Nice observations. I entirely agree with you, so that’s boring and as gentlemen we shall not speak of it again.

Have you read Stanislaw Lem? In particular I recommend Fiasco and His Master’s Voice on the general topic of bleak, realistic approaches to alien contact.

I gather he has a couple others (“Eden”, “The Invincible” and “Solaris”, of which I’ve only read “Solaris”) on this general topic.

best regards,

nzc
“High Epopt and Pontiff of the Topologically Disconnected
Commonweal of Arlington and Providence Plantations”

Curious to many, the Czar does not read fiction except in the most rare of situations. You can find some here, but you will also note the rarity of said situations.

However, the odds are great that Big G readers will have read some of these and are welcome to comment accordingly. That said, the Czar does recognize Lem’s name! That is progress, perhaps.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.