Category: Science Fiction

Stars End S3E29

“Humanity Whether in the form of Earth People or Spacers Must Podcast”

Join us as we continue to wind our way through Robots and Empire, the final book in Asimov’s Robot series, even if you count collections of short stories.

In this episode, we discuss chapters 3 through 6.  “The Crisis,” “Another Descendent,” “The Abandoned World,” and “The Crew.”  

In these chapters, the Great and Glorious Az establishes Robots and Empire as an important bridge between the Robot Stories, the Galactic Empire Novels, and the Foundation Saga; it’s both a prelude and a coda.  

Elijah Baley isn’t in this novel except in flashbacks, but his presence looms large.  Daneel and Giskard try to deduce what Elijah’s nemesis, Amadiro might try in the aftermath of Fastolfe’s death.  As they do, they’re forced to ponder the Three Laws of Robotics, which seem to be impeding their efforts.  Together, these discussions wrap up the Robot Stories.

Meanwhile, these two robots are pondering Elijah’s ability to predict, in broad brushstrokes, the future that has unfolded over the past two centuries, including an oncoming crisis.  Giskard, in particular, is trying to deduce the “Laws of Humanics” that Elijah must have understood to see so clearly.  In this, of course, we see the seeds of the Foundation.

How do the Galactic Empire Novels figure into all of this? For that, you’ll have to stay tuned.

Stars End S3E28

“I Do Not Ask You to Like the Podcast – I Ask You to Trust It”

If you’re a fan of Issac Asimov, you probably like robots, the Three Laws of Robotics, and characters having long, expository conversations about interesting ideas.

If that’s true, then Robots and Empire is the book for you!  It features, except for when the plot forces its way in, our two favorite robots, Daneel and Giskard, having long, expository conversations about the Three Laws of Robotics.  Jon is quite outspoken about how those are his favorite bits.  Dan and I are more apt to keep that revelation to ourselves.

Robots and Empire lives in between the three Elijah Baley novels and the Foundation books.  As a consequence, it never seems to get the attention of Asimov’s other major novels; it’s never, for example, been made into an official mass-market audiobook.

But if you love the three Elijah Baley novels and the Foundation books and if you’ve bought into Asimov’s project to link most of his work into a tremendous future history, Robots and Empire isn’t just essential, it might even be the most important piece.

And we’re finally talking about it, starting, in this episode, with the first two chapters, “The Descendent” and  “The Ancestor.” You don’t want to miss this one!

Stars End S3E27

“Everyone Believes in the Freedom of the Podcast – It Should Be Right There in the Constitution”

It’s human nature, it seems, to celebrate round numbers, 40th birthdays, 20th wedding anniversaries, 10th high school reunions, and so forth.  New Year’s Day 2000 was a huge deal even though, as Arthur C. Clarke was quick to point out, the third millennium CE didn’t start until 2001.

Early on, we poked a bit of fun at this tendency, culminating in episode eight, because eight is a very round number:  It’s “10” in base eight, “20” in base four, and “1000” in base two.  That was also when we tied Manimal for their number of episodes.

But now we’re celebrating our 50th episode and that is a milestone.  Fifty isn’t just 6.25 on the Manimal scale, it’s when a lot of comics and magazines (remember those?) have their first special issue! It’s a half-century, a semi-centennial, and a golden jubilee!  You might even say that we’re almost playing with a full deck!

So we celebrate, reminisce a bit, and wax some nostalgia.  And we take care of some business since there’s a trailer out for season 2 of Foundation.  

But the main event here is the most shocking of plot twists!  The most special of special guests!  It’s the one guest that no one, I say, no one, could have expected!  And not just because he’s 103 years old and refuses to leave his apartment!  It’s our interview with the professor of biochemistry, the great explainer, and the father of robotics.  He’s the founder of foundations, he’s one-third of the big three, he’s the best science writer according to the Clarke-Asimov Treaty, and he’s The Sensuous Dirty Old Man.

It is, of course, the Great and Glorious Az, Issac Asimov himself! And he joins us for a conversation! Believe it or don’t believe it, but DO NOT miss it!

Stars End S3E26

“It is from this Point On, Earth Itself that is the True World of the Podcast.”

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, it is said, “always get their man.”  I haven’t checked, but I’m confident that’s been updated.  “Always get their human” might not work perfectly in the context of Asimov’s Robot Novels, so let’s settle on “always get the perpetrator.”  A perpetrator could be an animal, vegetable, or mineral.

In Elijah Baley’s time, millennia in the future, it isn’t clear whether New York City has grown to include parts of Canada but it isn’t likely.  If it had, Lije would have been part of this same tradition.  And yet, as we’ve noticed, Lije hardly ever “gets” the guilty party.  Usually, he has figured out who it is, but the actual “getting” part never actually happens.  It’s like watching an episode of Law & Order where the latter half kinda goes off the rails.  As we approach the denouement of The Robots of Dawn we have to ask… will Lije finally have an unqualified win?

You want to know!  You need to know! We know!  And we talk about it!  Let’s go!

And in one week… Episode 50!

My Voyager Rewatch: S4E08

My #StarTrekVoyager rewatch S4E08, “Year of Hell, Part 1”

Ninety seconds in and it’s already dark. Red from That 70s Show is playing with time to achieve a “Target Event.” Now he’s set to wipe an entire species from existence. At least they didn’t waste any time getting to the plot.

Now Seven and Kim have upgraded their Mapquest and the Doctor takes the opportunity to be pompous. The plot intrudes, As they enter Zahl space they encounter a Krenim who’s a Jackass. We meet a swarmy but nice Zahl wearing a leisure suit. He’s erased by a temporal wave, and the Krenim become more powerful and bigger jackasses. Things get worse for Voyager.

This is the plot. Lather, rinse, repeat. Red has gone completely Ahab and things get terrible for Voyager fast. In a painfully obvious bit of foreshadowing Janeway’s lucky teacup breaks. Ugh.

Yeah, yeah, the crew is clever and resilient. There’s a nice moment of levity with Paris that I won’t spoil. I’m wondering why the computer can’t manifest multiple EMHs. Voyager’s new shielding protected it from a temporal wave that would have fixed the ship. C’est la vie.

It takes them a long time to figure that out. I know, that’s for the audience. But Red sees them as a problem now. Watching the hull peel off is compelling and dramatic. Turns out the better bit of foreshadowing in the tea cup scene was Chakotay’s plan. The crew has to abandon the ship leaving only the senior staff.

To be continued. I can see why this 2-part story is so well-regarded. It’s well-plotted & keeps the extraneous nonsense to a minimum. It also ramps up the tension in a smooth believable way. Very effective. I hope part 2 is as good.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

#StarTrek

Images used under the fair use doctrine.

My Voyager Rewatch: S4E07

My #StarTrekVoyager rewatch S4E07 “Scientific Method”

I’m already laughing when B’Elanna lectures Seven about working in a group then nicely surprised when she has the self-awareness to realize that used to be her. And Seven learns to say “I’m sorry.” Meanwhile, Tom is up to something shifty.

Well, not that shifty, though he clearly wants B’Elanna to join the “Jeffries Tube Club.” Then, a sinister scan. They play Janeway’s massage therapy for laughs. She’s not feeling well while Tom and B’Elanna are acting like crazed weasels. Tuvok needs to learn about email.

More sitcom nonsense until Chakotay starts losing his hair. It looks like a mohawk. We’re finally into the plot. Mysterious illnesses, lightened by Chakotay and Neelix playing “you think that’s bad…” The crew has come down with barcodes on their DNA. That can’t be good.

The Doctor gives Seven the ability to see the aliens. What they are doing looks more like random torture than the scientific method. They come up with a simple plan and a convoluted plan and try the convoluted one. Of course, it fails. Luckily Seven can fall back to the simple plan.

Seven reveals the leader of the aliens who tells Janeway if the crew cooperates “the fatality rate will be minimal, though there may be some deformities.” It’s the Dr. Mengele road show. When a crew member dies Janeway becomes “reckless.”

The interactions between her, Tuvok, and the alien leader are fun to watch while we get a resolution. The coda with Tom and B’Elanna is painful. Not perfect but a strong episode. The plot is pretty tight and the writers resisted the urge to go uber-dark. Good. The lighter touch worked nicely. I enjoyed this one.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

#StarTrek

Images used under the fair use doctrine.

Stars End S3E25

“The Law Wisely Considers a Podcast an Incompetent Witness”

Happy New Year!  Today, 2 January, is National Science Fiction Day here in the States, and not coincidentally, the birthday of Dr. Asimov, aka the great explainer, aka the Great and Glorious Az.  Happy Birthday, Issac!

It’s also National Buffet Day and World Introvert Day.  Make of that what you will.

Thus, today we’re dropping a special episode of the Stars End Podcast, our first musical episode!  Well, kinda.  There’s a bit at the end where we talk about music and songs that would be apropos to the real action, where we discuss Chapters 13, 14, 15, and 16 of The Robots of Dawn.  Don’t worry, none of us sing.

So, head on out to Golden Corral, find yourself a nice quiet corner away from the humans and read about R. Daneel and R. Giskard.  Then join us back here for our musical episode.  Or, just listen to the episode. That’s cool too.

For our part, we’re recording another episode this evening, each safely in our own space, securely separated by state and/or national boundaries.  This one’s a very special episode; it’s our 50th and we’ve got something different planned for the milestone!  Stay Tuned!

But first, episode #48.

And as a bonus, you can find our soundtrack to The Robots of Dawn on our website, StarsEndPodcast.com.  Let’s go!

That, of course, can never be complete unless we can find someone to record (The Robots Want to Wear My) Red Shoes for us.

Stars End S3E24

“Do Not For Your Own Sake Test the Force of Our Podcast”

In a departure from our recent episodes, we have breaking news!  Well… probably!  The Midgard Times tells us that Apple TV+’s Foundation has been renewed for a third season.  No word yet on when season two will premiere, but there’s more information that you’ll need to listen to learn!

Who is The Midgard Times and how did they manage to scoop the competition for this vital information?  We don’t really know!  We can tell you though that if you’re looking between hard-hitting journalism like “Muspelheim in Danger of Freezing Over” and “Troll Literacy Rate Rises to 3%” it isn’t there.

You need to go to… hang on, it was here a minute ago… give me a second… here!  It’s this The Midgard Times, which appears to be a subsidiary of moviesr.net. That reminds us of nothing so much as a vanity license plate that… isn’t quite what the car’s owner really wanted.

And what of the news from Svartalfheim? Gesundheit!

Aside from this, we revisit “Mirror Image” and, of course, we continue our discussion of The Robots of Dawn. This time, it’s chapters 10, 11, and 12 in which we wrap up the interview of Vasilia and get the entirety of Baley’s conversation with Gremionois. Also, Baley goes to the bathroom and has lunch! Without this, no Asimov novel would be complete.

Meanwhile, we’ll always be at StarsEndPodcast.com and StarsEndPodcast.WordPress.com but not at StarsEnd.anything because we don’t know what those are either. We think there are squatters.

My Voyager Rewatch: S4E06

My #StarTrekVoyager rewatch S4E06 “The Raven”

Another holodeck episode? Janeway is showing Seven the program where she sculpts to inspire “imagination, creativity, fantasy…” and Seven doesn’t see the point. But the image of DaVinci’s proto-airplane causes a flashback, ending the teaser.

It looks like Seven has PTSD from her assimilation. So far she’s in denial. The “Bomar,” an alien race shoehorned into the story, look ridiculous and have lots of unreasonable conditions for Voyager to cross their space.

Seven is learning to eat. Is a theme of growing humanity developing, or is the show just contriving a reason for Neelix to exist?

Plot whiplash. From nurturing Seven’s humanity to her Borg side reasserting itself. You have to ask what that has to do with the flashbacks and the bird. She escapes the ship in a shuttlecraft. The Bomar’s purpose is now obvious; they will serve to impede the search for Seven.

Yup, they do and they’re are quite obnoxious about it too. A tedious chase sequence puts Tuvok on Seven’s shuttle which leads to a nice scene. Seven wants to assimilate Tuvok then changes her mind and they just talk. Good performances.

Meanwhile, Janeway realizes the significance of the bird. Seven & Tuvok eventually find the Hansens’ ship where Anikka was assimilated and learn its name. It’s the Raven. We didn’t know that before and that makes Janeway’s epiphany feel like a cheat. Meanwhile, the Bomar start shelling the ship from outer space. We get it; they’re petulant.

In the coda, Seven is becoming creative and that’s the throughline. Seven’s growing humanity begets flashbacks begets still more humanity. In the end, Janeway tells Seven that her parents were “unconventional & had unique scientific theories.” That’s how you describe crackpots.

Healing from childhood trauma is a good basis for a story. But the Bomar were straw men and lots of the rest didn’t make any sense. Story wise this is a nice house with a bad foundation. Focus on the central storyline and skip the filler. This should have been far better.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

#StarTrek

Images used under the fair use doctrine.

Stars End S3E23

“There is Not Really Much Use in Cross-Examining a Podcast”

Cross-examinations are a staple of teevee.  On Law and Order, there is a plethora of great scenes where Jack McCoy presses the defendant until they break and inadvertently provide irrefutable evidence against themselves.

Lije Baley wants us to believe there is no benefit to cross-examining a robot, but teevee and Captain James T. Kirk argue against this.  Consider this scene from “The Ultimate Computer,” restored to the intended version that was prevented by copyright issues.  Ironic because Star Trek walks right up to the border of the ground Asimov covered in The Naked Sun in this one.

M5: This unit is the ultimate achievement in computer evolution. It will replace man so that man may achieve. Man must not risk death in space or other dangerous occupations. This unit must survive so man may be protected.

SPOCK: Captain, attack force almost within phaser range.

KIRK: There were many men aboard those ships. They were murdered. Must you survive by murder?

M5: This unit cannot murder.

KIRK: Why?

M5: Murder is contrary to the First Law of Robotics.

KIRK: But you have murdered. Scan the starship Excalibur, which you destroyed. Is there life aboard?

M5: No life.

KIRK: Because you murdered it. What is the penalty for murder?

M5: Death.

KIRK: And how will you pay for your acts of murder?

M5: This unit must die.  (It disconnects itself from the power feed in Engineering and goes dark.)

KIRK: M-5?

CHEKOV: Sir, deflector shields have dropped.

SULU: All phaser power is gone, sir.

SPOCK: M-5 is leaving itself open to attack. The machine is ignoring the Third Law to atone for its violation of the First Law.

The Ultimate Computer, Star Trek S2E24

So, despite Baley’s repeated assertions to the contrary, Kirk shows us it can be productive to cross-examine a robot, perhaps even forcing a mental freeze-out.

“Mental freeze-out!” you might exclaim!  “Dr. Han Fastolfe says that’s practically impossible!”  I suggest we ask Captain Kirk about that too.

But let’s think about this together as we discuss chapters 7, 8, and 9 of The Robots of Dawn.  It’s a monument to cross-examination and interrogation.  And not just of robots.  We talk about it, you can join us!  Let’s go!

The scene from “The Ultimate Computer” was taken from Chrissie’s Transcripts Site. (and then shamelessly edited).