Star Pyramid

<p><strong>The pyramids of ancient Egypt were colossal machines intended to carry powerful rulers to the stars.</strong></p><p><strong>The modern one was the same.</strong></p><p> </p><p>In the mid 2100s Earth is in decline. Colonies and mining around distant stars are needed to deal with resource shortages and population growth. But those require faster-than-light travel. A Nobel-winning physicist and a maverick mathematician have argued that FTL travel is a theoretical possibility but only by using the mysterious superheavy element 126 'mahabhavium'. It is being created atom by atom in vast accelerators but not in useful quantities. </p><p> Everything changes when mahabhavium is discovered spectroscopically in gas clouds surrounding a neutron star 400 light years away. The Star Pyramid project is born. A pyramid-shaped starship travelling just below the speed of light Star Pyramid can reach the gas clouds in around 400 years - 98 years from the perspective of the crew who will spend most of the trip in suspended animation anyway. It will harvest mahabhavium and use a small fraction to return to Earth immediately. </p><p> A massive concerted global effort provides the resources needed for Star Pyramid to launch in 2169 but not without critics on Earth and potential saboteurs on board. </p><p> What could possibly go wrong?</p><p> </p><p>Another thought-provoking science fiction tour-de-force from Ian Stewart in an innovative documentary-style narrated by various of the main characters involved.</p>