Episode 576: Our Mass Outpaces Our Structure

This week's episode covers everything from Metallica rumors to vehicular combat nostalgia, with some Star Trek overload and a short story about ants the size of Buicks. Real Life First off: is Metallica doing a farewell tour? Nope. Despite the headlines , it's not the end. Devon's floating the idea of a Metallica Vegas residency though—because nothing says "hard rock" like the Strip buffet scene. Speaking of trips, Devon cruised back to Cozumel and reported in with the most lukewarm Superman review ever: "It was okay." Much more enthusiasm went to Twisted Metal, which Devon swears is actually good TV. Ben's week was a mash-up of retro and weird: revisiting the vehicular combat classic Vigilante 8 (alternate 1975, naturally) and driving headlong into Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom—a game best described as Super Mario 64 colliding with Crazy Taxi in an alleyway. Steven had a great run in Shatterpoint, squaring off against Greg. Steven fielded Lord Maul and Count Dooku, Greg ran the entire Rogue One crew, and fun was had by all. Also, Ben dog-sat and chicken-sat for Steven. His payment? Eggs. A true barter economy. Future or Now Ben wasn't going to let us off the hook without some Star Trek chatter. Two new official Trek series just dropped—including Star Trek: Scouts, a preschooler show that Ben insists counts. He's also tossing out theories about Jack Ransom connections and reminding us that Khan is on the way too. That's… a lot of Trek. Maybe too much Trek. Steven meanwhile is hyped because Star Trek LEGO, is now officially a thing. The USS Enterprise and a Type-15 Shuttlepod in brick form? Yes, please. Devon had nothing this week. (Hey, he's allowed a bye week.) Book Club This week we dug into Edward Bryant's 1979 short story giANTS, which dives into what happens when you ignore the square-cube law. Quick refresher: double the size of an insect, and its mass increases faster than its strength or breathing ability. Meaning giant ants would basically suffocate under their own bulk. Science ruins everything, but at least it makes for great fiction. Next week we're jumping back to 1971 with Robert Silverberg's Good News from the Vatican (found in Universe 1). Grab it here, if you want to read along.