September 2019

Binary Storm by Christopher Hinz

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The novel “Binary Storm” by Christopher Hinz was published for the first time in 2016. It’s part of the Paratwa series.

Nick Smith is officially a common programmer at E-Tech but he survived decades of cryogenic stasis and after his awakening at the end of the 21st century he found an Earth barely habitable for humanity. A war is taking place between normal humans and binaries, a lineage of killers genetically engineers raised so that two bodies can share a common consciousness.

An attempted murder gives Nick Smith the chance to become close to Annabel Bakana, an E-Tech executive. Together, the two of them look for new ways to fight the binaries, particularly those belonging to the so-called Royal Caste, the most lethal and ruthless. Assembling a team capable of fighting binaries requires extreme measures.

Yuko Tanabe (Kiki Sukezane) in Taizo (Image courtesy AMC Studios / Amazon. All rights reserved)

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“Taizo” is the sixth episode of the second season of the TV show “The Terror”, which was named “The Terror: Infamy”, and follows “Shatter Like a Pearl”. It’s broadcast in the USA on AMC Studios and in other nations on Amazon Prime Video.

1919. Yuko Tanabe (Kiki Sukezane) arrives in the USA to marry Hideo Furuya (Eiji Inoue) in an arranged marriage but must confess to him that she’s pregnant. At that point he kicks her out, forcing her to live on the street, where she can barely survive. When she decides to take her own life, the meeting with a mysterious woman (Natsuki Kunimoto) changes everything.

Judgement of the Judoon by Colin Brake

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The novel “Judgement of the Judoon” by Colin Brake was published for the first time in 2009.

A Judoon squadron approaches the space freighter Tintin searching for the Invisible Assassin. The fugitive is not on board and the Judoon leave the spaceship half destroyed after having searched it so thoroughly that it’s been seriously damaged. The Tenth Doctor picks up Tintin’s request for help and when he finds out what happened he decides it’s time for someone to say something to the Judoon and follow them.

Arriving on the planet New Memphis, the Doctor materializes the Tardis in the Elvis the King spaceport, where a terminal is having a series of problems. When the Judoon arrive at the spaceport, other crimes are discovered and the coincidence leads the Doctor to suspect that everything’s connected. He manages to convince the Judoon Commander to start a discreet investigation together but the two of them will also have to face local gangsters. Meanwhile, young detective Nikki is engaged in an investigation that appears to be separate.

The study of the pelvis of a Rudapithecus hungaricus offers clues to the evolution of the bipedal posture

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An article published in the “Journal of Human Evolution” reports the study of a partial pelvis of Rudapithecus hungaricus, a hominid that lived about ten million years ago, in the Miocene period, in today’s Hungary related to both modern African apes and human beings. A team of researchers led by Carol Ward of the University of Missouri analyzed that fossil bone concluding that human bipedal posture has more ancient origins than previously thought.

Dichronauts by Greg Egan

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The novel “Dichronauts” by Greg Egan was published for the first time in 2017.

Seth and Theo live in a symbiosis that allows them to combine their physical abilities to live and work in their world where there are two spacel and two time dimensions. Seth has mobility and sees forwards and backwards whereas Theo, who lives in Seth’s skull, sees what lies to his left and right. Together they can scout the territory and let others know about the safe routes to travel.

Because of the conformation of the world in which the Seth’s and Theo’s peoples live, they live a nomadic life, periodically moving their cities to keep them in habitable areas. During a survey expedition, the two of them encounter something never seen before, a fissure in the surface of the world so wide that nobody can see how far it gets. The next migration will be blocked unless someone explores a territory different from the rest of the known world.