First off, I'd like to say that isn't an error in Mark's art in the middle
panel. (Not that Mark is prone to mistakes in the first place!) Beatriz's
flesh-and-blood hand is passing through Haas' holographic one. I presume
this would be a shortcoming of holographic telepresence.
In other news...several fine people sent me emails commenting on my column
last week regarding air pressure loss in a building struck by a
micrometeorite. They wondered, specifically, whether a window would shatter
and blow out, causing a catastrophic loss of pressure in whatever room was
effected.
I remember seeing something like this in a science fiction movie called, if
I am remembering properly, Outland. A window is shot with a gun and
the glass fails, causing it to blow out. Of course, no one with a lick of
sense would make a large bank of windows which open on vacuum out of
frangible glass. I presume from this that Hollywood movie writers don't
have a lick of sense...
The windows in Gagarin City would be made of something transparent yet
strong. The material would also need to be resistant to the propagation of
cracks. If an appropriate material wasn't available at a reasonable price,
of course, windowed skyscrapers in naked vacuum wouldn't be built. The
general story idea is to display the relatively more advanced and pleasant
state of living in Gagarin as opposed to the oppressive life in Noviy
Anadyr.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in. It's good to see that folks read this, and
care enough to call me on possible errors!
