Friday February 17, 2017
Book 17: A Little Immortality — Part II

Note: The Earth tradition of naming major planets after Roman gods ran up against a small problem when Bacchus was discovered on its 17,000-year trans-Neptunian orbit. The name had already been taken by an utterly insignificant asteroid whose only claim to fame was that it could be seen with 20th-century telescopes. Ultimately the matter was resolved by mining the asteroidal Bacchus down to a few bits of navigationally-hazardous gravel, at which point it was considered "gone." The name was then more fittingly bestowed upon the icy sub-giant caroming drunkenly through the Kuiper belt. 


Addendum: The moons in Bacchus orbit are collectively known as the Bacchanal, obviously.

Transcript

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, in Sol System, orbiting Bacchus...

bee-trac 1: UI-RDX-215, this is Bacchus Traffic Control. You're out of your lane.

unknown: We've got annie problems, Bee-Trac. Irregular output. Please advise.

bee-trac 1: I'm diverting a lifter now. We've got you.

Whoa, you're not kidding about "irregular." Maybe just shut everything down.

bee-trac 2: They got the "down" part.

bee-trac 1: I actually said "down." That's going to be on the transcript.