"Haberman
Modified humans controlled by cybernetic implants.
A human that have been modified from most sensory reception, while their bodily functions are controlled by cybernetic implants. Habermans are needed to crew spacecraft, since unmodified humans would not be able to withstand the "pain of space". The Pain is a side effect of interstellar travel, which causes a desire for death in living beings."
3.5 out of 5
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=1975
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Cordwainer Smith: The Ballad of Lost Linebarger Part 2 - Frederik Pohl
"There was a problem. After a few more fine stories about the associates of Lord Jestecost and C’Mell the cat lady and all, I got a saddening letter from him. He wouldn’t be writing any more stories about the Instrumentality, he said, because he had totally run out of additional story ideas. He hadn’t thought that would happen, he told me, because for years he’d kept this little pocket notebook with him, filling it with ideas as they occurred to him, including a number for additional stories in the series. But, alas. he’d been in a small boat somewhere — maybe it was on some Italian lake or Mediterranean bay — and he had leaned incautiously over the side … and the notebook had fallen out of his breast pocket into the water … and he been able to watch it dropping through the crystal-clear water until at last it was out of sight, and was gone. Along with all those never-to-be-written stories"
5 out of 5
http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/12/cordwainer-smith-the-ballad-of-lost-linebarger-part-2/
5 out of 5
http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/12/cordwainer-smith-the-ballad-of-lost-linebarger-part-2/
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Underpeople
From Technovelgy
"An animal modified to be human in shape and intellect.
"...there had been the problem of the underpeople- people who were not human, but merely shaped from the stock of Earth animals. They could speak, sing, read, write, work, love, and die; but they were not covered by human law, which simply defined them as "homunculi" and gave them a legal status close to animals or robots...""
3.5 outof 5
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Content.asp?Bnum=1959
"An animal modified to be human in shape and intellect.
"...there had been the problem of the underpeople- people who were not human, but merely shaped from the stock of Earth animals. They could speak, sing, read, write, work, love, and die; but they were not covered by human law, which simply defined them as "homunculi" and gave them a legal status close to animals or robots...""
3.5 outof 5
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Content.asp?Bnum=1959
Planoforming
"A form of "faster than light" travel allows for interstellar travel.
"Planoforming was sort of funny. It felt like like— Like nothing much. Like the twinge of a mild electric shock. Like the ache of a sore tooth bitten on for the first time. Like a slightly painful flash of light against the eyes. Yet in that time, a forty-thousand-ton ship lifting free above Earth disappeared somehow or other into two dimensions and appeared half a light-year or fifty light-years off." "
3.5 out of 5
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=1964
"Planoforming was sort of funny. It felt like like— Like nothing much. Like the twinge of a mild electric shock. Like the ache of a sore tooth bitten on for the first time. Like a slightly painful flash of light against the eyes. Yet in that time, a forty-thousand-ton ship lifting free above Earth disappeared somehow or other into two dimensions and appeared half a light-year or fifty light-years off." "
3.5 out of 5
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=1964
Monday, December 13, 2010
Cordwainer Smith: The Ballad of Lost Linebarger Part 1 - Frederik Pohl
"It was a story that had appeared in a semi-pro sf magazine from California called, if I remember aright, Fantasy Book. Its title was “Scanners Live in Vain.” It was about a bizarre kind of spaceflight, set in a bizarre future world, .and it was signed as by someone named Cordwainer Smith. So I included it in my lineup, and then had the problem of finding out who could sign a permission for the use of the story and accept the payment for it. “Cordwainer Smith” smelled very much like a pseudonym to me. But for whom? "
5 out of 5
http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/12/cordwainer-smith-the-ballad-of-lost-linebarger-part-1/
5 out of 5
http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/12/cordwainer-smith-the-ballad-of-lost-linebarger-part-1/
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Cordwainer Smith and A. Bertram Chandler - Steve Davidson
"My second reason for raising Chandler is the homage he paid to Cordwainer Smith in no less than two of his novels.
That it was a deliberate tribute to his fellow author is without question; Chandler actually placed Cordwainer Smith’s name right on the page for everyone to see, and used it in a way that any but the most uneducated, ignorant and unconnected reader could possibly miss. (Well, back up a bit: that only applies if you’re already familiar with Smith and Chandler.)
The two novels in question are The Inheritors and The Far Traveler.
Allow me a few paragraphs for background so I can bring the few poor souls amongst you who have never read Chandler up to date."
4.5 out of 5
http://cordwainer-smith.com/blog/cordwainer-smith-and-a-bertram-chandler.html
That it was a deliberate tribute to his fellow author is without question; Chandler actually placed Cordwainer Smith’s name right on the page for everyone to see, and used it in a way that any but the most uneducated, ignorant and unconnected reader could possibly miss. (Well, back up a bit: that only applies if you’re already familiar with Smith and Chandler.)
The two novels in question are The Inheritors and The Far Traveler.
Allow me a few paragraphs for background so I can bring the few poor souls amongst you who have never read Chandler up to date."
4.5 out of 5
http://cordwainer-smith.com/blog/cordwainer-smith-and-a-bertram-chandler.html
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The Inheritors - A. Bertram Chandler
Apart from tangling with a nemesis, Drongo Kane, this novel is also a homage to Cordwainer Smith, including the names of the inhabitants of a planet, and cat-bred underpeople, among other things, so that is a nice touch.
Here, Kane is indulging in slavery - because currently the catpeople inhabitants are not classed as 'true' humans, so there are no laws against doing so.
This planet, Morrowvia, is a another Lost Colony, so likely to get away with it, until the Federation Survey Service and one John Grimes and crew come calling.
--
Large excerpt here :- http://www.webscription.net/chapters/0441370624/0441370624_toc.htm
Here, Kane is indulging in slavery - because currently the catpeople inhabitants are not classed as 'true' humans, so there are no laws against doing so.
This planet, Morrowvia, is a another Lost Colony, so likely to get away with it, until the Federation Survey Service and one John Grimes and crew come calling.
--
Large excerpt here :- http://www.webscription.net/chapters/0441370624/0441370624_toc.htm
The Lords of the Instrumentality - Ralph Benko
Find out just who is keeping down the Underpeople, here. Other than Lord Cordwainer of course.
Unfortunately has wretched performance in any browser I try. Interesting idea. Terry Dowling is Lord Afervarro, for one.
3 out of 5
http://www.instrumentality.com/
Unfortunately has wretched performance in any browser I try. Interesting idea. Terry Dowling is Lord Afervarro, for one.
3 out of 5
http://www.instrumentality.com/
Cloud Permutations - Lavie Tidhar
"MJ: The narrative voice of Cloud Permutations is at times self-reflexive and almost non-fictional in style, often referring to where pieces of the story were collected from primary and secondary sources. Why did you choose to tell Kal’s story in this way?
LT: It’s partly homage to one of my favourite SF writers, Cordwainer Smith. And it’s an interesting way of telling a story. Settling on the right voice for a story is always challenging. Different stories need different approaches and this one just felt the most natural for a story that is as much about the world as it is about its hero. There is a lot more going on beyond Kai’s story – a lot of other stories, and some intersect with his and some are in the distant past and some have not happened yet."
Unseen.
http://www.apexbookcompany.com/2010/09/an-interview-with-lavie-tidhar-on-cloud-permutations/
LT: It’s partly homage to one of my favourite SF writers, Cordwainer Smith. And it’s an interesting way of telling a story. Settling on the right voice for a story is always challenging. Different stories need different approaches and this one just felt the most natural for a story that is as much about the world as it is about its hero. There is a lot more going on beyond Kai’s story – a lot of other stories, and some intersect with his and some are in the distant past and some have not happened yet."
Unseen.
http://www.apexbookcompany.com/2010/09/an-interview-with-lavie-tidhar-on-cloud-permutations/
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
The Fife of Bodidharma - Cordwainer Smith
Short Story
Number of words : 2900
Percent of complex words : 10.3
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 16.0
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 10.5
Flesch : 64.5
Flesch-Kincaid : 8.2
PEOPLE
Goldsmith
Made the fife and died as a result.
Bodidharma the Blessed One
Ancient religious leader who is given the fife.
German explorer
Found the fife.
Wolfgang Huene
A nazi who hates Hitler and finds the fife.
Hagen von Griin
One of the German rocket scientists who worked at Huntsville, Alabama.
TECHNOLOGY
Magical fife
A musical instrument. A chancy prediscovery of psionic powers with sonic triggering. Made of gold.
Onyx
A type of quartz.
Case No. 34 of the Dorotheum
Where the fife resided in Germany.
PLACES
Cathay
Another name for part of China.
Loyang
Chinese city.
Anyang
City in South Korea.
Rhine
German river.
Cape Canaveral
Site of USA space launches.
ORGANISATIONS
Northern Wei dynasty
Ancient Chinese rulers.
Toba Tartars
Chinese barbarians.
Volkssturm
German military group.
Harappa
A proto-Indian culture.
ANIMALS
Tiger and wolf and fox and jackal and snake and spider
Encountered by the Bodidharma.
VEHICLES
B-29s
Allied planes.
PLOT
A goldsmith makes a fife with special properties which has different owners over time from Bodidharmas to nazis. Eventually a rocket scientist uses it as a replacement strut in a launch and wonders if it matters in what setting he left it.
2.5 out of 5
Number of words : 2900
Percent of complex words : 10.3
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 16.0
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 10.5
Flesch : 64.5
Flesch-Kincaid : 8.2
PEOPLE
Goldsmith
Made the fife and died as a result.
Bodidharma the Blessed One
Ancient religious leader who is given the fife.
German explorer
Found the fife.
Wolfgang Huene
A nazi who hates Hitler and finds the fife.
Hagen von Griin
One of the German rocket scientists who worked at Huntsville, Alabama.
TECHNOLOGY
Magical fife
A musical instrument. A chancy prediscovery of psionic powers with sonic triggering. Made of gold.
Onyx
A type of quartz.
Case No. 34 of the Dorotheum
Where the fife resided in Germany.
PLACES
Cathay
Another name for part of China.
Loyang
Chinese city.
Anyang
City in South Korea.
Rhine
German river.
Cape Canaveral
Site of USA space launches.
ORGANISATIONS
Northern Wei dynasty
Ancient Chinese rulers.
Toba Tartars
Chinese barbarians.
Volkssturm
German military group.
Harappa
A proto-Indian culture.
ANIMALS
Tiger and wolf and fox and jackal and snake and spider
Encountered by the Bodidharma.
VEHICLES
B-29s
Allied planes.
PLOT
A goldsmith makes a fife with special properties which has different owners over time from Bodidharmas to nazis. Eventually a rocket scientist uses it as a replacement strut in a launch and wonders if it matters in what setting he left it.
2.5 out of 5
Tiger and wolf and fox and jackal and snake and spider : The Fife of Bodidharma - Cordwainer Smith
Encountered by the Bodidharma.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Case No. 34 of the Dorotheum : The Fife of Bodidharma - Cordwainer Smith
Where the fife resided in Germany.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Magical fife : The Fife of Bodidharma - Cordwainer Smith
A musical instrument. A chancy prediscovery of psionic powers with sonic triggering. Made of gold.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Hagen von Griin : The Fife of Bodidharma - Cordwainer Smith
One of the German rocket scientists who worked at Huntsville, Alabama.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Wolfgang Huene : The Fife of Bodidharma - Cordwainer Smith
A nazi who hates Hitler and finds the fife.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Bodidharma the Blessed One : The Fife of Bodidharma - Cordwainer Smith
Ancient religious leader who is given the fife.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Nancy - Cordwainer Smith
Short Story
Number of words : 4700
Percent of complex words : 8.5
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.5
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.6
Flesch : 77.0
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.1
PEOPLE
Gordon Greene
Originally Giordano Verdi. A Space Service officer.
Wallenstein
An old man.
Karl Vonderleyen
An old lieutenant of the service.
ORGANISATIONS
Space Service
Goes into the Up-and-Out.
TECHNOLOGY
Nancy
An imaginary virus created friend.
Sokta virus
Designed to be implanted in a person and released in the case of needing companionship in space.
PLANTS
Geraniums
A type of flower.
FOOD
Dago Red
A wine.
PLOT
Man cannot cope in space alone, so missions always have more than one person. However, if one dies then there is a problem. The sotka virus enables a person to experience an imaginary companion after it is triggered. In a military interview, such a story is recounted.
3.5 out of 5
Number of words : 4700
Percent of complex words : 8.5
Average syllables per word : 1.4
Average words per sentence : 10.5
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 7.6
Flesch : 77.0
Flesch-Kincaid : 5.1
PEOPLE
Gordon Greene
Originally Giordano Verdi. A Space Service officer.
Wallenstein
An old man.
Karl Vonderleyen
An old lieutenant of the service.
ORGANISATIONS
Space Service
Goes into the Up-and-Out.
TECHNOLOGY
Nancy
An imaginary virus created friend.
Sokta virus
Designed to be implanted in a person and released in the case of needing companionship in space.
PLANTS
Geraniums
A type of flower.
FOOD
Dago Red
A wine.
PLOT
Man cannot cope in space alone, so missions always have more than one person. However, if one dies then there is a problem. The sotka virus enables a person to experience an imaginary companion after it is triggered. In a military interview, such a story is recounted.
3.5 out of 5
Sokta virus : Nancy - Cordwainer Smith
Designed to be implanted in a person and released in the case of needing companionship in space.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Gordon Greene : Nancy - Cordwainer Smith
Originally Giordano Verdi. A Space Service officer.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Angerhelm - Cordwainer Smith
Novelette
Number of words : 8100
Percent of complex words : 10.0
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 12.3
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 9.0
Flesch : 70.9
Flesch-Kincaid : 6.4
PEOPLE
Assistant
To Mr Spatz.
Mr Spatz
His boss.
Khruschev
Russian Prime Minister.
Secretary of State
USA cabinet member.
Undersecretary
Deputy to the Secretary of State.
Nelson Angerhelm
Of 2322 Ridge Drive, Hopkins, Minnesota. A 62-year-old retired poultry farmer. He had served in World I.
Colonel Plugg
A US army officer.
Lieutenant Colonel Potariskov
The Soviet Assistant Military Attache.
Colonel Tice Angerhelm
Nelson's younger brother, deceased.
Theiss Ankerhjelm
Swedish admiral a couple hundred years ago. A West Pointer in the Adjutant General's office.
Don Juan
Famous womaniser.
Soviet Ambassador
Head of the Soviet diplomatic mission.
Jensen
Angerhelm's pastor.
Mrs. Prai Jesselton
Tice's old girlfriend.
ORGANISATIONS
Department of the Army
US government department.
Signal Corps
Army intelligence gatherers.
Soviet Embassy
Diplomatic mission to the USA.
SAC base
Army facility.
FBI
Federal Bureau of Intelligence. USA national cops.
VEHICLES
Sputniks
Russian spacecraft.
CONCEPTS
Galactic clearance
Security rating. Galactic clearance came a little bit after Universal clearance.
PLACES
Minneapolis
US city.
Plattsburg
Town in New York.
Hopkins
A town in Minnesota, a diplomatic no travel zone.
VEHICLES
Chevrolet
A car.
Willys roadster
An old car.
PLOT
The intelligence communities of the USA and the Soviet Union are concerned about a message from a dead colonel to his retired brother in Minnesota. Especially as it doesn't matter what country you are in when you receive the broadcast and you can tell what it is.
3 out of 5
Number of words : 8100
Percent of complex words : 10.0
Average syllables per word : 1.5
Average words per sentence : 12.3
READABILITY INDICES
Fog : 9.0
Flesch : 70.9
Flesch-Kincaid : 6.4
PEOPLE
Assistant
To Mr Spatz.
Mr Spatz
His boss.
Khruschev
Russian Prime Minister.
Secretary of State
USA cabinet member.
Undersecretary
Deputy to the Secretary of State.
Nelson Angerhelm
Of 2322 Ridge Drive, Hopkins, Minnesota. A 62-year-old retired poultry farmer. He had served in World I.
Colonel Plugg
A US army officer.
Lieutenant Colonel Potariskov
The Soviet Assistant Military Attache.
Colonel Tice Angerhelm
Nelson's younger brother, deceased.
Theiss Ankerhjelm
Swedish admiral a couple hundred years ago. A West Pointer in the Adjutant General's office.
Don Juan
Famous womaniser.
Soviet Ambassador
Head of the Soviet diplomatic mission.
Jensen
Angerhelm's pastor.
Mrs. Prai Jesselton
Tice's old girlfriend.
ORGANISATIONS
Department of the Army
US government department.
Signal Corps
Army intelligence gatherers.
Soviet Embassy
Diplomatic mission to the USA.
SAC base
Army facility.
FBI
Federal Bureau of Intelligence. USA national cops.
VEHICLES
Sputniks
Russian spacecraft.
CONCEPTS
Galactic clearance
Security rating. Galactic clearance came a little bit after Universal clearance.
PLACES
Minneapolis
US city.
Plattsburg
Town in New York.
Hopkins
A town in Minnesota, a diplomatic no travel zone.
VEHICLES
Chevrolet
A car.
Willys roadster
An old car.
PLOT
The intelligence communities of the USA and the Soviet Union are concerned about a message from a dead colonel to his retired brother in Minnesota. Especially as it doesn't matter what country you are in when you receive the broadcast and you can tell what it is.
3 out of 5
Galactic clearance : Angerhelm - Cordwainer Smith
Security rating. Galactic clearance came a little bit after Universal clearance.
4 out of 5
4 out of 5
Theiss Ankerhjelm : Angerhelm - Cordwainer Smith
Swedish admiral a couple hundred years ago. A West Pointer in the Adjutant General's office.
3 out of 5
3 out of 5
Colonel Tice Angerhelm : Angerhelm - Cordwainer Smith
Nelson's younger brother, deceased.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Lieutenant Colonel Potariskov : Angerhelm - Cordwainer Smith
The Soviet Assistant Military Attache.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Nelson Angerhelm : Angerhelm - Cordwainer Smith
Of 2322 Ridge Drive, Hopkins, Minnesota. A 62-year-old retired poultry farmer. He had served in World I.
3.5 out of 5
3.5 out of 5
Cordwainer Smith's Universe Timeline - J. J. Pierce
"Timeline From The Instrumentality of Mankind, Compiled by J.J. Pierce.
Note: With Smith's own notebooks lost, chronology is largely a matter of guesswork, based on internal evidence. But the order of stories and surounding events can be fairly well established."
4 out of 5
http://www.theweebsite.com/ragnar/smith_time.html
Note: With Smith's own notebooks lost, chronology is largely a matter of guesswork, based on internal evidence. But the order of stories and surounding events can be fairly well established."
4 out of 5
http://www.theweebsite.com/ragnar/smith_time.html