How much actual science is sprinkled into the fictional story of Star Skimmer? I have to admit that there are elements of the fantastic that boarder on pure magic woven into the story. The whole thing starts with a wish that becomes reality. However, there is also a great deal of science and research that are also prevalent. From world building to the engineering behind space travel, a lot of actual theories and facts were important to the believability of the plot and how the characters interact with the environment of space. Don't get me wrong, Star Skimmer is pure fiction, but here are some examples that put the science in science fiction.
The location in which the story takes place is a prime example. The Tadpole galaxy does exist and the distance between the Milky Way and the Tadpole is also accurate. Approximately 420 million lightyears from Earth. The Tadpole galaxy was formed when two galaxies conjoined together about 100 million years ago, the forces of which caused one of those galaxies to unfurl creating the tail like structure that exists today.
Another example would be the quantum drive that takes the Star Skimmer so far from Earth to begin with. This propulsion system is based on quantum entanglement theory. Studies into the subject have spawned some interesting articles as of late in which scientist have observed the behavior of bonded particles separated by miles having identical reactions when stimuli is introduced to one in a controlled environment. In Star Skimmer, Icarus, the ships computer- explains that by destroying one of the bonded particles you could harness the energy of that particle to instantly propel the ship to the location of it's bonded counterpart. In the theory, they refer to it as the rubber band effect. The problem arises with the fact that you essentially burn the bridge that takes you to the new location and subsequentially have to find a different set of paired particles that can take you back to the right place and time to return to where you started.
The wave ride propulsion system that is used for local travel in the book is also based on scientific theory. similar to the concept of warp core travel that they use in Star Trek, the theory states that if you can create enough energy to distort the space behind a space craft it will push the ship forward as if it were riding on the crest of a wave. In this theory you are actually moving the fabric of space itself in order to propel the ship, bending space to close the gap between great distance.
I did a lot of research on the different type of stars that exist. From what causes stars to produce certain colors, to the life spans of stars and how they change over time. I was surprised to find out that the majority of stars that are most prevalent in the universe do not produce visible light that we can detect from Earth. Known as brown dwarfs and red giants, these stars only produce heat and are among the most common and numerous stars that exist. They are also among the most stable, being able to exist in that state for trillions of years. Of course, Intrigued by this discovery, I had to include one into the star system that one of the main characters hails from. in a system like this, the inhabitants would not see the world like we do. Their vision would be based in the infrared scale or heat vision. The plant life on such a planet would also similarly be based on some kind of thermo-synthesis.
The last little bit of science fact that I incorporated into the Star Skimmer story is that space is a vacuum. There are no big explosions that are either visible or audible in the story. In fact, that is one of my pet peeves when it comes to science fiction. they always seem to get it wrong for dramatic effect. To me, it's far more fascinating to imagine implosions and the eeriness of silence that would actually exist in situations like these. I find it much more dramatic to stick to the facts.
These are just a few examples of how science takes center stage in the Star Skimmer novel. There are a lot more, but it would ruin the fun if I gave you all the details.
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