. 

...Maybe not. Maybe it can't be justified.

[AstroChara]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned the lack of radiator. ... Without radiators, the waste heat from the drive would immediately turn the ship into plasma. While they can indeed be reduced, I don't believe we can completely direct all energy into the thrust. Some will remain as waste heat that you need to use gigantic radiators to dissipate.

Idle thought: open cycle coolant. That's really why Ceres ran out of water, they blew it all out into space as steam keeping their ships cool!

Now they have to use something less valuable as a coolant. Molten regolith? Aluminum? Vaporized into the torchdrive exhaust as a minor contribution to reaction mass. 

...Maybe not. Maybe it can't be justified.

Judging from the insane power involved, if you carry enough water to allow your open cycle coolant to last more than a second, your acceleration will drop wayyy below one gee. Then you're stuck with the same ol' problem...

There is a reason why this is actually the most ignored physics law (it looks like some OA ship pics also ignored it as well). Even special relativity's more loved.

[Noclevername]

Judging from the insane power involved, if you carry enough water to allow your open cycle coolant to last more than a second, your acceleration will drop wayyy below one gee. Then you're stuck with the same ol' problem...

There is a reason why this is actually the most ignored physics law (it looks like some OA ship pics also ignored it as well). Even special relativity's more loved.

Maybe they really can just direct all or most heat out in one direction. Metamaterials? Could this excuse explanation be made plausible in-universe? 

Don't know why I'm working this idea so hard. It's not like I have a dog in this fight, I just enjoy "killing the wizard".