SPDX-License-Identifier
CC-BY-SA-4.0

Postscript

In a science fiction story, one often wonders which parts are factual and which are speculation. In this story, the nuclear engineering is mostly factual. The reactor is patterned on the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment, operated successfully at Oak Ridge in the late 1960's. The boiling zinc and the electrolytic reprocessing are speculative additions. The real prototype reprocessing plant used chemical reactions between the molten salt, a molten bismuth-lithium alloy, fluorine, and hydrofluoric acid. The seawater boiler is pure speculation. The solar cement plant is sized correctly but is also speculative. Floating power plants have not been built (in 1981) but are in serious development.

The budget is probably accurate within a factor of two. Five million dollars are allowed for each of the cement plant and the residential area, and the nuclear island (reactor) has an upgrade capability to 40 megawatts electrical. Its cost is extrapolated from the Oak Ridge experience (with inflation). The price of aluminum is accurate as of late 1981. The price of the station is low partly because of the unusual method of financing; the deferred payment price would be as much as ten times more, given 1981 economic conditions and the usual construction and regulatory delays.

Quotations from law are factual. NRC procedures are somewhat distorted, particularly in timing, to fit the story.

Aikido is shown factually, except that in the assault, classroom performance levels are projected to a much more stressful situation. Nonetheless, the whole idea of learning to use the force is to be able to cope successfully with stress, and the reader probably is underestimating the stability under pressure of a person trained in aikido. Note that the idea of killing or injuring a partner is incomprehensible in aikido, and aikido Masters are advised to consider how the situations in the story might better be handled. The feelings of the terrorist dumped by the girl are factual and are based on personal experience, though it was in the classroom, not the battlefield.

Bob Chou comes across as something of a superkid, but I believe that many real people could do as well if given the opportunities (few of which require money) that are shown in the story. Academically, nothing is shown that a reasonably bright twelve-year-old couldn't handle, provided his parents have allowed him extensive experience and have wisely combined freedom and discipline. His steadiness under pressure is rarely seen in real life, but is a valuable benefit for people who study the force.

Information about Loglan can be obtained from:
James C. Brown
The Loglan Institute
2261 Soledad Rancho Road
San Diego, California 92109