september 1997 THE SHAPE OF THE " SPACE SHIPS " THAT WILL BE PICKING US UP 3000 ad at the earliest   the thing to realize about these ships is that they are going to be big the figure that makes most sense to the writer is 100 000 ships and each one transporting 1 000 000 people this could take us all in one go another variation is a " ferrying service " which would take 10 000 people at a time one ship of people every day or week or month or year although if it was only 10 000 people a year it would take 10 000 000 years this doesn't seem that likely although it is feasible since the next class of man shaped being isn't due to evolve for 30 000 000 years or so the ships will almost certainly be able to travel at relativistic speeds ( they've had more than 50 000 000 years to develop their technology and look how much ours has come on in just a few hundred years ) the writers instincts tells him that the gathering place is within a 100 light year radius of earth so at half or three quarters of the speed of light there will be a 150-200 year journey time   19th july 2009 three possible variations here 1: generation ships   this variation will mean being born, living and dying on the way to the gathering place taking into account our increasing life spans there will be some who are born here on earth and die at the gathering place there will be some who are born on earth and die on the way there will be some who are born and die on the way if you, like the writer, get a thrill from the idea of space travel you must be beside yourself with anticipation and don't overlook the fact that we should have genetic theory down pat by then ( dinosaur man will most certainly have and it's unlikely that there will be a two tier system to genetic theory ) the implication is that those who are living when we are picked up will be recurring throughout the cycle time of the galaxy ( a life length ) and if you are still reccuring at the end of a life length then it's on the books you will be moving into a love length the kingdom of heaven is just around the corner ( it's more fantastic than a science fiction story ) depending on how quickly we formulate the basic considerations that make genetic theory a reality the writer is not going to let you overlook the fact that it's your children that are being denied the life and lifestyle that is being described here you are getting an insight as to why the writer is so cynical not to mention contemptuous of people who are too scared to speak out and/or value their money or their clique associates or being an aggro merchant or value their cars over and above their children " i love my children..." the writer hopes you choke on those words the next time you say them 2... 3...