The Phantom in the Deep (Rook's Song) (30 page)

I wanna get lost in your rock and roll,

And drift away
.”

Acknowledgements and Notes

Special thanks to “Ace”, a friend who is a stickler for scientific accuracy in science fiction.  Much of the science discussed in this novel is based off of materials, techniques, concepts and principles currently understood by science, with obvious extrapolations here and there.  For instance, pycnodeuterium, or “pycno,” has been considered a possible fuel for interstellar space travel through the process of cold fusion, but is not agreed upon by all scientists as a viable option.  The Alcubierre drive has long been a favored mode of faster-than-light travel…now, if we could just get our hands on some exomatter!  Also, lasers will probably never have the destructive power one typically sees in sci-fi movies, but particle beams
theoretically
can have the power I’ve described here.

Asteroid fields like the one described in this story would probably only be in a very young solar system, before the asteroids had pulverized each other to dust and the pieces had been pulled away by planets, stars, passing comets, and other spatial bodies that would thin out the field.  Still, I felt it made for an interesting battlefield, and an adequate “sectorboard” for Rook’s final game.

As for Cereb psychology, I feel I should say that I doubt it is possible for any race to evolve in the universe without suitably understanding deception, but then, what do I know about aliens?  I constructed the Cereb psychology in a way so that I could discuss two facets of humanity that seem diametrically opposed at times, and yet surprisingly intertwined at others: deception and sacrifice.  I am a firm believer that the best science fiction (I sure
hope
this was a good piece of sci-fi) takes the opportunity to discuss what it is that makes us human, the good and the bad, and how exactly we fit into the universe’s Grand Scheme.

As always, thanks to you, the reader, for following along on this adventure.  I hope to bring Rook, Bishop, and the Sidewinder back to you soon for another swim
through the Deep…and another game of chess, of course.

Chad Huskins

February 25, 2013