More like space opera is my point. Science fiction projects out into the future to extrapolate from current science, it doesn't invent a parallel reality that is contradictory with already understood science.
There's no hard scifi story that doesn't have a big (often understated) magical physics moment. The harder it gets, the more understated the miracle. I would argue it's the very existence of this crucial violation of the Standard Model (and even current day alternates) that makes any of those stories compelling. They're what drive all the other actually realistic events forward.
I'm not claiming TBP is hard scifi btw. But the reveal which OP has spoiled already makes for a sick scene and pivotal point in the book.
It just struck more as a Marvel style ending than an Arthur C Clark style ending.
Was it just one violation of the standard model? It seems like it was referencing the pre-quantum classical model of protons, before we even knew about quarks.
It's touted as "hard science fiction" but it's riddled with this kind of stuff.
More like space opera is my point. Science fiction projects out into the future to extrapolate from current science, it doesn't invent a parallel reality that is contradictory with already understood science.
There's no hard scifi story that doesn't have a big (often understated) magical physics moment. The harder it gets, the more understated the miracle. I would argue it's the very existence of this crucial violation of the Standard Model (and even current day alternates) that makes any of those stories compelling. They're what drive all the other actually realistic events forward.
I'm not claiming TBP is hard scifi btw. But the reveal which OP has spoiled already makes for a sick scene and pivotal point in the book.
It just struck more as a Marvel style ending than an Arthur C Clark style ending.
Was it just one violation of the standard model? It seems like it was referencing the pre-quantum classical model of protons, before we even knew about quarks.