Author Topic: EP Flash: Off Base  (Read 19037 times)

Russell Nash

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on: May 19, 2009, 09:38:53 AM
EP Flash: Off Base

By Stevens R. Miller.
Read by Steve Anderson.

Her boyfriend put a slim hand to his forehead, as though shielding his eyes from sunlight, even though the sun had set some minutes before. Where the girl had pointed was a bright star, moving east.

Rated PG. for teenagers of the future.



Listen to this EP Flash!
« Last Edit: September 15, 2009, 09:41:15 PM by Russell Nash »



Listener

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Reply #1 on: May 21, 2009, 01:22:29 PM
The genre twist was great. Took a second to get it, but then... "aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh".

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Rail16

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Reply #2 on: May 21, 2009, 03:13:55 PM
not bad for a flash piece but the 'twist' felt stolen from Battlefield Earth



eytanz

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Reply #3 on: May 21, 2009, 03:47:51 PM
Heh. Fun and short.

not bad for a flash piece but the 'twist' felt stolen from Battlefield Earth

I didn't read/see Battlefield Earth, but, while I think the twist would have been transformed from cute to incredibly lame in a longer piece of fiction.



Rail16

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Reply #4 on: May 21, 2009, 04:11:52 PM
I didn't read/see Battlefield Earth, but, while I think the twist would have been transformed from cute to incredibly lame in a longer piece of fiction.
the book doesn't rely on the number system as a 'twist' it's actually an integral & logical plot device of the story.

and the book compared to the movie is not is very fare to the book.  the book is actually a very entertaining, pure scifi read.  and from what i do know is that the book isn't wholly written by l ron, the same that the mission earth series is ghost written by other folks.

if you ever have a 6 month med cruise on board an aircraft carrier you will find many varied books to read regardless their genre or author.



Darwinist

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Reply #5 on: May 24, 2009, 03:39:17 AM
Neat story.  Loved it.

For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.    -  Carl Sagan


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Reply #6 on: May 24, 2009, 04:32:22 AM
Cute story.  I enjoyed it.



Kevin David Anderson

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Reply #7 on: May 24, 2009, 02:20:07 PM
Enjoyed it.  Lots of story, few words.  Well done. 


Yargling

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Reply #8 on: May 27, 2009, 10:27:59 AM
Very amusing once it clicked :) Remember the fingers! ;D



Planish

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Reply #9 on: May 27, 2009, 12:29:33 PM
Very amusing once it clicked :) Remember the fingers! ;D

Yeah, and for me the amusement lasted until that Fridge Logic moment about 5 seconds later, when I decided that if they're using English words for numbers, they'd still have the same numeric values.

No matter. It was still a hoot, even after it collapsed under the weight of it's own logic.  ;D

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Reply #10 on: May 27, 2009, 05:12:40 PM
I didn't read/see Battlefield Earth, but, while I think the twist would have been transformed from cute to incredibly lame in a longer piece of fiction.
the book doesn't rely on the number system as a 'twist' it's actually an integral & logical plot device of the story.

and the book compared to the movie is not is very fare to the book.  the book is actually a very entertaining, pure scifi read.  and from what i do know is that the book isn't wholly written by l ron, the same that the mission earth series is ghost written by other folks.

I love Battlefield Earth (the book, not that execrable Off-Source film disaster).  And I believe Hubbard did write the novel; not sure about Mission Earth though (which was a fun read for the first seven or eight books, before the narrator switch).

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Reply #11 on: May 29, 2009, 02:23:19 PM
I love Battlefield Earth (the book, not that execrable Off-Source film disaster).  And I believe Hubbard did write the novel; not sure about Mission Earth though (which was a fun read for the first seven or eight books, before the narrator switch).

it is a great book and has a nice epic feel to it.

i never got a chance to finish mission earth, think i only made it through the first 5 books and now i cannot find copies anywhere so that i can reread and finish the series.  i've even looked in the used book store with no luck.

though i'm very happy i do have a hardcover copy of the Final Blackout.



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Reply #12 on: May 29, 2009, 03:09:51 PM
i never got a chance to finish mission earth, think i only made it through the first 5 books and now i cannot find copies anywhere so that i can reread and finish the series.  i've even looked in the used book store with no luck.[/url].

Try thrift stores like Goodwill or Salivation Army.  I got the whole set of paperbacks dirt cheap that way (though it took me three or four stores to get all ten).

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MacArthurBug

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Reply #13 on: May 30, 2009, 02:44:47 AM
cute, very well put together. I liked this!

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Russell Nash

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Reply #14 on: May 30, 2009, 08:33:20 AM
Just goes to show you that the devil really is in the details.



Zathras

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Reply #15 on: May 30, 2009, 02:38:59 PM


Been wanting to use that in the pic thread.

I liked this one.  I probably liked it more because my d.a. brother-in-law wouldn't get it.



stevensrmiller

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Reply #16 on: June 06, 2009, 12:08:21 AM
Very amusing once it clicked :) Remember the fingers! ;D

Yeah, and for me the amusement lasted until that Fridge Logic moment about 5 seconds later, when I decided that if they're using English words for numbers, they'd still have the same numeric values.

No matter. It was still a hoot, even after it collapsed under the weight of it's own logic.  ;D

Glad you liked it, Planish. (I just discovered the forums today; thanks to all who have commented here.)

The ground controller says "two three dot five." I hoped this would be ambiguous as to base, as opposed to his saying, "twenty-three point five."  Leastways, that's how my math teacher taught us to speak numbers in non-decimal bases. Did I get that wrong?



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Reply #17 on: June 06, 2009, 12:13:09 AM
Enjoyed it.  Lots of story, few words.  Well done. 

Thanks, Kevin! You may not believe this, but this is the long version of the story. Its original appearance was on the Flashshot mailing list. They have a maximum of 100 words.



stevensrmiller

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Reply #18 on: June 06, 2009, 02:08:28 AM

I liked this one.  I probably liked it more because my d.a. brother-in-law wouldn't get it.

Heh! I get you, Zorag.  This was definitely a story for our particular family. But don't be so sure your brother-in-law won't get it. I'm a lawyer too.



Russell Nash

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Reply #19 on: June 06, 2009, 10:16:23 AM

I liked this one.  I probably liked it more because my d.a. brother-in-law wouldn't get it.

Heh! I get you, Zorag.  This was definitely a story for our particular family. But don't be so sure your brother-in-law won't get it. I'm a lawyer too.


We'll try not to hold that against you.  Although I admit it will be tough.



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Reply #20 on: June 06, 2009, 01:48:03 PM

I'm a lawyer too.


We'll try not to hold that against you.  Although I admit it will be tough.

It ain't all bad. Another story of mine, "Choice of Laws" (Leading Edge #46, Oct. 2003, www.leadingedgemagazine.com), was based on a legal question arising within an estate dispute (which ends up being decided by an entirely different kind of law).

One must work with the material one has at hand...



Russell Nash

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Reply #21 on: June 06, 2009, 06:48:27 PM
One must work with the material one has at hand...

That's what I said to my wife when she asked why I built the headboard of our bed out of black leather and chains.  She didn't buy it.



Rain

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Reply #22 on: June 08, 2009, 03:02:33 PM
I didnt really get the story, what did the people lacking a finger have to do with the ship burning up?



Russell Nash

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Reply #23 on: June 08, 2009, 03:49:50 PM
I didnt really get the story, what did the people lacking a finger have to do with the ship burning up?

Our math is base ten, because humans have ten fingers.  They have eight fingers, so their math is base eight.  (I don't remember the exact numbers, but…)  The pilot thought the entry angle should be 17 or so.  He was told it was 23.  At the last second he realizes 23 base 8 is 19.  19 degrees was the correct angle.  Since he's going 23 degrees, he's going to fast and the extra atmospheric friction burns up his ship. 



Planish

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Reply #24 on: June 10, 2009, 09:32:23 AM
One must work with the material one has at hand...
Hey.
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Moderator - Do we permit puns in this forum?

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