Antimatter Dreams by David Wright

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Robert_Moriyama
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Antimatter Dreams by David Wright

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

This story demonstrates that even if it's our job to understand people, we may miss some very important signs in those closest to us. Of course, for most of us, the consequences are not fatal.

How many parents of young people who commit suicide or mass murder claim to have been oblivious of the fact that their child was on a dangerous path? Neighbors may have an excuse for saying that Joe Chaos (Not His Real Name) "seemed like a normal guy, quiet, kept to himself,..." but one would hope that a parent would be able to tell that something is THAT wrong.

How plausible is the science in this one? I didn't spot anything that was flat out wrong (Bill Wolfe might), but really, the story could have been set at a propane facility on Earth for the most part (something that would go BOOM if sabotaged).

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Post by Megawatts »

This story is about ‘what goes on in another person’s head!’ And that can be very scary---- just ask any seasoned bartender, cop, lawyer, judge or shop-steward.

Good intro, grabbed my attention.

I find it interesting that Patrick’s mother, Ayesha, is a doctor of psychiatric care. A psychiatrist not able to understand nor communicate effectively with her son, is a good technique to show how difficult it is to know what goes on in another’s head.

One point: I don’t think that old Mr. Folger would have beamed his students in the eye with a laser pointer. Laser pointers are known to damage eyes, and a science teacher would understand their danger.

The science should be kept to a minimal, since too much info-dump will take the readers’ attention away from the story. Just enough in science will do.

l-1’s feats in cyberspace were left to our imagination. However, he must have accomplished near impossible deeds there since the boy sitting in the next seat stared with a mixture of reverence and disbelief. And the boy’s question to Patrick does suggest that Patrick is a hero in this cyber-world---- if that is a good name for it.

When I was a kid, a guy by the name of Roy could beat any pin-ball machine in the back room of a neighborhood store. His reputation surrounded him like a force-field, and even the bad-asses of the neighborhood respected him! At thirteen, being very good in a cyber-world of reality-mimicking graphics especially when thousands if not hundreds of thousand of other kids hang there, would give you a God-like statue before your peers!

Patrick must have confused reality with his cyber-world. The reference to ‘Unholy Grail’ and ’Druid Knight,’ toward the end of the story by Jerry, the gallant astronaut, suggest that IAMC is an ‘Unholy Grail.’ But assumptions like the one I just made can be dug out of almost any story.

Often, the author interjects sub-plots on an unconscious level! He/She is not aware of it! I do believe that happens but am not saying it happened in this story. It might have.

Good story set in Sci/Fi.
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Robert_Moriyama
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Portability?

Post by Robert_Moriyama »

Suppose they are able to use captured solar energy to create tiny amounts of antimatter. (This is one reason they might want a structure with humongous surface area, like a ring around the planet.) The volume of created anti-particles would be tiny, and even when accumulated, would fit in relatively compact containers (suspended in magnetic fields). You could then feed the antiparticles into a reaction chamber anywhere -- at the bottom of the ocean, or on a spacecraft, where the amount of available solar energy would be negligible -- to provide usable power.

Hey, the reduced insolation (solar energy reaching the Earth or at least the Earth's atmosphere) would even help with climate change problems while the carbon balance shifted back toward "normal" over time. (Better than just reflecting energy back into space, this would make use of that energy.)

RM
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Post by Lester Curtis »

Funny, I thought that I had read this story earlier -- turns out I hadn't -- just finished it.

Excellent story; it points out the dangers of being so close to a problem (a sociopathic genius in this case) that you can't see it.
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