Beginnings And Endings

[sinjun]

It’s like a huge circle, that’s what they say. No end, and no beginning, just a continuous line, feeding into itself. But it’s also a never ending series of beginnings and endings that meld into each other, one after the other after the other. Hellos and goodbyes. See you later. How far in the future is later? I read recently, in the books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, a phrase that caught my attention. “Until soon.”

How wishful, how sweet and gentle that is. It makes parting all the richer, with it’s promise of a return before there’s time to miss the person leaving. Until soon. Until we meet again. And it will be soon. Not soon enough, never soon enough. But soon.

I would love a job on Dutiful Passage if only I could get one. This is one set of people who have their heads screwed on straight.

Until soon.

Comments

[ringzero.livejournal.com]

What is Dutiful Passage?

[courtly.livejournal.com]

Looks like a ship in those books she's talking about.

[damara.livejournal.com]

Dutiful Passage is a space ship in Conflict of Honors, Carpe Diem, Plan B, and I Dare. <a href="http://www.korval.com>See here. </a href>

[courtly.livejournal.com]

I LOVE the ship names in Iain M. Banks' work.

In his universe, there are so damn many ships, they get ridiculous names.

Here are some examples of fan-created ship names from his universe he liked:

• ASKING FOR A SLAP
  
• BILL ME LATER
  
• CERTAIN SENSE OF WONDER
  
• DRAMA QUEEN
  
• FEIGNING INNOCENCE
  
• HIGHLY STRUNG
  
• INNOCENT BYSTANDER
  
• LOOK BOTH WAYS
  
• NERVROVOROUS
  
• OH WELL
  
• RTFM
  
• SUBJECT TO CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
  
• SWEPT ALONG BY EVENTS
  
• ATROCIOUS TABLE MANNERS
  
• BUDGET CUTS
  
• CONSOLATION OF DREAMS
  
• FASHIONABLY LATE
  
• GUESS WHAT
  
• IMAGINARY FRIEND
  
• JUST VISITING
  
• MIND YOUR HEAD
  
• NOTHING PERSONAL
  
• PURITY OF SPIRIT
  
• REASONABLE DOUBT
  
• SUBTLE NUANCE
  
• TARNISHED REPUTATION
  

[ringzero.livejournal.com]

I'm suddenly reminded of the mercenary super-fortress Post-Dated Cheque-Loan (http://www.schlockmercenary.com/).

[courtly.livejournal.com]

That's a good one. Where's it from?

I found a PAGE full: http://www.saunalahti.fi/~mjhuur1/banks/ships.html

[wibbble]

Although I've never actually /read/ any of his stuff, just have to semi-brag about this...

Iain Banks went to my high school. IIRC, pcfvampire (an RL friend of mine) won the 'Iain Banks award for English' when he was there. (I, on the other hand, won the IBM prize for Computing.)

[ringzero.livejournal.com]

It's a webcomic called Schlock Mercenary, and it's the name of an orbital super-fortress, controlled by an AI that looks like a Koala bear. :)

Re:

[courtly.livejournal.com]

That's VERY cool.

If you're a geek who loves sci-fi like me, I'd read his stuff, it's singular Sci-fi.

His "Culture" series of novels treads ground that most writers won't touch... FAR future, where AI works, where all human needs are merely matters of resource allocation. You want a few acres of hillside to live on? No problem, done. Want to spend a few years as a woman? Poof. Want access to every piece of music ever written? Kay.

So, the writer has to concern himself with the question: "What does a person do when they no longer need to do anything to survive?"

He's able to pull novels out of this premise, which is a feat I wouldn't personally touch with a 10' pole.

I started with "Use of Weapons" (which viscerally appealed to the strategist in me) and "Player of Games" (which intellectually appealed to the wargamer in me)

anyhow, [/soapbox], love his work so far. Waiting to get my hands on a few more when I get to raid a friend's bookshelf again.

[wibbble]

Well, it doesn't need to be /that/ far a future for AI to work. :o)

But, yeah, I like sci-fi. I've been told off for only ever reading sci-fi... just never read any of his stuff.
I still have about half a shelf of unread 'classic' sci-fi, several Philip Dicks I want to read. After I read Catch 22, of course...

Re:

[courtly.livejournal.com]

Good stuff...

Yeah, the AI is fairly workable. But the drones also have advanced field effectors for complete field manipulation. (magnetic, force, etc).

All KINDS of neat stuff. Toys. :)

As my favourite RPG says: at this tech.level, military and medicine boil down to "poof you're dead... poof you're healed".

[wibbble]

Sounds lke Clark's Sufficiently Advanced Technology to me. :o)

Re:

[courtly.livejournal.com]

Precisely.

You know the corollary to that law?

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo".

[wibbble]

I prefer 'Any technology which can be distinguished from magic is insufficiently advanced', myself. ;o)