A - Z Challenge: I is for Igloo and also for Isaac Asimov

is for

IGLOO

        PART I:

        WHAT IS IT?

As everyone knows an igloo is where you find Eskimos live and by rights this should be the end of the story.

Except that at some point we learn that Eskimos are properly called Inuit and they don't all live on walrus, wear the skins of polar bears and, perhaps most disappointing of all, reside in igloos all the happy live long day.

But seriously folks,  all you need to know in this section is that an igloo is a dwelling built out of large blocks of ice.  You'll need to beware of imitation igloos that are constructed out of refrigerators.  They are cold and the electric bill is shocking [1]

        WHERE DO YOU GET IT?

You'll need to travel to the frozen north to find a proper igloo although you should make certain that it has a toilet because otherwise it's just an ig. [2]  You'll not find it in sunny Hawaii no matter how hard you look

        USING IT IN REAL LIFE:

If you're trapped in the worst kind of  blizzard an igloo could save your life.  If you're out hunting on the open ice then you might build one as a temporary accommodation.

If you need an interesting gimmick for your  ski resort you might consider building a particularly fancy one and using it as a hotel.

        USING IT IN WRITING:

Does the heros journey take them above the snowline?  Do they get trapped in a blizzard?  Do they encounter a strange and mystical shaman who nurses them back to health? [3]   

It seems that Igloos are forever destined to be seen as storehouses of strangeness whos inhabitants are hard living people that assist the hero in their time of need and wave a Walrus glove in goodbye when they leave, packed to the gills with whale blubber sandwiches just like mum used to make.


Moving away from the more fantastic elements it could be that an igloo or at the very least a small mound of ice built to keep the worst of the wind away is the very thing to bring out the romantic side of your hero and his love interest.  I'll leave it to you to decide how well that attempt goes


It might be that the igloo is in some part of the world where they've never seen ice.  How is it staying together?  Why is it bigger on the outside than on the inside? [4]

        MIGHT ONE TAKE OVER THE WORLD WITH IT? 

        PART II:

I

is also for

ISAAC ASIMOV

Not because the A posting has already been taken but rather because I can't think of any other author that I like who starts with the letter of the day.  But none of that matters because Isaac Asimov is rightly known as the father of robotics, quite literally as it happens, since he invented the word. [5]

He wrote for the pulp magazines, churning out a massive amount of short stories in his life but also wrote a great many novels.

I would recommend his works for anyone who likes golden age science fiction when the future was a utopian vision of orderliness [6]  Some of his longer works lean more on the science aspect and take a little more getting into but it's time well spent

        NOTES:

1. Boom boom!
2. This joke is dedicated to my grandmother, who got more mileage out of it than I ever could.
3. Am I going to get in trouble for looking at your manuscript?
4. Who is this man with the sonic screwdriver?
5. He also invented the famous three laws of robotics and I have not doubt that they are embedded somewhere in the code of every robot mankind has ever build.  It probably isn't a functional part of the robots programming but what matters is that its there.
6. This is how you know that something is going to go catastrophically wrong.  Nothing good ever happens in a place like this.

The Inventive Indian, who caught a Remarkable Rabbit in a Stupendous Silver Spoon.

The Inventive Indian,
who caught a Remarkable Rabbit in a
Stupendous Silver Spoon.