FLASH CHALLENGE: August '10

[kailhofer]

The "Ice, Ice, Baby" Challenge:




Yesterday, I mowed my parent's lawn for several hours. It was 95°F (35°C) in the shade.

I hate being hot.

Put me outside in 90s and I wilt, especially if it is muggy. I come with a lot of natural, built-in insulation and a thick beard, so I like cool, fall days. I like the snows of winter.

Staring through the wavy heat I wished for cold. I wished for ice-wrapped fence posts and the snowdrifts we had when I was a kid that reached all the way to my parent's roof. (Too many trees now. It was all open farmland then.)

It got me thinking about ice in fiction. Popular speculative fiction tends to paint ice in a different light. That ice planet in the Star Trek remake was a great example. If Kirk didn't freeze to death walking to the station, then he would have been wiped out by some monster from the frozen depths if Spock hadn't saved him. Hoth in Star Wars was hardly a nice place, either…

Why can't an ice world be a place filled with civilization? Culture can't evolve on an ice planet? Technology can't be invented just because it's cold? Nonsense!

I challenge you to create a story based on an ice planet with it's own technology and culture.

See the story after the rules for an example.



RULES




CHALLENGE REQUIREMENTS: (1) Your science fiction or fantasy story must take place on a frozen planet that is not Earth; (2) The inhabitants of the planet must have a level of technology equivalent to or higher than 18th century Earth; (3) Stories may be serious or light-hearted; (4) One entry per author; and (5) This is a Rated 'PG-13' challenge.

FORMATTING: 1,000 words or less, not counting title, byline, or "The End". Give your story a title and a byline. Leave an extra line between paragraphs, just like when you see them in the 'zine. I will allow different colors, but not changed fonts or sizes, artwork, or any other embedded or external links. You are responsible for doing your own formatting.

CHARACTERS & SETTING: No copyrighted characters or settings, or references thereto. Famous, non-copyrighted fictional characters like Santa Claus, or religious figures such as the Devil, named angels such as Gabriel, or gods like Thor, etc. as supporting characters at best and at my discretion. The Wicked Witch and Dracula may be in the public domain, but don't expect me to allow them. No person that was ever a human being may be used as a character, but can be referred to, as in "Ethelred the Unready had declared it would be so." Characters, except as noted above, must be used in their original appearance only. All non-copyrighted settings are ok. Famous, unique sites like Stonehenge may be used over and again. No fan fiction or sequels, so don't bother putting your story in the Land of Oz or that great place you thought up three challenges ago.

DISQUALIFICATIONS/REFUSALS: If, in my judgment, any requirement or rule is missed, I won't post the story for voting, but authors are free to resubmit with changes until the deadline. Should a story be initially accepted and posted in the challenge, but then later judged by me to be in violation, the story may be disqualified and removed from contention at any time prior to contest end. Authors who feel a story may be in violation should send me a PM and state their case.

HOW TO ENTER: Stories must be sent by PRIVATE MESSAGE, and NOT posted into a thread. Just click the 'PM' button at the bottom of this post and paste your story in the message.

DO NOT send a regular email to me.

CONTEST PROCEDURE: Stories will be posted "blind"--without the author's name on them. All the story titles are literally tossed into a hat and chosen at in random order. When the poll closes after the voting week, I'll post a list of the stories and who wrote them. The winner is chosen based on total points scored. All entries are reposted in the Flash Archive with the author's byline included after the challenge is concluded.

Entries from new authors are strongly encouraged. C'mon. Give it a try!

NOTE: ONLY REGISTERED MEMBERS who have posted at least one message may submit a story. Without that one post, the system may not let you send a PM.

DEADLINE: Stories should be in by 9 p.m. Central Standard Time (GMT-6), Thursday, August 26, 2010. The stories will then be posted for voting at around 10 p.m. Voting will close on Sept. 1, 2010 at approximately 10 p.m., GMT-6.

VOTING: Stories are rated on a scale of 0-10 in whole numbers in 6 different categories by filling in scores in a form that is posted by me immediately following the post containing the stories for this challenge. Voters copy and paste the form into a PM and send it to me for tallying. One vote per user (that is, per ip address), and authors may not vote for their own story.

Every effort will be made to keep the voting fair. In the past, some voters have abstained from voting for some of the stories while voting for the others. Since total points scored decides the winner, this put the stories that weren't voted on at a disadvantage. Should this happen again, the skipped stories will be given marks equaling whatever the story's average is at the time of contest close. IF YOU WISH TO SCORE A ZERO FOR A STORY, YOU MUST ENTER A ZERO IN THAT POSITION ON THE VOTING FORM. A challenge entrant who does not vote for the other stories will receive a 10% deduction in their own score at the time of contest close, and the other stories will be given marks equaling whatever their story's average is at the time of contest close.

If more than two stories are tied at the end of voting, there will be a succession of one-day runoff votes until a single winner is chosen or the number of winners is reduced to two.

WHAT YOU WIN: Writers get improved short fiction skills, increasing their chances in the marketplace, without the lengthy investment in time a longer story would take. That, as well as bragging rights and pride--there is stiff competition each month amongst some great stories.

LEGAL STUFF: Aphelion will not try to make a dime off you or your stories. Really. We want to see you succeed but nothing about that will line Aphelion's pockets. We love fiction and we love seeing authors get better to the point where people do pay them for their stories. That's why we're in this.

I'll try to do my best lawyer impersonation: By entering this or any challenge you are technically granting Aphelion: The Webzine of Science Fiction and Fantasy perpetual electronic rights only to post and archive your challenge entry. Aphelion would rather not lay any claim on them at all, but by posting them on a public site, they'd legally count as being published no matter what.

Ok. A real lawyer would have been less interesting. I tried.



Example story, not eligible for entry:

Frozen Designs

By:
N.J. Kailhofer



The drop dangled from his bowed finger for an impossibly long time before tumbling headlong toward its gelid kin. The drop splattered in a perfect ring in the frost, as if in slow motion. One bristly eyebrow stabbed upward, making my tentacles quiver in excitement, like juveniles do when a mating one passes by.

His gnarled fingers caressed the block, probing the flat surface. Finally, Alberto put his hand back in a thick glove. "Where did it come from?" His voice was high pitched now, bent by time. When I was young, his voice was as deep as the bray of the Selach that pull my sleigh.

"High in the Queztal mountains, there is a lake that comes every summer day. I cut this halfway to its center just before the dawn."

He grunted. "It shows promise."

I almost suged. "I will inform the Host."

"Wait!" Alberto said. "The surface is the first test, but that is not enough for the Emperor."

Light flashed and I jumped, as we all do when steel is near. It arced high over his head and his powerful arm smashed the chisel into the block. White spray spattered on me. I skittered to the corner and looked down my body. "Are you mad?! You could have killed me!"

Alberto's voice was deathly serious. "No more than you could have killed the Emperor if this block was no good. It must be flawless."

His words burned me like the Skyflame at the high point.

The long, flat blade was in his hands. He gripped the wooden handles on each end and slid its metal edge along the block. White shavings tumbled down like snow. He moved the blade over the block, each time removing more of the square corner made by the stone saw at the lake. His eyes almost glowed with intensity, fixed on every crystal falling through the air. Between slides, he painstakingly ran his bare finger over the surface of the block.

"Good," Alberto finally said. He held out the steel blade. "Now, do as I did."

"What?!"

"Take the drawshave. Hold the wood, not the metal."

A quivering tentacle reached out. I touched the wood. It was so rough! I would surely die!

He asked, "Have you not noticed how different your tentacles are than they used to be?"

I held them in front of my eyes. They were covered with a thousand tiny scars from the handle of the stone saw. Each cut had been too small to spill me, but only just. Had Alberto sent me on a hundred trips all over the planet for blocks just to toughen up my outer coating?

He smiled at me. "Even my fingers cannot feel a surface smooth enough for the skin of the Emperor. It must be you who makes the vessel."

I took the drawshave by the handles. Summoning all the courage I had, I slid it along the block. It dug in and a jagged, frozen chip of the size of my eye flipped out, missing me by a hair's breath. I again ran for the corner. He laughed.

"You must lower the angle of the blade until it shaves. Then, you will be safe. These crystals are a size that won't cut your skin. This is why you had to look so long for the perfect ice."

I tried again, holding the blade almost flat against the block. Tiny 'snowflakes' drifted down, brushing over my tentacles without harm. I had never felt such relief or felt so… chosen in all my life.

[align=center]***[/align]

He was ancient. He looked out from the aftcastle… and smiled. I couldn't remember the last time Alberto smiled. All was ready, from the mizzen to the elegant statue beneath the beakhead. He said it was the most beautiful female of his species. The illumination shaft he finished this morning in the cavern ceiling made the vessel glisten as if covered in a thousand jewels.

I wept with joy.

The Imperial Guard skittered in, poison stingers at the ready. Behind, the horrible, wonderful, tracks of the bullet-shaped Host rumbled into the cavern and paused in front of our work--a full-sized sailing ship carved out of ice.

The crystal transmitters by the cavern entrance and throughout the world said, "I AM PLEASED."

Just above the left track, a clear tube extended toward our vessel, meeting up with what Alberto called a "gun port".

Pink fluid lurched uneasily through the tube into our vessel. It began to pool up from the bottom, filling the hollow space inside our frozen hull.

I gasped. "The Emperor is spilled!"

"No." Alberto was beside me. "He lost his tentacles, but the Emperor does have a coating, but one thinner than a newborn's. Now you understand why it had to be so smooth, so he would leave the Host."

The empty tube stayed connected to the "gun". Inside the vessel, I saw the enormous bulk of the Emperor ebb and flow, searching his surroundings.

"I have kept my bargain. Your vessel is everything I promised. Beauty and comfort."

"REJOIN THE HOST, THEN."

Alberto paused by the metal entrance port, his gnarled fingers caressing the frame. "Ready to return to Earth, honey?"

The Emperor laughed. "IT TOOK YEARS TO LEARN TO MOVE IT WITHOUT YOUR CONTROLS."

My friend and teacher opened the door, and a single tear rolled down his cheek. The controls and interior were gone, dissolved by the Emperor's fluids to the connection ports on the frame.

"THIS MAGNIFICIENT ICE SHIP WILL HOUSE ME, BUT YOUR HOST WILL REMAIN MY ROLLING FORTRESS FOR BATTLE. KILL HIM."

The poison strike of the guard was instantaneous. As he sunk to his knees, Alberto smiled at me and whispered, "Do you remember where the ice came from? The lake that formed in the midday sun?"

His eyes pointed to the new skyshaft… directly over the ship. "Farewell, my friend. I would have taken you with me."

"If you survive the day, create!"


[align=center]The End[/align]

[kailhofer]

Still only Sergio's story so far. You wouldn't want him to win it in a walk, would you?

Give him some competition. Submit your story today.

[kailhofer]

I got both of yours, and now two more. Looking up!

[kailhofer]

Yep. Still 5.

[kailhofer]

Unfortunately, one can interpret "frozen" a number of different ways without it being enough to rule the story out. Naught but ice. Or maybe mostly frozen with few oases of heat. Or maybe so frozen even gasses are solid. There was a lot of variation that came in.

Ideally, yes, I wanted completely frozen and covered with ice, but that's not necessarily what the rule actually read. Sometimes you have to bend a little.

I also allowed stories that started on the planet and moved to the stars.

[kailhofer]

I think you need to change your timezone setting in your Profile. I have mine set at GMT -5 to get the time right.

[Lester Curtis]

Regarding life on ice-planets:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_worm

Notice that someone else has been there, done that, and apparently made it plausible enough for an editor to take the bait. But it took the inclusion of emergent behavior to do so. And it didn't result in the frozen thingies having technology.

*****

BONES: "It's life, Jim, but not as we know it."
KIRK: "Yeah, whatever . . . " (wanders off to make time with a scantily-clad female)
BONES: "Hey, don't make me have to treat you for hypothermia!"
KIRK: (pauses and returns) "You know, Bones, you take all the fun out of life sometimes."
BONES: "Yeah, well, how much fun is a frost-bitten pecker?"

*****

The only way I could see any tech on an ice-planet is if it were imported. Having a technologically-capable species evolve in those conditions is just too much of a stretch for me. Do any (so-called) higher-order animals feed on ice-worms? Not on this world, and there's been time for such to evolve. It looks very much like an evolutionary dead end.

[Lester Curtis]

Nice article, Dan -- and welcome to Aphelion. If you've been lurking, you already know what to expect; if not, well, I hope you stick around anyway.

Really, that was an eye-opening article, but -- in my opinion, anyway -- it does not support the evolution of higher life-forms at extremely low temperatures. It even says so (emphasis mine):

With all the mixing, something special might eventually have formed: an RNA molecule that made rough copies of itself. And as Earth warmed, these molecules might have found a home in newly thawed seas or ponds, where something even more complex might have emerged—such as a cell-like membrane. “You have something that is multiplying itself, and you have variation that is inherited,” says Antonio Lazcano, a biology researcher and professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, in Mexico City?. “There you have the onset of Darwinian evolution. I’m willing to call that living.”

See? It takes heat!

[Lester Curtis]

My mistake. Sheesh, and you wonder why nobody likes you... as a species I mean.

Well, Dan, I see you're going to fit right in, here . . .

[Lester Curtis]

Well, Bill, it's just hard for me to tell . . . my instincts don't work really well in internet forums, and I tend to greet newcomers in a friendly fashion (unless they're blatant flame-baiters).

And as to signing one's work? I operate here under a nom de plume, although my avatar is a real photo of myself.

I looked at Dan's profile, and it's empty, but I see that a lot elsewhere too, and my own profile doesn't have all that much in it.

I guess we'll see in a while . . .

[Lester Curtis]

Most likely the sockpuppet is actually someone who spends some time on here and has established a reputation. They use the sockpuppet to snipe without taking the risk that their 'main' persona be called to account over it.

That makes sense now. I've seen it done before. I've also seen forums where multiple personas were forbidden.

[kailhofer]

Ice worms, ice-loving algae, seems to me I saw somewhere insects in ice, and shrimp, too... there are a number of things that live in ice and like it there. Are they dependent on heat? Sure, they need some heat from a planetary core or a sun. Remember, an ice planet doesn't need to be hard frozen to the core to be considered "frozen" by an observer.

But let's say it is.

Bill, your premise seems to be built on a very small definition of life: life as we know it, but we as speculative fiction writers have to also guess what might be possible. Crystalline life... silicon life... gaseous life. Perhaps not limited by things like cell membranes or the passage of fluids for replication at all. I'm not saying I expect to someday talk to super-intelligent shades of the color blue or anything like that, just that I acknowledge the possibility that "life" may be a much more unusual and complicated subject than any of us could ever dream.

Nate

P.S. I rather hope that Dan isn't a sock puppet or that he doesn't go away. First, I prefer to think the better of people until proven otherwise, but second, it might be nice to have more great discussions like this one. Intelligent arguments on both sides that make one pause and think. A little heavy on the attitude, perhaps, but interesting.

[Lester Curtis]

Bill, your premise seems to be built on a very small definition of life: life as we know it, but we as speculative fiction writers have to also guess what might be possible. Crystalline life... silicon life... gaseous life. Perhaps not limited by things like cell membranes or the passage of fluids for replication at all. I'm not saying I expect to someday talk to super-intelligent shades of the color blue or anything like that, just that I acknowledge the possibility that "life" may be a much more unusual and complicated subject than any of us could ever dream.

The trouble is, Nate, that we're tasked with portraying these life-forms in a way that a reader can understand or identify with on some kind of level. That becomes a lot easier if we default to things that are at least marginally recognizable. Of course, character motivation is very important, so, supposing there were a gaseous form of life -- would it care about us enough to even say hello? Why should it? What kind of interaction could there be? For that matter, how would we even know it's there?

No, we don't have to limit ourselves to carbon-based critters -- it's just that, when you get beyond a certain point, the readers are left with a head full of "what the hell was that all about?" -- and they won't likely come back for more.

[Robert_Moriyama]

For a classic novel that deals with interaction between species that evolved in radically different temperature ranges, viz. the novel noted above. Of course, in Clement's novel, Earth is the Iceworld -- a place where (horrors!) water, that dangerously corrosive compound, exists in all three normal states (solid, liquid and gas (vapor)). The aliens in the novel have internal temperatures high enough that (if I recall correctly) the compounds in their body fluids would all be solids in Earth temperature ranges... can't remember what gases they breathed.

So, as Bill says, if one makes the effort, it is POSSIBLE to formulate a scientifically-plausible lifeform that functions in a radically-different temperature range than what we consider normal. Whether it could evolve under those conditions (particularly at extremely low temperatures, where chemical reactions are impeded by lack of mobility of components) is problematic, but presumably life could adapt given enough time. (viz. anaerobic bacteria that function without oxygen, and "extremophile" creatures that live near volcanic vents and under the ice caps at sub-(pure-water) freezing temperatures)

I would, however, expect that creatures that adapted over time to live unaided in an extreme sub-zero Celcius environment would not be exactly fast on their feet (or equivalent). However, If they were tool-users BEFORE things got chilly, they might develop technology that could allow them to live on a true ice world, and develop that technology up to a point...

Nate's challenge was, for sure, challenging for those who eschew the use of magic as a "technology" -- depending on just how cold the ice world is deemed to be (no liquid water at all, versus some naturally liquid and some liquid thanks to artificial heat sources?).

[Lester Curtis]

ccc wrote:

One of the few authors to have done really, really well at portraying aliens as alien, in my view, is C.J. Cherryh in her Chanur series; the Hani have minds that are near enough to human to be easily comprehensible (which is good, as they tend to be the protagonists), the Mahendo'sat similarly; but the Kif are both completely alien and workable, and the methane-breathers are just really, really bizarre.

I read one of those and liked it, and from what I remember of it, I agree with you . . . but if the only species in the story were the Kif and the methane-breathers, how well would it have worked?

I recall one titled "All the Colors of Darkness," by Lloyd Biggle Jr. The aliens in that one were truly alien as well. They did have a recognizable motivation (they were sabotaging long-distance teleportation), but the thinking behind it was completely incomprehensible -- altogether meaningless to human minds. Very good story.