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Andybaby · 06-10-2009, 08:01 PM

My favorite thing about reading science fiction besides escape-ism, is the take one the Universe by the author.

Some are simple, Giant Empires of Humans spread across systems, its just earth warfare on a larger scale... (really its earth pre 1500ad on space ships instead of wooden sailboats)

Some are so complex you need a score book.

it's the complex ones I love, its so easy to talk about to people. tell them about the story, and get them to read it.

The reason I bring it up is I just finished reading "A Fire Upon the Deep" by Vernor Vinge. This Novel had the most Original universe I've ever seen. Zones of Thought its called. the way it seems, the further away from the galactic core you are. the more the laws of physics tend to do some funky things. Faster then Light Speed is Possible. Computer programs can be sentient. Programs can Kill people and manifest. When a Human Travels toward the center of the Universe, Thought slows down, in the book they mention that it could make a genius go to an IQ of 60. But when you get out of what the book calls the Slowness, the Part of the Galaxy where FTL is not possible, and get into what they call the Beyond (Earth is in the Slowness, all Humans in the Beyond got there by Ram Scoop Sub Light and Cold Sleep) things get interesting. Beyond the Beyond, the Transcend is where the real cool stuff happens, Civilizations come and go in a matter of years, computer programs can be smarter than a sentient being, This is where the Gods Reside. And Beyond that there are things even stronger, faster, and more powerful, where thought can change the laws of the Galaxy.

Another Novel that I found hat a "novel" idea of the Universe is "Sun Diver" By David Brin. First book in the Uplift Universe Series. in this Universe there are ways things happen. One Race Uplifts another race, Often Enslaving that race for a certain number of years in the process. Turning a Race of ground Slugs into Sentient Beings. Humans Got on the Scene, but no one Uplifted the Human Race. We had no prestige in their eyes, we were not respected because we didn't have a parent race who was respected. the only reason any aliens talked to us at all is because before we met these aliens, We Uplifted Two races ourselves, the Dolphins, and Chimps. The Second Book Of this Series main characters are Dolphins! How cool is that.

My all time favorite Universe is Heinleins Universe. I saw Only one because although many of his works take place in different time streams, where different events happened in history. he later brings it all together in his latter books like Number of the beast and his idea of "pantheistic solipsism" or "world-as-myth" — the theory that universes are created by the act of imagining them. Where he brought together not only his books, but books by favorite authors of his, Like ER Broughs, and The OZ books. how cool would it be to be in a Flying Car, that can go between 6^6^6 Universes and have explore and have fun. although many found the book, "the number of the beast" as meandering (I believe he devoted like 4 pages to a discussion about the Word Teat Vs Breast) the Universe he created in this novel was one of my favorites. If not my favorite of all time, If only because in it, any universe that can be imagined exists. So in a List about favorite Universes, You Have to Include this one, because in this one they all exist. (Dora and the Gay Deceiver doesn't hurt much either)

What are some of yours?

06-10-2009, 08:01 PM	#1
Andybaby Wizard Posts: 1,279 Karma: 1002683 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New York Device: PRS-700	Favorite Sci-fi Universe My favorite thing about reading science fiction besides escape-ism, is the take one the Universe by the author. Some are simple, Giant Empires of Humans spread across systems, its just earth warfare on a larger scale... (really its earth pre 1500ad on space ships instead of wooden sailboats) Some are so complex you need a score book. it's the complex ones I love, its so easy to talk about to people. tell them about the story, and get them to read it. The reason I bring it up is I just finished reading "A Fire Upon the Deep" by Vernor Vinge. This Novel had the most Original universe I've ever seen. Zones of Thought its called. the way it seems, the further away from the galactic core you are. the more the laws of physics tend to do some funky things. Faster then Light Speed is Possible. Computer programs can be sentient. Programs can Kill people and manifest. When a Human Travels toward the center of the Universe, Thought slows down, in the book they mention that it could make a genius go to an IQ of 60. But when you get out of what the book calls the Slowness, the Part of the Galaxy where FTL is not possible, and get into what they call the Beyond (Earth is in the Slowness, all Humans in the Beyond got there by Ram Scoop Sub Light and Cold Sleep) things get interesting. Beyond the Beyond, the Transcend is where the real cool stuff happens, Civilizations come and go in a matter of years, computer programs can be smarter than a sentient being, This is where the Gods Reside. And Beyond that there are things even stronger, faster, and more powerful, where thought can change the laws of the Galaxy. Another Novel that I found hat a "novel" idea of the Universe is "Sun Diver" By David Brin. First book in the Uplift Universe Series. in this Universe there are ways things happen. One Race Uplifts another race, Often Enslaving that race for a certain number of years in the process. Turning a Race of ground Slugs into Sentient Beings. Humans Got on the Scene, but no one Uplifted the Human Race. We had no prestige in their eyes, we were not respected because we didn't have a parent race who was respected. the only reason any aliens talked to us at all is because before we met these aliens, We Uplifted Two races ourselves, the Dolphins, and Chimps. The Second Book Of this Series main characters are Dolphins! How cool is that. My all time favorite Universe is Heinleins Universe. I saw Only one because although many of his works take place in different time streams, where different events happened in history. he later brings it all together in his latter books like Number of the beast and his idea of "pantheistic solipsism" or "world-as-myth" — the theory that universes are created by the act of imagining them. Where he brought together not only his books, but books by favorite authors of his, Like ER Broughs, and The OZ books. how cool would it be to be in a Flying Car, that can go between 6^6^6 Universes and have explore and have fun. although many found the book, "the number of the beast" as meandering (I believe he devoted like 4 pages to a discussion about the Word Teat Vs Breast) the Universe he created in this novel was one of my favorites. If not my favorite of all time, If only because in it, any universe that can be imagined exists. So in a List about favorite Universes, You Have to Include this one, because in this one they all exist. (Dora and the Gay Deceiver doesn't hurt much either) What are some of yours?