Rosie Oliver’s progressive Science Fiction novella is set in the chasms of Mars where a nanite based system pumps air via pipes atop the chasms. Charged with murder when a bolt from her sling is misfired, Aurora Hartson has few allies, and little support from her family to help her prove her innocence.
Despite the hard-science behind The Martian Wind, it’s not heavy with jargon. Instead it’s an enjoyable, character driven story. Rosie Oliver has edited a number of BSFA award nominated anthologies, and received 9 honourable mentions and a silver honourable mention in the Writers of The Future competitions.
We’ve worked together in the past on Distaff, so when I became aware of the ebook release of The Martian Wind, I had to invite her to SFFWorld to celebrate the launch.
Welcome aboard, Rosie. You have a background in physics, how much of that did you draw on when writing The Martian Wind?
Quite a bit. In fact it would be fair to say that the science, engineering and plot outline all developed from trying to answer the question of how do you have an atmosphere in Martian chasms without building a 200km wall (as in The Wall of Mars by Alastair Reynolds) or without building an enclosed dome or ceiling across the chasm?
In the end my systems engineering expertise came to the fore in identifying various technologies that could combine to produce an open-ceiling atmosphere in the chasms of Mars. Systems engineering for those that don’t know is the type of engineering that knows how to combine different technologies together to build a machine that fulfils useful functions. Take for example an airplane. It uses engine technology for propulsion, aerodynamic shaping to get lift, control theory and mechanisms for steering, and material sciences to develop light strong materials needed for the airframe. All these technologies need to have their performance balanced against each another to produce an airplane that flies. For instance it is no use having engines so small that they do not have the power to take the plane off the ground.
Naturally for the Martian chasms, I pinched the wall idea from Alastair’s story by blocking off the chasms’ ends with walls to produce a very small amount of atmosphere on the valley floors because it is cheap and easily doable. Then I needed one or more extra mechanisms to trap the air. The fluid mechanics that came from my initial inspiration for this story would help in that there are fluid flow mechanisms that can direct where the air will go and keep it there. So setting up those controls at the top of the chasms was a natural next step. But it was far from enough. Something else was needed.
It was obvious that there would always be some leakage of air into the near vacuum of Mars. So the air had to be replenished. That could be done from the same place as where the airflow control mechanisms were, at the top of the chasms.
The rate of air replacement was excessively high, but the question had now become how do I reduce the rate of air supply to the chasms? I was still going in the right direction, but had more to do.
Where did you get the idea for the nanite technology you use to enable Mars to be colonised?
I must admit I was struggling at this point as to how to keep the air down in the chasms. What I really needed was a way to knock the air molecules back down there.
Knock was the operative word. What I really needed was Brownian Motion – the natural phenomenon of how gas molecules randomly bump into each other – but directed knocking to send the air molecules downward. It would need something very small to do that, a tiny drone if you want to consider it that way.
But how would such a tiny drone stay afloat? After all gravity will pull it down into the chasm. Well if it bumps a molecule downwards, it has to go upwards. Hold on a second – this would keep the tiny drone afloat doing its job longer. It is a natural synergy of the function that needs doing.
Of course it would have to be very small – nanite-sized – hence using nanites. It would also have to be operated by simple control commands – this is where a technique of swarm control will come in handy. It would have to generate its own energy – ah remember those thin wires hanging done from satellites to generate electricity in the magnetic field – those nanites could have something very similar. So many ticks in boxes for this technology it was almost unbelievable. Heck, I can definitely use this alongside all the other air generating mechanisms mentioned above.
Before anyone asks, yes there are other tech issues to be addressed, but this would turn into a very essay if I went into describing them all!
What came first when you began to develop The Martian Wind, plot, the planet, or the science?
The science definitely came first! I was on holiday in Switzerland in June 2017. One of the attractions was travelling on a steamship on Lake Brientz. It was one of those gorgeously sunny afternoons, when I noticed that ribbon clouds had developed along the side of the mountains most of the way along the lake. Here is a photo.
These clouds were obviously due to temperature changes over height and fluid dynamics. If the mountains had been closer together, those clouds would have covered the whole lake. There was obviously a science fiction story in this observation somewhere. The question was where?
The answer was the large Valles Marineris of Mars. But it was a while before I could make the science work on an almost airless planet!
We first meet Aurora Hartson at the Bolter’s practice range. The Bolters are a civil force there to protect the populace from crime and rebels. Aurora’s final shot goes awry and the next thing she knows she’s under arrest for murder. Where did the inspiration for all that come from?
Good question, and I’m not sure I know the full answer. Ranges are supposed to be places where you can safely practise using weapons. Accidents should only happen as a result of human error. What if something went wrong and someone was killed? And how could I make it work on a Bolters’ Range?
Now it had turned into a puzzle of how I could it be done. It took several attempts and rewrites to get the method right. It was a case of making sure of all the details fitting together at the right sequence. And out of this, a story line naturally developed.
Grandma Jenks comes across as a rough, seen-it-all-before Engineer as she helps Aurora investigate her murder charge. What made you decide to have this role played by an older female relation?
People easily forget the value of experience, which Aurora lacked. An older go-to person to interject words of wisdom was needed to help her out.
Why female? At any human frontier, women have to undertake the same tough roles as men in order to ensure the community’s survival. So I needed a female in such a role, and engineering the air system was as good as any.
Combining these two requirements resulted in Grandma Jenks. She in the end reminded me of my own Grandma who grew up in the wilds of Northumberland and could be just as irascible!
Let’s not forget the men in The Martian Wind; there are several in Aurora’s life without her becoming snarled in a love interest. Who is your favourite, and why?
All the men in Aurora’s life have good sides to their characters, as well as failings. So this is a difficult question to answer. If I had to choose, I would go for Sigismund because he is a deep and complicated character. As a writer it was far easier to let him have surprising reactions to new situations than the others. The others could only be gently moved out of their personality grooves. But to be fair to them, Sigismund did have the biggest role of them all to play.
What do you enjoy most when it comes to your writing process, and what does your day involve?
Those crazy moments when I look back over a written section and end up saying, ‘Where the heck did that come from?’ or when I think up some new slant on what I’m about to write and hit the super-wow button. In the latter case, I have been known to take a good half an hour to come out the shock of reviewing the implications!
Experience has taught me I get my best fiction results when I write in the morning. So that is when I do my new writing. Editing, household chores and other hobbies are done in the afternoons and evenings.
What are you working on next?
I have several writing projects on the go –
Editing novel no. 3 having had a structural edit report done on it – the editor liked it and confirmed that as far as he is aware there isn’t a science fiction novel anything like it on the market (I kind of like doing my own thing!)
Thinking about the themes of novel no. 4 by writing what I call scoping short SF stories.
I have promised two short SF stories to different publishers over the next few months, so I need to get on with those.
I will when one story comes out of its contractual exclusivity clause next year, self-publish an anthology of eight stories, one for each planet of our Solar System. These stories have been previously published in magazines or anthologies – just collecting them up together to fulfil a long-held dream.
And finally, if Aurora was able to have a pet, what would it be, and why?
A Golden Eagle. Aurora is so in tune with the wind that any pet would have to be bird of some sort. And what is more magnificent than a Golden Eagle?
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Rosie. Good luck with the many writing projects!
The Martian Wind is available in paperback, and will shortly be available in ebook from Amazon.
ISBN: 978-1709969478
Availability: Paperback ¦ Kindle
Publisher: Self Published.
Author site: rosieoliver.wordpress.com
Interview by Shellie Horst. © 2020 SFFWorld
