Post by Catsmate on Jul 19, 2023 14:05:38 GMT
Over in the Animated Series thread I mentioned the idea of a beacon in space as an alternative for a lighthouse and that reminded me of an old Harry Harrison short story. After re-reading it I thought it might be worth a thread of its own.
The Repairman.
Harrison wrote 'The Repairman' in 1958 and it's currently in the Public Domain. It can be found on PG and Inkspire and there are several audio versions on YouTube (e.g. here and here)
The basic premise is simple; humans (and perhaps various aliens) have been travelling the Milky Way galaxy for at least two thousand years. But faster-than-light travel through hyperspace needs navigational beacons (shades of the Decca and LORAN radio beacons that were used from the late 1940s until ubiquitous satellite navigation). When a beacon breaks down someone has to fix it; the job of the unnamed (and none-too-willing) narrator of the story.
This means tricky navigation and lengthy trips through 'real' space to get to the beacon.
In the story the beacon (a 'Mark III') is so old that not much is known about it; it's situated on one of Proxima Centauri planets, close to Earth. As the repairman' boss says, it might very well be the first beacon. Traffic is being disrupted and it needs to be fixed.
Without wanting to spoil the story the task is complicated by the local lizard-like aliens, who weren't meant to find the giant metal construction, the meddling of their priests and a minor religious war. Plus the locals have encased the beacon in a giant stone pyramid.
Some what reminiscent, to me anyway, of The Aztecs, it's a story that could be usefully complicated by the intrusion of a small group of time travellers. Perhaps the repairman is incapacitated and they need to do they job? Or they've coincidentally landed nearby and get swept up in the war that's brewing.
The Repairman.
Harrison wrote 'The Repairman' in 1958 and it's currently in the Public Domain. It can be found on PG and Inkspire and there are several audio versions on YouTube (e.g. here and here)
The basic premise is simple; humans (and perhaps various aliens) have been travelling the Milky Way galaxy for at least two thousand years. But faster-than-light travel through hyperspace needs navigational beacons (shades of the Decca and LORAN radio beacons that were used from the late 1940s until ubiquitous satellite navigation). When a beacon breaks down someone has to fix it; the job of the unnamed (and none-too-willing) narrator of the story.
This means tricky navigation and lengthy trips through 'real' space to get to the beacon.
In the story the beacon (a 'Mark III') is so old that not much is known about it; it's situated on one of Proxima Centauri planets, close to Earth. As the repairman' boss says, it might very well be the first beacon. Traffic is being disrupted and it needs to be fixed.
Without wanting to spoil the story the task is complicated by the local lizard-like aliens, who weren't meant to find the giant metal construction, the meddling of their priests and a minor religious war. Plus the locals have encased the beacon in a giant stone pyramid.
Some what reminiscent, to me anyway, of The Aztecs, it's a story that could be usefully complicated by the intrusion of a small group of time travellers. Perhaps the repairman is incapacitated and they need to do they job? Or they've coincidentally landed nearby and get swept up in the war that's brewing.
