It was actually a four-legged vehicle, designed for clambering over rugged terrain, but Seth couldn’t see the back legs, and so the illusion of walking was convincing. The robot, pre-trained to replicate his curiosity, began to move in that direction. Liquid methane took the place of water here, and water ice formed the rocks.Ī slight rise hid the view to the north, and he wanted to see over it. The scene looked so much like an afternoon in the South Dakota badlands, it was hard to remember it wasn’t a stream of water. Seth turned to trace the stream to its source in the snow-capped mountains to the south. The ground sloped downward to his right, into a gully where a stream flowed. He was standing on a sandy, rock-strewn plain at the base of some rugged hills. The fog dissipated and he saw the landscape around him. “Adding in radar and infrared,” Kjeld said. In a way, the robot was such an organism-designed for conditions humans were not. What he was experiencing was what an organism evolved to live on Titan would have felt. The smell represented the atmospheric chemistry without duplicating it, since the actual atmosphere of Titan would have been odorless but unbreathable. A chilly, humid breeze touched his face, and he wrinkled his nose at the chemical scent. She’s careful to point out that the time lag won’t let us interact in real-time with Titan, but suggests that a haptic feedback VR suit would give us the sensation of being there. However, Gilman might be overselling some of the technology. It has several surprises I won’t spoil, but it’s the kind of hard science fiction story that’s full of science and technology that feels like we’ll be seeing in the news in just a few years. This is a fun story, that makes me excited about exploring Titan. When the robot leaves the lander for the first time, Seth gets to wear a full-body VR suit that lets him experience being on Titan, watching the robot in action, allowing him to narrate to the world what he sees and feels. Katrina Beshni for the ESA (European Space Agency) developing an astrobiology computer program that helps a robot on Titan look for life.

Wohlforth and Hendrix make a case that Titan might be a better destination than Mars.Ĭarolyn Ives Gilman’s story does make Titan appealing even though it’s toxic and cold, far colder than Mars. Both the story and book are about exploring Titan. This story reminded me of a nonfiction book I read a few years back, Beyond Earth: Our Path to a New Home in the Planets by Charles Wohlforth and Amanda R. “ On the Shores of Ligeia” by Carolyn Ives Gilman is the fourth story in The Year’s Top Hard Science Fiction 4 edited by Allan Kaster.

Exile's End by Carolyn Ives Gilman