Subject: Re: (whorl) more about STL

From: Alastair Reynolds <areynold at estsa2.estec.esa.nl>
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 08:15:20 +0000

> Or, back onto the original topic: how many novels or series of novels are
> entirely stl, with only generation starships, no ftl communication of any
> kind, no NAFAL, and no sleeper ships?

Linda Nagata's recent novel Vast, (which I thought was terrific) has ships
limited to 0.4 c (so only marginal relativistic effects) and no ftl
communications. As the immortal crew can be copied in and out of computer 
storage at whim (and can grow new bodies for themselves equally easily) it
doesn't fall into either "sleeper" or "generation starship" category.

Robert Reed has been doing some interesting stories recently, set aboard
a gigantic, slow-moving ship larger than Jupiter  (eg "Marrow"). 

Al

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---

From: Michael Straight <straight at email.unc.edu>
Date: Mon, 03 May 1999 08:43:04 +0000

On Fri, 30 Apr 1999, Michael Andre-Driussi wrote:

> True, the Niven slowships probably weren't even generational--they were at
> least partly sleeper ships.  (But part of what I'm looking at goes like
> this: if ships are limited to stl, then colonized worlds are isolated
> enough that they can deviate from plan and NASA HQ can't do much about it
> for decades or longer.

Vernor Vinge's new book "A Deepness in the Sky" is partly about the issue
of whether you can have a cohesive interstellar empire with stl sleeper
ramships.

And it's a great book.

-Rostrum