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* Catch22Dilemma: Lamont runs into one. The only way to get the data to support his theory is by getting access to the Lunar particle accelerator. However, no one can get that access against the wishes of Hallam. Going against Hallam is suicide unless Lamont makes him lose power by proving his theory. [[spoiler:Subverted in the third part, when it turns out the particle accelerator isn't the only option, since Luna has much cheaper devices which can serve the same purpose.]]
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* SpaceIsMagic: Written largely in response to this trope. Asimov once heard Robert Silverberg make up an isotope off the top of his head, plutonium-186. When Asimov pointed out that said isotope does not and cannot exist, Silverberg responded "So what?" Asimov, who was never one to back down from a challenge (even a self-imposed one) decided to work out under what conditions plutonium-186 could be possible. He concluded that it would have to be in an parallel universe where the laws of physics behaved differently than they do here (such as the strong force being a lot stronger than it is in our universe). He went on to figure out how such a universe would operate, and eventually developed his ideas into what he considered his most ambitious novel.
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* SpaceIsMagic: Written largely in response to this trope. Asimov once heard Robert Silverberg make up an isotope off the top of his head, plutonium-186. When Asimov pointed out that said isotope does not and cannot exist, Silverberg responded "So what?" Asimov, who was never one to back down from a challenge (even a self-imposed one) decided to work out under what conditions plutonium-186 could be possible. He concluded that it would have to be in an a parallel universe where the laws of physics behaved differently than they do here (such as the strong force being a lot stronger than it is in our universe). He went on to figure out how such a universe would operate, and eventually developed his ideas into what he considered his most ambitious novel.
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* FutureFoodIsArtificial: At least on the Moon. The para-universe is currently developing "artificial food", which is actually artificial lighting, since they are photosynthetic lifeforms. Dua says it tastes awful.
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* FutureFoodIsArtificial: At least on the Moon. The para-universe is currently developing "artificial food", which is actually artificial lighting, since they are photosynthetic lifeforms. Dua says it tastes awful.awful, and there are also some urban legends about it being bad for health. By the end of the paraverse segment, the taste problem is solved.
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"Denniston" is from another book
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* ApocalypseHow: Potentially a galactic-scale one or worse.
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* ApocalypseHow: Potentially a galactic-scale one or worse. However, the para-universe scientists know about it [[spoiler: and don't care. They think they can use the energy from Sun going nova and it's going to last them for the rest of their civilisation's lifetime]].
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* CommonTongue: Planetary Standard, whatever it is. %%?
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* CommonTongue: Planetary Standard, whatever it is. %%?spoken on Earth and Moon.
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* DyingRace: Due to their sun running out, the parallel universe civilization numbers only about ten thousand as of the beginning of the story.
* DysfunctionJunction: Explored with Earth's politics and academia as the example.
* ExpositionIntuition: This is a recognized talent on Earth and Moon, called "intuitionism". Selene has it, and it proves really helpful.
* DysfunctionJunction: Explored with Earth's politics and academia as the example.
* ExpositionIntuition: This is a recognized talent on Earth and Moon, called "intuitionism". Selene has it, and it proves really helpful.
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* DyingRace: Due to their sun running out, the parallel universe civilization numbers only about ten thousand as of the beginning of the story.
story. Dua thinks about "perhaps thousands" of people dying when the Pump explodes the Sun, blissfully unaware that Earth's current population is about 2 billion (used to be 6 billion, but the [[CrypticBackgroundReference Great Crisis]] happened).
* DysfunctionJunction: Explored with Earth's politics and academia as the example. \n %% ?
* ExpositionIntuition: This is a recognized talent onEarth and the Moon, called "intuitionism". Selene has it, and it proves really helpful. In parallel universe, Emotionals have it, but only Dua makes real use of it.
* DysfunctionJunction: Explored with Earth's politics and academia as the example.
* ExpositionIntuition: This is a recognized talent on
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* HannibalLecture: Senator Burt to Lamont. %%context?
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* HannibalLecture: Senator Burt to Lamont. %%context?%%context? Senator isn't trying to break him, just explains why he can't help without proper evidence that the Pump is dangerous
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* {{Intangibility}}: The Soft Ones are capable of that, to an extent.
* {{Lightworlder}}: Everyone born and raised on the Moon, which is why Denniston and Selene ''aren't'' having sex - he'd break her.
* {{Lightworlder}}: Everyone born and raised on the Moon, which is why Denniston and Selene ''aren't'' having sex - he'd break her.
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* {{Intangibility}}: The Soft Ones are capable of that, to an extent.
extent. [[spoiler: Dua becomes really good at it after weeks of hiding inside the rocks]].
* {{Lightworlder}}: Everyone born and raised on the Moon, which is whyDenniston Denison and Selene ''aren't'' having sex - he'd break her.
* {{Lightworlder}}: Everyone born and raised on the Moon, which is why
* MindlinkMates: To an extent, the Soft Ones - members of the triad can sense each other's presence and emotions. Emotionals excel at it, and Parentals redirect this ability towards babies to better sense their needs.
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* OutWithABang: The Soft Ones reproduce by "melting", an extended period of time in which they physically merge with their other two partners. Afterwards, one of them gives birth. The children's sexes always occur in a specified order, and all the members of the triad die some time after the birth of the third child (long ago, some triples had six, thus providing the answer to the obvious problem with mathematics. Today, the energy shortage doesn't allow that anymore). Subverted because we eventually discover (along with the viewpoint Soft Ones themselves) [[spoiler: that they don't actually die, they permanently merge and become a "Hard One", which up until now the Soft Ones and the reader have been led to believe is a different race. This also occurs temporarily during the other meltings, though the Soft Ones retain no memories of this.]]
* {{Permafusion}}: The "Soft Ones" and the "Hard Ones" are the names of two species of aliens that live in a Parallel Universe. The Soft Ones are gaseous beings with three sexes. They have sex by "melding", i.e. by having one Soft One of each sex inhabit the same space at the same time. The Hard Ones have a fixed shape and rule over the Soft Ones. Unbeknownst to the Soft Ones, [[spoiler:the Hard Ones are the result of three Soft ones permanently melding into one being, which has the memories of the three Soft ones that became it but can have a completely different personality.]]
* {{Permafusion}}: The "Soft Ones" and the "Hard Ones" are the names of two species of aliens that live in a Parallel Universe. The Soft Ones are gaseous beings with three sexes. They have sex by "melding", i.e. by having one Soft One of each sex inhabit the same space at the same time. The Hard Ones have a fixed shape and rule over the Soft Ones. Unbeknownst to the Soft Ones, [[spoiler:the Hard Ones are the result of three Soft ones permanently melding into one being, which has the memories of the three Soft ones that became it but can have a completely different personality.]]
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* OutWithABang: The Soft Ones reproduce by "melting", an extended period of time in which they physically merge with their other two partners. Afterwards, one of them gives birth. The children's sexes always occur in a specified specific order, and all the members of the triad die some time after the birth of the third child (long ago, some triples had six, thus providing the answer to the obvious problem with mathematics. Today, the energy shortage doesn't allow that anymore). Subverted because we eventually discover (along with the viewpoint Soft Ones themselves) [[spoiler: that they don't actually die, they permanently merge and become a "Hard One", which up until now the Soft Ones and the reader have been led to believe is a different race. This also occurs temporarily during the other meltings, though the Soft Ones retain no memories of this.]]
* {{Permafusion}}: The "Soft Ones" and the "Hard Ones" are the names of two species of aliens that live in a Parallel Universe. The Soft Ones are gaseous beings with three sexes. They have sex by"melding", "melting", i.e. by having one Soft One of each sex inhabit the same space at the same time. The Hard Ones have a fixed shape and rule over the Soft Ones. Unbeknownst to the Soft Ones, [[spoiler:the Hard Ones are the result of three Soft ones permanently melding melting into one being, which has the memories of the three Soft ones Ones that became it but can have a completely different personality.]]
* {{Permafusion}}: The "Soft Ones" and the "Hard Ones" are the names of two species of aliens that live in a Parallel Universe. The Soft Ones are gaseous beings with three sexes. They have sex by
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* BigEater: Bronowski's constant snacking. Inverted for Dua, whose dislike of eating drives quite a bit of the plot.
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* BigEater: Bronowski's constant snacking. Inverted for Dua, whose dislike of eating (photosynthesising, which is a social activity for Emotionals, and she doesn't get along with the others, which makes her even more reluctant to eat) drives quite a bit of the plot.
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Removing per Wick Cleaning Projects
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%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
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* BizarreAlienBiology: The Soft Ones have [[BizarreAlienSexes three sexes]]: Rational/left, Emotional/mid and Parental/right, which [[BizarreAlienReproduction reproduce]] by fusing their bodies together at the intermolecular level ("melting"). [[spoiler: This creates a mature solid form with the fused mind of the three soft ones, which forget this little fact after the act.]]
** Just to clarify this a bit, when a triad of Soft Ones "melt" (that is, mate), they [[spoiler: temporarily form a Hard One, but don't remember that after they separate (the Hard One does, however, remember its previous periods of consciousness when it is formed again).]] Nonetheless, this fusion is related to reproduction, being the means by which new Soft Ones are conceived (one at a time) to grow to term inside the Parental of the triad. There is an order to the pregnancies so that each triad will produce at least one full triad of offspring before they grow out of the breeding stage and finally [[spoiler: merge permanently as a Hard One]]. The Hard Ones are genderless and act in a parental/mentor advisory role to the Soft Ones (though the Parental Soft Ones act as parents to the babies when the latter are very young).
** Just to clarify this a bit, when a triad of Soft Ones "melt" (that is, mate), they [[spoiler: temporarily form a Hard One, but don't remember that after they separate (the Hard One does, however, remember its previous periods of consciousness when it is formed again).]] Nonetheless, this fusion is related to reproduction, being the means by which new Soft Ones are conceived (one at a time) to grow to term inside the Parental of the triad. There is an order to the pregnancies so that each triad will produce at least one full triad of offspring before they grow out of the breeding stage and finally [[spoiler: merge permanently as a Hard One]]. The Hard Ones are genderless and act in a parental/mentor advisory role to the Soft Ones (though the Parental Soft Ones act as parents to the babies when the latter are very young).
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* BizarreAlienBiology: The Soft Ones have [[BizarreAlienSexes three sexes]]: Rational/left, Emotional/mid and Parental/right, which [[BizarreAlienReproduction reproduce]] by fusing their bodies together at the intermolecular level ("melting"). [[spoiler: This creates a mature solid form with the fused mind of the three soft ones, which forget this little fact after the act.]]
** Just to clarify this a bit, whenWhen a triad of Soft Ones "melt" (that is, mate), they [[spoiler: temporarily [[spoiler:temporarily form a mature solid form (a Hard One, One) with the fused mind of the three Soft Ones, but don't remember that this after they separate (the Hard One does, however, remember its previous periods of consciousness when it is formed again).]] again)]]. Nonetheless, this fusion is related to reproduction, being the means by which new Soft Ones are conceived (one at a time) to grow to term inside the Parental of the triad. There is an order to the pregnancies so that each triad will produce at least one full triad of offspring before they grow out of the breeding stage and finally [[spoiler: merge permanently as a Hard One]]. The Hard Ones are genderless and act in a parental/mentor advisory role to the Soft Ones (though the Parental Soft Ones act as parents to the babies when the latter are very young).
** Just to clarify this a bit, when
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* FusionDance: The Soft Ones come in three different genders (Rational, Parental and Emotional) who use this to have sex and [[spoiler:create their mature, final solid form, the Hard Ones]].
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* AccidentalInnuendo: [[spoiler: The "Soft Ones" become "Hard Ones" when they have sex.]] While it's not clear if this even ''was'' accidental on Asimov's part, if it ''wasn't'' then it would mean that the entire novel was [[OverlyPrePreparedGag just the setup for a dick joke that flew under the radar]], which to be honest sounds more like something Creator/TerryPratchett would do.
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** This work also has aliens mastering English through [[spoiler: empathy]]
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** This work also has aliens mastering The aliens, or at least Dua, master English through [[spoiler: empathy]]
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* {{Lightworlder}}: The Moon people. Goes into a lot of detail.
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* {{Lightworlder}}: The Moon people. Goes into a lot of detail.Everyone born and raised on the Moon, which is why Denniston and Selene ''aren't'' having sex - he'd break her.
