“Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” – Star Trek
There is something about that phrase that makes me want to join a crew heading out into the ‘Verse and see what’s out there. Many great stories focus on a crew, their ship, and the unknown. “The final frontier” is a call to explore, a call to prove your worth, a call to adventure. Last week brought some science fiction fun my way, and I’d love to share my galactic travels with you.
No, I didn’t get picked up by the Ravagers, a Trimaxion Drone Ship, and no, there was no Vogon Construction Fleet. But, I did get a science fiction story published in Havok magazine! There is something surreal about seeing your name in print. This is a fantastic issue. Every story is excellent! Click that amazing cover to grab your copy at Amazon. I also also joined a friend to record a video where we geek out about our top ten favorite spaceships. More on that at the end of the post.
One of my favorite moments in science fiction takes place in the Mass Effect trilogy. No, it’s not a book (actually there are novels in this universe). Mass Effect is a series of video games made by Bioware with a full cast of voice actors, and an immersive story full of war, ancient aliens, and player-made decisions that can change multiple aspects of the game. Mass Effect drops you into a galaxy where humanity is the last to join a coalition of intelligent races. In one of my favorite moments in the game, you dock into the Galaxy’s crown jewel: The Citadel.
The Citadel is one of things that defies our understanding of physics. It’s a massive space station, ancient, and full of hidden secrets. Millions of creatures call The Citadel home, and millions more travel there for trade, politics, and shady business. It’s the perfect powder keg to launch an epic science fiction story.
The “Giant Space Station” trope is used in many other science fiction stories, here are a few that I thought deserved to be mentioned:
The Death Star – Can destroy a planet
Nowhere – The severed head of a Celestial
Alpha – City of a Thousand Planets
Atlantis – Ancient home of the Gate Builders
Speaking of “lists of cool things,” my friend, fellow Cap’s Chap, and indie author, J.J. Johnson, is starting a YouTube channel for geeks. His vision for this channel is a couple geeks sitting around, drinking coffee (or tea) and talking about why Batman would beat Superman (because he would…) We had a blast recording a video on our top ten favorite spaceships. No spoilers, but I pulled some ships from nostalgia, literature, and even throw some love at my favorite anime. His post will go live tomorrow. Click here to check out his channel and subscribe.
While you wait, grab your hot drink of choice, and let me know one of your favorite spaceships below in the comments. OK, minor spoiler…. one of my favorite ships is the Heart of Gold from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Why? Two words: Improbability Drive.
The New Authors Fellowship 