This issue

1. news
2. purpose
3. Aquarius
4. book review

News

Well, here it is. The May issue of Cosmic Dreamweaver. The June issue should include some interesting stuff on Luna, and I will be filling up August with Mars stuff. Kim Stanley Robinson's latest book, Blue Mars, which is the third in the series, will be out in July. I will review it for August.

As you can tell, if you have seen previous issues, I have enlarged the format. I have too many ideas to fit into eight pages! There are the usual departments, as well as a new one, called Elements, in which I will describe a different element each issue.

I have recently joined the USS Phoenix, a galaxy class starship in the Star Trek Fan Club. The members seemed extremely interested in what I had to tell them about the Millennial Project, and I even gave away a copy of the Pasadena Chapter's Star Trek Convention video (Nov. 1995), copies of Cosmic Dreamweaver and the Point, and, of all things, I lent one of them my copy of The Millennial Project! I may be able to convince some of them to join. I will not count by Spirulina harvest before they divide, however.

They already plans to have a booth at the Earth Day Fair at the Orange County Community College, located in Middletown, NY. This will be an excellent opportunity to expose people to the FMF. In fact, I will give a presentation the members of the fan club, so next issue, I can tell you how that went.

Things are indeed looking up. In June, look forward to reading about the International Space Development Conference (ISDC '96) in NY City. Marshall and some others will be there; it should be exciting. Look for a sequel to the popular article, "A Recipe for Green Cheese," and some book reviews on some very good titles dealing with Luna. And look for the First Millennial Foundation at: (http://www.millennial.org)

Purpose!

It is April 15, 1996. I have just returned from my hike up to Bull Mine, to look out over the hills, and to watch the stars. The night was magnificent! I saw the myriad glowing jewels of the universe arrayed before me. Darting against this backdrop were yellow shooting stars. And hurrying across the predawn sky, a satellite, just a tiny, steadily moving dot, made me think of Asgard and her sister habitats, up there on the fringes of the void.

As the morning sky grew brighter, and my little toes grew colder, I hiked to a higher place on the hill, from which I could make out the Hudson River Highlands. An impossibly thin crescent moon was already in full daylight, as the blues, purples, pinks, and finally golds rose up in layers to claim the day. As I stood there watching this spectacle, I saw a single, thin pine tree, standing with just a small tuft of foliage atop its windswept trunk. This, I thought, was Art, the sort of tree that Bonsai experts spend there lives trying to emulate.

While it was still dark, only the constant breeping of the spring peepers kept me company, but in the half-light, birds joined the chorus, and I knew it was day when the loud quacking of mallard ducks in the stream in the valley below began.

This experience shows what beauty there is in Life, and even in non-Life. This is the font of all wisdom, the keeper of truths, and the source of all knowledge. I felt the magic in the Cosmos, but to feel it there must be a feeler. Beauty is there, but it must be sought. How sad it would be to think that these experiences might one day cease to be, just because the Promethean fires of Creation died in the hands of humanity. Our purpose is so crystal clear, as witnessed by the silent stars, the sublime sunrise, and the stalwart pine that clung defiantly to the very stone. In the mating cries of the frogs and the birds, there was also a hidden plea. Life wants to continue, wants to grow, to never fade! We have in our hands the power to see that it does grow, and continues on for eternity throughout the Cosmos.

I realize this has all been said before, in The Millennial Project, but it helps to reaffirm these feelings through personal experience, to recalibrate the soul, as it were. The future of Life is there before us, and it is grander than any Destiny. Destiny is something pre-ordained, like a recipe that we need only follow. But Purpose! That comes truly from us, and we make our own protocol. I see no definite answers to the Great Question of Being; and in truth, that would be a cap to our creativity. The Universe stands truly open. Let us rejoice in the fact that we can do things unforeseen!

Aquarius Risen!

This will be the headline of Cosmic Dreamweaver when we have our first colony set up in St. Croix. For now, what I mean to talk about is the actual city of Aquarius, and how people might live there. The Pasadena Chapter (or, by the time you read this, the San Gabrial Valley District), has covered this topic extensively in The Point (soon to be the Foundation Point).

There are several areas of life on Aquarius I would like to cover: dwellings, art, and wildlife.

Dwellings
I envision a great deal of play in terms of what actual private dwellings will look like. Utilizing several of the hexagonal sections, we can grow large wooded areas. These places could be like elven groves for Aquarians who wish to live among or even in the trees. The elves of Tolkein's Middle-Earth come to mind. Houses built up into the branches of towering trees can be the precursors to the thousand meter high hollow tree branch dwellings Marshall envisions for the moon colonists in Avallon.

Another possibility is to vary the topography a bit on certain sections, and create small hills, into which can be built "Hobbit-holes." Underground dwellings, while not really necessary in a tropical climate, can nonetheless be wish-fulfillment for fantasy fans. In fact, layers of the city under the surface can contain accreted tunnels, shaped and painted like deep caverns, sparkling with gemstones, and streaked with rare earths and precious metals. These caverns can be Dwarven realms, where people can further play at their favorite fantasy roles while living out their daily lives.

Not everyone will be interested in fantasy, however. Some people, like the extremely numerous following of the Star Trek™ Fan Club, may wish to wear uniforms and com badges as they go about their business, and relax in the 10-forward lounge after work (this lounge, taken from Star Trek, The Next Generation™, is an idea already brewing for Aquarius Rising). Such a group may claim a number of hex sections as "Federation Space," or they may even start their own city (the FMF Enterprise, what else?).

Now, I am not advocating a division of people into cliques. This might happen, but what I am suggesting is that people get VERY creative (yes, I'm shouting). We have a chance here to create something great! So, start thinking now of how you would like to live on Aquarius, because your preparation will pay off when the time comes.

Art
No doubt, people will want the public areas to be attractive to the senses. Marshall mentions having aquaria, with colorful ocean critters, decorating the walls. Outdoors, it would be neat to see large murals, painted on odd surfaces. These murals should fit the character of the people who live and work on that hex section. However, ocean themes, and perhaps space themes, might be predominate.

Large, self-contained ecospheres, which contain shrimp, algae, snails, and perhaps more advanced organisms, could be centerpieces in public places. These mini ecospheres, requiring only the addition of sunlight to power them, would be maintenance free (aside from an occasional washing), and would help underscore the purpose of Aquarius: to develop the means and know-how needed to colonize space.

Bonsai gardens can give areas a distinctly Oriental look. Many landscaping techniques are already in use in private homes and public places, that add just such a touch. A koi pond, or even a gravel garden with carefully positioned stones and raked gravel, can add an air of Eastern mystery.

Wildlife
As I have stated in the previous issue of Cosmic Dreamweaver, we will provide a habitat for migratory birds. These, and tropical birds, like parrots, should be roaming free on Aquarius. We can also import butterflies and other beneficial insects.

Small zoos can be good practice for our conservation efforts. If we want to seed the galaxy, it will help to have a genetic stock of various animals on hand. It will probably be wise to transport only frozen embryos into space, with a few animals to bring them to term. Most of the animals on Luna, for instance, will be born there. But in order to learn how to make these creatures comfortable in their new homes in space, we should practice caring for and breeding them on Aquarius.

Another aspect of wildlife is vegetation. I know of certain trees in my home town that are very special to me. It would be really neat if people from all over, would bring a few seeds (acorns, pine cones, nuts, etc.) of anything they wanted to grow. This would allow the individual plants (not necessarily just trees) that people are currently fond of to spread their own seed to the seas, and eventually, to the stars. Imagine knowing the lineage of one of the never-trees on Luna! It reminds me of the trees in fantasy novels, that are of ancient lineage and hold special significance for the people who know them. This will make the island seem more like the work of individual people.

It will be fascinating to see what ideas people come up with. These themes might even last out into the stars (like Marshall's idea for a Laurel and Hardy colony on Luna). As long as we can all agree on the proper use of food, water, electricity, and other resources, there should be ample room for creativity, and no faith or concept should be too outrageous for the folks on Aquarius.

Book Reviews

Secrets of the Night Sky
Bob Berman
Copyright ©1995 by Bob Berman
William Morrow and Company, Inc.
New York, NY 10019
ISBN: 0-688-12727-4

I have very ambivalent feelings on this book, or rather, on Bob Berman. On the one hand, he fills his book with countless wonders of the Universe. He is extremely adept at explaining the tidal effect of Luna on the Earth, the eerie visual spectacle of a total solar eclipse, the nature of certain spectacular deep- space objects, and a whole host of mysteries and trivia that will keep you absolutely spell-bound. I could not get enough of the book. On the other hand, there is one small section, with which I find myself extremely disappointed. It really is a small section, not such a big thing really, but it bugs me. Bob Berman claims that moon colonization (and even possibly Mars colonization!) is a very poor idea. He quotes in particular, a lack of water (which he claims must be imported from the Earth, of all places!), a long night, and a lack of energy(?!) as reasons against moon colonization. His contention that water is lacking seems to ignore the availability of oxygen, which means only hydrogen would have to be imported, from near-earth asteroids, not from the Earth. The long night, if I understood Marshall correctly, would be corrected with mirrors. And as for power, how about the sun, Bob? The solar energy bubbles that Marshall describes can collect all that will be needed, without resorting to nuclear power, as Bob Berman contends.

I realize this is a small point in the whole book. In fact, I do recommend it highly. But read that small section with a great deal of thoughtfulness. I do not attribute any malice to Mr. Berman, I simply believe that, despite his great expertise and vision as an astronomer, he has, in this one particular area, allowed himself to be less than entirely open-minded. Although I must admit, the way he dismisses the idea, I doubt that I would now be considering moon colonization without having read The Millennial Project. Perhaps we should get Bob's opinion on TMP. Or, at any rate, perhaps we should ask stores to sell both books as a set. Buy it anyway, for $23.00 in hardcover (maybe less, if it is already out in paperback).

contact the author of this home page: Dmitri Donskoy
Last modified: Friday, June 14, 1996

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