A thought experiment to explain the workings of the universe without using fabrications such as dark matter and dark energy.

The premise of this story is “what if” from a great classic in science fiction. I can’t mention which classic here – it will ruin the story. All will be revealed in time. In writing this story, I wanted to experiment with creating suspense. The story gives me lots of opportunity to do so but I am not sure that I pulled it off.

This story emerged from reading all of the hand wringing over the war in the Ukraine and its possible escalation. How close are we to nuclear armageddon? The Doomsday clock says that we are a whisker away.

This story originates from an article in Newscientist about some interesting research. I can’t say too much more about this without giving up the plot. At the end of the story, I explain how the story relates to the article.

I had this idea, but I just couldn’t come up with a good story for it. After much time and effort, I decided to turn it into a speculative science piece. As an opening to this piece, I use the opening paragraph of one version of the fictional story I was attempting to write.

I thought I would experiment with an old sci-fi theme – the spaceman stranded on an alien planet. It is a simple comic book level story with a message/point of view woven into it. I thought it was well-constructed and would be well-received by editors. It wasn’t. Writer 10, Editor 0.

I wrote a version of “Oh Nothing” thirty years ago when my daughters were in grade school. It is a parent’s lament, a tease to my kids who are now going through the same thing with their kids. Apparently nothing of interest ever happens at school, at least nothing worth telling your parents about.

Being Canadian, I am exposed to the horror of mass shootings in the US on a far too frequent basis. This tragic phenomenon is on an upward trend and there appears to be no way of changing this trajectory. It gets me thinking for one, with so many bright minds in that country, where is the solution? Secondly, with no solution coming, where is this headed? The story Sentinels explores this issue and presents one possible solution and its consequences.

I had this idea relating the common experience of deja vu to a physical event. After all, there must be an explanation for it other than just a glitch in the system. I couldn’t really come up with a story where this idea might play a critical role in the plot so I wrote a story echoing my experiences with making presentations at scientific meetings. This was always terrifying for me, especially because I always had pretty weak and mundane material to present. Am I on to something with this idea? Maybe, but I don’t have the mathematical chops to prove it one way or the other.

I can’t give too much background on this story without giving up a spoiler. It emerged from the passing of a relative, gone suddenly, leaving only old photos and memories.