Just Like Being There is the first collection of science fiction stories by award-winning author and aerospace engineer Eric Choi spanning his 25 year writing career. The stories are ¿hard¿ science fiction in which some element of engineering or science is so central there would be no story if that element were removed. Story topics include space exploration, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, cryptography, quantum computing, online privacy, mathematics (statistics), neuroscience, psychology, space medicine, extra-terrestrial intelligence, undersea exploration, commercial aviation, and the history of science. A special feature of the book is that each story is followed by an "Afterword" that explains the underlying engineering or science. This collection will entertain and inform all aficionados of science and science fiction.
Eric Choi is a licensed professional engineer (P.Eng) with a B.A.Sc in Engineering Science and an M.A.Sc in Aerospace Engineering, both from the University of Toronto, and an MBA from York University. In 2009, he was one of the Top 40 finalists (out of 5,351 applicants) in the Canadian Space Agency's astronaut recruitment campaign.
Preface.- Introduction.- Just Like Being There.- Raise the Nautilus.- Decrypted.- Crimson Sky.- From a Stone.- Fixer Upper.- Most Valuable Player.- She Just Looks That Way.- The Son of Heaven.- Plot Device.- A Man's Place.- Divisions.- The Coming Age of the Jet.- Dedication.