My story "Letters of Transit" in the April issue of Analog has gotten some online reviews. While generally positive, the science in the story is perplexing the reviewers. I knew when I wrote it that it was puzzling.

Here's what Bluejack said on The Internet Review of Science Fiction: "...a relativistic headache...Unless you are in the mood for a real brain-teaser, it's best to skim most of the discussion of how near-lightspeed travel, time dilation, and instantaneous communication would all work out..."

While over on Tangent, Brit Marschalk wrote: "...mental gymnastics...baffling...Some readers may find it easiest to simply suspend disbelief..."

Even Analog's editor, Stan Schmidt, prefaced the story with this tagline: "And you thought the twin paradox was complicated!"

OK, I did not make up rubber science for this one. It combines two well-known concepts (the relativistic time-dilation effect and wormholes) to come up with a third well-known idea (time travel) in a way that may be a first for science fiction (if anybody's used this idea before in a story, please let me know). It may look like I'm playing fast and loose with Physics, but I took the idea from the work of a real scientist, Kip Thorne (and gave him a nod in the story). It's probably too complicated to explain in a little blog entry like this, so maybe it's time for a longer Plain Banter article, but I stand by the science, even if it sets the heads of reviewers spinning.