SCIENCE, PHYSICS & TECHNOLOGY

FICTION TODAY - FACT TOMORROW
In writing I like to lay down the rules and such for my universe first, rather than just bull on ahead and try to work it all out later or have readers notice some glaringeff-up on my part that when noticed really skews things. Some have said that it limits me, but in our world, we ourselves are limited by physics, science and the capabilities of our technology so it makes sense that characters will have to deal with the same.

As far as science and such, I like to use a real-world base for things because then it's relatable for the reader and I can get a rough idea how a future development in some area of science or physics will behave.

With regards to what some might consider a violation of Naturalistic sci-fi, in that some of the tech I use is pretty fantastical (like the way a starship uses fuel in a Fusion-Fission cycle) we all have to remember that as little as thirty years ago much of what we now consider taken-as-granted would be flat-out amazing back then. So, no matter how fancy the tech gets, the characters in my writing generally treat it as something taken for granted.

For the benefit of Technophilic readers, there'll be times when I detail technology via narrative and in conversation between characters. When two engineers aboard a ship are dealing with a issue, the tech-talk and details will be thick and fast because it's part of their job. Any decent Captain will have a good working knowledge of their command, because then they know what they can and cannot ask from the ship.

What I won't do is ever 'Trek' a solution to a problem. I loathe Deus ex machina solutions and feel they're basically a slap in the face to one's readers. That said, there's always room for equipment to be modified in a rush and suitably dramatic things along those lines, but stuff like imploding the reaction chambers of a Vector-Warp engine system to force an emergency re-start and time travel...uh, NO.

I will NOT do time travel, but do acknowledge that different Dimensional Realities will have a different Temporal Progression meaning that while Time is the same everywhere, Dimension A might be a few years behind Dimension K because it started some fraction of a quantum instant later than K did when the Big Bang or whatever kicked off the whole Existence thing. So, it's possible to travel to another reality, and end up in a relative time frame that seems to be earlier or later that the one you left.

Aside from that, I'll leave Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey 'stuff' in the eminently capable hands of The Doctor. And Time travel even surprises him now and then...