Alien Planet on Discovery Channel 05/14

[demiurge1138]

I was not only impressed with the alien creatures of Darwin IV, but I really liked the probes as well.

Johnathan

It was amazing how much pathos they managed to get out of robot probes. And they were kind of cute, and sensibly designed.

Were the probes in the book?
Demiurge out.

 

[sniffles]

It was amazing how much pathos they managed to get out of robot probes. And they were kind of cute, and sensibly designed.

Were the probes in the book?
Demiurge out.

No the probes aren't in the book. Barlowe's premise was that friendly aliens came to take us into space after we'd ecologically ruined the Earth - another facet of the story that was left out of the program. It's set a lot farther in the future, too.

I did like the probes, though I wonder if Barlowe had any input into how they looked. He still didn't get enough air time, IMHO. And it was pretty funny watching Jack Horner struggling for something to say. I don't think xenobiology is exactly a paleontologist's area of expertise.

I wonder if anyone will reprint "Expedition"? My copy's pretty dog-eared now. It was a small press book, though.