Introduction

“Good evening, Coronisport. I'm Martin Procyon, and this is Spectrum.…”

With these words, first uttered on the first Tuesday night of the fall season eight years ago, Martin Procyon began a new era in the broadcasting history of the Coronisport colony. Thereafter, every event of consequence that was to transpire in the gravity well of Ain would exist in a hazy probationary reality until Martin and his guests weighed in, defined its parameters, and considered all of its implications.

What makes Martin such an indispensable conversationalist? Is it his easy intelligence and quick wit? Is it the empathy with which he treats his most sympathetic guests, or the firmness with which he treats his most reprehensible?

Martin maintains that the secret attractor is simply his curiosity. “I am truly, deeply curious about the life and opinions of every single person I meet. It sounds unbelievable, but it's true! I am told that it can be quite flattering.”

Martin's guests range from the elite power brokers of the interstellar regime to the small farmers of Monadnock who drive their own produce to the Market House every weekend. No aspect of colonial life is below his radar. “The big questions will always have a big impact,” adds Martin, “but life is mostly an accumulation of small things, daily things. The texture of life is in our daily experience.”

Martin's probing questions get at what it's really like to be an interstellar pop idol, or a starship captain, or an orbital maintenance technician who lives aboard the space station. Let Martin introduce you to your fellow human beings in space. Spare a moment to read Spectrum.