Deneb in fiction
Encyclopedia
Deneb
(Alpha Cygni), a highly luminous blue-white supergiant star, is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus
and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Perhaps for this reason, it is frequently mentioned as a location or destination in works of science fiction
.
Deneb
Deneb is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus and one of the vertices of the Summer Triangle. It is the 19th brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of 1.25. A blue-white supergiant, Deneb is also one of the most luminous nearby stars...
(Alpha Cygni), a highly luminous blue-white supergiant star, is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus
Cygnus (constellation)
Cygnus is a northern constellation lying on the plane of the Milky Way. Its name is the Latinized Hellenic word for swan. One of the most recognizable constellations of the northern summer and autumn, it features a prominent asterism known as the Northern Cross...
and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Perhaps for this reason, it is frequently mentioned as a location or destination in works of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
.
Literature
- Deneb is the home of Jeff Raven in the Talents series of books (The RowanThe RowanThe Rowan is the first book in "The Tower and the Hive" series by Anne McCaffrey. It is set in the universe of the "Pegasus" trilogy, against a backdrop of a technologically advanced society in which telepathy, psychokinesis and other psychic Talents have become scientifically accepted and...
, Damia, Damia's Children, Lyon's Pride, The Tower and the Hive) by Anne McCaffreyAnne McCaffreyAnne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award...
. The planet is the first human planet in the series to be attacked by the bug-like Hive.
- Denebian characters and events are part of the Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
universe, e.g. in the short stories "The Machine that Won the WarThe Machine that Won the WarThe Machine that Won the War is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the October 1961 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and was reprinted in the collections Nightfall and Other Stories and Robot Dreams...
" and "The Feeling of PowerThe Feeling of PowerThe Feeling of Power is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. The story first appeared in the February 1958 issue of If: Worlds of Science Fiction, and was reprinted in the 1959 collection Nine Tomorrows, the 1969 retrospective Opus 100, and the 1986 collection Robot Dreams...
".
- Hal ClementHal ClementHarry Clement Stubbs better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre.-Biography:...
's short story "Uncommon SenseUncommon Sense"Uncommon Sense" is a 1945 science fiction short story by Hal Clement. In 1996, it was retrospectively awarded the 1946 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.-Publication history:...
" takes place on an unnumbered planet around Deneb.
- In David Weber's Honor HarringtonHonor HarringtonHonor Stephanie Alexander-Harrington is a fictional character, the heroine of a series of military science fiction books set in the "Honorverse", written by David Weber and published by Baen Books....
series, the Deneb Accords govern treatment of military prisoners, much like relevant parts of the Geneva Convention.
- In Dan SimmonsDan SimmonsDan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
' Hyperion CantosHyperion CantosThe Hyperion Cantos is a series of science fiction novels by Dan Simmons. Set in the far future, and focusing more on plot and story development than technical detail, it falls into the soft science fiction category...
, Deneb Drei and Deneb Vier are the (inhabited) third and fourth planets around Deneb. Given their names, they were likely settled by GermansGermansThe Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
or other GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
-speaking peoples (drei and vier are the German words for three and four).
- In the Marvel Comic Universe, Zenn-LaZenn-LaZenn-La is a fictional planet in the Marvel Universe, located in the Deneb System in the Milky Way galaxy, approximately 3,000 light years from Earth. It is best known as the homeworld of the Silver Surfer...
is a fictional planet located in the Deneb System. It is the birthplace of the Silver SurferSilver SurferThe Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy"....
, also known as Norrin Radd.
- In the Captain FutureCaptain FutureCaptain Future is a science fictional hero pulp character originally published in self-titled American pulp magazines during the 1940s and early 50s.-Origins:...
books, Deneb is the origin of Earth humans, as well as many other humanoid races across the Solar System and beyond.
Television
- Deneb is frequently mentioned in various versions of the Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
television series:- In the Star Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode "Where No Man Has Gone BeforeWhere No Man Has Gone Before"Where No Man Has Gone Before" is the second pilot episode of the television series Star Trek: The Original Series. It was produced in 1965 after the first pilot, "The Cage", had been rejected by NBC. The episode was eventually broadcast third in sequence on September 22, 1966, and was re-aired on...
", Captain KirkJames T. KirkJames Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
and Gary Mitchell briefly mention a night Mitchell spent on Deneb IV. Mitchell describes the Denebian woman involved as "a nova". Mitchell's medical record mentions that the inhabitants of Deneb IV are telepathic. - In the Star Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode "I, Mudd", Harry Mudd and Mr. Spock note that capital punishmentCapital punishmentCapital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
(in whatever form the condemned choses) is the penalty for fraudFraudIn criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
on Deneb V. - In the Star Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode "The Trouble With Tribbles", Korax describes Captain KirkJames T. KirkJames Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
as being a "Denebian slime devil". - Deneb IV is also mentioned in the Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode "Encounter at Farpoint".
- In the Star Trek: The Original Series
- Deneb IV is the location of an Earth colony in the Babylon 5Babylon 5Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
universe.
- The Deneb System is home of the Yrrillians, the makers of the life-pod in the British television series AquilaAquila (TV series)Aquila is a British children's television show which aired on the BBC from 1997 to 1998. An episode was aired once a week, and was based on the story of two boys, Tom Baxter and Geoff Reynolds, who find a spacecraft when digging in a field...
.
- The Deneb System may be the location of the Cygnus Alpha penal colony in Blake's 7Blake's 7Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
. Deneb is also known as Alpha Cygni.
Games
- Deneb is the location of two major battles in the FreeSpace space-sim universe, the first between the Terrans and Vasudans against the Shivans during the mid 24th century, and the second between Galactic Terran-Vasudan Alliance and the Neo-Terran Front several decades later.
- Deneb is a system in the outskirts of the Earth & BeyondEarth & BeyondEarth & Beyond was a science fiction massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Electronic Arts . The game was released on September 24, 2002 in the United States. EA shut down Earth & Beyond on September 22, 2004...
universe.
- The Domain of Deneb is a region of the Imperium in the universe of the TravellerTraveller (role-playing game)Traveller is a series of related science fiction role-playing games, the first published in 1977 by Game Designers' Workshop and subsequent editions by various companies remaining in print to this day. The game was inspired from such classic science fiction stories as the Dumarest saga series by...
role-playing game. It includes the Deneb Sector, whose capital is at Deneb itself.
- Deneb is the 4th level in the PC game: Stellar 7Stellar 7Stellar 7 is a futuristic tank simulation computer game based on the arcade game Battlezone in which the player assumes the role of a tank pilot. The enemies include anything from other tanks to mechanical birds. Several years later a sequel game, Nova 9 was released...
.
- Deneb is a default system name in the Spaceward Ho!Spaceward Ho!Spaceward Ho! is a turn-based science fiction computer strategy game that was written by Peter Commons, designed by Joe Williams and published by Delta Tao Software. The first version was released in 1990, and further upgrades followed regularly; the current version, 5.0.5, was released on July...
series.
- Deneb is the border system between the Itani and Serco factions in Vendetta OnlineVendetta OnlineVendetta Online is a twitch-based, science fiction massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Guild Software for the operating systems Android, Linux, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows...
.
Music
- The song Cygnus X-1, by the progressive rockProgressive rockProgressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band RushRush (band)Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
features the lyric: "I set a course just east of LyraLyraLyra is a small constellation. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Its principal star, Vega — a corner of the Summer Triangle — is one of the brightest...
, northwest of PegasusPegasus (constellation)Pegasus is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the winged horse Pegasus in Greek mythology. It was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations.-Stars:...
. Flew into the light of DenebDenebDeneb is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus and one of the vertices of the Summer Triangle. It is the 19th brightest star in the night sky, with an apparent magnitude of 1.25. A blue-white supergiant, Deneb is also one of the most luminous nearby stars...
, sailed across the Milky WayMilky WayThe Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
."
- The song Deneb, by contemporary post-metalPost-metalPost-metal is a music genre, a mixture between the genres of post-rock and heavy metal.Hydra Head Records owner and Isis frontman Aaron Turner originally termed the genre "thinking man's metal", demonstrating that his band was trying to move away from common metal conventions...
band RosettaRosetta (band)Rosetta is an American post-metal band from Philadelphia incorporating elements of post-hardcore, shoegazing, drone, post-rock, avant-garde, and ambient, with influences as diverse as Neurosis and Isis, My Bloody Valentine, Frodus, and Stars of the Lid...
from the second disk of their debut two-disc release, The Galilean SatellitesThe Galilean Satellites-Personnel:* Michael Armine – sound manipulation, vocals* David Grossman – bass guitar* Bruce McMurtrie Jr. – drums* J. Matthew Weed – electric guitar, violin, mastering* Aaron Turner – artwork...
is named after the star.