Blog Archives: January-June, 2005

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FORGE OF GOD FILM? Posted By: Simon Whitaker, Melbourne, Australia - 06/30/2005 12:53:23 AM I just started reading The Forge of God, and was thrilled to learn of a movie in the works. Is there any news on that front or has it stalled? Will Speilberg's War of the Worlds restore intrest in a Forge of God movie? I hope so! Simon www.sf-books.com

Response: Forge of God Film? Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/30/2005 11:26:09 AM Still under way. Spielberg's WAR OF THE WORLDS is getting great reviews and I'm looking forward to seeing it. Sounds like a brilliantly creepy modern version of the Wells novel--with an open-ended invasion from who knows where. And if that sounds a bit like FORGE OF GOD... What goes around, comes around! The screenplay for THE FORGE OF GOD currently incorporates ANVIL OF STARS, which makes our movie very different. So here's wishing Spielberg and Co. a huge box office take!

MORE FOUNDATION NOVELS? Posted By: Sean B, Madison Wisconsin - 06/27/2005 12:34:18 PM I just finished the second Foundation trilogy and wanted to congratulate you on, in my opinion, your novel in the series being the best out of the three....my question is this: Do you know if Asimov's estate plans to get any authors to write the next few books in the Foundation series? It always seemed to me that in his story, at the end, once the galaxy spanning human organism is complete, he seemed to imply that there was a threat from other galaxies near ours that would have to be dealt with....would you consider writing another novel in the foundation series if the opportunity presented itself?

	Response: More foundation novels? Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/27/2005 02:44:36 PM I'm not sure what the Asimov estate has in the works, but I'm too backed up writing my own novels to participate in a new series, unfortunately. It was a lot of fun and a privilege to do FOUNDATION AND CHAOS, and it wouldn't have happened without the other B's, of course.

Response: More foundation novels? Posted By: patrick - 06/28/2005 02:59:52 PM ....okay....i love greg, i do....but, it was benford's foundation's fear that laid the 'foundation' for the second trilogy. and, really, it was the only decent one. part of it was the repeated flash-backing or whatever on previous events, including those in FF, that really gummed things up. but brin aint the man he used to be, and i dont think this series, as set by benford, was really your gig, greg. sorry for the mud, but its honest mud.

	Response: More foundation novels? Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/28/2005 04:41:16 PM Reader's opinions are all over the map on this series! Makes me think all three books (each somebody's favorite) showed the authors at the tops of their form... and Isaac, as well, of course.

Response: More foundation novels? Posted By: Sean B, Madison Wisconsin - 06/28/2005 06:39:14 PM I think that one thing that puts off some readers about this second foundation series is the inclusion of elements of science fact/speculation that just didn't exist in the 50's when Asimov was writing the first three books. Personally, I've very much enjoyed reading all of the Foundation novels and watching our own current science and social evolution mirrored back. I always smile when I think about how it seemed in the first books "Atomics" were the apex of modern tech. We've made a frighteningly huge amount of progress - in so many ways - over the last 60 years that I think it's sometimes quite enlightening to go back and read that evolution in the fiction of the day.

Response: More foundation novels? Posted By: patrick - 06/29/2005 12:22:57 PM >I think that one thing that puts off some readers about this second foundation series is the inclusion of elements of science fact/speculation that just didn't exist in the 50's when Asimov was writing the first three books.< well, there does seem to be a certain fuddy-duddyness in circumstances like this. i'm always a little skeptical of such reconceptualisations, only because i'm wondering if theyll be able to make everything, including the small stuff, correlate. what i prefer is stories that are after the original - vs in-between, etc - an example, i forgot initally, being donald kingsbury's psychohistorical crisis (originally a novellete, then expanded into a novel), which takes place quite a bit after foundation and earth, with a twist.

I'VE NEVER WRITTEN TO AN AUTHOR Posted By: Mark Hermundson, Milwaukee, WIs - 06/27/2005 09:03:53 AM Mr. Bear, I am in complete awe. Stunned might serve, really. My sister turned me on to Darwins' Radio and Children and I was very impressed. Then I read EON and adored it! But now....I just finished Blood Music and feel, well....infected. Until today, I thought Gene Wolfe had no rival as master of thought provoking Sci Fi (that being far removed from "feel good entertainment"), but you have surpassed him and I don't think he'd begrudge my leap to your bandwagon. Thank you so much, sir!!!!!! I pray that God shares your optimism and faith in us as a species and I sincerely hope this finds you and yours prospering. BRAVO!!! Mark Hermundson Milwaukee, Wis 6-27-2005

	Response: I've never written to an author Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/27/2005 11:18:37 AM Many thanks, Mark! People aren't going to believe that I don't write these letters myself... But let me add that I'm in awe of Gene Wolfe. Not that we finger our six-guns as we stand in the same room together! Gene does some things well that I'll never be able to do, and that's as it should be.

OPINION SEEKING! Posted By: Steven Calvert, UK - 06/25/2005 05:37:43 PM Just trying to get some informed opinion on Mark McCutcheon's Final Theory - the expanding electron model of the universe. Loved the simplicity and boldness of the concept - surprised by the lack of any formal critiques online. Too many reputations at stake? Or a crank theory? Love your work - more of the same please!

	Response: Opinion seeking! Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/26/2005 01:58:04 PM I haven't had time to dig into this yet. Any reader opinions?

	Response: Opinion seeking! Posted By: patrick - 06/27/2005 02:12:46 PM i couldnt find a whole lot actually 'on' it. wikipedia has a page with something, but, interestingly, when i looked, it was down for software upgrade. you can check out this email discussion (http://homepage.mac.com/ruske/ruske/finaltheory.html)someone had with him....which, frankly, makes me wonder a bit about mccutcheon.

DEAD LINES Posted By: Brett Clifton, Canberra, Australia - 06/21/2005 09:37:31 PM Greg, Dead Lines was a great read and it will make a brilliant movie. I found it very easy to visualise the special effects you describe in the book. Add a spooky music score and you'll have the most talked-about horror story of the decade. Has anyone bought the rights yet? Thank you for being blessed with an imagination that can transcend genres (as well as dimensions) and never ever disappoints! Where will you take us next? In anticipation... ...Brett

	Response: Dead Lines Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/22/2005 10:13:26 AM Thanks, Brett. DEAD LINES is still available... Are there any more fabulous southern hemisphere film makers with a taste for horror?

Response: Dead Lines movie Posted By: Robbie, OlyWa - 06/23/2005 04:21:40 PM Why do books always have to become movies? Why can't they stand on their own as brilliant works of literature? A few of your novels, Mr. Bear, are among the most astonishing things I've ever read. Queen of Angels, Blood Music, Moving Mars, Hardfought...they're all amazing. But I never want to see them turned into movies. I wish there was some writer out there who could say no when producers want to adapt his work. What's the attraction, the thrill of seeing your characters on a screen speaking your dialogue, or the money you would get from it? I'm a young wannabe writer myself, and I don't want to see my chosen career defunct before I get published!

Response: Dead Lines Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/23/2005 10:40:18 PM Sentiments and concerns we all share, Robbie. But as Raymond Chandler said: the books remain. They aren't changed when a movie comes out, and a movie can attract ever so many more readers! Besides, I love films--they're a different critter from books. Adaptations aren't so much a necessary (or unnecessary evil) as a broader and briefer interpretation, painted in swift, bright colors for a huge audience. An art form in themselves--and of course, sometimes they fail!

DEAD LINES Posted By: H. Clayton Gaskins, NC - 06/21/2005 06:19:54 PM I've just finished your work entitled "Dead Lines." As usual, you've done an expert job. I didn't find it too scary, although it put me in a dark mood for a while. I was suspensful and ominous with a rangible realism that only comes from you. Kudos! Question; I've never seen any info on your educational background. I find that curious. What is it? or is it none of my business? I just want to know if a guy like me stands a chance in writing. May you continue to dazzle ua with your mental portraits of the fanciful.

	Response: Dead Lines Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/21/2005 06:57:32 PM Thanks! Not too scary, hm? You must have a solid titanium spook shield. My educational background is no secret--an AB degree in English with a science minor from San Diego State College. Anyone can write--just so long as you DO WRITE!

SCI-FI DISCUSSION ON PUBLIC RADIO Posted By: Laura Fenster, Chicago, IL - 06/20/2005 12:56:15 PM On June 3, Odyssey, a program on our local NPR station (WBEZ), had a discussion on Science Fiction and Literature (i.e. literature that's usually thought of as more respectable.) Your name (and your work - especially Darwin's Radio) figured prominently in the discussion, so both you and your fans might be interested in listening to it on the internet. The archived version is at http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/audio_library/od_rajun05.asp#03

	Response: sci-fi discussion on public radio Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/20/2005 01:07:55 PM Thanks, Laura! Readers please note: this file is only available in RealAudio .RAM format.

SO MUCH FOR A SUBGENRE Posted By: Mike Glosson, Sorrento (Enzyme) Valley, California - 06/20/2005 10:17:40 AM http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4097258.stm No going back and messing with the time line. Not allowed. Kinda the 12 monkeys version of time travel...

Response: So much for a subgenre Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/20/2005 11:32:31 AM I've skimmed the piece and find it a little iffy. Haven't read the actual paper quoted, however--which sounds like fun stuff for a science fiction story, but hardly definitive. We have so little info on what's really going on in space and time that a thousand years from now, our current efforts will seem brave and naive in the extreme! So keep those time machines humming...

Response: So much for a subgenre Posted By: patrick - 06/21/2005 12:58:33 PM given how things change, both in theory and experiment, in very short time, it seems quite likely there will be many new re-conceptualisations of time and such in the next few decades. i'm sure we'll all stay tuned as ever. and as the technological apparatus seems far away from a 'classical' demonstration, it would seem prudent to further keep one's hat on.

GUNSHOTS Posted By: Ron Nash - 06/18/2005 02:57:51 PM There I was, disbelief happily suspended reading VITALS: Ben Bridger gets home from a nasty stay in the local jail to discover his house ransacked. To his amazement, he finds a Smith&Wesson thirty ought six sitting atop a pile of his favorite books. I was amazed as well as there is no such critter. S&W makes handguns. The "thirty ought six" cartridge is for a rifle. Not a big thing, perhaps. But it jerked me out of a fun read and plopped me back into my recliner with a sci-fi book in my lap. The Devil is in the details.

Response: gunshots Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/20/2005 11:27:53 AM Hello, Ron! You're obviously reading the hardback edition of VITALS. So many letters came in regarding this (you're number 1015.2) that I corrected it in the paperback and decided hereafter that I would check everything regarding guns against the copious materials available on the Web. (I DO own a Smith and Wesson thirty ought six handgun--bought it on the Alternate Histories Website...) Now... did you catch the OTHER flubs?

PARASITIC HUNGER Posted By: Brad Barnett, Ottawa, Ontario - 06/17/2005 08:18:17 PM Dangerrrr: cats could alter your personality: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8122-826557_1,00.html It's old news, but along the same lines as some of your books. I'm just wondering if the recent upswing in obesity, could be as a result of a bacteria in our gut, that somehow triggers a hunger response. After all, the more food that passes through your gut on a daily basis, the more food that may be available for critters to enjoy. Therefore, a bacterium that stimulates a hunger response, may become more prolific, spread farther, etc. There may be more advantages as well, such as more frequent train rides exiting the body. ;) Now sure, people will claim that a more sedentary lifestyle, advertising, larger portions in restaurants are the reasons behind the growing waistband. What if these are the symptoms, and not the cause though? What if our will could actually be stronger, except that a constant hunger response was pounding away at it? Anyhow, "food" for thought. :D

	Response: parasitic hunger Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/18/2005 11:23:21 AM And well worth digesting at leisure! Thanks, Brad. I've heard from other sources that toxoplasmosis is more often transmitted from undercooked meat--say, pork--than cats. But this study seems intriguing!

SOMETHING I'VE BEEN MEANING TO ASK FOR ALMOST 2 DECADES Posted By: Mike Glosson, Sorrento (Enzyme) Valley - 06/15/2005 02:44:12 PM A copy of Brian Aldiss's GALAXIES LIKE GRAINS OF SAND recently surfaced in my Library, as part of a "review" of Stapledonian Mythos (Galactic Times scales of civilizations). Flipping thru this slim paper back I came to the story Gene-Hive, which I have not read since Carter was in the White House. It's deals with the accidental trigger of self-aware cells, but more thru "psychic" and linguistic methods (the common language of the galaxy at the time being a trigger for it). So I was wondering, have been wondering how much influence, inspiration this had on Blood Music? Aldiss also here did a very Stapledonian thing: Came up with a neat Idea, tossed it off in a couple of pages...pages that other writers would have expanded into full novels..

Response: Something I've been meaning to ask for almost 2 decades Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/15/2005 03:15:26 PM Haven't read this Aldiss collection in some time. I'll take a look and see if "Gene Hive" rings a bell. I'd be more prone to credit Taine's SEED OF LIFE, Sturgeon's "Macrocosmic God" and Blish's "Surface Tension," myself--and perhaps a wish to contradict a thesis promoted by Dr. Asimov in a TV GUIDE article, that an intelligent being could not be smaller than a mouse... Apropos of LAND OF THE GIANTS, as I recall.

DARWIN'S RADIO - CAT NAMES Posted By: Nissan Cohen - 06/09/2005 12:18:18 PM Greg, I was pleasantly suprised by the cat names in Darwin's Radio. "Crickson" is an obvious homage to Francis Crick and James Watson. But I was surprised and elated by the second cat's name of "Temin". I studies genetics and agriculture at the University of Wisconsin in the late 60s and early 70's. Howard Temin was one of my professors, before he received his Nobel Prize. I was intrigued by your choice of honoring Howard. I doubt there are many people outside of the genetics research community familiar with Howard Temin's name or his work. I applaud your homage.

	Response: Darwin's Radio - Cat Names Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/09/2005 12:34:40 PM Good to hear from you, Nissan! Howard Temin is one of the truly visionary pioneers in retrovirology, of course. I've had a problem locating some of his earlier papers--can you make any recommendations?

GROUP-SCALE MINDS/ DARWIN'S RADIO Posted By: Mark Earls, Milton Keynes, UK - 06/08/2005 05:41:30 AM Greg, First, the obligatory praise: I've been a fan for decades, and just started re-reading with the "Darwin's Radio" sequence. Amazing, simply amazing that the characterization is still the best thing in so high-concept a piece of science fiction. Thank you. Now, the meat: I am currently awaiting the go ahead on my PhD proposal in the philosophy of mind. To my sheer joy, I find that the "Darwin's Radio" novels involve a good deal of the subject matter I have proposed writing on, namely consciousness as the interface between physical reality and social reality. The surprise, for me at least, is that the more I research the more I come to realise that consciousness is not necessarily instantiated solely within the brains of individual living creatures. Nor are our minds necessarily just supporting a single consciousness at any given time. Imagine how it feels to read a novel which uses the group mind element of my own emerging concept- and improves on it! As ever, science fiction is the fiction best suited to the philosopher. Frankly, I cannot thank you enough. -Mark E.

Response: Group-scale minds/ Darwin's Radio Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/08/2005 11:33:46 AM My consciousness is expanded just hearing about your proposal! Thanks, Mark. A number of us SF writers have been very impressed over the years by Julian Jaynes' ORIGIN OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE BREAKDOWN OF THE BICAMERAL MIND, which I'm sure you're familiar with. Even before reading this fine work, however, I was youthfully exploring similar ideas in writings that eventually coalesced to become QUEEN OF ANGELS and SLANT. I look forward to learning more about your research!

WHAT'S NEXT? Posted By: Richard, Glendale, CA - 06/05/2005 04:47:11 PM Hey Greg, any works in progress that we can look forward to? I remember a while back you mentioned a far-future novel? I really enjoyed "Judgment Engine", (and of course "Hard Fought"). "Deadlines" was great fun,living in Cal. and being able to appreciate all the local references does add something. By the way, I have spent some time in Thailand, and a significant portion of the population there firmly believes in the existence of ghosts. (I could tell you a few interesting anecdotes about that, not that I actually ever saw any, myself!) While we're waiting for your next, any recommendations? The last time I asked, you mentioned "Speed of Dark". What a treasure! Would be a great book for high school English classes to study, don't you think?

Response: What's next? Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/05/2005 08:26:58 PM Thanks, Richard! Glendale is a thoroughly haunted place too, no? I'm re-reading A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ now--a terrific book. If I were to start listing new books this season, I'd fill the pages here and take all evening! QUANTICO is undergoing revisions now and should be out early next year. The far-future novel is still in planning stages. It's great fun to think about.

Response: What's next? Posted By: Jimmy Kinchloe, Houston - 09/30/2005 01:30:07 PM Once more Greg, Your response to this thread is where I mistakenly assumed that QUANTICO was the far-future novel. I knew that I had read it somewhere but, alas, my error was in not realizing that you are referring to two different projects. Now I have another wait to look forward to. (Not to put down QUANTICO in any way - it's just that anticipating a far-future work from you has me quite excited.) "...ridiculously far future." Hmmm. Now that REALLY has me speculating... Jimmy

	Response: What's next? Posted By: Greg Bear - 09/30/2005 02:26:43 PM How does a hundred trillion years sound...?

	Response: What's next? Posted By: Jimmy Kinchloe, Houston - 09/30/2005 02:51:17 PM :-0 J

I'M STILL NOT KISSING ANYONE WITH A COLD SORE Posted By: Mike Glosson, Sorrento (Enzyme) Valley, California - 06/03/2005 11:54:54 AM Interesting use of Herpes Virus in Pain Relief: http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050531/full/050531-11.html Deactived Virus though...?!??!

BELL'S INEQUALITY AND THE BELL CONTINUUM IN "MOVING MARS" Posted By: Chris Engel, Toronto - 06/01/2005 05:36:43 PM Hello Greg - I was re-reading one of your books, "Moving Mars". I was (still am) intrigued by the concept of the Bell continium and looked up some info on the Internet. There was an article that I ran across on wikipedia, with this URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_inequality Would this article be getting to the basics of the idea here with the use of the Bell continuum in Moving Mars?

	Response: Bell's Inequality and the Bell continuum in "Moving Mars" Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/01/2005 05:49:12 PM Thanks, Chris. There's still a small group exploring these possibilities--but until we get over this string theory and dark matter confusion, I doubt we'll see much progress! (I'm joking... I think.)

DEAD LINES Posted By: MIke Rampling, Málaga, Spain - 06/01/2005 05:11:05 PM Hi Greg, I have been a fan of yours for some years, since I first read Blood Music and then Eon - both quite stupendous reads that I have revisited more than once. I was a huge SF fan in my youth - I once bunked off school to see "2001 - A Space Odyssey" when it was first released - and I grew up with the greats of the past - Heinlein, Clarke, Simak, Niven et al. Until Eon my favourite was Tiger, Tiger by Alfred Bester. I have read Poul Andersen and am delighted to see the family relationship - he must have inspired you, no? I had many years when I didn't read too much - in the 70s it seemed suddenly to all be about dragons, which left me a bit cold - and then family and work got in the way. But since Eon I have read 8 or 10 of your books, and today read Dead Lines in one sitting. Quite a change from before! A great ghost story from a great SF writer is something else!! I read The Forge Of God a couple of months ago, and thought at first it was a bit like a few of the standard SF novels I'd read decades ago (aliens visit Earth with predictions of doom, etc etc), but I should have known better! What an ending! I don't think I've ever read a better "end of the world" story. I hugely enjoyed the Darwin's books, not least because until then I'd not been too interested in biology or genetics, but something in Mitch connected, and the science is (to this uneducated mind) quite convincing - evolution has to work something like this, doesn't it? Blind biological "leaps in the dark" are all very well, but what prompts them? And what mechanism forces them to happen? It seems to me that you (and others, admittedly..) may be on the right lines to solving the riddle. I've always been interested in science, and I used to follow SF avidly (but not the pulp fiction..). Thanks for re-awakening an interest in "speculative" fiction. I'm really looking forward to the next book, and to the upcoming movies. Best regards - keep it up!!

Response: Dead Lines Posted By: Greg Bear - 06/01/2005 05:46:47 PM Thanks, Mike! I was indeed inspired by Poul--both before and after becoming his son-in-law. Sounds to me like you should book a flight from Malaga to Seattle soon and come visit the Science Fiction Museum, www.sfhomeworld.org It's been thirty years or so since I visited Malaga--lovely old city! How's the Semana Santa parade nowadays?

LONG TIME FAN Posted By: Alnitak, FL, USA - 05/28/2005 09:10:07 PM Dear Greg: I have been a long time fan of yours and read several of your novels: "Eon, Forge of God, Eternity, Anvil of Stars, Legacy, Darwin's Radio, Darwin's Children, Vitals and Strength of Stones". Looks like I had missed a few. You are one of my favorite autors, and I want to thank you for the hours of entertainment, as well as the speculations that your awesome novels provided. The Darwin series is especially thought provoking because we're living in an age where anything could happen with all the pollution, population explosion and rapidly advancing bio technology. Will there be another book? I am also an aspiring writer with two finished novels, science fiction, of course. One of them was accepted by a publisher this month. Not one of the big ones. I am currently working on the second book in that series. Also on one other, which is unrelated. That one is a conspiracy theme and viruses are used as weapons. I have a website now with links to my writings. www.alnitak-z-orionis.com I will seach out your other novels and read them. Thanks again for all the wonderful stories. Alnitak

	Response: Long time fan Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/30/2005 11:55:35 AM Congratulations on getting your first novel in print! And thanks for following me through all these peregrinations. At the moment, I don't have a third DARWIN novel under contract--but there is definitely one waiting to be written, at some point, after a few more ideas gel.

COVER ART WORK Posted By: patrick, saint john , new brunswick ,, canada - 05/26/2005 08:43:21 PM hello, iam Patrick Byers , a freelance artist.., please could you look at my work here and consider me for a future project .. http://www.101industries.ca please let me know what you think thank you for your time.. Patrick Byers

	Response: cover art work Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/27/2005 10:18:48 AM Fascinating portfolio, Patrick! Looking forward to seeing more, and the books as well.

THE Y CHROMOSOME ISSUE Posted By: E. Walter, Pennsylvania - 05/25/2005 10:36:47 PM Hi Greg, Our high-shcool groups just read Darwin's Radio. We have a question that you may have answered a million times already, so sorry if you did. The SHEVA virus causes a first pregnancy that is female. One of this female's eggs are taken to create the new, evolved species without a new sperm. So the question is, how are any new males produced as indicated in the end of the book? We had a grand time trying to think up plasible ways for the two-X egg to get turned into an XY. Some of the kids had the virus storing the male Y chromosome from the onset, but we think there must be a better explanation . Thanks. E. Walter

Response: the Y chromosome issue Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/26/2005 10:18:49 AM Excellent question! Best theory I can come up with, the interim daughter is not truly female. It is best thought of as a specialized organ that allows and encourages the genetic reshuffling caused by the SHEVA virus. Thus the virus does not affect all the mother's eggs. The Y chromosome would be passed along if the original sex was male. The virus itself would be much too small to carry a Y chromosome. Sounds like a great class! Now--set them the task of proving this theory wrong!

THE BIOLOGY OF VAMPIRES Posted By: Patrick Hall, Maryland, USA - 05/24/2005 06:17:07 AM Hi Greg, I'm a big fan. I don't know if you happen to be a reader of boingboing.com, but there was a recent link there to something I think you might get a kick out of: http://www.rifters.com/real/progress.htm It's a satire of a big pharma Powerpoint-style presentation on the biology of vampires. Clearly a lot of work went into it, right down to some biology that seems straight out of Darwin's Radio. (Which happens to be my favorite book of yours!) Thought I'd send the link your way. Cheers, Patrick Hall

	Response: The Biology of Vampires Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/24/2005 10:42:35 AM Thanks, Patrick. This is a brilliant and painfully funny piece--emphasis on painful! Highly recommended.

ANOTHER JART QUERY Posted By: John Holtom, Luton, UK - 05/23/2005 06:34:28 AM Dear Greg I have just started Legacy. Olmy has arrived in Lamarckia through the gate created by the bad tempered babbling gate opener (whose name I can't remember at this moment - sorry the book is not with me at work!)which is within 30 minutes of Jart territory within the Way. I remember from Eternity that the Jarts found a way into the Earth (the alternate Earth) that Patricia Vasquez had fallen into through a geometry stack. If I remember rightly they found the gate because it was opened from the earth side. Or was it? As the Jarts have gate opening capability, could and would they not follow Olmy into Larmarckia through the accesses left by the gate opener? Thank you for your tremendous inventiveness, as ever!! Regards John Holtom

	Response: Another Jart query Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/23/2005 08:23:04 PM Interesting thought! Since their gate openers may not be as precise as ours, however, it's possible they'd miss their mark by a million kilometers... or years. Or universes! As you say, gate openers have to have a touch of madness about them.

TRANSLATION Posted By: Eleonora, Italy - 05/23/2005 04:20:02 AM Hi, I work for an Italian publisher (Fanucci editore) and I had the honour of translating your "Darwin's Children". I loved it! Really! Just wanted to let you know that last May it has been published in Italy. Best Eleonora Lacorte

	Response: translation Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/23/2005 08:21:14 PM Thank you, Eleanora! It's a pleasure to hear from you. The Italian editions have been quite lovely. I hope it's doing well!

LITVIDS/EXISTENZ Posted By: chris Danvers, Australia - 05/22/2005 11:35:06 PM Just wondering if your've seen the movie "ExisTenZ" by David Cronenburg? ... its about a futristic game where people port into it, then exist matrix style inside the game but they move through a storyline, with the human characters playing roles... it reminded me of the litvid games from your future earth series in particular the litvids in moving mars... do you know whether you were an influence for this movie or had you seen these ideas before?... Thanks for you time, read you soon.. chris

Response: Litvids/ExisTenZ Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/23/2005 08:20:09 PM I liked ExisTenZ, along with The Matrix and Thirteenth level--three films that came out very close together and pretty much ruled the VR (virtual reality) spectrum. I suspect William Gibson was more of an influence in all these films than I was, but I've greatly enjoyed Cronenberg's work. If he ever wants to take a crack at Blood Music, well...

STRENGTH OF STONES Posted By: Collin Thompson, Florida - 05/22/2005 03:21:51 PM Any possible sequels or spinoffs from SoS? I very much enjoyed the entire concept behind this book and the writing was of course masterful

	Response: Strength of Stones Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/23/2005 08:16:06 PM Thanks, Collin! SoS stand alone, I'm afraid--but still seems rather timely, all things considered.

NEW BOARD GAME FOR DNA Posted By: Mike Glosson, Sorrento (Enzyme) Valley - 05/17/2005 02:58:46 PM Just posted to news@nature.com: http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050516/full/050516-3.html If you ever do a second edition of BLOOD MUSIC Virgil should one of these in his La Jolla Apartment...while that was written in the '80s isn't it set in the mid '90s or mid 00s? MG ps: currenting doing a network gig at a firm that does medical robotics

	Response: New Board Game for DNA Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/17/2005 04:39:39 PM Do not pass initiation site, do not collect two hundred transcription factors... Go straight to heterochromatin!

	Response: New Board Game for DNA Posted By: patrick - 05/18/2005 11:21:42 AM na. blood music seemed to me to be written current period, with respect to publication.

	Response: New Board Game for DNA Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/18/2005 11:31:01 AM Maybe ten years down the road, from the 1984-85 perspective. Almost current!

EON SERIES Posted By: Halkat44, Vancouver BC Canada - 05/16/2005 01:55:20 PM Hi Greg Just wondering if Eon and Eternity are the only two books in this series?Someone told me there was a prequel written but she thought it was ashort story.....Thanks

	Response: EON Series Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/16/2005 06:45:52 PM Hello, Halkat44! Or may I call you 44? LEGACY is a prequel to EON, and there's a short novel called "The Way of All Ghosts" that follows on from LEGACY. These both follow the earlier adventures of Olmy, before EON.

	Response: EON Series Posted By: patrick - 05/18/2005 11:06:29 AM yes, check out the Way Of All Ghosts....fabulously trippy.

TWEAKS MAY EXIST ALREADY Posted By: Lewis Bannon, Western Australia - 05/04/2005 08:26:35 PM [quote]Response: bad medicine Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/30/2005 01:25:19 PM Agreed, for the most part--but being human, the New Kids are definitely going to discover new ways to screw up! [/quote] Hmm I smell a sequel in the works. Believe me I'm waiting with avid breath. More to the point a friend emailed me a link to a very interesting little article: http://educate-yourself.org/dc/gwentowersbybyronweeks.shtml . If you dig your way through the conspiracy theory stuff (pretty dull in my opinion) the final little article on James Maxwell proved most interesting. It sounds rather amusingly familiar to the tweak theory that was explored most notably (at least in my opinion) in Moving Mars. It looks like someone may very well have found the quantumn manipulation theory already. Now all we need to do cool some matter to 0 degrees Kelvin and start having some fun.Unfortunately it also seems that Hertz, Gibbs and Heaviside ruined the equations for us, so it may very well take us another two hundred years to produce another mathematical genius that "rediscovers" what we've lost. I'm not sure about the reliability of the site, but still an amusing read that I thought you might like. Lewis Bannon

	Response: Tweaks may exist already Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/05/2005 10:48:31 AM Thanks, Lewis! I haven't looked at this site yet, but will let the readers decide... Conspiracies aside, of course.

Response: Tweaks may exist already Posted By: patrick, tucson - 05/05/2005 02:27:56 PM there is a curious multi-vectoral juxtaposition between power accumulation/regulation in human nature and history (from whichever source), scientific inquiry, the not-quite-substantiated claims of various conspiracy-ists and the claims of devices built, demonstrating the function of said claims*, and one's inherent intuition that things are not exactly as they seem. basically, yeah, things seem kinda fishy - but how big is the catch? *tesla is another example of this phenomenon, of which various literature claims he built his own devices, which supposedly functioned.

	Response: Tweaks may exist already Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/05/2005 02:57:56 PM Cold fusion and the Dean Drive also populate this list--along with an incredible number of perpetual motion machines. Even engineers can deceive themselves--or get caught up in statistics that are really little more than bumps in the noise level.

SONGS OF EARTH AND POWER IS THE EDITOR'S PICK FOR MAY @ WWW.SFF.TIGERHERON.COM Posted By: Tony Freixas, Portland, OR, USA - 04/30/2005 10:59:15 PM Greg, I run a web site at www.sff.tigerheron.com which provides reading recommendations each month to science fiction and fantasy readers. I wanted to let you know that your book, Songs of Earth and Power (remember that one?) is one of the May Editor?s Picks for science fiction. You can view my mini-review at http://www.sff.tigerheron.com/editors-fantasy-picks.php. Thanks for providing us with this wonderful book.

	Response: Songs of Earth and Power is the Editor's Pick for May @ www.sff.tigerheron.com Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/01/2005 01:32:19 PM Thanks for your review, Tony!

FROM VIROLOGIST TO A BIG WRITTER Posted By: Juan Carlos Gallego-Gómez, Universitary Research Center, Medellín - Colombia - 04/30/2005 09:03:51 PM Dear Greg I´ve got a undergraduated in genetics and I´ve recently a PhD involving cell and molecular biology using viruses as a model for studying the intimate relationship between virus and host cells. When I was starting my research career I have read your book Blood music... it was a great experience. I only writte you for give you the thanks for your excellent narrative. Actually, I haven't opportunity to read your books, but you can sure, in next years I will read all of your wonderful stories! Now in my research (I am an almost prestigious scientist in my country), I am interested about the use of viral vectors for use in gene therapy. Really, I love genetic engeneering, but I know the existence of a lot of concerns about bioethic and social consequences of this works. Therefore your literature will be very important in this issue, because the normal people can understand better a good storie (like a Darwin's Childrens!) than a boring scientific report from scientist... Bye, bye and I am wainting news of you Juan Carlos Gallego-Gómez. B.Sc., Ph.D. jgallego@virologia.udea.edu.co Laboratory of Immunovirology. Universitary Research Center Calle 62 # 52-59, torre 2, Piso 5°, Laboratorio 532. Tel: 57 4 + 210 64 85/80. Fax: 57 4 + 210 64 81/ 510 60 47 SIU

Response: From virologist to a big writter Posted By: Greg Bear - 05/01/2005 01:37:14 PM Thanks for your kind words, Juan! I've long suspected that viruses play a role in much more than just disease, and that's being demonstrated now in hundreds of papers. A recent visit to NCI/SAIC in Frederick, MD. (http://web.ncifcrf.gov/ThePoster/Mar05_POSTER.pdf, page 25) confirmed my suspicions of a decade or so ago that we would find many, many "silent" viruses and retroviruses in our environment and in our bodies. Now to discover what impact they have, and what roles they play... So please keep me informed of your own discoveries!

RE: DINOSAUR SUMMER RESPONSE Posted By: Tony Ford, Phoenix, AZ, USA - 04/30/2005 02:33:12 PM Hello again: Thanks very much for your fast response to my note on your book. I will say that I'm going to re-read The Lost World after many years as a result! And I do appreciate the note on the upcoming biography of Merian Cooper. We are about the same era (I was born in 1953) and it sounds as though we had a lot of the same interests. I'm very glad I stumbled upon your work, and will definitely investigate more of your writing. I do miss seeing any mention of Doyle's narrator, Ned Malone, in your story (he was the one I identified with as a boy), but, again, a fascinating "followup" to Challenger's exploits on the plateau! Thanks again... Tony

DINOSAUR SUMMER Posted By: Tony Ford, Phoenix, AZ, USA - 04/30/2005 12:58:58 PM I picked up your book out of interest as a teacher, and was intrigued at the premise of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story, The Lost World, being given non-fictional status in the story. I'm not done yet, but this is a pretty unique approach, and one that particularly was interesting to me, as I grew up with Doyle's work. In fact, my grandfather passed on copies of both The Lost World and the subsequent volume dealing with George Edward Challenger, The Poison Belt, and I was fascinated with these books as a boy. Remarkable idea for a story; thanks! What made you come up with this approach? Tony

Response: Dinosaur Summer Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/30/2005 01:24:05 PM Thanks, Tony! I've been a fan of stop-motion animation and dinosaurs since I was a wee tad, and since Willis O'Brien animated both the dinosaurs in The Lost World in 1925 and King Kong in 1933--and since Ray Harryhausen scared the bejesus out of me when I was seven years old with the Ymir in 20,000,000 Miles to Earth--I just had to return the favor. And to subject them to real dinosaurs, Sir Arthur's world just had to be real. Plus, I greatly enjoy the Challenger novels. I've just finished writing an introduction to the Modern Library edition of King Kong, due in October from Random House. And there's a fine new biography coming out soon by Mark Cotta Vaz, Living Dangerously: The Adventures of Merian C. Cooper, Creator of King Kong, from Villard Books at Random House.

THANKS FOR CURING BOREDOM Posted By: Doug Morgan, Camp Casey, South Korea - 04/30/2005 04:46:11 AM Hi Greg. I am in the Army and was just recently out on a field exercise. I had a few days of doing nothing so I stopped at the bookmobile and picked up "Songs of Earth and Power" and I just have to say it was amazing. It cured my boredom for about three days. Just one question though. Is there a sequel? Thanks, Spc. Morgan, Douglas A.

	Response: Thanks for curing boredom Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/30/2005 01:18:14 PM You've made my day, Doug! Good news indeed that I was able to entertain you at Camp Casey. No sequel has yet been written--not sure where I would go, considering the conclusion... Look how tough it was to add something to THE MATRIX! But I never say never.

BAD MEDICINE Posted By: john ellis hartford, bradford NH - 04/25/2005 11:35:51 AM Dear Greg, found and read Darwin's Radio. A fun read .. but not a keeper. I'm afraid that if I had been your instructor in embryology 101 I would have flunked you; not because of any lack of facts, but because you seem to have missed one the key facts of embriology itself: it's pathetic conservatism. It's hard to get a feel for this in the research lab literachure, but you might want to catch Homer Smith (try From Fish to Phylosopher) to get the drift. But it's just fantasy. Except that Stella is not Homo sapies novus ! At best she is homo novis bearus ... and at worst not homo at all. For when you decided to change her chromosome count (a number which has little to do with total genetic information) you locked in who she could cross breed with. Not us! And while I can forgive you the "cry" of 'no anesthetic' (even if it sounds pre-victorian to me) ... I must remind you that ethanol is a potent (and dangerous) general anesthetic. To allow mama to drink booze is to kill your overly delicate children. While I'm on this kick ... you seem to have been searching for reason to have darwins radio (or, better yet, alarm clock) go off and you circled around "stress". Maybe of over-population. Try the massive increase in toxins within our bodies: the ones that are causing respiratory failure in children, misscarages in women, and sterility in men. Rather than going for "better" comunication in your imaginary proginy you should have gone for better immunity in some way. After all, that's what will select for our actual decendents. Unless something magic happens. Forgive me, John (BEE, MD, FACA, DABA)

Response: bad medicine Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/25/2005 01:10:36 PM Thanks, John! These books were meant to provoke. The new chromosome count--and interfertility of the new children with homo sapiens sapiens--were meant to challenge and be provocative--and in fact one of my characters comments ruefully on this "impossibility." One of the major points in DARWIN'S RADIO was that we've never seen a major speciation event. My supposition was that the karyotypes in these interim subspecies--and there are several varieties of new children--might contain chromosomes of a transient nature, used for "record keeping" or some other regulatory function, and possibly vanishing after a certain number of generations. (In early editions of DARWIN'S CHILDREN, I misused the term "polyploidy"--should be aneuploidy.) Kaye Lang shuns wine during her pregnancy. She drinks wine after Stella is born. And in the bulletins on new children pediatrics, anesthetics during labor are not recommended. These kids can't even tolerate aspirin.

Response: bad medicine Posted By: Ryan, ohio - 04/30/2005 01:39:48 AM Asthma, miscarriages, and low-fertility rates are not population stressors per-say in that they have obviously not impeded the explosion of the human population and are all rather recent developments. but..for thousands of years of humanity's existence as very social, communicative, and reasoning organisms, the greatest threat to our continued existence and general well-being has been ourselves. Verbal and non-verbal communication is used by some individuals to exploit other individuals. Witness the rise of lawyers, the state of politicians, advertisers, bullies, cult leaders, pimps, etc. Darwin's Children's Children seem cognitively and psychologically immune to doing that kind of stuff to each other.

	Response: bad medicine Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/30/2005 01:25:19 PM Agreed, for the most part--but being human, the New Kids are definitely going to discover new ways to screw up!

SCIENCE BLOGS Posted By: Bora Zivkovic, Chapel Hill, NC - 04/21/2005 10:10:31 AM Hi, I believe that the readers of the Greg Bear blog would be interested in learning about various blogs that more or less regularly write about science. The Tangled Bank is a blog carnival (a bi-weekly link round-up) dedicated to the best blog writing about science, nature, medicine, environment and the interface between science and society. I wrote about the importance of Blog Carnivals in getting to know like-minded bloggers, about the way blogging (and particularly carnivals) may alter the future of science and politics, and I try to, about once a month, collect all the existing carnivals in one place. In short - I am a real Carnie! The Tangled Bank was first announced on April 13th 2004 and the first issue was posted on April 21st 2004. If you check the archives of the Tangled Bank (and newbies should read the year-worth of posts - it's that much fun!) you'll see that the quality of individual posts was always very high, but that the carnival as a whole has grown in size, quality and scope. The Tangled Bank First Anniversary Edition is now online and it is brimming with great science blogging. I believe that many of your blog readers would enjoy this, particularly as one of the posts (mine) discusses the science of "Darwin's Radio/Children". Thanks, Bora Zivkovic

	Response: Science blogs Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/21/2005 10:44:08 AM Looks very interesting, Bora! Thanks.

FACTORS OF DENSITY: I WASNT THINKING CLEARLY. Posted By: patrick, tucson - 04/20/2005 02:34:57 PM actually, blood music is just such an example, yes?

	Response: factors of density: i wasnt thinking clearly. Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/20/2005 02:54:21 PM OF course! So, disregarding BLOOD MUSIC...

FACTORS OF DENSITY Posted By: patrick, tucson - 04/20/2005 02:28:43 PM (excerpt from interview with john smart - accerleration watch, the tech singularity.) >I call this the developmental singularity hypothesis, and it is admittedly quite speculative. It is also known as the transcension scenario, as opposed to the expansion scenario, for the future of local intelligence. The expansion scenario, the expectation that our human descendants will one day colonize the stars is, today, an almost universal de facto assumption of the typical futurist. I consider that model to be 180 degrees incorrect.< to me, this makes a certain sense; its been at least somewhat explored in fiction. what is your take, on this and personally in general?

	Response: factors of density Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/20/2005 02:53:49 PM I think we'll get there, but we may not look the way we do now--and we almost certainly won't think the way we do now.

PARDON THE OBSESSION... Posted By: vinnie, Earth - 04/18/2005 11:09:37 AM you skirted Sean's (from Madison, Wi) question a bit, so I'll give it an oblique try: ;-) WB green-lighted the Forge of God trilogy this very moment. But they'd like to know how the third installment is going to tie-up things...How soon can you have it ready? can you find your drafts in that dusty desk drawer?

	Response: Pardon the obsession... Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/18/2005 11:46:06 AM No drafts yet, and no dreaming at this point!

ARKADI AND BORIS STRUGATZKI Posted By: Erik Maronde, Hannover, Germany - 04/18/2005 08:59:11 AM Hi Greg, I just finished your fatastic novel "Darwin`s Radio" (I have to confess that I read in German) and I think it bases on a fascinating and very reasonable idea (I am a biochemist), provides a wonderful story and greatly written. Congratulations ! Twenty years ago I was a big fan of the polish writer and philosopher Stanislav Lem and an interview with him drew my attention to a russian author duo (brothers and both astronomists), Arkadi and Boris Strugatzki. They wrote a novel in 1972 called "gadkie lebedi" with in English would read something like "The ugly swans" which is featuring a similar story to Darwin`s Radio (of cause without the HERV-story and all the wonderful genetic details). Strange kids with "bad" skin, extremely high intelligence and new communications skills are born and beside their loving parents everyone wants to get rid of them whereas they get together and start living in their own sphere leaving Homo sapiens sapiens on top of the row to extinction. It`s a pity that both Lem and the Strugatzkis are more or less unknown to the english reading audience. They are among the forgotten victims of the cold war. Anyway, I am looking forward now to read Darwin`s children, all the best for you, Erik

Response: Arkadi and Boris Strugatzki Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/18/2005 10:20:04 AM Hello, Erik! I once dined with the Strugatskis and Doris and Peter Lessing in Brighton, England, at the invitation of publisher Anthony Cheatham... a major highlight of our visit to England. The Strugatskis are major talents, hardly forgotten here--though perhaps their books need to be reprinted more often. Stanislaw Lem is quite popular in the U.S., and recently an American remake of the Russian film of his novel SOLARIS was released, a somber, respectful treatment which still managed to avoid some of his more spectacular visual elements.

SONGS OF EARTH AND POWER Posted By: Daniel Palmer, bournemouth, England - 04/14/2005 06:39:09 PM Hi Greg, I have just read a book that has completely blown my mind. Found in the mind, body, and spirit section of the bookstore it is part physics, part psychology, occultism and personal experience. Whether it could be described as factual is open to some debate. Prepare for some matrix flashbacks. Basicaly it stated that reality is subjective rather than objective. That what we percieve to be the real world is simply a projected hologram created by the combined signals recieved by each of our five sensory receptors and interpreted by our central nervous system. In short that nothing is real. I believe that part. Atoms being (around) 70 percent empty space, einsteins universal field theory, string theory. The book further stated that reality was actualy made up of vibrational energy. This is turning into a very weird week. The things the book talked about tied into a number of other books as well as answering some question that have been messing with my head for a while. (point to note; i never even intended to order the book in the first place. Coincidence?) One of those books was Songs of Earth and power. Both Eleuth and Tonn said 'all is waves with nothing waving across no distance all'. What i am wondering is whether or not you knew of the above when you wrote this book. If so do you believe it? If not have often thought that creative people might be more intuitively in touch with the true nature of reality than some of the professionals out there. Apparently the above has been known for thousands of years in the east.

	Response: Songs of Earth and Power Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/15/2005 06:44:51 PM SONGS contained an early take on my crackpot theory of information-based physics, later expanded upon in ANVIL OF STARS, MOVING MARS, and HEADS. Still perks up some interest now and then. String theory is a tad too complicated for my poor brain!

RE: [GREGBEAR.COM] SAYING HI Posted By: David Williamson, Rochester, New York - 04/10/2005 05:05:04 PM Thanks. I really enjoyed Stapledon's vision too. The Starmaker took much less time than The Last And First Men because of its spectacular vistas. I'm hoping to get around to Sirius, Odd John, and The Light And The Darkness but I'm hesitant since the previous were so difficult. I really wish I could read faster, I've only ever read 3 books in one day, and two of those were Star Trek. My mom can breeze through a book and I can get discouraged sometimes when I get bogged down and I'll put it aside to try another. About two years ago, I bought my mom a bunch of Star Trek novels, she likes them too, for Christmas, and I ended up reading 20 of them from then till june. Afterward I couldn't seem to finish a book, which quickly grew very annoying. I actually have almost all of Poul Anderson's books, I even stumbled on a old Ace double with, I think the title was something about Ganymede, but it's almost falling apart. I feel a little sad that I never got to thank him for all the enjoyment I got from reading his works. I hope some agreement can be reached since his writing was so great and it should be seen by all the reading community. Oh, I think I saw someone mention this but I also think Astrid is a beautiful name. It makes me think of stars. I'm right now trying to practice writing, myself, and I've written 2 fanfics about comic book characters, with a third almost done. I used to not like typing because I would think so fast, I'd have to backtrack, but I'm beginning to enjoy it. Can't see myself writing a full length novel yet, but I did have a idea for a Star Trek story which could be that long. Have to wait and see. Best of luck to you and your family.

	Response: Re: [GREGBEAR.COM] Saying Hi Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/11/2005 12:38:55 PM Slow reader, huh! I somehow don't think so--anyone who can get through three books in one day is way beyond me! Keep up the writing--fanfic is a terrific start.

DARWIN'S CHILDREN-A QUESTION ABOUT THE READING LIST Posted By: Graham Stokes, Lisbon, Portugal - 04/10/2005 12:47:11 PM Dear Greg, Of all of your books to date, I have found Darwin's Children the most deeply rewarding (sorry, Legacy withstanding), not just because it was a splendid read and made me very uneasy (much the same experience I felt when I read "The Midwich Cuckoos" as a schoolboy some 30 years ago, although for different reasons), but also because of the excellent reading list that you thoughtfully included. Biology is not a subject that I instinctively warm to, and my knowledge of the subject - at least in a strict academic sense - finished at the time I left secondary school. My tutors would probably suggest that it was rather earlier than that, but I can readily understand with hindsight the difficulty of conveying the wonder of genetics and evolution to a 14-year old, especially within a very conservative institution. In short, it never even began to get interesting. So here I am, working through the list of books you suggested (books moreover that I would almost certainly never have stumbled upon without a guiding hand), and whilst reading Steven Jay Gould's "Wonderful Life", I find I have a question for you. It relates to the way you introduce it in your own book; specifically you describe it as "flawed". If it's not too much trouble, could you please elaborate a bit on that ? Gould's book dwells extensively, though with great kindness and understanding, on the flaws of others. As an armchair scientist I have to try to do my own "winnowing" and I would be delighted if you could help by telling me why you regard the book in that light. Has some further understanding come into play of which he was not aware ? Or was he just, so to speak, barking up the wrong tree ? Or alternatively, have I simply not read enough of the books on your list to have turned up the answer myself ? Best Regards, Graham Stokes

Response: Darwin's Children-a question about the reading list Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/10/2005 01:14:21 PM Gould's provocative thesis was that each eco-system evolves through a kind of throw of the dice--and that no two eco-systems, evolving over hundreds of millions of years, would, even in large details, duplicate the species and designs produced in another separate but similar system. I think this disregards the factors in the "equation" that lead organisms to find the most efficient forms to access the greatest quantity of resources. So-called "parallel evolution" provides many examples of different organisms of very different lineages evolving similar forms under similar pressures. Other than that large quibble, "Wonderful Life" is indeed a wonderful volume! Though superseded now in its discussion of aspects of the Cambrian explosion by new discoveries in China, and new thinking about relationships and lineages of the Cambrian fossils. (I'm going to have to turn the Jarts back into worms, I'm afraid--worms with spiky backs!)

Response: Darwin's Children-a question about the reading list Posted By: Graham Stokes, Lisbon, Portugal - 04/19/2005 04:31:40 PM Greg, Just a courtesy note to thank you for your swift and informative reply. I now see "Wonderful Life" in a slightly different light, but as you said it is no less wonderful a book for any failings it may have. It is always a delight to read a work so full of passion, and so well written (Dawkins rings my bell for similar reasons). As for your closing quip about the Jarts, I would have thought that with all the potential you created with Eon, there would be more than enough room to accommodate the new creatures without redesigning them. Perhaps there is a story there just in that concept alone. After all, Legacy took us on a very entertaining Larmarckian journey, and if I remember correctly, "The Way" is actually quite long. Regards, Graham Stokes

	Response: Darwin's Children-a question about the reading list Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/19/2005 04:35:27 PM No plans to change the Jarts. I actually miss the old Hallucigenia sparsa! Something that weird has to exist somewhere in the universe, right?

SAYING HI Posted By: David Williamson, Rochester, New York - 04/09/2005 09:46:45 PM I started reading some of your books a few years ago and I've really enjoyed them. I have Attention Deficit Disorder and my mom got me into reading with comic books, and when they got too expensive I moved to Star Trek novels, then to more mainstream sci-fi. I'm not the fastest reader, because I can get easily distracted, but I've read over 600 books so far. All of your books were amazing, Blood Music was so spectacular. Eon was really scintillating, I couldn't put it down and I read it very quickly. I'd like to thank you for such enjoyable works. I also wanted to ask, since you're his son-in-law, if their is any talk about collecting some of Poul Andersons uncollected works. I really like his stuff, too, and I would love to see some of the stories without spending a fortune to get the magazines they were in. I'm sorry to say that my top ten list doesn't contain any of your novels, but I haven't read all of them yet. I have tons of stuff I've yet to get to, and I have read around three fourth's of your books. Based on your comments and Arthur C Clarke's, I tried reading Olaf Stapledons books, The Last and First Men and The Starmaker. It was a lot of hard work but I stuck at it, reading a few pages at a time. After repeatedly picking it up and reading a chapter or two, and then taking a break for a few weeks, I finally finished it after three years. It reads like a textbook, but I was very glad I kept at it.

Response: Saying Hi Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/10/2005 01:06:27 PM Hello, David! Most pleased you stuck with Olaf Stapledon--his imaginative reach is astonishing, no? Poul's short works are nearly all collected in various volumes, but many are OP--despite a vigorous effort by publishers such as Tor, Baen, and iBooks. We're trying to keep most of them available, but I suspect many, for the time being, are either going to be found through used booksellers or print on demand or--possibly!--e-books.

TECHNOLOGY VS. CHARACTER Posted By: Bob Vogt, Redmond - 04/09/2005 10:12:02 AM If I might ask, what comes to your mind first when creating a story: the technology or the characters? The reason I ask this is because your characters are as strong as your technical premises. Many authors who delve into hard technology tend to sacrifice the characters for the technology. Their characters feel like those in the B movies produced by the Sci-Fi channel (which are admittedly one of my guilty pleasures). The convincing science in stories such as "Darwin's Radio" and "Vitals" is scary (in the fun sense) but the characters and their story are are what keep me reading. Whatever the answer, thanks for many great hours of reading. Bob Vogt

	Response: technology vs. character Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/09/2005 11:50:33 AM Thanks, Bob! Characters and ideas go hand in hand--after all, characters are the ones who have the ideas, and/or have to face their consequences.

THE SCIENCE FICTION MUSEUM Posted By: Vicki Bickford, Vancouver, WA - 04/09/2005 12:19:40 AM Hi Greg - read Eon AGAIN - still good the second time around and a decade or so later. Met a guy reading Heinlein in a Cartoon shop, suggested Darwin's Radio. I think I impressed him with my wit, charm, and fervor enough that he might check it out. Which will naturally improve his wit and charm as much as it did mine. Went to Seattle today with the kidlets, went by the Museum, and was seriously disappointed to find out that after paying for parking we couldn't afford to go into the museum. The subject matter is wonderful, and I was spellbound just looking at the titles and authors plastered to the window by the door, so I'm not saying it isn't worth a pretty penny to get in. I'm just saying I can't afford to. Any plans to reduce the fees or maybe have a special rate one day a week? Just a thought. Cheers! VLB

Response: The Science Fiction Museum Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/09/2005 11:57:00 AM Sorry you missed out on SFM! Really, a family membership is quite a bargain, especially if you get one combining EMP and SFM membership. You can also bring friends in on passes and get access to special events. (Better if you're a local, of course!) We'd like the museum to be free, but that isn't possible. And SFM's entry fee compares well with other museums in the area. (Wouldn't want our museum curators to be out on the highways with cardboard signs--"Will read SF for food!")

FELICITATIONS... Posted By: corse, Marseille (France) - 04/05/2005 10:36:26 AM Hello (I'm french so sorry for my english..) I had just terminated your Darwin radio and i'll go to buy darwin's children, but before i take a few minutes to whrite you a little mail to give you my felitations about your originality.I have some questions(it's very exciting to whrite to an autor oh fabulous internet) First Did you think to bring the Darwin children's with the Gaia children's of the Fondation cycle? I had read that your are not ok with the idea of Dawkins,no selfish genes for you?What do you think about sociobiologie? And i have just only one remark just a little:When i read your book i have the impression that the americans are the only who can control the situation(but maybe i m paranoid)

Response: Felicitations... Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/05/2005 12:25:32 PM Thanks for writing, Emmanuel! DARWIN'S RADIO was in planning before I started work on FOUNDATION AND CHAOS, so no direct connection. Dawkins is a marvelous writer, but there's a lot more to genetics and evolution than selfish competition--and many so-called selfish genes have to cooperate with the activities of dozens if not hundreds of other genes to get their work done. Even retroviral genes and transposable elements--once thought to exhibit the height of selfishness and reckless reproduction, contribute to the mix. I prefer to think of genes as social, not selfish--although "social" carries a broad range of meanings, right? Including selfishness! (At any rate, the definition of a gene has itself evolved since Dawkins wrote his classic--and for some researchers, genes per se seem less and less to be the center of attention today!) DARWIN'S RADIO is a North American novel, written by a North American. Its emphasis on American locales and characters reflects my experience, not any particular prejudices.

FAN BLAH, BLAH Posted By: David Nelson, Victoria, Australia - 04/04/2005 06:14:33 AM G'day Greg, I not long ago finished 'Darwin's Children', and have decided that it's probably your most thoughtful and important work to date. I wasn't getting into it at first, the biology was throwing me a bit. I put it down and decided to finish (finally) 'The Serpant Mage' and I read 'Vitals' which put me the mode for finishing'Darwin's Children'. Now that was a scary bit of reading!!! The story (Darwin's Children')was constructed well, as per normal, but I meshed with the character's more than anything else, they resonated. I actually cared about all of them, and that doesn't happen for me in a lot of books. I think there could be room for one more in the sequence if you feeling up to it. No I'm not kidding!! Anyway, best wishes and keep scribbling. Kindest Regards David Nelson

	Response: Fan Blah, Blah Posted By: Greg Bear - 04/04/2005 10:23:06 AM Thanks, David! A day gets blah without this kind of blah, believe me.

BLACK HOLES DO NOT EXIST?!?!? Posted By: Mike Glosson, Windy San Diego, California - 03/31/2005 12:04:53 PM File under "What the @#%&*!!!! http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050328/full/050328-8.html This is the most Outre thing I've seen since the "BIG RIP" theory of two years ago

Response: Black Holes DO NOT Exist?!?!? Posted By: Greg Bear - 03/31/2005 01:35:54 PM Interesting. We've never observed dark matter, and black holes are only implied by the math and some observed phenomenon... This leaves us with plenty of wriggle room for an entirely new theory of cosmology, one that can be tested and possibly disproven! The alternative is dueling matheticians, forever and ever... not a pretty sight.

FOUNTAINHEAD Posted By: Jimmy Kinchloe, Houston, Texas - 03/30/2005 11:43:34 PM Hello Greg, Some years ago I worked with a man who loved SF (the GOOD stuff) as I do and we often traded paperbacks. One day he shoved a book into my hands by an author that I had not read before. The book was "Eon" by Greg Bear, and I have been totally hooked since then. (I remember reading through much of that night. I just could not put it down.) "Queen of Angles" is simply a masterpiece, and one of the great SF novels of all time, in my judgement. However, "Moving Mars" has to be my personal favorite because it makes me feel so good every time I read it. I have several of your signed, first editions in my collection, and feel an added satisfaction by actually READING them. And you live in the Seattle area - the icing on the cake - since it is easily the most beautiful city in the States. Gary Larson even lives there! (Or so I heard once.) I am a visual artist, and you have been a great inspiration. I do not usually use SF as a theme - what I mean is that I strive to paint and draw as well as you write. I just want to let you know how much I admire you and your work. I feel that I KNOW you. Know what I mean? Warm, best regards, Jimmy P.S. BTW - I love the name "Astrid" Tell her I said so. OK? J

	Response: Fountainhead Posted By: Greg Bear - 03/31/2005 10:55:23 AM Thanks, Jimmy! Now if we can only get Gary to resume his cartooning career... Seattle would be even better!

DEMONS IN THE COUNTRY OF THE MIND Posted By: John Holtom, Luton, England - 03/30/2005 07:08:08 AM Dear Greg Bear I have just finished Queen of Angels - yet another tremendous read. Martin Burke is like another hero (or not quite hero) Olme who trusts implicitly that he has the capability to manage any unforeseen complications in the Country but again like Olme is consumed by the demon within him. In the Songs of Earth and Power Michael becomes a benevolent God who appears to defeat the malign and self-serving Sidhe (and other mages) but in Queen of Angels, Eon and Infinity, the heroes (and heroines) are themselves never quite capable of exercising power over evil or self-doubt(Jill's final analysis that she does not expect herself to remain without sin seems a deeply ominous insight - perhaps in anticipation of a Hal-like psychotic episode - after all if her thinking is so much more all-embracing than any human surely there will be only one ultimate conclusion which is that she will act on her perception of the benefit to humanity which may not accord with the human perception of that benefit). Have you perhaps become a little more pessimistic since originally writing the Inifinity Concerto and the Serpent Mage both of which end with a benevolent view of the changed world? More more more fantastic imaginings please!!! I shall move onto the sequel to Queen of Angels in time. I am slightly surprised that Hollywood has not made a film of (at the very least) the Mary Choy story. The future police officer uncovering (or failing to uncover) the truth is the staple diet of much good (and no doubt much bad) movie material. Is it optioned? Has it gone beyond this but just not yet got to production? Yours respectfully John Holtom

	Response: Demons in the Country of the Mind Posted By: Greg Bear - 03/30/2005 10:54:41 AM Thanks, John! Every story has its shape and conclusion--I'm no more pessimistic, but given the premises in QUEEN OF ANGELS, a completely happy ending just isn't in the cards, right? No options on books in this series yet.

WONDERING WHAT YOU'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON? Posted By: Sean B, Madison Wisconsin - 03/28/2005 10:10:35 PM I read in one of the other messages that your at work on a new novel, I was just wondering what's in the pipeline? I have my fingers and toes crossed for a third in the Forge of God series....or at least a return to the Macro!

	Response: Wondering what you're currently working on? Posted By: Greg Bear - 03/29/2005 10:21:23 AM Just finishing a novel called QUANTICO. Sample chapters will be included in the paperback edition of DEAD LINES, due in a couple of months!

NO POTATOES Posted By: Johannes, Have moved quite a bit, currently Singapore - 03/27/2005 08:20:08 PM Hi Greg, I'm a big fan, have been since I was young. Recently I had these urges to pick up Eon again, and what a blast it was, the whole timeline of the book is *now*. It must have been at least 10 years since I last read it and I kept thinking about how the world has changed since you wrote the book. Anyway, no potatoes in the sky in 2005, but your book is free of dust again! Thanks for the good time!

	Response: No potatoes Posted By: Greg Bear - 03/28/2005 10:09:06 AM Thanks for the dusting, Johannes. We simply live in an alternate universe accessed somewhere along the Way--a more fortunate place, as it turns out!

THISTLEDOWN SCEMATIC Posted By: dominick scioli, newtork - 03/27/2005 04:38:13 PM dear greg bear, i have been a fan for some 15 years now i admirer your vision and scope . yet i have read eon 5 times now and i still have trouble with the scale and layout of the stone. if it would be possible to somehow publish or email me a hypethetical scematic of the stone it would be greatly appreciated. thanks for your great imagination. keep up the great work.

Response: thistledown scematic Posted By: Greg Bear - 03/28/2005 10:07:26 AM Hello, Dominick! I don't have a schematic, but other readers may. Think of the stone as a potato with a skewer running lengthwise. Someone has cleverly scooped out seven cylinders inside the potato, along the length of the skewer. The last cylinder opens onto a vast pipe-shaped universe filled with sour cream and chives--oops! Metaphor ran away with me here. Many thanks for your support!

INSPIRATION Posted By: Jacqueline Chritton, Ann Arbor, Michigan - 03/25/2005 01:11:47 PM Hello All, I was just thinking to myself late last night, things have been going really well for me lately. I am graduating from college here in April with a degree in cellular and molecular biology (summa cum laude), and I've been accepted to five different phd. graduate school programs at 21, all of which are in the top 20 programs in the nation, some in the top 5. I have to say though, the only reason I ever thought I could do any of this was because about 3 or 4 years ago I read the book Darwin's Radio. Not only does it do an excellent job of describing reasonably believeable mechanisms of genome interactions. There is still so much out there that we don't know about ourselves (and life in general for that matter) on a molecular level, I find. After reading Darwin's Radio and seeing a strong intelligent female protagonist, I figured, well, it seemed a perfectly reasonable scenario. So 3 years ago I set out telling everyone I would become a "geneticist." And now here I am accepted to some of the best genetics programs in the country. I just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration. That book was truly the reason I ever became interested in genetics, so I owe a lot to you. More than this little message-board post could ever provide, but at least it just lets you know that things like science fiction books can really have a profound effect on people. With love and thanks, Jacqueline

Response: Inspiration Posted By: Greg Bear - 03/27/2005 03:00:27 PM This is great news, Jacqueline! And a terrific boost to my ego. The main difference here is, you're doing the real work--the heavy lifting, as I've said before. For that, my hat is off to you--you're about to investigate intellectual territories I can only visit by way of an armchair. So please, report back to us! Every week brings amazing discoveries. I am in awe of what biological scientists have learned in the past five years. And I eagerly anticipate the next five. Happy hunting!

SCIENCE NEWS: INFECTIOUS EVOLUTION Posted By: paul putkowski, eatonton ga - 03/24/2005 08:20:21 PM this is so incredibly close to the radio (without speciation) that I have to solcit a response. pardon me if I don't browse first... the following quote is copyright the science news service: A vicious virus infected ancestral chimpanzees and gorillas in Africa between 4 million and 3 million years ago. Not only did it kill a great many of these primates, but it also infiltrated the surviving animals' genomes, altering the course of evolution. That's the picture emerging from a new analysis of modem-primate DNA. Around 1.5 million years ago, this virus of the class called retroviruses also infected ancestors of modern baboons and macaques, two African monkeys, reports geneticist Evan E. Eichler of the University of Washington in Seattle and his colleagues. However, no molecular remnants of this ancient infection appear in the DNA of people, whose ancestors also inhabited Africa, or in the genes of apes, such as orangutans, from Asia. Retroviral infection "was almost a cata clysmic event for ancestral chimps and gorillas," Eichler says. "It's a mystery to us why the ancestors of people and orangutans were excluded from it." While analyzing data from an ongoing project determining the chimpanzee genome, Eichler's team noticed sequences that dramatically differed from corresponding regions of human DNA. The team identified the sequences as the remains of a retrovirus. Using chemical probes, the researchers then found more than 100 copies of the retrovirus throughout the chimp genome. These retroviral sequences disturb the workings of at least six genes, including ones found in the brain and testes. Gorillas, baboons, and macaques also possessed about 100 retroviral copies. The researchers used available estimates of how quickly the retrovirus mutates to calculate when the infections occurred. Several scenarios could explain the selective infection of ancient chimps and gorillas. African apes might have evolved a susceptibility to the infection, for example, or ancestors of people and Asian apes might have developed a resistance. The new results, which the researchers report in the April PloS Biology, fit with a surprising conclusion floated in a 2002 analysis of chimp DNA That study found a dearth of mutations in chimp genes known to be crucial for repelling infections. Pascal Gagneux of the University of California, San Diego and his colleagues then proposed that this genomic feature was a reflection of an HIV-like retroviral epidemic among ancestral chimps nearly 3 million years ago that left only a few to pass on rare resistance genes. Today's chimps are thus the offspring of unusually virus-resistant animals. "Retroviruses are not just diabolical [killers]," says Gagneux. "Under the right conditions, such viruses contribute to the evolution of their hosts." Eichler's group provides "compelling evidence" of separate, comparably ancient retroviral infections in ancestral chimps and gorillas, remarks Harvard University's Maryellen Ruvolo. Chimps probably came in contact with the virus when they hunted infected monkeys, Ruvolo suggests. It's not clear how the infection reached gorillas. The new evidence that closely related primates can contract different retroviral infections is surprising, says Dixie Mager of the University of British Columbia in Vancou ver. "Most people in the field would not have predicted this finding," she adds. Scientists have estimated that 8 percent of human DNA consists ofretroviral sequences that were deposited during infections of our African-ape ancestors between 35 million and 25 million years « ago. -B. BOWER !:J

Response: science news: infectious evolution Posted By: Greg Bear - 03/25/2005 10:31:12 AM There have been a few very exciting science stories in the last two weeks. This one is terrific--though they are still working with a disease model, which may be correct. However, I'd like to see further evidence of mass disease following on almost universal infection. Reports of Arabidopsis correcting defective genes from a reservoir or guidebook if you will of experience-acquired genes is even more intriguing. This is remarkably close to Kaye Lang's genetic toolbox--the Wizard in the Genome! And something similar could explain the re-occurrence of wings in stick insects over long periods of time. They're in the bauplan--the assortment of traits that are grammatically allowed in stick insects!

JUST TO SAY THANKS Posted By: Julian Ryan, Melbourne, Australia - 03/23/2005 09:51:39 PM G'day Greg, I don't have any insightful questions or commentary on the characters or storylines of your works, I just want to say thanks. Having just re-read Eon, Eternity and Legacy as well as Forge of God and Anvil of Stars I am working my way through the rest of your books for a second time. The first read of these was mind-blowing for me and my first (and only) entree into the sci-fi genre. The second read has been just enthralling and fantastic so thank you very much for the adventure, entertainment and ability to take me to places and meet people I never imagined. Cheers and all the best, Julian PS. I recently recommended Eon to a mate of mine. After completeing it he went to the local bookstore and in response to the clerks question; "May I help you" he said: "Point me to your section with Greg Bear material and get me a trolley". He too is thoroughly enthralled by your work.