Nation

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The great big multiple-universes get-out-of-jail-free card…

This might look like a book set in the Pacific Ocean. Nothing could be further from the truth!!!!! It is in fact set in a parallel universe, a phenomenon known only to advanced physicists and anyone who has ever watched any episode of any SF series, anywhere. Different things happened, some people lived at different times, some bits of history have been changed, some things are made up out of real pieces (like the beer and the last five minutes of the Sweet Judy) and so on. But the Great Pelagic Ocean is its own place.

Oddly enough, though, after the book was finished, I learned that the Society Islands in the Pacific were named after the Royal Society in London by the famous Captain Cook, because it had sponsored the first British scientific survey of the islands. Sometimes it’s hard to make things up….

Drowning bullets

It’s true — bullets fired into water soon lose all their speed. Some high-velocity ones even ricochet off the surface. That’s because the faster you hit water, the more it behaves like concrete. However, do not try this at home. Don’t try it at school, either. I do know someone who tried it at work, but since his job is to fire guns for the movies, no one minded. He confirmed it; a bullet hitting the water slows down very fast indeed.

Blue Jupiter

It’s my favorite viewing, when the orbit is right, which means it’s in the eastern sky late in the day. It is remarkable what a telescope will pick up in a clear sky. But if you look at the sun directly through a telescope it will blind you, no kidding. So daylight astronomy should be attempted only with the help of an expert who knows what they are doing. Sorry, sorry, it’s the ol’ “Don’t try this at home” warning, in disguise.

The green cannon

It would work, probably, since papervine is so tough. In the past, cannon have been made of wood, leather, or even ice (a lot of ice). Mostly they were made to be strong and light enough to last for one shot. They were used in what would now be called special operations, when one shot in the right place might make all the difference. They didn’t have to last long — just long enough.

Needless to say, don’t try this at home.

Thinking

This book contains some. Whether you try it at home is up to you.

Terry Pratchett