Magnetic Monopoly

  • Title: Magnetic Monopoly
  • Genre: Science Fiction
  • Length: 6930
  • Written: March 2006
  • Published: Tales of the Talisman, September, 2007


    • Excerpt:
    The official designation was 4U 0142+615. It was not the most poetically named star in the galaxy, or in the universe for that matter, but there was no question of its importance. 4U 0142+615 was a magnetar. With a magnetic field of 1.3x10^14 Gauss, it was also the only place in explored space where conditions permitted the creation of that particle so crucial to cheap faster-than-light travel, the magnetic monopole.

    Damon Pierce intended to shut that operation down.



    Discussion
    At the time it sold, this was the longest piece of fiction I sold. At 6900 words, it's only a smidgen away from novelette status.

    The story had its origins from a couple of directions. I saw an article about 4U 0142+615 in Sky and Telescope, and thought it a wonderfully tempting place to set a story. Couple with that a February contest at Codex writers, the online group to which I belong, and you've got a romping tale of intrigue and adventure. The name Valentine Station and the cardioid pod both came from the Valentine's Day theme.



    (c) 2005-2007 by Rick Novy

    Last update: 25 March 2007