Of Ants and Dinosaurs

Of Ants and Dinosaurs, Cixin Liu, Amazon Digital Services Inc., 2012

This novella is about an unlikely partnership, between ants and dinosaurs, that started many centuries ago, during prehistoric times.

Fast forward tens of thousands of years. With much help from the ants, the dinosaurs have developed quite a technological civilization. The ants have the capacity to make the required fine electrical connections, while the dinosaurs contribute intellectual curiosity to the partnership. There are now dinosaur-sized automobiles, computers and spacecraft.

The two dinosaur "countries," Gondwana and Laurasia, have also developed nuclear weapons, with the ability to launch them at their opponent. The ants really don't like this. An ant general strike is crushed, literally. The ants hatch an audacious plan to take out the top levels of both dinosaur societies, not just the political and military leaders, and destroy all of their computers, all at the same time.

The plan works, but, then the ants learn that the dinosaurs had a version of Mutual Assured Destruction in place, to keep either side from "pushing the button." It involves the transmission of a certain electronic signal, every day. Can the ants fix the dinosaur transmitters, and convince some very upset dinosaurs that they sincerely want to help, before it's too late?

It's a really interesting science fiction fable that has something to say about life in the present day. Young people will enjoy it, and so will adults.  

The Wandering Earth

The Wandering Earth, Cixin Liu, Amazon Digital Services Inc, 2012

This novella is about Earth being on the move - literally.

Astronomers have determined that the Sun is using up its supply of fuel much faster than expected. It will explode, and turn into a red giant, swallowing the Earth, in approximately 400 years.

For most of that time, humanity has built giant rocket engines, powered by rocks and debris from Earth's mountains, pointing into the sky. The intention is to stop Earth's rotation, and then to send the whole planet to its new home, in the Proxima Centauri system, more than four light years away.

It is not simply a case of turning on the engines, and sending Earth out of the solar system. A number of years are needed to get Earth's orbit more and more elliptical, to make it possible to break out of orbit. The floods, earthquakes and the trip through the asteroid belt have laid waste to the entire surface of the Earth. What's left of humanity has long since moved into giant underground cities.

Nearing the edge of the solar system, many people take one last look at the Sun. They can't help but notice that it looks exactly like it did 400 years ago. Where's the red giant star that the Sun was supposed to become? Is it possible that the worldwide Unity Government has pulled off the biggest con job in human history?

This story has lots of ideas, and lots of possibilities. The author does a very good job at this length. There is a longer novel version available. I look forward to reading it.