Writing Ideas - Writing Science Fiction, part 187 Extrapolating Military Technology, more Uniforms

6 February 2014, Writing Ideas - Writing Science Fiction, part 187 Extrapolating Military Technology, more Uniforms

Announcement: There is action on my new novels.  The publisher renamed the series--they are still working on the name.  I provided suggestions as did one of my prepub readers. Now the individual books will be given single names: Leora, Leila, Russia, Lumiere', China, Sveta, and Klava--at least these are some of the suggestions.  They are also working on a single theme for the covers.  I'll keep you updated.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.
2. Entertain your readers.
3. Ground your readers in the writing.
4. Don't show (or tell) everything.
5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

I am writing about the extrapolation of science and technology to be able to write science fiction.  I made the point that it is almost meaningless to try to fully extrapolate a universe (world) that is 10,000 years in the future (and maybe 1,000 years in the future) without applying some cultural and technological shaping.

By shaping the cultures of your science fiction universe, you can shape the science and technology that is extrapolated.  Here is how I culturally shaped the universe of The Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox to make the 10,000 year extrapolation work.

The major areas in warfare technology are:
1.  Software
2.  Weapons
     Heavy Weapons
3.  Countermeasures
4.  Defense
5.  Communications
6.  Robots
7.  Vehicles
8.  Environments (personal equipment)
9.  Costs 

The problem with current uniforms is that to have chemical defense, you have to add a chemical suit with chemical boots and gloves.  A military soldier would rather have a single uniform that handles chemical weapons etc.  That's the point, current uniforms provide only limited camo capabilities.  In the future, the military would like uniforms with variable camo capability and anti-chemical capability and anti-exposure capability etc.  At the high end of this, I extrapolated the combat environment suit.  This name is a great one and works for many futures and many ages because a combat environment suit can be as simple as a common uniform and as complex as I describe them in my Ghost Ship  novels (unpublished).

A Combat Environment Suit (CES) is a skin tight uniform that provides chemical defense, heating and cooling, immediate protection from space (vacuum), limited ballistic protection (armor), and limited radioactive protection.  The exterior of the suit also can change to provide camo or a fixed look.  The way such a suit works is this.  First it is made of a ballistic cloth that is supple, but when hit with a kinetic round will become hard.  This is the way Kevlar and other similar armors work. The ballistic protection is limited because it will not work at very close ranges and very fast rounds.  That should be obvious--that is a problem with current ballistic armor.  The chemical protection comes from the cloth as well.  It is finely woven and the openings are less than a large chemical molecule.  It works well against any biotoxin, bio chemical, or medium to large poison. 

More tomorrow.

Also remember, I'm trying to show you and give you examples of how to write a science fiction theme statement and turn it into a plot.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com