In the latest issue of "
Scientific American," there's a small article on the Japanese space agency working on that old dream of collecting solar power in space and beaming it down to Earth. That would be interesting enough (in a sort of "I hope that can happen" way), but the introductory paragraph to the article also caught my attention: it mentioned how "solar power from space" is also a world thread in the latest
Gundam anime series. (The original Mobile Suit Gundam anime, made close to thirty years ago, featured the huge "
O'Neill cylinder" space colonies designed then to possibly be used to build solar power satellites, although that idea seemed more or less absent from the series; "space colonies" wound up their own justification.) It sort of amused me to see this reference to a recent anime series, licensed now but not yet released in North America, be accepted by a writer (based in Tokyo, I noted, which is an obvious suggestion of where the reference came from) and the editors of a general science magazine alike. For at least one reader, too, it made perfect sense instead of just being an odd, half-understood note. For everyone else, I suppose, the magazine's humour columnist provided some very brief synopses for science fiction and fantasy movies. ("The Matrix: A man discovers his true destiny. Star Wars: An adolescent discovers his true destiny. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: A boy discovers his true destiny. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: A hobbit discovers his true destiny.")