musings

The Not So Small Starship That Could...Float

A month ago, I posted about Starship’s successful Test Flight 13, including how the ship most improbably survived its soft landing and belly flop into the ocean. Well, after weeks of nail-biting drama as recovery vessels rushed to the scene then tugged the mammoth vessel through rough seas, it has arrived in calm, sheltered waters off Christmas Island (Australian territory in the Indian Ocean). SpaceX engineers have conducted exhaustive on-scene analysis of the ship (you know how SpaceX loves data on what went right and wrong, so they can do it better next time).

And now a 48,000-ton semi-submersible named FORTE has arrived, and the ship is being loaded onto it. When it’s secure, they will begin another mult-week journey back to Starbase, Texas. Once there, you can believe engineers will pore over every square centimeter with an electron microscope (more or less).

What an incredible story - and incredible images! I can’t believe that such a massive vessel floats so well, and so high in the water.

Gabriel Knight

I've talked often about how important the Mass Effect video games were to my becoming a writer. But long before there was Mass Effect, there was Gabriel Knight. Gabriel Knight 3, to be precise.

My husband was a lifelong PC gamer and Sierra Online fanatic, and GK1 and 2 had already won multiple Game of the Year awards and much critical acclaim. But me? I was an attorney, a former bookworm who no longer had much desire to read, write, or generally have any fun whatsoever. Well, GK3 came along, and he saw his chance. He wooed me in with teasers of a fabulous mystery, vampires, the Holy Grail, and a female computer nerd as a playable secondary main character. So I gave it a try.

I was enraptured! I devoured the game, twice in a row - the first video game I'd played since Super Mario Bros on the NES. Enraptured enough to then go back and play GK1 and 2, both equally incredible stories. So why were they incredible? A couple of reasons, but above all, due to creater and writer Jane Jensen. She envisioned telling complex, nuanced, novel-worthy stories within the medium of video games - then figured out how to do it.

Right person, right idea, right time. The Gabriel Knight trilogy spans several leaps in the technological capabilities of video games, from the 2D point-and-click adventure style of GK1, to the industry's brief (and weird to our modern eyes) experiment with full-motion video in GK2, to the arrival of 3D graphics and a free camera in GK3. Each leap forward gave Jensen more tools with which to tell a deeper story, and she took full advantage of them all. The gameplay of each installment can be clunky to modern gamers (each one in its own particular way), but the stories are as rich and compelling as anything we have today.

I didn't rush off to embrace my inner writer immediately upon completing my Gabriel Knight binge. But I DID become an avid video gamer because of it, and the first spark of creativity, that in time burnt away the lawyerly outer shell, was lit. And when Mass Effect crashed into my life 8 years later, I was ready for what happened next.

Why do I post this today? Because journalist Elías Casella has published an excellent deep dive into the making of these games and how their development interwove with Jane Jensen's journey, the rise and fall of Sierra Online, and the technological leaps that transformed PC gaming in the 1990s. If you are at all interested in this topic, give it a read: https://www.421.news/en/gabriel-knight-sierra-games-en/

The View From Above

Absolutely stunning images captured by ISS astronaut Jessica Meir during last week’s spacewalk to install new equipment on the ISS. The urge to write a story about the first image is quite strong. Her description:

“While I wasn’t gazing at Anil Menon during last week’s spacewalk, my eyes were drawn downward to our majestic Mother Earth. Here’s how she looked from my spacesuit.

Photo 1: Coastal view framed by the ISS solar arrays.

Photo 2: The sun sets behind our newly installed IROSA mod kit, a mounting platform for new arrays to be installed on an upcoming spacewalk (like the shorter array in lower left of photo 1).

Photo 3: Mountain views framed by the solar arrays.”

Revisiting the Pale Blue Dot

Ready for your latest dose of feeling tiny and insignificant - while also an incredibly improbable, and thus special and meaningful, part of a vast universe?

Well, I give you one grainy, smudgy image. Not exactly inspiring at first glance, and yet. This timelapse of images (40 seconds in total) was captured by the Perseverance rover's Mastcam instrument on Mars last month, and it shows Earth briefly occulting behind the Martian moon Phobos.

As Carl Sagan so famously and eloquently said:

“Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam."

A Writer's Speculative Smirk

The speculative, intrigued smirk of a speculative fiction author, mid-panel discussion on "What makes science fiction, 'science fiction'?" at MisCon this summer.

So what might be going through my mind at this moment? Smug confidence that I've got a zinger of an answer to the clever question an audience member is asking? Delight at how awesome and insightful the discussion is turning out to be? (<-this one was definitely true) Or is an entire new world and story exploding into my mind in this instant, discussion be damned? Or the perfect solution to a thorny plot problem materializing, triggered by something a panelist just said (which would definitely result in delight breaking through to my expression)?

The thing you must understand about an author, and doubly-so a spec-fic author, is that at any given moment, even if the conversation we're having with you is engaging and fulfilling, odds are at least 50% that characters are chattering away in our head. Supernovas are exploding. Ships are firing. Dramatic reveals are unfolding.

We apologize for our distraction--it's not you, it's us--but we always have one foot in another world, and there's simply nothing to be done about it.

Thanks to Steven Sears for sending me the pic, and his lovely wife and awesome spec fic author Jessica Brawner for capturing it!

My Summer

No context story of my summer, courtesy of my Oura ring. Can confirm its accuracy. Now? Now I just get to write my book.

Starship Test Flight 13 Soars, Splashes and...Floats?

Starship executed a *nearly* flawless test flight 13 yesterday evening. Perfect launch and flight, and Ship deployed 20 of the upcoming Starlink V3 satellites. Then Ship did the totally unexpected - its soft landing in the ocean was SO soft, when it fell over into the water, IT DIDN'T EXPLODE!! It just floated there in the waves (spawning a thousand memes). So now SpaceX has a slightly worn but flight-tested Ship that it wasn't expecting; oh, the tests they're going to run on that machine, lol.

The only flaw in the test was that the booster only lit 5 of its 13 engines during landing burn, so landed harder than expected in the ocean. Not nearly as severe of a failure as in the last test, but they do continue to have some issues with the booster engines they need to work out.

It was an incredibly beautiful flight, full of jaw-dropping visuals.

City Lights, Galactic Lights

Incredible image captured by astronaut Don Pettit on the ISS. The inhabitants of Earth are creating, building, laughing, dancing, and most of all, shining.

From his post: “Milky Way views over the city lights of Earth. Humans shining back at the stars that inspire us! Taken with Nikon Z9, 14mm, f/1.4, ISO 6400 with homemade sidereal tracker on ISS Expedition 72.”

https://x.com/astro_Pettit/status/2075719821623271512

Travel Is a Boon for Brainstorming

For the record, I dislike air travel. Not flying as such, but the incredible hassle the whole operation has become. Nonetheless, I must concede that it provides many opportunities for brainstorming, working through plot issues, and writing words.

These are my transcribed audio notes from my trip last week. Not the words on Naked Singularity that I WROTE, mind you - and those were quite substantial. These are just my random thoughts while driving or walking through the airports. So many threads to weave together and arcs to bring home!

Also, that last bullet header might or might not involve something unrelated to Amaranthe...

The Art of Science Fiction

I tell ya, they will just put ANYONE in the paper these days.... ;)

I’m happy to report that a good time appeared to be had by all. Attendance was great for such a niche topic, and honestly, the questions came in fast and furious! Hopefully I answered them well. I wish I had some good pictures from the event, but while the venue was comfy and welcoming, the lighting was not conducive to quality photography.

Widow's Bay

Finished watching Widow's Bay earlier this week. It's Cthulhu, isn't it?

I haven't laughed so much while watching a TV show in a long time. The humor is effortless, the actors' comedic timing flawless. Of course, the next second I'm cringing in dread or jumping in terror. What an odd mix of dry humor, wit and horror! It shouldn't work, but somehow it does. Likely in no small part due to superb performances by Matthew Rhys, Stephen Root, Kate O'Flynn and Dale Dickey.

The day after we finished the season, the show was nominated for a whopping NINETEEN Emmys. So take that as a second endorsement, and if it sounds like something you might enjoy, give it a try.

MisCon 2026

A good time was had by all! Or, well, by me, anyway. ;) It WAS cold and rainy (though it was in the 80s right up until the moment the con began, lol - Montana is always unpredictable that way); in the picture of the panel below, you can’t tell just how cold we were - but we were! Luckily, it was fairly cozy inside the vendor hall, so I was able to debut my new Rocky tshirt one day. :D

I had several long-time readers stop by to chat, which was so awesome. And hopefully created many new readers.

I spoke on a panel discussing “Indie By Choice,” and moderated two panels: “AI in Fiction vs AI in Our Reality” and “What Is Science Fiction?” Both turned out to be really fascinating discussions, with great perspectives from the panelists. I spoke on a similar panel about AI at Dragon Con last year, and it was fascinating how much opinions have evolved in a single year; everyone is taking AI much more seriously now.

Ridiculously scenic venues in the Pacific NW, Summer 2026 Edition

"Live at Andre's."

Who's Andre? Apparently, a guy who was deep in the Seattle music scene before he retired near Spokane, built a big house on the side of a mountain, then built a performance stage hanging off the mountain above the Spokane River and started inviting his musician friends to play there. 200 or so guests in Andre's back yard for a relaxing evening of great music and spectacular views (and cake, it turns out).

It was such an amazing evening! It's like a mini-mini The Gorge, without the utter nightmare traffic on exfiltration (we were home before 11pm).

The band? Red Wanting Blue. If you've never delved the indie Americana scene, you probably haven't heard of them. But if you do enjoy that style of music, check them out! They have more than 20 years of truly excellent music to enjoy. (We've been fans for years; this is the second time we've seen them perform.)

(Last summer’s edition featured The Gorge.)

SpaceX IPO

I scored a share, woohoo. Mr. Jennsen says our retirement is set.

I allocated funds for a few more shares, so if the price dips a bit (it was up 20% at the close of its first day) I’ll grab a few more. Starship, Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Starlink, xAI, X, MacroHard, data centers in space…. It’s worth $2 trillion today, but what might it be worth 10 years from now?

Flashback: Saturn

Incredible view of Saturn few days before “the grand finale” when the probe Cassini finished its trip after 13 years orbiting the planet (2004-2017).

I’m taking a stand: No offense to Juno and Jupiter - they’re delivering wonderful content - but Cassini was the best space probe, and Saturn is the best planet.

Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Space Science Institute, Mindaugas Macijauskas. Via Xavi Bros on X

Exodus Extended Gameplay Reveal

You all know I’m a gamer. Especially story/character-driven RPGs. Story/character-driven SCIFI RPGs? My happy place.

This past weekend was a big one for gaming, with a ton of trailers and reveals from the Summer GameFest, Future Gaming Show and PC Gaming Show. Most importantly, we got to see 20 minutes of EXODUS!

And I’m really happy with what I saw. The character animations, cut scenes and combat all looked much improved over earlier glimpses. Cue the hype meter! EXODUS will release in early 2027 (hopefully).

You can watch the full 20 minutes of gameplay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOLJh9EEQOw.

P.S.: The Jun PC shown is just the default - you can customize your character’s gender and appearance.

P.P.S.: You get an Awakened dog as a companion! (Not a pet, a friend - he’s sentient.)

P.P.P.S.: They should’ve let a marketing person or voice actor do the commentary. The game producer is not exactly charismatic, lol.

New Stargate Show Axed by Amazon

Back in November, I gleefully shared the news that a brand-new Stargate show was under development - a continuation of the universe helmed by the major writers and producers of the previous shows. (You can see that post here: https://www.gsjennsen.com/supermassive-black-holes/2025/11/21/stargate).

Well, just as it was set to begin filming, Amazon has killed it. The stated reason? “Amazon execs were concerned that [Martin] Gero’s take on the series would not have broad appeal beyond the franchise’s already dedicated fanbase.” (Article on the cancellation)

As a member of said ‘already dedicated fanbase,’ I’m pretty disgusted. And I am not alone. The internet, and X in particular, is ablaze with outrage from Stargate fans. It sounds as if Amazon wanted another generic, sanitized, vaguely scifi show designed for “modern audiences,” and the creators refused to abandon the history, characters, themes and feel of Stargate.

Joseph Mallozzi, one of the primary producers and creative minds behind SG-1 and Atlantis, is making no bones about his frustrations, arguably anger, over this decision. Here’s his announcement tweet about the cancellation: https://x.com/BaronDestructo/status/2061963285428330923. Since then, he’s been sharing posts from fans and actors and articles about the cancellation. Michael Shanks, who played Daniel Jackson in SG-1, has been even more vocal; you can follow him here: https://x.com/MichaelShanks.

There are two separate change.org petitions to save the show (https://www.change.org/p/amazonstudios-revive-the-stargate-franchise and https://www.change.org/p/save-the-new-stargate-series-let-martin-gero-build-the-future-of-the-franchise ), and a website collecting all the initiatives to try to save it here: https://bringbackstargate.com.

Will these endeavors succeed? Almost certainly not; petitions and email campaigns rarely work. But every now and then they do! Apple and Netflix in particular are very active in the sci-fi space, so it’s always possible they will see an opportunity and scoop up the IP. So if you feel so compelled, make your voice heard.

My Preciouseses

You guys.... *wipes a tear away* They'll keep me company, right beside my desk. Every day.

I try not to boast, but today, I'm so proud of what I've created. This universe and these characters will live on forever, in the world and in my heart, and I could not be happier.

And when this arrives on the day you start outlining the final book in earnest, well...emotions are going to be experienced.

Hyperion Cantos

Books 2-4 of the Broken Binding special editions of the Hyperion Cantos arrived. I'll be honest, I don't think I've ever seen more beautiful books in my life. Words fall short of capturing how stunning they are.

My #1 career goal isn't to see my books on the screen in movies or TV series - it's to have a full-out, every flourish Broken Binding edition of the Aurora Rising novels. Or, you know, all of them. ;)