Analog Science Fiction and Fact - June 2013

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BRASS TACKS Mr. Walsh, On page 37 of the print edition of Analog [March 2013, “Spoof Worlds” by Kevin Walsh] you state that “. . . small amounts of carbon dioxide are needed by human beings to maintain the respiration process.” This is true but might be construed to imply that atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO ) is needed. As a matter of fact, 2 in closed environments (submarines, closed circuit diving, space craft, anesthesia circuits) great efforts are expended to assure that inspired CO levels are close to zero. Ele- 2 vated levels of CO can result in sedation, 2 loss of consciousness and death. Atmospheric carbon dioxide (while global levels are increasing) is essentially nil (hundreds of parts per million, I believe) with regard to breathing. CO , as a product of metabolism, dis- 2 solves in the blood and is carried to the brain’s respiratory center where it serves to stimulate respiration. The normal partial pressure of arterial CO is approximately 2 35–45 mmHg (this corresponds to approximately 5 volumes per cent at sea level). Elimination of CO is in part diffusion dependent: 2 it is driven by the concentration gradient between lung and atmospheric concentration (the other part is minute ventilation). I apologize if you already possess this (simplified) information. I simply wished to point out this point of potential misunderstanding. Thank you for your contribution to Analog and please accept my wishes for a happy and healthy New Year. Sincerely, Shepard Stone The author responds . . . Good point. Thanks for clearing up a source of potential confusion. 104 Dear Analog, I just finished reading the March 2013 editorial and wanted to convey my heart-felt “thank you” and best wishes for a long, happy and prosperous retirement to Dr. Schmidt. Dr. Schmidt, I think you have done an absolutely spectacular job of making and keeping Analog the excellent and entertaining publication it is. I definitely look forward to reading/hearing your future work. I also welcome Mr. Quachri and Ms. Hockaday and look forward to a continued long and happy relationship with you through Analog. Best regards to all, John Harcinske Mitchell, SD Dr. Schmidt, Thank you for all you have done during your years at Analog. And Mr. Quachri, congratulations on your appointment. I have been a regular reader for almost fifty years, and a subscriber for over forty years. I am retired from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and the NY Army National Guard. Environmental and military issues have long been my interest, and I have read many good stories on these subjects in Analog. Obviously, I would like to see more stories on these issues in the future, and am surprised at how few I have seen that address what we humans have been doing to this planet. I cheered when I read the editorials that address population issues, Dr. Schmidt is a rare voice on the subject that does not focus on the incredibly short sighted view that we need more population growth so we have enough young people to support us oldsters. More people, demanding a rising standard of living, will use more resources, and the plan-
et just cannot take too much more of this. Habitat destruction, especially deforestation, continues at an alarming rate. Commercial fishing is headed the way of whale hunting. Biodiversity is shrinking, species are being driven to extinction by the actions of humans. Last but not least, we are performing an uncontrolled experiment on how much coal and other fossil fuels we can burn for short term gain with virtually no consideration for the long term effects of these actions. Many science fiction stories start from the premise of “if this trend continues, then . . .” I would certainly like to see a lot more stories speculating what will happen if the trends mentioned above continue, as it seems they will. It certainly appears that we will not get to exploit the resources of the solar system (such as mining the asteroids) before these trends cause some kind of collapse of our current society. Recovery from this could be very difficult, as many of the resources we are currently exploiting are difficult to get at, (the Deepwater Horizon well was over a mile below sea level, etc). So how about this for the premise of a SF story—current trends continue, and climate change causes not only ice melting which raises sea levels, but the permafrost melts, and releases an unknown but huge quantity of currently frozen methane, which could lead to a runaway greenhouse effect? Is this science fiction or future science fact? I understand that not everyone thinks this is likely, the climate change deniers are well funded (Koch brothers, etc. seem to have no concern for what kind of planet their grand- BRASS TACKS JUNE 2013 children will inherit). Anyway, I submit for your consideration that the items I have mentioned should get more ink, both science fiction and science fact, than we have seen so far. On another subject, I have a suggestion for the Reference Library section. There are many great SF authors that I was first introduced to by Analog. I own a ton of David Drake, Bujold’s Vorkosigan stories, McCaffrey’s dragonriders, and other authors who I first read in Analog. Many of the characters and story lines first published in Analog are later published in books, so I would suggest that this Analog feature tell us specifically when this happens. It doesn’t have to be big, just a statement such as author X, who wrote about Y, in the Z issue of Analog, now has a book published in this setting. Keep up the good work. Sincerely, Paul W. McCarthy Thanks for your letter (and the kind wishes). I think you make a good case for the relevance and importance of environmental science fiction. I’ve always been a bit surprised it’s not a larger part of the field, but perhaps that will change as awareness of the issues continues to grow. Your suggestion for “The Reference Library” is also sound, but we actually already do it—aside from Don regularly mentioning any Analog connection in the body of a review, he sometimes calls out books by Analog authors that he doesn’t have room to fully cover, purely because they might be of interest to our readers. ■ You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result. —Mahatma Gandhi 105
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Vol. CXXXIII No. 6 Next Issue on Sa
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tle about them in online discussion
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ecord, I have yet to find one in 19
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enough that her blonde hair stuck t
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to other projects. “If Antoniy di
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ment. Station retellings of the Sha
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And on cue, Olya entered the room a
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drink. Apparently it’s a health d
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four miles . . . assuming bridges w
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have had some history of seismicity
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la, and a host of other cities are
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Ray Bradbury’s classic short stor
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used his thumb to slide a bean up t
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The walkway glowed in front of them
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Wavefronts of History and Memory Th
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sleep in the command couch. The shi
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een broken by an ill-timed surprise
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skull. My pulse catches in my throa
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Jeff Sanford and several colleagues
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one we just saw was perfect.” Bri
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loved it when I read it the first t
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Hydroponics 101 Farmer slept in the
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of course, if you look deeper in th
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much clearer entreaty, he rubbed he
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precarious one—each shining bead
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Analog Science Fiction and Fact - June 2013

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