Dragon's Egg (was Re: Ferochromon: the Ebisedian conworld

Tim May wrote:


>John Cowan writes:
> > Roger Mills scripsit:
> >
> > > I recall a SF novel (and a ST(NG? episode) that dealt with a
> > > planet orbiting its primary so quickly that in earth/ship time of
> > > one hour or so, life on the planet went from stone to bronze age;
> > > after another hour they were developing rockets.
> >
> > Robert Forward, _Dragon's Egg_.  The ST:V episode was called "Blink
> > of an Eye".
> >
>
>It wasn't a planet, though, in _Dragon's Egg_.  It was a neutron star.
>IIRC, time wasn't actually "going faster" on the surface, it's just
>that time-perception was different for the Cheela because the
>"chemical" reactions in impure neutronium are so much more
>rapid... it's a long time since I read it though, there may have been
>a relativistic element.  Certainly "earth/ship time of one hour or so,
>life on the planet went from stone to bronze age; after another hour
>they were developing rockets" describes the story.
Yes, that's more or less as I remember it.  I kindof thought they orbited a
quasar or pulsar, but could be mistaken. Wasn't their planet really tiny,
just barely visible? and the beings were micropscopic in size????  Certainly
it was a sufficiently interesting and well-written book that the basics
stuck with me.


The Star Trek episode, which (re)ran within the past month or two, was only
vaguely similar-- I'm not a steady viewer, so don't know whether
it's -Voyager or - Next Gen.  It did involve Picard, however, and the aliens
were rather Japanese looking....IIRC

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