Story Details
Categories Science Fiction SolarPunk Humorous
In a future where farming and ranching has moved to vast orbital habitats, there may be new problems, like how to ethically treat advancing A.I., but old problems remain. There is sewage to back up, a rodent problem to deal with, and a marriage to save.
Author Details
David Hankins writes from the thriving cornfields of Iowa where he lives with his wife, daughter, and two dragons disguised as cats. His writing journey began in the oral tradition of convincing his daughter to Go To Sleep with inventive stories. That usually backfired. After years of Just One More Story, David began transcribing his midnight ramblings in an attempt to keep his storylines straight. Children are ruthless in identifying mistakes in fairy tales. David writes lighthearted speculative fiction because that's what he loves to read and—this is the important bit—there's not nearly enough humor in the world. David aims to change that, one story at a time. David joined the US Army after college and, through some glitch in the bureaucracy, convinced Uncle Sam to fund his wanderlust for twenty years. He has lived in and traveled through much of Europe, central Asia, and the United States. Now that he’s retired from the Army, David devotes his time to his passions of writing, traveling with his family, and finding new ways to pay his mortgage. You can find David at https:/davidhankins.com STORY NOTES FOR "ANOTHER DAY ON THE ORBITAL RANCH" “Another Day on the Orbital Ranch” was initially outlined during Scot Noel’s Webinar “Writing Solar Punk and Hope Punk” in July 2022. Scot ran us through plotting a Solar Punk story during the webinar and I volunteered for a live critique. That was so much fun, and it helped me create a new world where ranching and farming had moved into space. I loved the idea of having age-old problems despite advances in technology, so rat infestations and sewage backups played front stage in this story of resolving relational discord and dealing with emerging AI rights.
Another Day on the Orbital Ranch, by David Hankins
Author Details
David Hankins writes from the thriving cornfields of Iowa where he lives with his wife, daughter, and two dragons disguised as cats. His writing journey began in the oral tradition of convincing his daughter to Go To Sleep with inventive stories. That usually backfired. After years of Just One More Story, David began transcribing his midnight ramblings in an attempt to keep his storylines straight. Children are ruthless in identifying mistakes in fairy tales. David writes lighthearted speculative fiction because that's what he loves to read and—this is the important bit—there's not nearly enough humor in the world. David aims to change that, one story at a time. David joined the US Army after college and, through some glitch in the bureaucracy, convinced Uncle Sam to fund his wanderlust for twenty years. He has lived in and traveled through much of Europe, central Asia, and the United States. Now that he’s retired from the Army, David devotes his time to his passions of writing, traveling with his family, and finding new ways to pay his mortgage. You can find David at https:/davidhankins.com STORY NOTES FOR "ANOTHER DAY ON THE ORBITAL RANCH" “Another Day on the Orbital Ranch” was initially outlined during Scot Noel’s Webinar “Writing Solar Punk and Hope Punk” in July 2022. Scot ran us through plotting a Solar Punk story during the webinar and I volunteered for a live critique. That was so much fun, and it helped me create a new world where ranching and farming had moved into space. I loved the idea of having age-old problems despite advances in technology, so rat infestations and sewage backups played front stage in this story of resolving relational discord and dealing with emerging AI rights.
