While it's not clear if this even was accidental on Asimov's part, if it wasn't then it would mean that the entire novel was just the setup for a dick joke that flew under the radar, which to be honest sounds more like something Terry Pratchett would do. Accidental Innuendo: The 'Soft Ones' become 'Hard Ones' when they have sex.Fortunately, two scientists on the Moon are trying out a third option. Unfortunately, the free, clean energy the reactor produces is far too convenient and he can't get the government to do anything about it.

He is trying to experimentally prove that the sun is burning hotter. Meanwhile on Earth, a scientist talks about how the reactor works so that the reader understands the conflict. However, she is is shocked when she comes to a parallel conclusion, that the reactor will cause stars in the human universe to burn faster in a dramatic fashion, possibly causing a supernova in a matter of decades. It turns out that the Hard Ones went to great lengths to convince the humans to build machinery on their end, and the reactor works on the principle of isobar exchange - that is, two substances, each stable in only one universe, decay one into the other and are constantly swapped around.ĭua comes to the conclusion that the reactor has minor long-term effects for their universe, because the machine causes the laws of physics to bleed between universes, making their cold and dying stars burn out slower.

One of them explains that the reactor connects to a universe populated by humans. Dua discusses a recently-built trans-dimensional reactor with one of her mates. Typical for Asimov's work, most of the book is them having conversations. Their planet is host to two species, divided into 'Soft Ones' and genderless beings known as 'Hard Ones' (due to the plot-important fact that atomic forces are weak in their universe and Soft Ones have sex by overlapping their bodies). Dua is of the emotional gender, but she is considered an intellectual compared to the rest of her kind. Their species has three genders, and the three of them are a 'triad'. note More or less the Russian words for 'one', 'two', and 'three'. and a trio of aliens named Odeen, Dua, and Tritt. Features a seemingly perfect solution to Earthling energy needs, a parallel universe with really unusual aliens, and a Lunar colony with separatist tendencies.Įxtremely atypical for Asimov's work, most of the story focuses on sex note Asimov's science fiction works were known for not featuring aliens, and he mostly avoided romantic plots including never depicting sex, so in a completely out of character book for him, he featured aliens having sex. Doctor Benjamin Allan Denison and Selene Lindstromġ972 novel by Isaac Asimov.

The gods themselves