A fleet of alien space probes enter the night sky. But this is not our sky, and the probes are from Earth. A scientist from Alpha Centauri studies the probes aboard a space station. What will the scientist discover about their place in the universe?
A big thank you to Angela Yih for performing this episode. Be sure to listen to her audio drama Residents of Proserpina Park, if you haven’t done so already. You guys should know by now how much I love Residents of Proserpina Park. So, it was awesome to have Angela as part of The Books of Thoth.
What I wanted to do with “Starshot” is tell a story of First Contact between humanity and extraterrestrials, but from the perspective of the aliens. I wanted it to be hopeful and optimistic. Where the aliens are looking for a friend amidst the darkness, just like humanity is.
The title is a reference to Breakthrough Starshot. It is an proposed space mission to send a series of probes, via solar sail, to Alpha Centauri. It would take between 20-30 year, plus an additional four years for any messages from the probes to reach Earth. Hundreds of probes would initially be launched, with most being lost along the way due to collisions with interstellar dust and other debris. But, hopefully, a lucky few would survive the journey across the ebon sea. Pictures and/or video from another star? Now there’s a thought.
I also attempted to answer the question of the Fermi Paradox. That is, if the universe is so big, where’s all the alien. Perhaps they are in the same boat as us. Advanced enough to wonder who’s out there, but not advanced enough to initiate significant contact. Perhaps it is only just now that intelligent life has finally evolved in the universe. I suppose they would make a kind of sense. Look how long it took for intelligent life to evolve on Earth. Well, intelligent as we define it, anyway.
I wanted to evoke the feelings of wonder and frustration from archeology. Especially with regards to civilizations where we have yet to translate their languages such as the Minoans or the Indus Valley Civilization. I suppose that makes the protagonist a xenoarcheologist.
Still, that isn’t to say you can’t find at least some meaning. Even if it wasn’t the kind you were initially looking for. So, I wanted the story to end with a sense of awe and wonder. With the feeling the the universe is so much bigger, and isn’t that great?
But most of all, I hope that all of you enjoy “Starshot.” I kind of rushed this one so I could get it out before Christmas and New Year’s. It is a bit more low-key than my previous episode, “Paleontology Conference” was. But I felt Starshot was a very personal, intimate sort of story, and it didn’t need as many bells and whistles. And hey, we got some nice music to listen to along the way.
A big thank you to Angela Yih for performing this episode. Be sure to listen to her audio drama Residents of Proserpina Park, if you haven’t done so already. You guys should know by now how much I love Residents of Proserpina Park. So, it was awesome to have Angela as part of The Books of Thoth.
What I wanted to do with “Starshot” is tell a story of First Contact between humanity and extraterrestrials, but from the perspective of the aliens. I wanted it to be hopeful and optimistic. Where the aliens are looking for a friend amidst the darkness, just like humanity is.
The title is a reference to Breakthrough Starshot. It is an proposed space mission to send a series of probes, via solar sail, to Alpha Centauri. It would take between 20-30 year, plus an additional four years for any messages from the probes to reach Earth. Hundreds of probes would initially be launched, with most being lost along the way due to collisions with interstellar dust and other debris. But, hopefully, a lucky few would survive the journey across the ebon sea. Pictures and/or video from another star? Now there’s a thought.
I also attempted to answer the question of the Fermi Paradox. That is, if the universe is so big, where’s all the alien. Perhaps they are in the same boat as us. Advanced enough to wonder who’s out there, but not advanced enough to initiate significant contact. Perhaps it is only just now that intelligent life has finally evolved in the universe. I suppose they would make a kind of sense. Look how long it took for intelligent life to evolve on Earth. Well, intelligent as we define it, anyway.
I wanted to evoke the feelings of wonder and frustration from archeology. Especially with regards to civilizations where we have yet to translate their languages such as the Minoans or the Indus Valley Civilization. I suppose that makes the protagonist a xenoarcheologist.
Still, that isn’t to say you can’t find at least some meaning. Even if it wasn’t the kind you were initially looking for. So, I wanted the story to end with a sense of awe and wonder. With the feeling the the universe is so much bigger, and isn’t that great?
But most of all, I hope that all of you enjoy “Starshot.” I kind of rushed this one so I could get it out before Christmas and New Year’s. It is a bit more low-key than my previous episode, “Paleontology Conference” was. But I felt Starshot was a very personal, intimate sort of story, and it didn’t need as many bells and whistles. And hey, we got some nice music to listen to along the way.
You can listen to The Books of Thoth on your podcast platform of choice.
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