Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Please join us as we discuss **CHILDREN OF TIME**, book 1 of *Children of Time* by Adrian Tchaikovsky. This novel won the Arthur C. Clarke award, and is of moderate length, at about 609 pages. Please keep your RSVP updated and accurate! Space is limited for this event. We are intentionally holding some RSVP slots for new members specifically, so if you’re new and the event is full, please get on the waitlist ASAP! You may bring your own food/drinks (no alcohol, please) or you may pick something up in Mosaic or at the farmers market before the meetup. We do ask that you pack your trash out with you. * **[KINDLE](https://a.co/d/a3Cy5hF)** * **[PAPERBACK](https://www.amazon.com/Children-Time-Adrian-Tchaikovsky/dp/0316452505/)** * **[AUDIBLE](https://www.audible.com/pd/Children-of-Time-Audiobook/B071Y9TTHC)** **BOOK DESCRIPTION:** ***Who will inherit this new Earth?*** The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age—a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare. Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth? *\*Since missing one of these meetups is taking a spot away from someone else who wants to go, we'll need to have a stricter attendance policy than normal. For book discussions, 3 no-shows in a rolling 3-month period will prohibit you from attending any other book discussion for 2 months after your last no-show. In order to avoid a no-show, please update your RSVP no later than 10pm two nights before a discussion. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation! If you need to drop off because of Covid symptoms or exposure or a positive test or any other illness, there will be no penalty to no-showing or dropping late.*

A Starfinder Society Scenario designed for 1st- through 2nd-level characters, playable in 2-3 hours. From their newly founded lodge in the Sloughscar Hills, the Starfinder Society studies the Wreck of the Returned, a massive crashed starship the Starfinders believe was dispatched by the long-lost First Ones. Recent excavations into other First Ones sites uncovered powerful weapons, dangerous technology, and volatile magic—incredibly valuable discoveries capable of causing immense harm should they fall into irresponsible hands. While the Starfinder Society would love to enter the Wreck of the Returned directly, the Wreck’s automated defenses and networked robotic servitors make such an expedition incredibly dangerous. Fortunately, the Starfinders have discovered a nearby site of interest: a sizable piece of wreckage which detached during the crash and landed off-site. Eager for answers, the Starfinders dispatch a team to the crash site to investigate. Unfortunately, Hellknights from the Order of the Eclipse are already inside the wreckage, and their mandate to control, suppress, or destroy dangerous information and technology means they have no intention of sharing anything they uncover. It’s up to the Starfinders to explore the wreckage and gather information, before the Hellknights systematically seize, censor, and destroy everything in their path. This is an adventure in the ongoing Invasion's Edge metaplot. Written by Shan Wolf.

In the distant future, medical student Driscoll Rampart begins his internship on Rusta, a rural planet that doesn't rotate around its axis, with the result that one side is always day and the other always night. The light region is a Victorian-style colony, the dark a medieval kingdom. Both leave Rampart in a state of constant wonder, as he finds his way among humans and aliens, strange dreams and even stranger reality. This made-for-TV movie was the pilot for a series that was never made. Heavy on philosophy and complicated relationships, it was too daunting for test audiences of the time; were it introduced today, it might get a better reception. ■ Title — *White Dwarf* ■ Director — Peter Markle ■ Cast — Paul Winfield, Neal McDonough, Ele Keats ■ Unrated, suitable for general audiences ■ ©1995 \| 1h 30m \| Drama\, Sci\-Fi ■ Watch it free with ads on Fawesome: https://fawesome.tv/movies/10528834/white-dwarf ■ Watch it free with ads on Tubi: https://tubitv.com/movies/100011575/white-dwarf ■ As with most of our online features, you can watch this one whenever you like. Members who watch at the scheduled time may enjoy exchanging comments with other members on this page. If you post a comment before the show, please avoid spoilers. Comments posted after the show may contain any content, but Oddball Cinema encourages members to always avoid spoilers unless there’s some particularly important details you need to mention. ■ Many of the movies on our online events from as far back as March 2020 are still available for viewing. However, titles sometimes move from one streaming service to another. If you find that the links on an old event no longer work, you can search for the current providers of any title here: https://justwatch.com

A Star Trek convention