Writing – Warren’s Guide

Space Radiation and Water Bears – Or: How I came to stop worrying about solar flares and love the Tardigrade

Why do I care about radiation?

bobthewaterbear2 — Image Credit: W D Lee (digital painting)

While the Christopher Tyson books are not intended to be on the same level of realism as, for example, ‘The Martian’, I do want to cover the pitfalls and realities of space travel, albeit of the more fantastical kind. The dangers of radiation in space and how it is overcome will be dealt with (though perhaps not in book one, there’s only so much I can fit in!), and as a result, a recent article on the BBC grabbed my attention (click here).

This is especially interesting in relation to future space travel and the colonisation of other worlds. One of the most troublesome aspects of travel in deep space is radiation. In science fiction there tend to be a small number of solutions. In more fantastical science fiction it is usually covered by a brief mention of shielding (either hull-plating or some form of electro-magnetic field), and in more ‘realistic’ sci-fi the crew of a ship will hide in an area shielded by the ship’s water supplies or similar (water is one of the more effective radiation shields we would have at our disposal).

All too often, however, the matter of radiation is simply forgotten or ignored in science fiction, so I’m going to talk a little about the dangers of radiation in space. If you want to jump straight to the Water Bears, just scroll down!

The dangers of radiation in space

The Earth itself is protected primarily by two things, it’s magnetic field (magnetosphere) and its atmosphere. The magnetic field deflects most of the harmful radiation, and most of what remains is stopped by the atmosphere which, on average over its depth, equates to a barrier of metal about 3ft thick. (click here for more information)

van_allen_radiation_belt-svg — Image credit: Chris Martin

Around Earth, the primary danger is the Van Allen Belt. This has two main belts, the inner one being the worst. These can easily damage the electronics in satellites, (especially modern satellites), and when the Apollo missions went to the moon, they had to avoid the inner belt and pass through the fringes of the outer belt as quickly as possible.

Once you’re beyond the influence of the planet you have radiation from the sun and the rest of the galaxy in the form of sub-atomic particles that will rip through your DNA or damage the information encoded within it (so cell reproduction contains errors, and you effectively get the beginnings of cancer). Radiation can be ionizing (high energy) and non-ionising (low energy). Although both can be damaging, non-ionising is the least dangerous (you can include visible light, ultra violet light, radio waves in this list). Ionising radiation, however, is the most dangerous. This is where you get your x-rays, gamma rays and galactic cosmic radiation. Ionising radiation has the ability to strip electrons from individual atoms, thus causing the damage to our DNA that I mentioned above.

On August 31, 2012 a long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun's atmosphere, the corona, erupted out into space at 4:36 p.m. EDT. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME did not travel directly toward Earth, but did connect with Earth's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, causing aurora to appear on the night of Monday, September 3. Picuted here is a lighten blended version of the 304 and 171 angstrom wavelengths. Cropped Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram — Image credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Solar flares are especially dangerous, because they release large quantities of harmful radiation, especially x-rays and gamma rays. Then there are cosmic rays, accelerated to near the speed of light and thought to also have a degrading effect on the brain, similar to Alzheimers over prolonged periods (The origins of cosmic rays are not precisely known, but one source is thought to be the after-effects of supernovae from massive stars).

Water Bears and Space Travel

johann_august_ephraim_goeze1 — Image Credit: Unknown

So why am I waffling on about the dangers of radiation in space? Well, that would be because of Water Bears, of course! The proper name for a ‘Water Bear’ is a Tardigrade, a water-dwelling eight-legged microscopic animal, first discovered by German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze in 1773.

Tardigrades are known to be the hardiest form of animal life on the planet. Such creatures are known as ‘extremophiles’ and in the case of Tardigrades, are capable of withstanding boiling and freezing temperatures, as well as… you guessed it! Radiation.

Image credit: Schokraie E, Warnken U, Hotz-Wagenblatt A, Grohme MA, Hengherr S, et al. (2012)

Scientists have only recently discovered how they survive extreme radiation (Click here for more information). Originally, they were thought to repair the damage to their DNA somehow, but what they learned is that the Tardigrades have a protein that attaches to its DNA and protects it from damage in the first place (they have called this Dsup, short for Damage Suppressor).

They have since attached this Dsup gene to human cells and found that they suffer far less damage to their DNA when exposed to x-rays. Already, they’re thinking about how this could be used to protect organisms on the surface of Mars (which has a weak magnetic field and thin atmosphere to protect from radiation), perhaps even helping any plan to terraform the surface.

From my perspective, this begs the question… Could spacefaring humans have this added to their genetic make-up, and would it enable them to survive more safely in space, certainly for longer periods? We all suffer the effects of radiation, as the Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere don’t completely shield us (not to mention background radiation from the planet itself). So while something like the Dsup gene wouldn’t protect us one hundred percent, it might, in combination with other conventional methods, provide a realistic way to survive the dangers of lethal radiation in deep space. Could we even line the interiors of our spaceships with layers of wet moss that contain thriving colonies of Water Bears?

It would be quite amusing, if one of the planet’s smallest creatures provided the answer to safely travelling to other worlds in our solar system and beyond…

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The Christopher Tyson Adventures – Cover Design

What do you need from a book cover?

I’m working on the cover design for ‘Christopher Tyson – Mark of the Ancestor’ at the moment, and thought I’d let you see some progress.

The old saying that you can never judge a book by its cover is a complete lie. Sure, we can judge a book properly after we’ve read it, but we’re talking about first impressions here. What draws you in? What grabs you to read a book? Unless you already know the name of the author or are a particular fan of a series of books, or they’ve been heavily advertised, then the cover is the first thing you will see. It’s what sparks your imagination, perhaps gives you a hint about the characters or story. The blurb might be what helps you to make the final decision, but it’s the cover and title that get you to the Blurb.

Unlike the analysts and focus groups that publishers trust, I don’t believe you can distill what makes a good book cover or movie poster. At the end of the day, you can only try and create something that appeals to you, in the way that your favourite books have in the past.

I have some general ideas in my head, based on old book covers and movie posters I love. The most important thing I want is a painted cover, even if it’s digitally painted (I haven’t got the time or space at the moment to go the traditional route, but I don’t want to do a straight forward photo composite either). I want something that echoes the fun kids’ adventure movies from the 80s, and the science fiction book covers of the 70s and 80s. So what artists are my main influences and inspirations ?

Chris Foss

When it comes to spaceships, it’s hard to beat Chris Foss’ work, such as the covers he did for a lot of Asimov’s books. His use of bold colours for his spaceships, extreme perspectives and unusual shapes made him very distinctive. You could always tell a Chris Foss book cover. They never hinted at story or character, but they never failed to to grab you and turn your imagination in the direction of grand space adventures.

“There’s always been something about distance and wide-open space that excites me. A lot of my science fiction landscapes are actually western landscapes transported into a space setting. Open vistas are a big influence in my work. A painting has to have an atmosphere; that’s one of the main things I strive to achieve.” – Chris Foss

(Check out http://www.chrisfossart.com/)

Michael Whelan

Michael is well known for exciting, colourful and adventurous covers, often illustrating a scene or setting from the book. My personal favourites are his Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian Tales covers, which is where I first saw his work. To me, his covers were the perfect embodiment of the stories and always sparked my imagination.

Each painting usually had a particular overall colour tone, but with strong, bold colours within that. Take for example the centre painting, almost all in blue but with strongly coloured central characters.

“How do you distill 1200 pages of battle scenes, characters, other worlds, fantasy landscapes, creatures, weather patterns, into one image?” – Michael Whelan

(Check out http://www.michaelwhelan.com/, though the site appears to be down at time of writing)

Drew Struzan

As any film fan will tell you, Drew is one of the most famous movie poster artists, certainly from the 80s. His posters often encompassed an atmosphere of grand adventure, whilst offering a glimpse of the story and characters.

In drew’s posters the main characters/s usually dominate the image, with secondary characters posed around and perhaps a few items from the film if appropriate. There’s always a very strong sense of composition in Drew’s paintings, not just a scene or items from the film.

“I don’t mind computers as a tool but it’s a shame it has not only changed the feeling of the world but also the industry. There’s a lack of the handmade human touch that people enjoy.” – Drew Struzan

(Check out http://www.drewstruzan.com/)

Christopher Tyson – Mark of the Ancestor

Obviously Christopher’s cover is going to be a creation of my own, but I can’t help but be influenced by the covers and posters that have grabbed me over the years. As such, I want something that is colourful, gives you a glimpse of the main characters, and hints at the locations and grand adventures therein. I don’t, however, want it to be an over-crowded concoction, like modern movie posters. I also don’t want the standard ‘enigmatic photo of main character’ or ‘dramatic silhouette’ that so many book covers have these days, especially on young adult books. Christopher Tyson is about adventure, excitement and fun. That doesn’t mean it lacks drama or depth of character (I hope!), but whilst Christopher Tyson may sometimes deal with deeper issues, he’s supposed to take you out of the real world and make you dream.

So here are a few sketches that I started off with. I want to include the main characters on the cover, so that people have an immediate image when they think of them.

That doesn’t mean you can’t imagine them the way you want, but before you start to read those pages, they’ll give you some idea of the characters inside.

I decided to follow up on the top left sketch which, to be honest, was what I had in my head. The characters are forefront but not taking over the image, the spaceships are in dramatic motion, and the rings of Saturn are cutting across at an angle. As you can see with the Michael Whelan covers, I need to take into account an overall image that also works in two halves, with something related on the back, but not as essential and dominating. In this case, I’ve used a city on an alien planet (one of the key locations in the book) that has a ‘space-elevator’ extending from a dominant cone-shaped building. There also needs to be a logical space to put the title on the front and the blurb on the back.

Next, I started messing with how I’ll lay out the titles and blurb, the spine, and even the space for the barcode.

Now it’s a case of painting the elements properly. Let me know what you think!

The Rebel Review

My first concerted effort at producing my own written works, was a home-made magazine called the ‘Rebel Review’. Why the ‘Rebel Review’? Well, since childhood I have been a Star Wars fan. How much of a fan depends entirely on your perception of such things. Some people would consider me an over-the-top fan with a large collection of Star Wars books (from art-of to fiction), a fair sized collection of the original toys from childhood (ebay tempts, but hasn’t won yet!), numerous collectible items, various copies of the movies from different releases over the years, the list goes on. Then again, some might consider me a mid-level enthusiast, since my interest spreads to all science fiction, fantasy and beyond.

Regardless, I was enough of a Star Wars fan in my teens that when I decided to make my own magazine, I chose to make it predominantly Star Wars related, with short stories and various movie and book reviews. I’m not sure, but I think one of my sisters suggested the title, in honour of the Rebel Alliance (The good guys, for those of you who have lived in an isolation chamber).

There were, of course, lots of other reasons behind it, other than Star Wars. It was an endeavour that combined many of my favourite things.

Star Wars and Science Fiction? Check
Movies? Check
Books? Check
Artwork? Check
Story (and other) writing? Check
Excuse to use my Dad’s computer and photocopier? Check

My father produced the local parish magazine on a monthly basis, using the combination of a rental-purchase photocopier and his new Amstrad PCW8256 computer with 9-pin dot-matrix printer. It was my first true exposure to computers, outside of a friend’s ZX Spectrum and the limited BBC micros at school. To this day, there’s still something strangely hypnotic and unusual about the PCW. The guts of the machine were inside the same casing as the monitor, which itself was green-screen only. I could easily wax lyrical about the hours spent programming games in BASIC from listings in the magazine, creating primitive graphics in LOGO, the unusual 3” disks, or playing Fairlight and Tomahawk into the early hours, only to come away with square eyes and a strange sense of detachment from reality… but those memories are for another time. For now, its miracle was the ability to write and save files using the LocoScript word processor, and print them.

So using word processing software that would be considered less-than-primitive now, I learnt to type and write on a computer. I was fascinated with what my dad was able to do on that machine, and I wanted to produce something of my own.

The first issue was put together in 1990, after the release of ‘Gremlins 2’. I would’ve been about fourteen. I continued producing them until the 7th and final issue was released in 1993. It had huge print runs, of perhaps 10, maybe even 20 copies, which were sold to friends and relatives with plenty of encouragement and praise from my mother. I wrote short stories, created word-searches, quizzes and games, wrote film and book reviews, and gave my thoughts on the latest movie news. I often drew pictures for the covers and the stories. By the final few issues I was even using an art package and mouse on my Dad’s PCW, to produce primitive black and white computer graphics.

It was all enormous fun, most of which was had in piecing together the various items for photocopying. For example, the first issue sported an image of Gizmo from ‘Gremlins 2’ on the front cover along with the magazine title and a couple of small accompanying images (See the start of the article). How did I produce that? I drew a large portrait of Gizmo in pencil, around which I glued two photocopied images from my favourite movie magazine (the recently re-born ‘Starburst’). On a second piece of paper, I printed the title and a couple of other bits of text. I would then photocopy the title page, then run the same used pieces of paper through the copier again, this time photocopying the Gizmo images. Voilà! A title page combing the two.

Gradually my expertise grew. Numerous bits of Blu-Tack or Pritt Stick glue kept images, titles and lines of text on pieces of A4 paper, which were then copied to produce inventively laid out pages. Finally, they were all stapled together to create multiple copies of each issue. The sense of accomplishment at picking up and flicking through a ‘magazine’ created by myself was fantastic. Sure, looking back on them now it’s easy to see them as naïve and primitive, but it’s all part of the knowledge and experience that has taken me to where I am today (Or at least given me some fun childhood memories).

In retrospect, it also provided an unusual form of bonding between my father and I. It was at once a solitary process, either typing away or gluing things to pieces of paper, whilst also being something we could share. I was using all of my Dad’s equipment, from the PCW and photocopier, to his stapler and paper guillotine (which is still going strong in a certain cake shop!). We enjoyed our mutual fascination and enjoyment at using the computer, and he was able to help me when I needed it. On those occasions that I decided to create an issue, my life was suddenly consumed, usually for at least a week or so. I was ever-present in my Dad’s study, taking up space and no doubt getting in the way. When I think back, he must have been incredibly patient!

What did I learn? Plenty, no doubt, but it’s the memories I cherish the most. Childhood enthusiasm and dreams that came to life and became miraculously real, with the involvement of family and friends.

In a way that even photos cannot achieve, I can pick up one of those old issues with their now-yellowing pages, and a host of memories and emotions come flooding back. It conjures up those times when I felt accomplishment (simple and minor as it was) combined with naïve optimism, and it was all shared with loved ones and friends to create something that never fails to bring a smile, even to this day.

Writing My First Short Story

Small Blue Typewriter — I think the typewriter was something like this…

Memories can be triggered by any number of things, but in thinking about the origins of Christopher Tyson, I began remembering some of the first stories I ever wrote. Why am I telling you this? So that I don’t forget! This is as much for me, as it is for you, reader. When I’m forty five (maybe fifty) and senile, re-reading this might make me smile and say “Ooh, I remember that!”

I’m sure there were stories I wrote in school, but my first memory of writing involves a short science fiction story called “Richerd and the Alien Prince” (Obviously the character’s name was ‘Richard’, but my typing or spelling, most likely both, left something to be desired). If my maths is correct, the year was probably 1985. I was about nine, my father was still alive, and we had been in the UK for perhaps less than a year since returning from the Bahamas (his job, not holiday). Being a Church of England Priest, my father had various tasks that required the use of a typewriter, one of which was the church magazine.

I have little doubt that his creation of these monthly releases was an influence on me. Most likely at its height when I published the ‘Rebel Review’, but I shall go into that on another occasion. At this point, however, what matters was my access to a typewriter, combined with my love of science fiction and adventure.

Dad (referring to him as ‘my father’ is far too formal) had been loaned an old, blue typewriter upon starting his new position (edit – I have it on good authority from my sister, that it was grey). He was ever the gadget fan, a habit and addiction which I have most certainly inherited (genetically or by influence), but in finding aforementioned typewriter functional at best, he soon purchased a wonderful new electric typewriter (this was just before the days of word-processing computers, which themselves will garner a few paragraphs in a later post). The new typewriter was quite the marvel of modern technology, with gleaming white plastic sides, at least one or two glowing LEDs, and magical buttons that seemingly required little-to-no pressure before a letter was suddenly printed on the page with all the speed and power of a nail-gun on full power. However, I digress. Apart from its untouchable wonder, this typewriter was important because it freed up its small blue relative, until such time as it was eventually returned to its original owner.

I metaphorically (perhaps even literally) rubbed my hands together in glee. Here was my chance! And so was spawned ‘Richerd and the Alien Prince’. My ability to think up original character names must have been somewhat lacking (And may still be, depending on the opinion of my readers), because Richard was the name of my best friend of the time.

Richard is a local guy living a quiet and seemingly solitary life, who then witnesses the crashing arrival of something in the local woods. Of course he investigates, only to discover it contains a refugee alien. Somewhat pathetically (considering the alien prince looks human), Richard faints from shock twice in a row. What can I say, I was convinced that meeting an alien for the first time was so shocking, that one’s brain ceases to function momentarily, even when they look no different than someone you would pass in the street (yes, this foolish story element embarrasses and bugs me even to this day). Anyway, despite having different languages, they make swift friends.

All is not well, however. The enemies of the alien prince are hunting him in order to stop his ascension to the throne and removal of their power. A car chase ensues and soon our heroes (rather easily) steal a jet from the local RAF base, and subsequently manage to shoot down the dastardly enemy spaceship, saving the day. That isn’t quite the end, though. In an edge-of-your-seat denouement, our heroes go back to Richard’s house to celebrate by having a meal of roast chicken and chips (probably with Worcester sauce). I’m not kidding. It was my favourite meal as a child, so that’s what my heroes ate to celebrate. If you don’t like it, tough.

I sat on the floor with the little typewriter, that in complete opposition to my Dad’s electric counterpart, required fingers to be used like mini-hammers to ensure the letters were typed on the page with legible pressure. No doubt many hours later, a two-page short story was completed with plenty of errors, lots of words stricken through, and unusual grammar that will probably puzzle alien scientists in a post-apocalyptic world, when it is the only surviving manuscript they discover.

The main point is that I started writing. Adventures, stories, ideas and characters have always been bubbling over in the back of my mind, whether I have taken the effort to write them down, or they occurred to action figures in numerous miniature adventures.

Of all the things that story achieved, one shall never be forgotten. The immortal words of an alien language that meant something along the lines of: “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re saying.” Words that shall long be remembered in my family…

“Baggy La Nifnook.”

The Origins of Christopher Tyson

The Christopher Tyson Adventures are a series of science fiction books for children (10-12 years+), based around the adventures of a young boy and his friends, as they discover a hidden underground base, a secret destiny, and fly to different worlds full of excitement and danger in order to save Earth and the galaxy.

header So how did it begin? A few years ago, I took the somewhat drastic decision to cease work on the novel I was writing. I had been been working on it for so many years, that I realised it had become a millstone. It was no longer my ‘big chance’ and had become an unwieldy barrier to progress. I felt like I was getting nowhere.

I do intend to come back to it one day. It’s over one hundred thousand words of thoughts, dreams and ideas that I have no intention of ditching. However, it needed to be put on indefinite hold. My greatest fear was that, having not completed that novel, I might do the same with the next.

It’s all too easy to start something fresh when you have a great idea, but it is often to the detriment of your half-finished work. ‘Should I do it?’ I asked myself. My lack of major progress in the past few years made the answer simple but no less daunting. How do you put away such a large amount of work to start on something else from scratch?

As some of you reading this will know, my mother passed away in 2011. At her funeral I reacquainted myself with an old friend. When I was about eleven or twelve my family moved to Scotland, but my friend and I maintained contact on the phone and through letters (No email back then!). In amongst those letters, we drew and wrote stories of our ‘alternate’ reality. We intermingled our real lives with a science fiction world of adventure in which we were the heroes.

Having been reminded of those stories, it all fell into place in my mind. My mother used to encourage me in the writing of those tales. Some became primitive comics, others I wrote by hand with occasional illustrations. It seemed fitting that my literary ‘fresh start’ should be a children’s adventure story using the core of those dreams and fantasies that she encouraged. My hope is that, since it clearly appealed to me at that age, it will appeal to modern children as well.

Once the decision was made, the rough structure flowed out into my notebook in a mass of scribbling over two days. A plan for six novels in a series, a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the first book, characters and creatures….

Since then, I have been writing (and painting) like mad. My characters have grown, taken on lives of their own and frequently dictate their own paths regardless of my opinion. The story is there, the first adventure is now complete and I am only the last chapter away from completing my final round of edits. I’m also working on concept art to go in an accompanying book, whilst book two is already into its fifth chapter.

What does the future hold for ‘Christopher Tyson’ and his companions? Well, of course I know what happens to them… The real question is will children enjoy reading the adventures as much as I enjoy writing them? Only time will tell…