book Archives ~ From The Stratosphere

More Science, Less Fiction, Man-Made Molecules

By hsrivney | July 10, 2018

Science and molecules go “hand in hand”.

Science is my passion. And by hand in hand I’m talking about the right and left. My first full length novel, Paradox: The Alien Genome, was first an ember from Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, a morsel from one of his The Incredible Universe science episodes. He discussed in some detail the nature of chiral molecules, their ‘handedness’, and how on Earth amino acids natural link up and tweak one direction, while the molecules that link up as sugars link in the opposite direction. He said he’d like to read a book about astronauts on a planet where the spirals were reversed.

science - caraway or spearmint? — Same molecule, different flavors?

So I wrote it. (By the way, Dr. Tyson, I’d love to send you an autographed copy!) And it was a journey of discovery as I researched DNA and chiral bonds. Thalidomide is a chiral molecule. Unbeknownst to its creators, if they could force the molecule in the other direction, it would not have caused birth defects in fetuses back in the late 50s. I found long and detailed information about this and I nearly took a vacation from my novel to investigate the science further.

Synthesized Proteins

Most molecules are chiral. We can make these things in the laboratory and change them, creating totally new things but with the same atomic structure. A couple months back, I received a link to an article about two MIT chemists, Zachary P. Gates and Brad Pentelute, who could synthesize millions of novel, non-natural proteins to be used as drugs against Ebola and other viruses. They call it Xenoprotein etching. Critically, these man-made structures don’t have to be kept refrigerated. This enhances not only their shelf life, but also their potential use. They can be delivered “in the field” where disease lurks. People wouldn’t have to travel to clinics or doctors. In developing populations, transportation is not always available. When time is of the essence, days could mean lives.

MIT Chemists Synthesize Proteins.

Why Science Matters

I had to reflect on their ingenuity and how their work ‘mirrors’ (sorry, I couldn’t resist) to some degree my imaginary DNA splicing Malaria vaccine that replicated itself into the haploid cells of the children of vaccinated humans. Through some complex biochemical, yet founded in reality, sci-fi technobabble, this leads to sterility. Humans were unable to create a molecule that was reversed (and which divided, not like sugar which is static). They embarked on a hunting trip in space that lasted two years. They hoped to finding living creatures with this reversed chirality in their DNA. If you’ve read the novel, you know the rest. If not, I won’t give spoilers.

Nevertheless, this article proves once again that no matter how far-fetched of a thing a science fiction writer can dream up, it might very well be possible. We may not be able to transverse space faster than light, but perhaps in the future. I’m sure the Greeks and Romans 3000 years ago never thought of flying commercially, or to another planet. Technology hadn’t come far enough. It’s barely been 100 years since we abandoned the horse and buggy for fossil fueled vehicles. And don’t forget the saying of the Boomer Generation: If we can go to the moon, we can (fill in the blank with any impossible task, like, cure cancer, go solar, stop war).

That’s what makes writing science fiction so much fun. I like to think we are more enlightened and educated enough to leap beyond our current civilization, to question all that we are, and what we could be. I refer to the forward thinking sci-fi, not the, apocalyptic, dystopian, doom and gloom, an earth ruined by war sci fi. And a wise person once said – “Be careful what you ask for. You might get it.” I certainly hope so!

Based on Reality

If you’re a Star Trek fan,enjoy the tales of Michael Crichton (Jurrasic Park, ER, Congo), the works of Isaac Asimov, you may discover just what you’re looking for here. Do you like hard sci fi, medical missions, runaway bacteria, asteroids, and aliens? You will enjoy my two series, The Pioneer Missions, and the as yet untitled full length novels about an intrepid star ship captain who finds his soul mate in an alien . Find all my work here.

Spring has Sprung

By hsrivney | March 25, 2018

Spring means new stars in the northern hemisphere; Sky Guide can help you find them. Sirius hangs near the horizon, under the moon, around 8 pm. West of the moon, you will still see Orion in the sky, including Betelgeuse and Rigel. Taurus’ horns are up and he is diving down in the west. Winter is over, and it’s time for new star gazing with warmer weather finally. Do you know your stars and constellations? If you’re rusty, there’s a great app I may have mentioned in the past that you will find hard to believe. It’s a few dollars, and worth every penny. It also has a monthly subscription!

Sky Guide

Sky Guide – you can get the regular app or the monthly subscription if you’re even more crazy than I am about the sky. I like it better with a pad than a phone just because you can see so much more at once, but do check it out. I can’t do it justice here, so go ha fun and look at it for yourself in the app store. No affiliate here for recommending this, I just happen to love it.

About the books …

The new book, Jeopardy, will be out before summer. I had some diversions over the winter and have been spending some time letting people know about Paradox, Symbiosis, and now Jeopardy: Firestones and Aliens. After the initial launch, I’ll be offering the three as a set, but this is an ongoing series, and as long as there’s a story to tell, I will keep going.

Book Symbiosis: Titans of Cassiopeia by H S Rivney

New covers! Paradox and Symbiosis have been redesigned with new covers fit for paperbacks! Descriptions are also getting a face lift, and for e-book lovers, more links to the science that you can examine in depth. It’s going to be a fabulous year!

Paradox, The Alien Genome, 5 star Reader’s Choice Awards

Would love to hear your feedback for novellas on the other characters, namely, Quixote, a reptilian from Draconia, and Dr Jane Ferris, descendant of a chimera. Some will be set pre- 2160, some post 2170. More novellas to come on Captain Jackson’s earlier years on the Linus Pauling, and before that, as a pilot on the carrier Saratoga.

Don’t forget to tell me what you’d like to see in the upcoming stories. I write for you – what do you want to read?

Feedback? ↓

Solar Eclipse Fever? Mark your calendar for 2024

By hsrivney | August 22, 2017

Total Eclipse of Sun and Corona Photo by Fred Espenak, 1999

Once in a lifetime solar eclipse? Maybe not.

Nature’s rarest celestial spectacle, a total solar eclipse. Now that you’ve seen it on television and heard the awe of the spectators, you wish you’d been able to work it out. For a variety of reasons I was content to see a 72% eclipse from my home in Las Vegas, alas, for the single hour that would have been needed to watch, it rained. And it really rained, like big, black, storm cloud rain.

Rain might not seem such a big deal to most, but we have sun about 350 days a year here. It’s why I have a 10.5K solar array on my roof, why my bath towels are kind of stiff from drying on the clothesline six months of the year, and why I expected that in this valley my odds (no obvious Vegas pun intended here) of visibility were about 34:1 in favor of sun. In fact, even with rain, at some point the sun will appear even on those days. And, I was right. The clouds cleared around noon, well past the entire event in the southwest part of the country.

Solar eclipse of 1979

So the last chance I had was in 1979. I will tell you, without too many age revealing details, I happened to be on a school campus at the time, sometime around 8:15. I used the pinhole method, a hole in a paper cast upon another sheet of paper. My classmates thought I was nuts for even caring. I was probably the only person that day who bothered, or cared, that in the sky above us something extraordinary was occurring, in real time, and that tiny little grey crescent, as it changed from fat to thin to fat and whole again, in the past had confirmed Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, in 1919.

And as sad as that experience might sound, I’ve never forgotten it. I’ve been nerdy since before they invented the term, and I’m not surprised to find myself writing scientific fiction stories, hoping to instill the same feelings of amazement and cosmic unity in my readers as I embrace. I call this a natural worldview. Only a handful of humans have ventured beyond our stratosphere, and only as far as our moon.

The speed of light is 186,000+ miles per second (300,000 km/sec), or 6.71×10⁸per hour. I seared that number into my brain prepping for a science club contest between high schools. A photon of light can circle the Earth 7.5 times in one second. Light travels between the moon and Earth in less than two seconds. It takes light 8 minutes to get from our sun to Earth. My point is, space is big, and that’s an understatement.

Next total solar eclipse in United States — Texas to Maine 2024

April 8th, 2024, we have another coast to coast total eclipse, but instead of west to east, it will be south to north, more or less.

annular solar eclipse 2023 — Oregon to Gulf of Mexico

An annular eclipse, where instead of the corona you see a ring of fire, will occur shortly before that, on October 14th, 2023.

It works like this: the Sun is 400 times +- larger than the moon. It is also 400 times farther away from the moon than the moon is to Earth. For a deeper explanation, go read this Popular Science blog. No sense in reinventing the wheel here. And since the moon moves away from Earth a few centimeters each year, before another billion years pass, a total solar eclipse will be a thing of the past. Of course, none of us will be here to lament the demise. We are on the planet, conscious, sentient, intelligent, at the best time since life began.

I wrote about humans on another planet experiencing a solar eclipse, not a total eclipse, but one in which three moons converge to cast their shadows and block out the star, Beta Hydri, and this defining moment in their lives brings a new beginning and hope as they patiently await rescue on a planet that, like Nature here, doesn’t care for the life forms; they simply must use their brains to stay alive, and the solar powered escape pods are pretty helpful, too. If you want to check that book out, just pop over here and you can find it on Smashwords or Amazon as an eBook, or in paperback if you prefer. Paradox: The Alien Genome, the first novel of the Captain Jackson Adventures series.

novel alien genome — Five Star Rated, Paradox: The Alien Genome

Until the next worthy news item, wear your sunscreen. Those UV rays are Naughty Nature at her most wicked!

A recent review

By hsrivney | June 20, 2017

Shameless plug: another 5 star review of Paradox. If you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for? Click the picture and get the e-version instantly! Read it? Rate it! Read more stories with many of the same characters: Jackson, Quixote, Rianya, Bala, Lee, Watson, Bailey, Dukvita, the Kiians, and a new species coming up – the Zlogers!

If you long for the days of Gene Roddenberry’s soulful Star Trek, or hope the Avatar movie might one day become a reality, then you are in for a treat with H.S. Rivney’s Paradox: The Alien Genome. The suggestion of a genetic cure from the world beyond captivated my imagination, as did the author’s writing style. For me, the vivid, unique descriptions illuminated this space odyssey to movie-screen proportions. A healthy dose of dialogue keeps the pace at warp speed with lots of techie jargon. But what really impressed me was the author’s sophisticated scientific knowledge—I would believe her to be an astronaut or a physicist in a previous life to dream up the concepts presented throughout the novel. The author creates a totally convincing world from ecosystems to geology, animal species to alien beings. One graphic scene was tasteful, accurate and evocative. But there’s a touch of intrigue and danger, as well as a softer side to this story, too. A great ending wraps up this exciting futuristic journey after traveling back to a nostalgic era of Kirk, Spock, and Sulu— I highly recommend the ride!

Patti Cavaliere, author of 5 star rated “Looking for Leo”, click me!

Novissimus: Space Station One

By hsrivney | March 11, 2017

spacedock-st-06 — Earth Station with Star Trek’s Enterprise

I’ve been debating whether to release Novissimus or Symbiosis next. I wrote Novissimus during the black out time between first draft and revisions of Symbiosis. Would love to hear your thoughts. Novissimus is a novella episode prequel to Paradox, about 24,000 words.

Novissimus, Space Station One, Quantum Quandaries; Mission VIII, October 9, 2154

Novissimus orbits Omicron Nu fifteen light years from Earth in the opposite direction of the galactic center. It’s medical facilities are unsurpassed, and its arboretum legendary. When Captain Jackson is assigned to call a research team off Luyten’s Lepus for a new mission, that is to pick up live vaccines from Novissimus, the leader of the research team is furious and not afraid to show it.

Funny things happen on the way to Novissimus, or rather, not so funny. They can’t afford the time delays; the live vaccines are only viable for 100 days. In addition to the medicine, dozens of proton microscopes and an electromagnetic image chamber are also part of the cargo. Silverado Six’s population is depending on the S.S. Linus Pauling to arrive before a planet-wide outbreak of Altairian Fever becomes an epidemic.

Thomas Jackson meets Dukvita for the first time, a Pegasi with a rogue, if not an entrepreneurial, spirit and a well armed cargo ship. Novissimus becomes the scene of the crime where not only are lives at stake, but an extraordinary discovery becomes a weapon of mass destruction. jaguar

Don’t forget to check out another prequel adventure of Captain Jackson and the S.S. Linus Pauling, Gamma Ray Games, a novella episode where Jackson must investigate the sudden appearance of a thorium reactor on a pre-industrial world.

Both Novissimus and Gamma Ray Games will be made available together in one paperback this summer.

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