ThothAmon Posted November 6, 2005 Report Share Posted November 6, 2005 I'm trawling for fiction that deals with inhabitants of gas giants for a scenario idea. If you know of any I'd appreciate a brief note here so that I might dig a little deeper. ATM I have the following to hand: 'The Algebraist' by Ian M Banks 'The Many Worlds' stories by John Varley Others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowcat1313 Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? both GURPS Traveller and Spacemaster had gas giant dwelling races, although IIRC they are exactly the same race, just ported between systems by the same author who wrote both books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? Victory Unintentional, by Isaac Asimov 2010, by Clarke has passing references Cosmos, by Sagan devotes part of a chapter. Keith "Gas Giant" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? Poul Andersen's novel Three Worlds to Conquer has a major part of its action set on the surface of Jupiter, but you should know that it's more of a "planetary romance" story rather than hard science fiction. It doesn't break any laws of physics, and there are some nice observations about the physical and chemical conditions that would differ from what we're used to; but the aliens are more anthropomorphic than are usually depicted in more recent sci-fi on the subject. IMHO it is a fun little novel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeralWhippet Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? "Saturn Rukh" by Robert L. Forward. Hard SF. The Rukh's are flyers/floaters about 4 Kilometers long or so. Kind of interesting, but not the best writing in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? "A Meeting with Medusa" by Arthur C. Clarke A brief mention in 2010 by Clarke (titanic jellyfish-gasbags had serrated tentacles like "kilometer-long chainsaws". There might have been some gas giant life in Saturnalia by Grant Callin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? A brief mention in 2010 by Clarke (titanic jellyfish-gasbags had serrated tentacles like "kilometer-long chainsaws". I mentioned that one above. BTW, does anyone know who first posited big balloon-like creatures living in the atmosphere of Jupiter? I've seen them all over the place (including some of the cites on this thread), but who came up with it first? Keith "due credit" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxom Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? Well, it's probably not the kind of information you want but there are examples in the Well World series (by Jack L. Chalker) and there are also examples in C. J. Cherryh's Chanur trilogy. The issue around both of these is more that they are not carbon-based so it's practically impossible to get a feel for the thought patterns, wants or desires. This would also mean an incredible amount of work for a GM. Piers Anthony also makes passing reference in the setting for his Bio of a Space Tyrant, as I recall, describing floating creatures but I doubt that he is the source for the idea. (Sorry, Keith, no clue on the real origin of that one.) You might want to look at Cherryh and Chalker for an idea about how bizarre the interactions with something so non-human can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? Carl Sagan posited the idea of "floaters" in the atmosphere of Jupiter at one point ... I seem to recall this not later than the mid-1970's ... but whether that's the real origin of the idea I can't say. Let's see if I can fire up a google window on my workstation when it is choked for memory... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? Wikipedia has a citation ... Sagan and Salpeter 1976. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale A. Ward Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? I'm trawling for fiction that deals with inhabitants of gas giants for a scenario idea. If you know of any I'd appreciate a brief note here so that I might dig a little deeper. Sorry... the best I can come up with for the population of gas giants is how many trucks there are in the parking lot of a Flying J truck stop! ~ducks~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThothAmon Posted November 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? TY all. Some reading for bedtime methinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? I mentioned that one above. Whups. Sorry. There were "iceberg" creatures in As On A Darkling Plain by Ben Bova. I think there were creatures briefly mentioned in Bova's Jupiter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? Who wrote Heavy Planet? Simak? Anyway, that was actually a huge terrestrial planet, I guess. Keith "Oh, and Ugnaughts live on gas giants" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? Who wrote Heavy Planet? Simak? Milton A. Rothman, actually. It's been collected several places. http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?41329 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? Sorry... the best I can come up with for the population of gas giants is how many trucks there are in the parking lot of a Flying J truck stop! ~ducks~ If the drivers had been eating baked beans, that would be even more appropriate. ~joins you in ducking~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? Milton A. Rothman, actually. It's been collected several places. http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?41329 Thanks. It's been a long time since I read that. Keith "I always felt sorry for the poor (presumably) human pilots" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? Thanks. It's been a long time since I read that. If you are looking for a copy of the story, I recommend that you go to http://www.bookfinder.com and find a copy of Where Do We Go From Here? edited by Isaac Asimov. (they have about twenty copies for under $3) Asimov selects stories illustrating basic scientific principles. After each story, he writes about the science involved, gives suggested science-fact reading if you want more, and poises open-ended questions. Many of the stories could inspire Star Hero scenarios. Table of contents: A Martian Odyssey Stanley G. Weinbaum Heavy Planet Milton A. Rothman The Deep Range Arthur C. Clarke The Day Is Done Lester del Rey The Holes Around Mars Jerome Bixby The Cave of Night James E. Gunn The Big Bounce Walter S. Tevis Proof Hal Clement Night John W. Campbell, Jr. A Subway Named Mobius A. J. Deutsch Neutron Star Larry Niven Omnilingual H. Beam Piper Dust Rag Hal Clement Surface Tension James Blish "...And He Built a Crooked House" Robert A. Heinlein Pâté de Foie Gras Isaac Asimov Country Doctor William Morrison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Anomaly Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? Asimov selects stories illustrating basic scientific principles. After each story' date=' he writes about the science involved, gives suggested science-fact reading if you want more, and poises open-ended questions.[/quote'] I've read about 3/4 of those, and enjoyed them, but I'd question including "The Holes Around Mars" in that collection if that was Asimov's criteria. I mean, c'mon -- atmospheric friction, at the very least, not to mention all the solid objects it had drilled a hole through...where's the scientific principle that says it should still be orbiting?!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? I've read about 3/4 of those' date=' and enjoyed them, but I'd question including "The Holes Around Mars" in that collection if that was Asimov's criteria. I mean, c'mon -- atmospheric friction, at the very least, not to mention all the solid objects it had drilled a hole through...where's the [i']scientific principle[/i] that says it should still be orbiting?!? I tend to agree. A person of suspicious mind would suspect that Asimov included it because of his well-known love of puns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithcurtis Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? I've read about 3/4 of those' date=' and enjoyed them, but I'd question including "The Holes Around Mars" in that collection if that was Asimov's criteria. I mean, c'mon -- atmospheric friction, at the very least, not to mention all the solid objects it had drilled a hole through...where's the [i']scientific principle[/i] that says it should still be orbiting?!? Actually I have that collection. And one of the questions he asks at the end is if this could really happen. Why or Why not? The broad subject is orbital mechanics, by taking to a ridiculous extreme, the reader can be shown the limits of the real world as opposed to idealized mathematics. Or something like that. I loved answering those questions when I first read it. Keith "A loooong time ago, now" Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted November 9, 2005 Report Share Posted November 9, 2005 Re: Gas Giant Resources - Got Any? Actually I have that collection. Don't you agree that some of those stories could be adventure seeds? I'm thinking about Dust Rag, Country Doctor, Neutron Star, Proof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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