Wired.com presents the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy. And here is your host, David Barr-Kirtley.

Hello and

Geeks Guide to the Galaxy.

Today on the show I'll be discussing Orson Scott Card's

classic novel Enders game with D.E. Whitcower,

editor of the book Enders Game and Philosophy, and Ashley Schu, who wrote an essay for the book.

But first up, we've got an interview with Carl Schrader, one of the best authors in the current generation

of hard science fiction writers.

He's also an accomplished futur who works in strategic foresight for the design firm Idea

his latest novel Lockstep presents a fresh take on the idea of human civilization in space.

And now here's our interview with Carl Schrader.

All right, so we're here with Carl Schrader.

Welcome to the show.

Hi, thanks. All right, so your new novel is called Lockstep, and it has one of the most interesting

science-fictional premises I've heard in a long time, this idea of the Lock Steps, and I want to get

to that in just a second, but first I want to just talk about the setting of the lock steps and I want to get to that in just a second but first I want to just

talk about the setting of the book because this book is set an

interstellar space in the several light years worth of space between our

solar system and Alpha Centauri.

And I think most people would imagine

that there's not much there, but in your novel,

there's a lot there.

...