Tau
Ceti in fiction
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
Sun (left) is both larger and somewhat hotter than the less active Tau Ceti
(right)
The
planetary systems of stars other than the Sun and the Solar System are a staple
element in much science fiction. Tau Ceti is the second closest star to the Sun
(after Alpha Centauri A) having spectral class G, making it a popular story
setting or system of origin in science fiction tales. The Sun, itself of
spectral class G, provides an obvious model for the possibility that the star
might harbor worlds capable of supporting life. But Tau Ceti, weighing in at
~0.78, is metal-poor[1] and so is thought to be unlikely to host rocky planets
(see Destination: Void by Frank Herbert below); on the other hand, observations
have detected more than ten times as much dust around the star than exists in the
Solar System,[2] a condition tending to enhance the probability of such bodies.
Since the star's luminosity is barely 55% that of the Sun, those planets would
need to circle it at the orbital radius of Venus in order to match the
insolation received by the Earth.[3] (See Time for the Stars by Robert Heinlein
below.)
Tau
is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet. The name Cetus is also Greek (Kētos)
as well as Arabic (al Ḳaiṭos) and translates variously as a large fish, a
whale, a shark, or a sea monster.[4] In Greek mythology, the cetacean
constellation, although not the star itself, represents the monster slain by
Perseus in his rescue of the beautiful princess Andromeda.
General
uses of Tau Ceti
Many
stars may be referred to in fictional works for their metaphorical or
mythological associations, or else as bright points of light in the sky of
Earth, but not as locations in space or the centers of planetary systems.
The
constellation Cetus lies close to the celestial equator and intersects the
plane of the ecliptic, which allows it to be seen from most of the Earth's
surface. However, because of its unprepossessing appearance in the sky, and its
want of a "good" traditional name to supplement its esoteric Bayer
designation, Tau Ceti has rarely if ever been used in a general sense, either
in traditional mythologies or in the arts and literature that draw sustenance
from them.
The
star's popularity as a subject of science fiction stems not from its general
cultural resonance, but from the astronomical data:
Its proximity, ~11.9 light-years distant
Its similarity to the Sun, ~0.78
Its short but technical sounding name, in
this context a benefit rather than a detriment
Its capacity to host a family of earth-like
planets (proven in 2012)
Sky position: RA 1h 44.1m, Dec -15° 56.4'
Common designations: Tau Ceti, 52 Ceti, HIP 8102, HD 10700, Gliese 71.0
Literature
The Caves of Steel (1954) and many
following works in the Robot, Empire, and Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. In
Asimov's fictional universe, the innermost planet orbiting Tau Ceti was
mankind's first extrasolar planetary settlement: Aurora, the first world
settled by the Spacers, and at its height possessing a population of 200
million humans and 10 billion robots. In Caves Doctor Han Fastolfe is debating
the limitations of Earthmen with detective Lije Baley: "Why is the
suggestion ridiculous? Earthmen have colonized planets in the past. Over thirty
of the fifty Outer Worlds, including my native Aurora, were directly colonized
by Earthmen."[6]
Time for the Stars (1956), novel by Robert
Heinlein. This novel explores the twin paradox as one of a pair of twins linked
by instantaneous telepathy sets out on a space voyage on the interstellar
torchship Lewis and Clark. The starship, nicknamed "Elsie" (for the
initials L.C.) encounters a number of more or less terrestrial planets
including Constance, in orbit around Tau Ceti, a world later colonized by
humans. Heinlein uses an obsolete value for Tau Ceti's luminosity—0.3 and
calculates that earthlike Constance must orbit its star at a radius of 50
million miles.[note 1][8]
Destination: Void (1966), novel by Frank
Herbert. As an artificial intelligence experiment, a crew of clones is raised
in isolation on the Moon believing that they are the crew of a sleeper ship
dispatched on a colonizing expedition to the Tau Ceti system, captained by the
Organic Mental Core, a disembodied human brain. The kicker is, Tau Ceti has no
planets. It's all part of the experiment... This somewhat clotted tale, a
distinctly minor effort, was published contemporaneously with Herbert's seminal
Hugo and Nebula-award winning Dune—one of the most famous of all science
fiction novels.[9]
Empire Star (1966), novella by Samuel R.
Delany. The story revolves around the protagonist, Comet Jo, and a
narrator-creature named Jewel. It is a tale of Comet Jo’s coming-of-age, his
initiation into the ways of galactic society, his efforts to deliver an
unspecified but important message to the Empire Star, and his encounter with a
movement to bring an end to slavery. As the narrative opens, we meet Comet Jo
at eighteen years of age. He has spent his entire life in a simplex society on
Rhys, a satellite of the Jovian planet Tyre orbiting Tau Ceti: "Crimson
Ceti bruised the western crags; Tyre, giant as solar Jupiter, was a black curve
against a quarter of the sky..."[note 2][10] The first insight of Jo's
developing maturity is his realization that the "simplex" culture of
his home is actually quite "complex"...
A Gift from Earth (1968), Known Space novel
by Larry Niven. The colony world Plateau in the Tau Ceti system lives by a
rigorous code: All crimes are punishable by involuntary organ harvesting, while
organ transplants are reserved to the benefit of the aristocracy. A robotic
Bussard ramjet (see graphic) arrives from Earth, bearing a gift that will upset
the unstable social balance on Plateau.[11] The relative proximity of Tau Ceti
to the Earth (with a turnaround point at UV Ceti) is an important plot element
in the novel, enabling Plateau to be isolated from the mother planet, and yet
still close enough to receive occasional cargoes via ramjet. The exploitation
of the interstellar ramjet is just one of Larry Niven's many technical coups;
as his career blossomed he was seen by many as the last best hope of hard
science fiction with his inventiveness, his belief in the ultimately beneficial
effects of technology, and his cognitive exuberance.[12]
The Dispossessed (1974), novel by Ursula K.
Le Guin. Urras and its moon/co-planet Anarres form a binary pair that in turn
orbits Tau Ceti. Urras has two major nation-states named A-Io (a cold-war
analog of the United States) and Thu (a Soviet analog); the two rivals are
fighting a proxy war in a third state, Benbili.[note 3] Anarchical Anarres has
been settled by exiles from Urras; it is the home of the physicist Shevek, who
in a conceptual breakthrough (a common Le Guin theme)[13] develops the
mathematics behind the ansible, a device enabling instantaneous communication
throughout the galaxy.[14]
Downbelow Station (1981) and other
Alliance-Union universe works, novels by C. J. Cherryh. The "Downbelow
Station" of the title is Pell Station, orbiting the planet Downbelow in
the Tau Ceti system. The Hisa are Downbelow's native inhabitants. Also called
Downers by humans, they are gentle and friendly primate-like bipeds covered in
brown fur with large eyes, possessing only the most rudimentary technology.
Pell is the terminus of the "Great Circle" chain of space stations
that links stars in the galactic vicinity of the Earth. As Cherryh states in
her 2001 introduction to the novel, "... I selected a set of insignificant
stars that lie near enough to each other to serve as a highway of waystops on
the route to another truly interesting star, Tau Ceti ... which is Pell, by the
way.[15]
Wormhole
travel as envisioned by Les Bossinas for NASA.
Shards of Honor (1986), leadoff novel in
the Vorkosigan Saga (1986- ), series of science fiction novels and short
stories by Lois McMaster Bujold. The Tau Ceti system is home to a major
inhabited planet, ruled by a unified planetary government. Travel between star
systems in the Vorkosigan universe is accomplished via wormholes (see graphic),
spatial anomalies that allow instantaneous “jumps” between widely separated
locations by means of five-dimensional space folding. Tau Ceti derives a great
part of its galactic economic and military importance from its location near a
multivalent wormhole junction.
The Legacy of Heorot (1987), first novel in
the Heorot trilogy (1987–1997) by Larry Niven, Steven Barnes, and Jerry
Pournelle. Two hundred colonists arrive on the paradise world Avalon (Tau Ceti
IV) to found a new community, having made the 100-year journey from Earth in
suspended animation. The colonists, all selected for their outstanding physical
and mental attributes, make a terrible discovery: Their intelligence and
reasoning skill have been damaged in transit, a devolution that will ill serve
them in their upcoming struggle with the native grendels for control of their
new land.
Hyperion (1989), novel by Dan Simmons. As
the novel begins, the "Hegemony Consul" is interrupted in his playing
of Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp minor to the dinosaurs of a savage jungle
planet by a fatline message from the Hegemony administrative world of Tau Ceti
Center. The message is of irrefutable authenticity, and its contents is
unwelcome: he has been chosen to return to Hyperion as a member of the Shrike
Pilgrimage.[17]
Rama Revealed (1993), novel written by
Arthur C. Clarke and Gentry Lee, a sequel to the novels Rendezvous with Rama,
Rama II, and The Garden of Rama. The Rama of the title is an alien starship, a
prototypical Big Dumb Object[18] that arrives without warning in the Solar
System in 2130. Explorers discover that the huge vessel is a hollow
world-environment in the style of an O'Neill cylinder (see graphic). Over the
course of seven decades and four novels humanity slowly apprehends the nature
of the purpose and the advanced alien intelligences behind the Rama artifacts;
in "Revealed" a contentious crew of colonists sails the Rama II to a
great tetrahedral Raman Node in the Tau Ceti system, its final destination
where the purpose of the universe is revealed—to those who are deemed worthy
enough—by the Nodal intelligence.
Worldwar (1994–1996), tetralogy of novels
written by Harry Turtledove. In this revised history, an Earth in the throes of
World War II is invaded by a fleet of starships assembled for the purpose by
The Race, natives of the desert world Tau Ceti II, which they call Home.[19]
Only three times in its 50,000-year history has this expansionist species of
reptilian aliens organized such an armada, each time with the goal of subduing
another civilization: the Rabotev, the Halessi, and now humanity. However, the
invaders are in for a surprise, as their most recent intelligence on the Earth
dates from the Middle Ages. Alternate world stories are a specialty of
historian Turtledove, whose "thorough understanding of his source material
gracefully infiltrates the fun and fantastication."[20]
Mosaic (1997) and Pathways (1999), Star
Trek: Voyager novels written by Jeri Taylor as part of the film, television,
and print franchise originated by Gene Roddenberry. USS Voyager captain Kathryn
Janeway is the central protagonist of the television series, who must guide her
ship back to Federation space after a "displacement wave" strands it
on the far side of the galaxy, more than 70,000 light-years from Earth. She is
also quite unattached—in the fictional tradition of Star Trek starship
captains—and novelist Taylor provides her with a father and a fiancé, both
tragically lost to separate accidents on the planet Tau Ceti Prime (her father,
Vice Admiral Janeway, drowned under the polar icecap).
Halo: First Strike (2003), novel set in the
Halo universe and written by Eric Nylund. The Tau Ceti system is populated by a
significant Covenant presence in 2552, in the form of a long-dreaded and
massive fleet of warships that is destined to attack the Earth itself, together
with the redoubtable refit and repair station Unyielding Hierophant. The
station is destroyed by UNSC forces on September 13, 2552, along with the
majority of the Covenant fleet.[23]
Leviathan Wakes (2011) uses Tau Ceti as the
destination for a mass Mormon pilgrimage.
In the Honorverse novel Torch of Freedom,
Tau Ceti is mentioned briefly, in connection with a fictional HD series, some
episodes of which were produced there.
The Sails of Tau Ceti by Michael McCollum
(2009) deals with a first contact meeting with intelligent beings from Tau
Ceti.
Film
and television
Star
Trek
The
items in this subsection all refer to works in the film, television, and print
franchise originated by Gene Roddenberry.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982),
film written by Jack B. Sowards and directed by Nicholas Meyer. The film opens
with a space battle between the USS Enterprise and a Klingon ship that turns
out to be a simulation: the Kobayashi Maru test for cadets pursuing the command
track at Starfleet Academy. This simulation confronts the subject with a moral
and strategic dilemma. Should she rescue the disabled civilian vessel Kobayashi
Maru if it means violating a peace treaty with the Klingons and the risk of
war, or should he observe the spatial proscriptions of the treaty and abandon
the ship to certain extinction? The city Amber on Tau Ceti IV is the homeport
of the 3rd class neutronic fuel carrier Kobayashi Maru, and her master Kojiro
Vance.
"Where No One Has Gone Before"
(1987), episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation written by Diane Duane and
Michael Reaves, and directed by Rob Bowman. The Traveler, a native of the
planet Tau Alpha C in the Tau Ceti system, visits the USS Enterprise-D in 2364.
The mysterious humanoid possesses the ability to alter time and space with his
thoughts, due to his mastery of the concept that "matter, energy, and
thought" are related and interchangeable. As a sociological assessment of
the maturity of the ship's crew, the Traveler arranges for the Enterprise to
approach the Outer Rim, one of the oldest parts of the universe—and a place
where human beings are assaulted by all sorts of hallucinations and fantasies.
"Conspiracy" (1988), episode of
Star Trek: The Next Generation written by Tracy Tormé and directed by Cliff
Bole. Captain Walker Keel of the USS Horatio secretly contacts Captain Picard
to request a face-to-face meeting. Keel is an old friend—the two first met
years ago at "quite an exotic" bar on Tau Ceti III—and Picard is
quick to accept. At the meeting, Keel warns Picard and several other captains
to be wary of directives from the possibly compromised Starfleet Headquarters,
advice reinforced when the USS Enterprise soon afterwards comes upon the wreckage
of the sabotaged Horatio. Keel's suspicions are borne out as it becomes clear
that certain senior admirals are controlled by invading alien parasites.
Other
film and television
Barbarella
(actress Jane Fonda) subjected to erotic overload in the Excessive Machine.
Barbarella (1968), film written by Vittorio
Bonicelli et al and directed by Roger Vadim based on Jean-Claude Forest's
French Barbarella comics. Barbarella is assigned by the President of Earth to
retrieve Dr. Durand Durand—inventor of the Positronic Ray—from the planet Tau
Ceti that he might use it to help save the Earth. The mission starts badly as
she crashes on an icy plain of her destination world. After a lengthy and
complicated sequence of concussions, captures, rescues, grateful copulations,
wardrobe malfunctions, and repeated changes into ever scantier costumes,
culminating in a confrontation with the Tyrant of the decadent city of
Sogo[note 4], Barbarella discovers Durand Durand—who has other ideas than
returning to Earth with her, starting with the Excessive Machine (see graphic).
The alien world of Tau Ceti is distinguished by a real, if intermittent sense
of wonder created by the sheer otherworldliness of the production design and
art direction.[24]
The Powers of Matthew Star (1982–1983),
television series written by David Carren et al and directed by Barry Crane et
al. An intergalactic armada conquers Quadris, a planet of the Tau Ceti system.
Crown prince E'Hawke escapes with his guardian and factotum D'Hai to the nearby
Earth, where they assume the cover identities of Walter Shepherd and Matthew
Star. Star is a typical American teenager (albeit with special powers). He has
friends; people who love him. He has adolescent male fans who find in him a
vehicle for vicarious wish-fulfillment.
Earth: Final Conflict (1997–2002), Canadian
television series created by Gene Roddenberry and directed by David Winning.
The alien Taelons are somewhat dubiously welcomed to a refuge on the Earth,
where their advanced technology ushers in a golden age. It turns out, however
that this race is sterile and dying, and at the same time intent on
bioengineering humanity—at the cost of human self-determination—to serve as
proxy warriors in a final confrontation with their millennial hereditary
enemies, the Jaridians of Tau Ceti.
See
also
Tau
Ceti is referred to as a location in space or the center of a planetary system
unusually often in fiction. For a list containing many stars and planetary
systems that have a less extensive list of references, see Stars and planetary
systems in fiction.
The calculation of the orbital radius rC of
a planet C (Constance) receiving earth-level insolation from Tau Ceti, based on
the modern value of its intrinsic stellar luminosity as
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