• [OT?] Runaway black hole

    From Tony Nance@21:1/5 to All on Fri Apr 7 14:22:31 2023
    Non-fictional article from earlier today: https://www.space.com/runaway-supermassive-black-hole-hubble-telescope

    "A runaway supermassive black hole ejected from its own galaxy, possibly in a tussle with two other black holes, is being trailed by a 200,000 light-year-long chain of infant stars, a new study reports. ..."

    I'm almost positive there have been runaway black holes in
    speculative fiction, but I'm not calling any up off the top of
    my head, except maybe for the one Asimov used in a certain
    spoiler-y way.

    I'm guessing some will come to me as soon as I post this, but....
    - Tony

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From -dsr-@21:1/5 to Tony Nance on Sat Apr 8 08:46:41 2023
    On 2023-04-07, Tony Nance <tonynance17@gmail.com> wrote:
    Non-fictional article from earlier today: https://www.space.com/runaway-supermassive-black-hole-hubble-telescope

    "A runaway supermassive black hole ejected from its own galaxy, possibly in a tussle with two other black holes, is being trailed by a 200,000 light-year-long chain of infant stars, a new study reports. ..."

    I'm almost positive there have been runaway black holes in
    speculative fiction, but I'm not calling any up off the top of
    my head, except maybe for the one Asimov used in a certain
    spoiler-y way.

    I'm guessing some will come to me as soon as I post this, but....


    David Brin's Earth had a major plot driven by the accidental release of micro black holes.

    Black holes are weaponized in some of Steven Baxter's Xeelee books, and micro black holes in Varley's The Ophiuchi Hotline.

    -dsr-

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Scott Lurndal@21:1/5 to -dsr- on Sat Apr 8 17:18:16 2023
    -dsr- <dsr-usenet@randomstring.org> writes:
    On 2023-04-07, Tony Nance <tonynance17@gmail.com> wrote:
    Non-fictional article from earlier today:
    https://www.space.com/runaway-supermassive-black-hole-hubble-telescope

    "A runaway supermassive black hole ejected from its own galaxy, possibly in a tussle with two other black holes, is being trailed by a 200,000 light-year-long chain of infant stars, a new study reports. ..."

    I'm almost positive there have been runaway black holes in
    speculative fiction, but I'm not calling any up off the top of
    my head, except maybe for the one Asimov used in a certain
    spoiler-y way.

    I'm guessing some will come to me as soon as I post this, but....


    David Brin's Earth had a major plot driven by the accidental release of micro >black holes.

    So did James P. Hogan's _Thrice upon a Time_, somewhat earlier than _Earth_.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Tony Nance@21:1/5 to -dsr- on Sat Apr 8 16:13:25 2023
    On Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 8:52:07 AM UTC-4, -dsr- wrote:
    On 2023-04-07, Tony Nance <tonyn...@gmail.com> wrote:
    Non-fictional article from earlier today: https://www.space.com/runaway-supermassive-black-hole-hubble-telescope

    "A runaway supermassive black hole ejected from its own galaxy, possibly in a tussle with two other black holes, is being trailed by a 200,000 light-year-long chain of infant stars, a new study reports. ..."

    I'm almost positive there have been runaway black holes in
    speculative fiction, but I'm not calling any up off the top of
    my head, except maybe for the one Asimov used in a certain
    spoiler-y way.

    I'm guessing some will come to me as soon as I post this, but....
    David Brin's Earth had a major plot driven by the accidental release of micro
    black holes.

    Black holes are weaponized in some of Steven Baxter's Xeelee books, and micro
    black holes in Varley's The Ophiuchi Hotline.


    Aha - thanks. I just read the Varley maybe 5-6 years ago,
    and I'd already forgotten the micro black holes!
    - Tony

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Tony Nance@21:1/5 to Scott Lurndal on Sat Apr 8 16:15:44 2023
    On Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 1:18:21 PM UTC-4, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    -dsr- <dsr-u...@randomstring.org> writes:
    On 2023-04-07, Tony Nance <tonyn...@gmail.com> wrote:
    Non-fictional article from earlier today:
    https://www.space.com/runaway-supermassive-black-hole-hubble-telescope

    "A runaway supermassive black hole ejected from its own galaxy, possibly in a tussle with two other black holes, is being trailed by a 200,000 light-year-long chain of infant stars, a new study reports. ..."

    I'm almost positive there have been runaway black holes in
    speculative fiction, but I'm not calling any up off the top of
    my head, except maybe for the one Asimov used in a certain
    spoiler-y way.

    I'm guessing some will come to me as soon as I post this, but....


    David Brin's Earth had a major plot driven by the accidental release of micro
    black holes.

    So did James P. Hogan's _Thrice upon a Time_, somewhat earlier than _Earth_.


    Y'know, I don't think I've ever read anything by Hogan.
    Not necessarily a blind spot - more listening to the
    mixed reviews here and putting him on the "maybe
    some other time" list.

    Tony

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Scott Lurndal@21:1/5 to Tony Nance on Sat Apr 8 23:53:44 2023
    Tony Nance <tonynance17@gmail.com> writes:
    On Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 1:18:21=E2=80=AFPM UTC-4, Scott Lurndal wrote= >:
    -dsr- <dsr-u...@randomstring.org> writes:=20
    On 2023-04-07, Tony Nance <tonyn...@gmail.com> wrote:=20
    Non-fictional article from earlier today:=20
    https://www.space.com/runaway-supermassive-black-hole-hubble-telescope= >=20
    =20
    "A runaway supermassive black hole ejected from its own galaxy, possib= >ly in a tussle with two other black holes, is being trailed by a 200,000 li= >ght-year-long chain of infant stars, a new study reports. ..."=20
    =20
    I'm almost positive there have been runaway black holes in=20
    speculative fiction, but I'm not calling any up off the top of=20
    my head, except maybe for the one Asimov used in a certain=20
    spoiler-y way.=20
    =20
    I'm guessing some will come to me as soon as I post this, but....=20
    =20
    =20
    David Brin's Earth had a major plot driven by the accidental release of = >micro=20
    black holes.

    So did James P. Hogan's _Thrice upon a Time_, somewhat earlier than _Eart= >h_.


    Y'know, I don't think I've ever read anything by Hogan.
    Not necessarily a blind spot - more listening to the
    mixed reviews here and putting him on the "maybe
    some other time" list.

    _The Genesis Machine_
    _The Two Faces of Tomorrow_ (AI, one of my favorites).
    _Thrice Upon a Time_
    _Inherit the Stars_ (trilogy)


    are all fine science fiction stories, before Hogan went off the rails a bit.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ted Nolan @21:1/5 to tonynance17@gmail.com on Sun Apr 9 03:39:57 2023
    In article <a4566102-8f98-4e9d-b446-c89799344871n@googlegroups.com>,
    Tony Nance <tonynance17@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 1:18:21 PM UTC-4, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    -dsr- <dsr-u...@randomstring.org> writes:
    On 2023-04-07, Tony Nance <tonyn...@gmail.com> wrote:
    Non-fictional article from earlier today:
    https://www.space.com/runaway-supermassive-black-hole-hubble-telescope

    "A runaway supermassive black hole ejected from its own galaxy,
    possibly in a tussle with two other black holes, is being trailed by a >200,000 light-year-long chain of infant stars, a new study reports. ..."


    I'm almost positive there have been runaway black holes in
    speculative fiction, but I'm not calling any up off the top of
    my head, except maybe for the one Asimov used in a certain
    spoiler-y way.

    I'm guessing some will come to me as soon as I post this, but....


    David Brin's Earth had a major plot driven by the accidental release
    of micro
    black holes.

    So did James P. Hogan's _Thrice upon a Time_, somewhat earlier than _Earth_. >>

    Y'know, I don't think I've ever read anything by Hogan.
    Not necessarily a blind spot - more listening to the
    mixed reviews here and putting him on the "maybe
    some other time" list.

    Tony

    He had a great debut, but never really grew into it. (And some people
    can't get past the fringe "science" of that first book).
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From James Nicoll@21:1/5 to All on Sun Apr 9 04:37:02 2023
    In article <k9eqcdF2ef6U2@mid.individual.net>,
    Ted Nolan <tednolan> <tednolan> wrote:
    In article <a4566102-8f98-4e9d-b446-c89799344871n@googlegroups.com>,
    Tony Nance <tonynance17@gmail.com> wrote:
    On Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 1:18:21 PM UTC-4, Scott Lurndal wrote:
    -dsr- <dsr-u...@randomstring.org> writes:
    On 2023-04-07, Tony Nance <tonyn...@gmail.com> wrote:
    Non-fictional article from earlier today:

    https://www.space.com/runaway-supermassive-black-hole-hubble-telescope


    "A runaway supermassive black hole ejected from its own galaxy, >>possibly in a tussle with two other black holes, is being trailed by a >>200,000 light-year-long chain of infant stars, a new study reports. ..."


    I'm almost positive there have been runaway black holes in
    speculative fiction, but I'm not calling any up off the top of
    my head, except maybe for the one Asimov used in a certain
    spoiler-y way.

    I'm guessing some will come to me as soon as I post this, but....


    David Brin's Earth had a major plot driven by the accidental release
    of micro
    black holes.

    So did James P. Hogan's _Thrice upon a Time_, somewhat earlier
    than _Earth_.


    Y'know, I don't think I've ever read anything by Hogan.
    Not necessarily a blind spot - more listening to the
    mixed reviews here and putting him on the "maybe
    some other time" list.

    Tony

    He had a great debut, but never really grew into it. (And some people
    can't get past the fringe "science" of that first book).

    I'd say he had books of interest up to Voyage from Yesteryear.
    Clunky prose, characters of solar sail grade mylar, but interesting
    ideas. Unfortunately, he went bonkers sometime in the 1980s (if we
    take his word about when he got into holocaust denial) and his
    books and essays got increasingly unreadable as he latched onto
    an ever widening collection of crank science.

    Oh, make that until Code of the Lifemaker. Or at least its first
    section.

    --
    My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
    My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
    My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
    My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From James Nicoll@21:1/5 to naddy@mips.inka.de on Sun Apr 9 14:44:03 2023
    In article <slrnu35hvt.2f01.naddy@lorvorc.mips.inka.de>,
    Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:
    On 2023-04-08, Scott Lurndal <scott@slp53.sl.home> wrote:

    _The Genesis Machine_
    _The Two Faces of Tomorrow_ (AI, one of my favorites).
    _Thrice Upon a Time_
    _Inherit the Stars_

    are all fine science fiction stories, before Hogan went off the
    rails a bit.

    I second those recommendations. I liked early Hogan a lot and at
    least _Inherit the Stars_ and _The Two Faces of Tomorrow_ stood up
    very well to (re-)re-reading. _Inherit the Stars_ is one of the
    most suspenseful books I've ever read, which is quite remarkable
    for a story that is really just scientists doing their thing.

    When Hogan started writing, he was working for Digital Equipment
    Corporation. He understood computers, and he had a good idea where
    the technology was headed, so that aspect of his writing proved
    remarkably prescient and stood the test of time surprisingly long.

    _Inherit the Stars_ (trilogy)

    There are four books to ever diminishing returns. Oh, five actually. >_Inherit the Stars_ is great. _The Gentle Giants of Ganymede_,
    the next one in the series, is also strong if you don't mind the
    history of the solar system turning a bit wild. The further sequels
    are increasingly forgettable. Well, I never read the last one.

    Thanks to Andrew Wheeler, I did! It was kind of pointless and
    fairly wretched. And really, two books having little to do with
    each other: a woman who writes a book about how society should
    be run, and a rescue mission to the past of another universe.
    --
    My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
    My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
    My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
    My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Christian Weisgerber@21:1/5 to Scott Lurndal on Sun Apr 9 14:13:17 2023
    On 2023-04-08, Scott Lurndal <scott@slp53.sl.home> wrote:

    _The Genesis Machine_
    _The Two Faces of Tomorrow_ (AI, one of my favorites).
    _Thrice Upon a Time_
    _Inherit the Stars_

    are all fine science fiction stories, before Hogan went off the rails a bit.

    I second those recommendations. I liked early Hogan a lot and at
    least _Inherit the Stars_ and _The Two Faces of Tomorrow_ stood up
    very well to (re-)re-reading. _Inherit the Stars_ is one of the
    most suspenseful books I've ever read, which is quite remarkable
    for a story that is really just scientists doing their thing.

    When Hogan started writing, he was working for Digital Equipment
    Corporation. He understood computers, and he had a good idea where
    the technology was headed, so that aspect of his writing proved
    remarkably prescient and stood the test of time surprisingly long.

    _Inherit the Stars_ (trilogy)

    There are four books to ever diminishing returns. Oh, five actually.
    _Inherit the Stars_ is great. _The Gentle Giants of Ganymede_,
    the next one in the series, is also strong if you don't mind the
    history of the solar system turning a bit wild. The further sequels
    are increasingly forgettable. Well, I never read the last one.

    --
    Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Christian Weisgerber@21:1/5 to James Nicoll on Sun Apr 9 14:32:23 2023
    On 2023-04-09, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:

    [James P. Hogan]
    I'd say he had books of interest up to Voyage from Yesteryear.

    Yep.

    Clunky prose, characters of solar sail grade mylar, but interesting
    ideas. Unfortunately, he went bonkers sometime in the 1980s (if we
    take his word about when he got into holocaust denial) and his
    books and essays got increasingly unreadable as he latched onto
    an ever widening collection of crank science.

    I think his writing simply became... uninteresting... before he
    (apparently) went off the rails. The last Hogan novel I have on
    my bookshelf is _Realtime Interrupt_ (1995), and I don't recall it
    being anything other than boring. This was around the first time
    virtual reality had become a big hype topic, and Hogan simply jumped
    on that train with a forgettable story without an ounce of originality.

    --
    Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From James Nicoll@21:1/5 to naddy@mips.inka.de on Sun Apr 9 16:17:15 2023
    In article <slrnu35j3n.2f01.naddy@lorvorc.mips.inka.de>,
    Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:
    On 2023-04-09, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:

    [James P. Hogan]
    I'd say he had books of interest up to Voyage from Yesteryear.

    Yep.

    Clunky prose, characters of solar sail grade mylar, but interesting
    ideas. Unfortunately, he went bonkers sometime in the 1980s (if we
    take his word about when he got into holocaust denial) and his
    books and essays got increasingly unreadable as he latched onto
    an ever widening collection of crank science.

    I think his writing simply became... uninteresting... before he
    (apparently) went off the rails. The last Hogan novel I have on
    my bookshelf is _Realtime Interrupt_ (1995), and I don't recall it
    being anything other than boring. This was around the first time
    virtual reality had become a big hype topic, and Hogan simply jumped
    on that train with a forgettable story without an ounce of originality.

    I would not disagree about how uninteresting his later stuff was.
    I think I bailed on Hogan after 1985's The Proteus Operation, which was extremely meh. I did make the mistake of reading 1999's Cradle of
    Saturn, which was stupendously awful.
    --
    My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
    My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
    My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
    My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)