Catastrophes, Chaos and Convolutions

A guided tour though the many worlds of a New York Times best-selling master of authentic science fact and riveting science fiction.

James P. Hogan stands among the foremost writers of science fiction today, and is renowned for his ability to combine accurate science from the cutting edge of present-day research with living, breathing characters in fast-paced, suspenseful stories. Catastrophes, Chaos & Convolutions gives Hogan’s thousands of avid readers both a solid-chunk of high-quality science fiction and a look behind the scenes, as Hogan describes how his work came to be written, with biographical details. Add a dash of science fact articles, often on controversial topics (suppose, for example, that Velikovsky was right and the orthodox scientists wrong), and you have a volume that is an essential purchase for Hogan fans everywhere.

Cover art by David Mattingly
Interior drawings by Randy Asplund

Paperback

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

First printing, December 2005

Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Printed in the United States of America

Production by Windhaven Press
Auburn, NH

Electronic version by WebWrights
http://www.webwrights.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-0921-8
ISBN-10: 1-4165-0921-6

Copyright © 2005 by James P. Hogan

"Convolution" first appeared in the anthology Past Imperfect, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Larry Segriff, DAW Books, New York, October 2001. "The Tree of Dreams" first appeared in the anthology Cosmic Tales: Adventures in Far Futures, edited by Toni Weisskopf, Baen Books, New York, February 2005. "Decontamination Squad" first appeared in Guy H. Lillian's magazine Challenger, Issue 22, July 2005. "The Sword of Damocles" is based on an original story of the same title that was included in Stellar 5 Science Fiction Stories, edited by Judy-Lynn Del Rey, Ballantine, May 1980. "Take Two" first appeared in the anthology Silicon Dreams, edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Larry Segriff, DAW Books, New York, December 2001. "The Falcon" copyright ????? Crossword puzzle copyright ??? The Irish Times, used by permission.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471
http://www.baen.com

Dedicated to the Irish midge-—a tiny, pesky fly that comes out in swarms in warm, humid evenings. Hence, even with the summer sky still showing light close to midnight, we retreat indoors at a reasonably early hour from hours of pottering in the garden or just idling in the sun. Without the midge, this book probably would not have been written.

By James P. Hogan

Inherit the Stars
The Genesis Machine
The Gentle Giants of Ganymede
The Two Faces of Tomorrow
Thrice Upon a Time
Giants' Star
Voyage from Yesteryear
Code of the Lifemaker
The Proteus Operation
Endgame Enigma
The Mirror Maze
The Infinity Gambit
Entoverse
The Multiplex Man
Realtime Interrupt
Minds, Machines & Evolution
The Immortality Option
Paths to Otherwhere
Bug Park
Star Child
Rockets, Redheads & Revolution
Cradle of Saturn
The Legend That Was Earth
Martian Knightlife
The Anguished Dawn
Kicking the Sacred Cow (nonfiction)
Mission to Minerva
Catastrophes, Chaos & Convolutions