17.9.08

Space Research

There are a few well-established institutions searching for extraterrestrial intelligence and identifying life-sustaining satellites:

Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (http://www.seti.org/) - monitors and analyzes electromagnetic waves from space searching for signs of intelligent design in cosmic radiation.

Kepler (http://kepler.nasa.gov/) - a NASA-funded program currently seeking proposals designed to search out earth-sized planets with the ability to support life.

Terrestrial Planet Finder (http://tpf.jpl.nasa.gov/) - a NASA-funded program that surveyed and produced a list of stars suspected to support life, sorted by probability.

HabCat - a catalog of star systems which conceivably possess habitable satellites developed under SETI.

Christopher is headed to a star known as 18 Scorpii, roughly 45.7 light years from Earth. It is often called our solar twin, as its composition, age, energy output, and topography nearly mirror our own. It is one of the top ten candidates identified by the TPF.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18_Scorpii

To reach 18 Scorpii in any reasonable time, Christopher will require an enormous amount of fuel. Jupiter is the nearest gaseous planet, composed of 88-92% hydrogen and 8-12% helium. This will be Christopher's main source of fuel. Ammonia crystals are present in Jupiter's upper atmosphere and can be used as a navigational propellant.

15.9.08

Naming Names Nomenclature

I've been thinking about names a bit lately. I'm feeling pretty good about my title and robot; it feels like a good fit so far. But the technician is bugging the hell out of me.

THESIS TITLE
Signs of Life

ROBOT
Christopher - From the Late Greek name Χριστοφορος(Christophoros) meaning "bearing Christ", derived from Χριστος (Christos) combined with φερω (phero) "to bear, to carry". It was used by early Christians as a metaphorical name, expressing that they carried Christ in their hearts. In the Middle Ages, literal interpretations of the name's etymology led to legends about a Saint Christopher who carried the young Jesus across a river. He has come to be regarded as the patron saint of travellers.

As an English given name, Christopher has been in general use since the 15th century. In Denmark it was borne by three kings (their names are usually spelled Christoffer), including the 15th-century Christopher of Bavaria who also ruled Norway and Sweden. Other famous bearers include Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), English playwright Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593), and the fictional character Christopher Robin from A. A. Milne's 'Winnie-the-Pooh' books.


TECHNICIAN
Grace - From the English word grace, which ultimately derives from Latin gratia. This was one of the virtue names created in the 17th century by the Puritans. The actress Grace Kelly (1929-1982) was a famous bearer.

Jeanne - Derived from John. English form of Iohannes, the Latin form of the Greek name Ιωαννης (Ioannes), itself derived from the Hebrew name יוֹחָנָן (Yochanan) meaning "YAHWEH is gracious". This name owes its popularity to two New Testament characters, both highly revered saints. The first was John the Baptist, a Jewish ascetic who was considered the forerunner of Jesus Christ. The second was the apostle John, who was also supposedly the author of the fourth Gospel and Revelation.

This name was initially more common among Eastern Christians in the Byzantine Empire, but it flourished in Western Europe after the First Crusade. In England it became extremely popular: during the later Middle Ages it was given to approximately a fifth of all English boys.

The name (in various spellings) has been borne by 21 popes and eight Byzantine emperors, as well as rulers of England, France, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Russia and Hungary. It was also borne by the poet John Milton (1608-1674), philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), American founding father and president John Adams (1735-1826), and poet John Keats (1795-1821). Famous bearers of the 20th century include author John Steinbeck (1902-1968), assassinated American president John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), and musician John Lennon (1940-1980).


Elle - Diminutive of Eleanor. From the Old French form of the Provençal name Aliénor. It was first borne by the influential Eleanor of Aquitaine (12th century), who was the queen of Louis VII, the king of France, and later Henry II, the king of England. She was named Aenor after her mother, and was called by the Provençal phrase alia Aenor "the other Aenor" in order to distinguish her from her mother.

The popularity of the name Eleanor in England during the Middle Ages was due to the fame of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as well as two queens of the following century: Eleanor of Provence, the wife of Henry III, and Eleanor of Castile, the wife of Edward I. More recently, it was borne by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962), the wife of American president Franklin Roosevelt.


Suggestions and comments please.

14.9.08

Alternate Synopsis

ALTERNATE STORY
In the near future, NASA discovers an intelligent signal from the 18 Scorpii system. Because of the distance (45.82 light years) a manned mission is impossible. A space probe is constructed to make contact; it carries on board an AI ambassador named Christopher. Christopher has been been sitting in orbit around Jupiter for several years collecting fuel while technicians have been diagnosing and debugging him in preparation for the mission. During this time, Christopher has become very close friends with one technician in particular, Grace.

As the launch approaches, Christopher is mentally unprepared to leave and repeatedly attempts to sabotage himself to delay the mission. Every time Grace comes in to fix the problem, and eventually Christopher confesses his worries to her. Grace manages to assuage his fears and he settles down in time for the launch.

THOUGHTS
I think this is a lighter and less dramatic storyline with much more potential for humor. It also seems more subtle to me (which I think I prefer), and I'd been worrying about finding an actor able to panic realistically. I'm not sure which I think will be more powerful in the end. Send in your comments please.

The Pitch

My current concept was originally a part of a somewhat larger work I had imagined before. Over the summer I re-envisioned and pared the entire project down to an idea that I felt would be achievable.

I've tried to distill the objective of this piece as simply and purely as I could, and now I'm working to build a story piece-by-piece around it. Here goes:

CONCEPT IN A WORD:
Destiny - a singular purpose as designed by an outside agency that is independent of personal karma or free will.

MY THESIS IS:
A short film about a robot AI built for a one-way mission into space but wants to stay on Earth - and how he must reconcile with his destiny.

A visual effects piece compositing a green-screened actor into a photo-realistic CG environment.

SYNOPSIS:
In the near future, NASA discovers an intelligent signal from the 18 Scorpii system. Because of the distance (45.82 light years) a manned mission is impossible. A space probe is constructed to make contact; it carries on board an AI ambassador named Christopher. Christopher has been been sitting in orbit around Jupiter for several years collecting fuel while technicians have been diagnosing and debugging him in preparation for the mission. During this time, Christopher has become very close friends with one technician in particular, Grace.

On the night of the launch, Grace sneaks in after the crew celebrates the imminent launch to say goodbye. Grace toasts to Christopher's success, and he confesses that he does not really want to go. He worries that he might not find anyone and will wander alone forever. Since none of the other crew knows that Grace is inside the probe he locks her in. Grace eventually manages to get him to release her and accept that she cannot accompany him.

Bon Voyage

End of week 02; and I'm finally starting up the blog. My intent is to keep this site updated with my most current thoughts, ideas, and concerns - in the hope that I receive in exchange relevant feedback from the community.

So heads up. Break the champagne. And bon voyage.