Questions on Novel structure and wornholes, teleporters, nanotechnology and time view

[WriterJohn]

Questions on Novel structure and wornholes, teleporters, nanotechnology and time viewing.
COMMENTS/THOUGHTS/WEB PAGES AND OR OTHER LINKS/REF BOOKS/BOOKS/MOVIES
1. How to approach a novel that has 8 to 10 parts - but the parts are either not long enough to be a novel or would not stand alone as a novel.
2. The difference between a person traveling from one place to another using a wormhole like in the tv show Stargate and a teleporter like in the tv show Star Trek?
3. Using a machine to open a wormhole - can the wormhole be aimed in a direction so that something (organic or non-organic) can travel to the point it is aimed at or near that point or would there need to be a machine at both points to be able to travel through like the tv show Stargate uses?
4. Nanotechnology: the word seems to be used genericly for all forms of the technology. Are there any possible uses for the other forms - Nano being one the others are Pico, Femto, Atto, Zepto and Yacto?
5. There are novels and movies about time travel, however, what about time viewing where events in time can be viewed on a screen?
TIA
WriterJohn

[Commonmind]

1. How to approach a novel that has 8 to 10 parts - but the parts are either not long enough to be a novel or would not stand alone as a novel.

I don't have the expertise to answer this honestly; I'm not sure how the writer should approach this from both the writing stage and when it came to "shopping" the work. Stephen King's Green Mile series was written in several small novelettes, and was very successful - though much of that, I'm quite certain - has to do with his popularity as an author and the fact that, given that popularity, it's probably very easy for him to request a publisher print in a format they would normally shy away from for a first time author.

2. The difference between a person traveling from one place to another using a wormhole like in the tv show Stargate and a teleporter like in the tv show Star Trek?

My guess is the latter would be unlike traversable wormhole travel, wherein the physical body travels through the event. I envision teleporters as two devices; the device at the starting point, which takes a complete "snapshot" of the physical object, down to the most finite of physical materials; the destination device would be a replicator of sorts, taking that digital information and reconstructing it piece by piece. This is similar to what some physicists have theorized as being a viable form of teleportation, where no space/time manipulation is taking place.

3. Using a machine to open a wormhole - can the wormhole be aimed in a direction so that something (organic or non-organic) can travel to the point it is aimed at or near that point or would there need to be a machine at both points to be able to travel through like the tv show Stargate uses?

I would guess if such a machine were to exist that is capable of opening a stable (traversable) wormhole it would also be advanced enough to "aim" at a fixed destination

4. Nanotechnology: the word seems to be used genericly for all forms of the technology. Are there any possible uses for the other forms - Nano being one the others are Pico, Femto, Atto, Zepto and Yacto?

This is a field of theoretical science in which I was never interested, so I have no real answer for you. My guess is the "generic" term would suit best in any form of fiction, as nanotechnology covers both the atomic and molecular scale and moving beyond that may become a bit too complex for both the writer and the audience.

5. There are novels and movies about time travel, however, what about time viewing where events in time can be viewed on a screen?

The problem with this idea is one of perspective. From where are we viewing events? Obviously by ruling out the idea of time travel it wouldn't be possible to send cameras into the past to perceive these occurrences.

We would need to have a believable point of perspective, and if we're not discussing physical time travel I think the only feasible method for doing this would be an advanced form of mind projection, wherein the person capable of projection would be able to view past events and then relay them to other individuals. If the viewing screen is necessary to the story, you may be able to develop an idea in which the individual doing the projection could be connected to a device which can create an image from brain activity.

[ray gower]

1/ Rather depends on what the parts are?

A classic novel is a journey to a goal- discover the murderer, beat the enemy, win the girl/boy, discover Shangrila etc. Along the way there may be many events that help build to the climax, even if it is in a very roundabout way (Solve some other crime, fight some other enemy, shack up with the wrong girl/boy, invent Father Christmas etc).

If there is a common goal behind the umpteen parts, in that they come together somewhere near the end, there is nothing wrong with simply dividing a book into parts (ala Lord of the Rings) though nine might prove too much, people will forget what they've read so far. The alternative is to interlace chapters so everything works in parallel, Bova's Mars is a particularly nasty example. Again 9 threads might be too much.

If your work is 'Serial' (Each part stands as a story on its own, but is heavily influenced by the the ones before and after) then you may be able to find a big enough theme to create the overall story and insert the rest as you go. (Battlestar Galactica might be an example. The goal is to see if humanity exists, but each week we get a story of how they are trying to destroy themselves based on what resulted in the previous week)

If it is Episodic (Each section is a story on its own, with no reference to others) then you have the same problem as before, or you have to get creative and create whole stories for each. (Star Trek is a classic)

The alternative is to consider a book of short stories?

2/ A Wormhole is a convenient method of traveling from one place to another while staying in more or less one piece.
A Trekesque teleporter is a convenient plot device that dismantles you atom by atom then transmits the result somewhere else, hopefully to be arranged in something close to the same order.
Both exist (if only theoretically), but whether they become viable means of transport is very much science fantasy.

3/ A created wormhole or teleport beam have the same problem. You have to have some means of focusing the other end. I suppose theoretically, as a wormhole is a tear in space it might be possible to stabilise the hole on a point by simple virtue of aiming it at something solid to interupt the tunnel. Otherwise the power would simply disipate

4/ Strictly nano-technology is tinkering with structures at the molecular level. It might be possible to start chopping atoms up directly, but after that it goes well beyond quantum physics. What comes after quantum?

[Mad Tam McC]

Hello there.

Here are my answers to some of your questions.

2. The technology of transporters (as I understand it) is a way of analysing an object (including a person), and finding out exactly what atoms that the object is made up of, transmitting the information to a another place where it is reconstituated in it's original form.

Wormholes are more like a passageway through the fabric of space time.

The main problem I always had with idea of matter transporters is that you're effectively making a copy and so have to kill the original! There are some good moral dilemmas in there.

3. Either way, but I'd imagine having machinery at both ends would be easier. Though with a wormhole don't forget things could travel in both directions.

5. Are you talking about the past or the future? I read a short story years ago (I think Isaac Asimov wrote it) about viewing the past, and it dealt with a lot of the implications. You might want to look it out. I can give you the details (as I remember them) if you like.

With the future, are you looking at one particular future or many possible futures. If it's one then can you change it?

I can't really add anything to the existing answers to questions 1 and 4.

[WriterJohn]

Commonmind
Thank you for your comments

2. The difference between a person traveling from one place to another using a wormhole like in the tv show Stargate and a teleporter like in the tv show Star Trek?

My guess is the latter would be unlike traversable wormhole travel, wherein the physical body travels through the event. I envision teleporters as two devices; the device at the starting point, which takes a complete "snapshot" of the physical object, down to the most finite of physical materials; the destination device would be a replicator of sorts, taking that digital information and reconstructing it piece by piece. This is similar to what some physicists have theorized as being a viable form of teleportation, where no space/time manipulation is taking place.

Basicly then one rearranges matter the other maninpulates space/time.

3. Using a machine to open a wormhole - can the wormhole be aimed in a direction so that something (organic or non-organic) can travel to the point it is aimed at or near that point or would there need to be a machine at both points to be able to travel through like the tv show Stargate uses?

I would guess if such a machine were to exist that is capable of opening a stable (traversable) wormhole it would also be advanced enough to "aim" at a fixed destination

Thanks for the speculation on this question.

5. There are novels and movies about time travel, however, what about time viewing where events in time can be viewed on a screen?

The problem with this idea is one of perspective. From where are we viewing events? Obviously by ruling out the idea of time travel it wouldn't be possible to send cameras into the past to perceive these occurrences.

We would need to have a believable point of perspective, and if we're not discussing physical time travel I think the only feasible method for doing this would be an advanced form of mind projection, wherein the person capable of projection would be able to view past events and then relay them to other individuals. If the viewing screen is necessary to the story, you may be able to develop an idea in which the individual doing the projection could be connected to a device which can create an image from brain activity.

I am leaning towards what you say about the person being the fixed point and to expand this to linking to a dna strand does that sound like a viable way to a time viewer?

Again Thanks for your comments

[WriterJohn]

ray gower
Thank you for your comments

1/ Rather depends on what the parts are?

A classic novel is a journey to a goal- discover the murderer, beat the enemy, win the girl/boy, discover Shangrila etc. Along the way there may be many events that help build to the climax, even if it is in a very roundabout way (Solve some other crime, fight some other enemy, shack up with the wrong girl/boy, invent Father Christmas etc).

If there is a common goal behind the umpteen parts, in that they come together somewhere near the end, there is nothing wrong with simply dividing a book into parts (ala Lord of the Rings) though nine might prove too much, people will forget what they've read so far. The alternative is to interlace chapters so everything works in parallel, Bova's Mars is a particularly nasty example. Again 9 threads might be too much.

If your work is 'Serial' (Each part stands as a story on its own, but is heavily influenced by the the ones before and after) then you may be able to find a big enough theme to create the overall story and insert the rest as you go. (Battlestar Galactica might be an example. The goal is to see if humanity exists, but each week we get a story of how they are trying to destroy themselves based on what resulted in the previous week)

If it is Episodic (Each section is a story on its own, with no reference to others) then you have the same problem as before, or you have to get creative and create whole stories for each. (Star Trek is a classic)

The alternative is to consider a book of short stories?

Thanks for the comments on this question. Just a note - I am not trying to find a form to fit the novel into. The writing and outlining is around 68 plus chapters and I didn't know if there is a form for them. I guess the LOTR would be the closest form.

3/ A created wormhole or teleport beam have the same problem. You have to have some means of focusing the other end. I suppose theoretically, as a wormhole is a tear in space it might be possible to stabilise the hole on a point by simple virtue of aiming it at something solid to interupt the tunnel. Otherwise the power would simply disipate

Thanks for the possible effect if not aimed correctly.

4/ Strictly nano-technology is tinkering with structures at the molecular level. It might be possible to start chopping atoms up directly, but after that it goes well beyond quantum physics. What comes after quantum?

I do not know but I think Yacto deals with time or space/time I can not find my notes on them so if you know of some web links to them TIA

Again Thanks for your comments

[WriterJohn]

Mad Tam McC
Thank you for your comments

2.

The technology of transporters (as I understand it) is a way of analysing an object (including a person), and finding out exactly what atoms that the object is made up of, transmitting the information to a another place where it is reconstituated in it's original form.

Wormholes are more like a passageway through the fabric of space time.

The main problem I always had with idea of matter transporters is that you're effectively making a copy and so have to kill the original! There are some good moral dilemmas in there.

Thank you for the comment and the good point on matter transporters dilemmas.

3.

Either way, but I'd imagine having machinery at both ends would be easier. Though with a wormhole don't forget things could travel in both directions.

Thanks for the both directions tip

5.

Are you talking about the past or the future? I read a short story years ago (I think Isaac Asimov wrote it) about viewing the past, and it dealt with a lot of the implications. You might want to look it out. I can give you the details (as I remember them) if you like.

With the future, are you looking at one particular future or many possible futures. If it's one then can you change it?

Both - past and future. I would like your details and if yoou remember the story title and who wrote it LMK. On the time viewing I am thinking if you can view time let's say on Earth then viewing time on possible Earths should be possible (in a science fiction sense) - what do you think?

Again Thanks for your comments

[Mad Tam McC]

Hello again

The Dead Past by Isaac Asimov, is the one I remember!

Look up 'Time Viewer' in Wikipedia, I can't post the link, as I've not made enough posts!.

It gives links to other stories.

[pyan]

This the one you mean, Tam?

Time Viewer Stories

[Mad Tam McC]

That's a different (but more complete) list!

If you are going to write about time viewing, I do suggest you read the Asimov story first.

[pyan]

Or, for a slightly different take, try the novel Other Days, Other Eyes by Bob Shaw.

[WriterJohn]

Thanks for the titles, info and link Mad Tam McC and pyan.