Fa la la la la, la la la la.

Well, as I like to say, the system works.  I received almost everything from my modest seasonal wish list this year:  ALL of the books, and two of my three graphic novel asks.  My thanks to my gorgeous spouse Karli for her gifts from the list, and I greatly appreciate the contributions from Karli’s mother and stepfather – although lord knows what they thought of a Christmas gift list containing a book about someone named Murderbot, another novel inexplicably titled Nophek Gloss, and something with this on the cover:

Well, it IS the season to be jolly...merry Christmas, everyone!

- Sid 

The Rest of the Robots.

 

Karli brought the Roomba home today!  It's a well-behaved early Model 800 Series, apparently too early in the product line for wifi access, but otherwise in excellent shape.

Ah, but I felt so bad the first time we pressed the CLEAN button! I'd put the charger in a quiet corner beside the wall unit in our dining area, and the poor thing was just confused - the table was right there, and the dining chairs, and Karli's mother had warned her that it got a little confused by things like that.  

It got frightened and hid under Karli's white chair, the one with the little fabric skirt, but then it got caught on the cord for the Christmas tree lights - it was SO SAD.  So tomorrow night we're going to let it start in the hallway, where it's nice and straight...hopefully that will makes things easier.

Jaq the Cat, who suffers a bit from PTSD for whatever reason, was surprisingly calm, although a little suspicious - I don't think he's going to be one of those cats that becomes internet famous by riding around on our new robot.

As you can see from the above, it's ridiculously easy to anthropomorphize Stabby* the Roomba as it trundles around the living room in an apparently random fashion, going back and forth in something rather like the pattern that a vacuuming human would use. Karli has suggested that we should get stick-on googly eyes for it, which I think is the best plan ever.

However, as with Opportunity, the defunct exploratory Martian rover, it seems like a bad idea to give robots like Stabby artificial intelligence.  In the case of Opportunity, it was due to the danger of its task - in the case of Stabby, it's the opposite: boredom.  

Stabby doesn't need to be able to calculate rocket trajectories or write Oscar-winning movie scripts, in fact, it would seem cruel to make Stabby too smart.  Ultimately, if it were possible to give Stabby some level of AI, it would make sense to make him about as smart as Jaq, and with similar interests:  taking pleasure in long naps, and deriving much excitement and enjoyment from chasing little pieces of dust around the apartment.  But no purring - Jaq needs something to maintain his unique status, and Stabby will never be quite as cuddly as our little feline friend.

- Sid

 

* Based on a somewhat obscure science fiction internet meme about a space Roomba with a knife taped to it - to quote the 12th Doctor, "Google it."

Victorious IV: "Allons-y!"

Most annoying thing about paradoxes, besides the impending reality collapse. 

They make conversations so repetitive.

The Tenth Doctor, Defender of the Daleks

Although some of my purchases in the Doctor Who Time Lord Victorious event weren't available at the time I placed my order, Indigo was able to immediately ship the two stand-alone novels, Engines of War and Combat Magicks, along with the first of the TLV purchases, the Defender of the Daleks graphic novel.  I've booked some extra time off for the holiday season, so I was able to immediately settle down for a leisurely read.

It took me a few chapters to realize that something was bothering me about the first book.  My initial reaction was that it was reasonably well written and that the plot was engaging, with some interesting concepts that fit nicely into the Whoniverse, but it was also somehow a bit flat, a bit lacking – what was missing?

The problem is that essentially, the books are an extension of the television version, which assumes that you’re an ongoing viewer – just as they don’t have to explain who Meredith Grey is at the start of every episode of Grey's Anatomy*, if you don’t know why there’s an obsolete blue police box called a TARDIS that’s bigger on the inside, you’re on your own. 

Obviously I have all of that knowledge, but my subconscious reading mind kept looking for the kind of explanatory exposition that a stand-alone novel would have. (Although, one of the novels breaks some new ground by dealing with the legendary Time War, which has never been fully documented – probably just to give writers some room to work in situations like this.)

The flip side of this coin is that, due to that existing knowledge of the show, it’s impossible not to compare the written Doctors with their live action equivalents – just how well does the character in Defender of the Daleks match up with David Tennant’s performance, or with Jodie Whittaker and John Hurt for the two novels? 

As you might expect, the results vary – there’s a fine line between accuracy and parody when writing someone’s verbal style, and the process is an odd inversion of the usual method, with an author attempting to recreate the actor’s style rather than the actor interpreting a script. In my case, I found that I ended up mentally delivering the lines in the actor’s voice to see if they worked. For the most part, the writers succeeded, although there were a few places in the graphic novel where it didn’t quite feel like David Tennant, and a few places where it felt a bit too much like David Tennant - if that's even possible.

However, all of this is secondary to the real question: WHY DON'T THE DALEKS IN DEFENDER OF THE DALEKS REMEMBER THE GREAT TIME WAR????  It may seem like a trivial time-travel thing to the casual reader, but as a fan, that may well keep me awake tonight. Let's hope they cover that off in one of the books that I'm still waiting for, I'd hate to have to hunt through the entire event in search of the answer.

- Sid

 

* Are there stand-alone Grey's Anatomy books?  Or is that sort of thing restricted to science fiction shows?

 

I, Robot.

One of Igor’s former masters had made a tick-tock man, all levers and gearwheels and cranks and clockwork. Instead of a brain, it had a long tape punched with holes. Instead of a heart, it had a big spring. Provided everything in the kitchen was very carefully positioned, the thing could sweep the floor and make a passable cup of tea. If everything WASN’T carefully positioned, or if the ticking, clicking thing hit an unexpected bump, then it’d strip the plaster off the walls and make a furious cup of cat.

 

Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time 

I'm so excited - we're getting a robot!

Okay, it's a second hand robot, but still, it's a robot.  Karli's mother and stepfather are replacing their Roomba™, and they're letting us have their old model. 

Robots have been a mainstay of the science fiction vocabulary from the beginning, although they lacked their unique and distinctive name until 1920, when the word "Robot" entered the English language.  It's taken from the play R.U.R  (Rossum's Universal Robots) written by Czech author Karel Čapek: the word "robot" is derived from the word for "worker" in Czech, or perhaps a more accurate translation is "serf" or "slave", there's a sense of servitude to it.  

Čapek's play was a morality story dealing with the creation and oppression of an artificial race that eventually rises up and wipes out humanity.  In current science fiction terminology, I'd define Dr. Rossum's creations as androids rather than robots, they're artificial self-aware entities that resemble humans rather than programmable mechanical constructions. 

This is an important distinction: over time, the line between artificial intelligence and robots has become blurred to the point where they're considered to be synonymous, whereas in actuality, a robot is almost the opposite of artificial intelligence.  As per Terry Pratchett's tick-tock man, a robot is restricted to its programming. That programming can be very detailed and cover a wide range of eventualities, but ultimately, if something happens that isn't covered by the program, a robot can't extrapolate to a solution - and you end up with a furious cup of cat.

The company that manufactures the Roomba™ line is called iRobot, and I'm a little surprised that they haven't run into copyright issues - not from Apple, who have a pretty firm grip on the lower case "i" prefix, but from the estate of Isaac Asimov regarding his 1950 novel I, Robot.* 

If robotic science fiction has a patron saint, it's Asimov. Countless other science fiction authors have utilized robots in their stories, but Asimov is best known for having created a kind of mechanical morality for robots:  the Three Laws of Robotics, first used in his 1942 short story Runaround.

The Three Laws are as follows:

First Law
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Second Law
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

Third Law
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

It's an interesting attempt to create an ethical structure for machines, but in most of Asimov's robot stories, the result tends to be the digital equivalent of neurosis or insanity, as robot after robot is rendered inoperative by conflicts between the Three Laws.  (In the original story, a robot sent to get life-saving supplies from a dangerous location ends up running in circles when the Laws achieve mathematical balance in its programming.)

The Laws also have a strong feeling of  "slavery and servitude", as per Jean-Luc Picard's defense of Lieutenant Commander Data's freedom to choose in the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Imagine being programmed so that self-preservation is only the third priority on your list!

- Sid

* To be completely accurate, it's not really a novel, it's a collection of previously published short stories combined through a loose narrative plot about the history of robots. And we're just not going to talk about the unfortunate movie version.

Victorious III: DALEKS!

When I received Colin’s gift card and suggestion regarding the Doctor Who Time Lord Victorious event, I’d already been following part of the event without knowing it - I've been watching Daleks!, a five-part animated series that started on the Doctor Who YouTube™ channel in November.

The story begins with the Daleks attacking Islos, home to the Archive of Islos, as the next victim in their ongoing objective of universal Dalek domination.  To save what is left of their civilization from the threat of Dalek destruction, the Archivians agree to surrender the Archive, but when the Daleks arrive, the Archives are empty except for the robotic Archivians and an enigmatic portal.  

 

The Chief Archivian explains that the population of the planet has been evacuated through the portal along with the contents of the Archive, leaving the Daleks with nothing.  Infuriated by this betrayal, the Daleks destroy the remaining Archivians, but the Chief Archivian reveals that the portal was provided by an ancient race that lives outside of time. In exchange for their help, the Archivians have offered them the Dalek race - at which point the Entity, a deadly energy being from another dimension, floods through the portal and attacks the Daleks.

The Daleks flee, but they are helpless against the Entity. With the Dalek fleet destroyed and their home planet of Skaro in ruins, the Dalek Emperor seeks allies to prevent the extinction of the of his species.  Aided by the war-scarred Prime Strategist of the Daleks, the Emperor finds reluctant help from the Mechanoids, who scornfully agree to assist their defeated foes.

I enjoyed the series, although I can see that it might not be to everyone's taste.  After decades of watching the Doctor struggle against the Daleks, it's hard to develop any sympathy for them, even as their species is brought to the brink of extinction.  The animation isn't elaborate, although its lack of subtle textures and softened lighting effects does lend itself to the mechanical cast - which may itself be a barrier to some viewers.  The series is notable for its complete lack of organic characters: the entire dramatis personae is composed of Daleks, the Archivians of Islos, the Mechanoid civilization, and the Entity. 

However, the series is very well executed, with an excellent range of voice talent from Doctor Who, including, of course, Nicholas Briggs, the long-time voice of the Daleks.  It's also an intriguing addition to Dalek canon, a sort of grace note to their frequent appearances as enemies of the Times Lords and the Doctor in particular. 

As with the Tom Baker Big Finish audio production, the connection to the Time Lord Victorious event is not obvious, other than a parting suggestion that a far deadlier foe awaits the Daleks - presumably the Doctor, but we'll see what revelations are still to come from my purchases from the rest of the event.

- Sid

 

"Keep looking up."

"How cool is that!?"

Bill Nye, CEO of The Planetary Society

I've been a member of the Planetary Society for almost five years now.  I make a modest monthly contribution, I own a couple of themed t-shirts, and I receive the weekly Downlink update in my IN box every Friday, but to be honest, I haven't really felt connected.  To be fair, that's my fault - there are occasionally local activities that I could attend, but I'm a bit too introverted to feel comfortable with that sort of thing. 

However, in one of those odd silver-lining pandemic moments, tonight I had the pleasure of sitting in on the Planetary Society 2020 Impact Report meeting.  Under normal circumstances, that would have required a plane ticket and a hotel stay, but, as with the Game of Thrones FX session that I attended last March, this time it was bare feet and a comfortable chair in my spare bedroom.

In attendance at the e-meeting were Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Vaughn, Chief Advocate Casey Dreier, Chief Scientist Bruce Betts, Planetary Radio podcast host Mat Kaplan, Chief Executive Officer Bill Nye, and newly elected* Society President and Professor of Planetary Science at Caltech, Bethany Ehlmann. 

As always, Bill Nye was an exuberant and energetic presence, but the new President was impressively excited and pasionate as well, and her position at Caltech gives her an unexpected sort of Big Bang Theory street cred - it's not hard to imagine her doing a cameo if the show was still in production.

The session had a sort of cheerfully casual feeling to it - the new president seemed to have set up her laptop in the corner of her living room. and dogs barked in the background while Chief Scientist Bruce Betts discussed some of the Society's accomplishments in 2020. 

I'm impressed by the manner in which the Planetary Society is spending my modest monthly contribution (and the contributions of over 50,000 other members around the world).  

The mission of the Planetary Society is to "empower the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration".  This goal is accomplished through a combination of education, advocacy, collaboration and invention.  The Society's crowdfunded Lightsail 2 spacecraft is a primary example:  as its name suggests, it's a proof of concept orbiter that relies on photonic energy for propulsion - more poetically, it flies on the wind from the Sun.  Lightsail 2 successfully celebrated a year in orbit in June, and is now on an extended mission to provide more data on the practical aspects of solar sailing technology.   

The Society also provided seed money for projects like the PlanetVac, an elegantly simple low-cost sampling technology designed to be mounted on exploratory spacecraft.  The system uses a blast of compressed gas to blow material from the surface into a collecting cylinder mounted on the ship's landing leg.

Other projects funded by the Society are the "100 Planets" exoplanet search, and the Shoemaker Near Earth Object Grant, which funds advanced amateur astronomers* in searching for previously undiscovered asteroids and plotting their courses to determine if there's a possibility of an impact with Earth.

The Society also advanced its overall goal of being influential, of speaking on behalf of science and space exploration in the areas of government advocacy and policy, conducting more than 300 phone and web meetings with NASA, Congress, the Pentagon, and international space agencies over the course of 2020.  On the public front, it expanded its mission of inspiring and informing through an expanded website offering, the weekly Downlink newsletter, and virtual events like this one.

I'm pleased to be a member of the Planetary Society - as Bill Nye commented, we have to keep looking up, and it's obvious that the Society is dedicated to advancing and supporting the exploration of space in a way that would make founder Carl Sagan proud.

However, I have one critical comment - not necessarily a complaint, let's say a question of suitable accessories.  Bill, seriously, you need a more appropriate coffee cup for on-screen appearances - based on the logo on the bottom, it was a London Underground souvenir, and really, something more, I don't know, cosmic would seem to be in order.  My NASA mug was a birthday gift from the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York, but you're much much better connected than I am - I bet NASA would just give you one.

- Sid

* The new president wryly observed that the Society had "witnessed a peaceful transition of power with a free and fair election."  Yes, she's looking at you, Donald.

**It's made clear that the people involved are "amateurs" in the same sense that Olympic competitors are. 

Victorious II: Big Finish.

"No no, not JUST the Doctor, I'm entirely the Doctor, there's no 'just' about it, I am exceptionally the Doctor!"

The Doctor, Genetics of the Daleks

For Christmas this year, shipping issues resulted in my friend Colin sending me an Indigo gift certificate and the suggestion that he had wanted to buy me some Doctor Who books from the Time Lord Victorious series.  Intrigued by the idea of looking at some Doctor Who content from outside the series, I placed an order with Indigo, but was then faced with the inevitable shipping delay - the wheels grind slowly but presumably exceeding fine, as the proverb goes.

However, the Time Lord Victorious story is not just about the printed word:  the event takes place across a wide range of media, including audio books.

I've never been a big fan of audio books as a genre, but I have enjoyed a few audio dramas in the past - coincidentally, the Torchwood Golden Age BBC Audio performance from 2009 - so I decided to took a look, or more accurately give a listen, to Genetics of the Daleks, one of the Time Lord Victorious audio plays available from Big Finish Productions.

Big Finish produces a wide selection of audio books primarily based on science-fiction television series such as Space: 1999, Blake's 7, The Prisoner, Terrahawks, Captain Scarlet, Star Trek, and, of course, Doctor Who.  The Doctor Who catalog also includes stories featuring noteworthy characters from the Doctor's universe, such as River Song, The Master (and Missy), the 10th Doctor's daughter/clone Jenny, Lady Christina de Souza, the cat burglar from the 2009 Easter episode, as well as Torchwood and UNIT stories.

In the case of Genetics of the Daleks, the story itself was very much conventional Doctor Who fare: a starship with a small crew isolated in space, a Dalek assumed to be harmless who is anything but, and an unexpected appearance of a blue police box, but I quite enjoyed it.  I had expected an audio book, but Genetics of the Daleks is what I would consider to be an audio drama - a radio play, in the parlance of my youth, very well produced, and broken down into convenient seven to ten minute episodes.  I was also charmed to discover that Tom Baker, one of the best loved and most popular of the Doctors from the series, provided the voice of the Doctor for the audio production. 

Baker is not the only retired Doctor to return as a voice for Big Finish:  classic Doctors such as Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann are also involved, along with companions such as Nicola Bryant, Sarah Sutton, Bonnie Langford, and Sophie Aldred.  Most recently, the 9th Doctor, Christoper Eccleston, has joined the group, which is welcome news to those of us who felt that one season of Mr. Eccleston's performance as the Doctor really wasn't enough. Overall, I think this is a brilliant idea - time may have its way with our bodies, but I would need to do an actual real-time comparison to see whether or not Tom Baker's distinctive tones have changed that much over time. To my ear, it's very much the Doctor I remember from the episodes.

Individual audio books range from about $3.00 to $20 CAD - Genetics of the Daleks costs $7.99, with a run time of 66 minutes - and there are collections that cost up to $30.   Considering that Amazon's Audible™ audio books cost as much as actual hardcovers, Big Finish's pricing seems reasonable.  To be fair, you're not getting the same duration, but where else are you going to hear Tom Baker introduce himself as the Doctor one more time?

- Sid

 

P. S. I almost forgot what brought us here: the story's connection to Time Lord Victorious was quite brief, a passing mention as to the Doctor's future in a dark place, made by the damaged Dalek who is picked up by the ship's crew.  However, as when the series features a theme that runs through an entire season, sometimes the hints are quite subtle - remember all the background Bad Wolf graffiti from 2005?

Victorious I: Surprise!

Saw some Doctor Who books here that I thought you might like including the Time Lord Victorious. They also have a second release in January. Unfortunately I couldn't buy the items then have them shipped to you so we'll have to do it this way. Enjoy!

- Colin

Dear Colin:

Thank you for the Chapters/Indigo Christmas gift certificate!  (Are there still Chapters, or are they all Indigos?)  How odd that they would be unable to deliver to an alternate address, no offense to Indigo but I can't help but think that the last 10 months would have created some flexibility on the shipping front.

Regardless, I’m happy to make my own selections based on your suggestion about the Time Lord Victorious event. 

Like so many other franchises, the Doctor Who series is enhanced and extended by a wide selection of  additional content in other media such as novels or comic books.  It’s an interesting area for me to explore –  by and large, I don't own a lot of novelizations or adaptations, with a few exceptions like the Star Trek story collections that I purchased in 29 Palms last year.

I’ve been casually aware of Time Lord Victorious, a wide-ranging Doctor Who story set in the Dark Times at the start of the universe.  The storyline is taking place in every media format except on the actual series itself:*  books, computer games, graphic novels, short stories, comics, audio plays, T-shirts, YouTube™ videos, escape rooms, and including the immersive Time Fracture event that's been rescheduled to start next spring.  (Hopefully the delay won't cause narrative gaps.)

Some searching on the internet revealed that the primary Time Lord Victorious story line concentrates on the popular 10th Doctor, but also involves the 8th and 9th Doctors, and features appearances by the 13th and 4th Doctors.  Rather like the reboot tradition of having a plot thread that carries through an entire season and then finds resolution in the final episode, the various media will address different aspects of the story, with a culminating novel that wraps things up.

 

 

Armed with the results of my research (and your gift certificate), I went to the Indigo web site and searched for “Doctor Who”.  After being momentarily distracted by the unexpected red herring of Doctors Who Kill, I was presented with the full range of Doctor Who purchasing options. 

 

As per your e-mail, Time Lord Victorious is a work in progress.  The Defender of the Daleks graphic novel was available, as was The Knight, The Fool and The Dead novel, but the sequel, All Flesh is Grass, wasn't going to be available until the new year.  Regardless, I couldn't think of any reason not to pre-order it - the first time I've ever pre-ordered a book.  And, to fill out the budget and continue my research into the extended Doctor Who universe, I ordered a pair of unrelated Doctor Who novels: Engines of War, featuring the War Doctor, and Combat Magicks, the 13th Doctor story that caught my attention (albeit not in a good way) during a walk through Indigo last fall.

 

And now we wait...
 

Thank you again, and merry Christmas!

- Sid

*At least, not part of the actual series as far as I know.  I have no idea what’s queued up for this year’s holiday special or the upcoming 13th season.

"He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice!"

"Nice" seems like the smart option here.

- Sid

Geekmas 2020: Back to Basics.

It's been a long year.

There have been a lot of challenges over the last twelve months, and it's been a difficult time for a lot of people.  As such, everyone seems to be looking forward to holiday cheer, and I've noticed that Christmas decorating has started much earlier than usual.

Although it feels like a better time to give than receive, I was asked to provide some guidance to people who wanted to do exactly that - give - so I sat down at the computer screen to see what I could do for prospective gift-givers.

It's a simpler list than usual - the results of my research weren't entirely helpful.  For example, I was a bit outraged to see that a Doctor Who TARDIS umbrella was $78 on Amazon.ca - it's an umbrella, for heaven's sake, how could it be worth almost $80, I really don't care if it's licensed by the BBC or not. Similarly, how can three pairs of Doctor Who socks possibly cost $83 CAD? (Plus $22 in shipping from the US.) Fifth Doctor action figure and the TARDIS for $197??  Okay, that's it, time to move on.

Finally, I decided that when in doubt, you should go with your strengths - so here's a list of books that I'm interested in:

Network Effect. by Martha Wells - the fifth Murderbot novel. Sadly, only in hardcover, although the March 31st release of the paperback doesn't really bring the price down that much. 

Nophek Gloss, by Essa Hansen.  Just on spec - I read an excerpt chapter on the Orbit Books site, and it seemed interesting.

A Little Hatred: Book 1 of The Age of Madness,  by Joe Abercrombie, or The Trouble With Peace: Book 2 of The Age of Madness, by (you guessed it ) Joe Abercrombie.  The Age of Madness is the sequel to The First Law Trilogy* - there's undoubtedly a Book 3 on the way if anyone wants to wait a year or so and just spend the money on a boxed trade paperback set. 

Left over from last year are Sharps, by K. J. Parker, along with the first volume of Parker's The Two of Swords.  Let's add How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It, which may or may not be a sequel to 16 Ways To Defend A Walled City, which I received last year. 

And, just for some variety, a couple of graphic novels:

Joker, written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Lee Bermejo.  As far as I know, Joker is one of the few comic book adaptations based on Heath Ledger's unforgettable interpretation of Batman's nemesis, telling a story that takes the reader deep into the twisted psyche of the Clown Prince of Crime.

Batman: Three Jokers, by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok - as with Nophek Gloss, just looks interesting.

And, last but certainly not least, Maus, the groundbreaking 1980 graphic novel by Art Speigelman which in many ways elevated the graphic novel as a storytelling medium - it's not just about superheroes in spandex.

Everything is available from Amazon, which, under the current pandemic conditions, seems like the route to take, although I dare say that most of the books listed would probably be available at chain bookstores if you were comfortable with that.

- Sid

*  And, sort of, Best Served Cold, The Heroes and Red Country - Abercrombie is now on the second generation of the characters featured in the first five six books of his epic grimdark fantasy series, which is as gritty as A Song of Fire and Ice (AKA the Game of Thrones books), but perhaps less likely to kill off the main characters.  Perhaps.