place_of_birth tim pratt
___MASK25___ is a town located in the ___MASK58___ Mountains ___MASK92___ western ___MASK4___ , United States . ___MASK25___ ' s population was 17 , 122 in 2010 . ___MASK25___ is the county seat ___MASK92___ Watauga County and the home ___MASK92___ Appalachian State University . The town is named for famous American pioneer and explorer Daniel ___MASK25___ , and every summer since 1952 has hosted an outdoor amphitheatre drama , Horn in the West , portraying the British settlement ___MASK92___ the area during the American Revolutionary War and featuring the contributions ___MASK92___ its namesake . ___MASK73___ is the ___MASK27___ populous state in the United States and the third ___MASK27___ extensive by area . Located on the western ( Pacific Ocean ) coast of the U . S ., ___MASK73___ is bordered by the other U . S . states of Oregon , Nevada , and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of ___MASK7___ ___MASK73___ . The state capital is Sacramento . Los Angeles is ___MASK73___ ' s ___MASK27___ populous city , and the country ' s second largest after ___MASK14___ City . The state also has the nation ' s ___MASK27___ populous county , Los Angeles County , and its largest county by area , San Bernardino County . ___MASK47___ travel is the concept of movement ( such as by a human ) between certain points in ___MASK47___ , analogous to movement between different points in space , typically using a hypothetical device known as a ___MASK47___ machine , in the form of a vehicle or of a portal connecting distant points in ___MASK47___ . ___MASK47___ travel is a recognized concept in philosophy and fiction , but traveling to an arbitrary point in ___MASK47___ has a very limited support in theoretical physics , and usually only in conjunction with quantum mechanics or wormholes , also known as Einstein - Rosen bridges . In a more narrow sense , one - way ___MASK47___ travel into the future via ___MASK47___ dilation is a well - understood phenomenon within the frameworks of special relativity and general relativity , but advancing a large amount of ___MASK47___ is not feasible with current technology . The concept was touched upon in various earlier works of fiction , but was popularized by H . G . Wells ' 1895 novel " The ___MASK47___ Machine ", which moved the concept of ___MASK47___ travel into the public imagination , and it remains a popular subject in science fiction . Technology (" science ___MASK92___ craft ", from Greek , " techne ", " art , skill , cunning ___MASK92___ hand "; and , "- logia ") is the collection ___MASK92___ techniques , skills , methods and processes used in the production ___MASK92___ goods or services or in the accomplishment ___MASK92___ objectives , such as scientific investigation . Technology can be the knowledge ___MASK92___ techniques , processes , and the like , or it can be embedded in machines which can be operated without detailed knowledge ___MASK92___ their workings . Appalachian State University ( also referred to as Appalachian , App State , App , ASU ) is a comprehensive ( Master ' s L ), public , coeducational university in ___MASK25___ , ___MASK4___ , United States . A county seat is an administrative ___MASK57___ , seat of government , or capital city of a county or civil ___MASK54___ . The term is used in the United States , Canada , Romania , ___MASK26___ and Taiwan . In the United Kingdom and Ireland , county towns have a similar function . The supernatural ( Medieval Latin : " superntrlis ": " supra " " above " + " naturalis " " natural ", first used : 1520  1530 AD ) includes all that cannot be explained by science or the laws ___MASK92___ nature , including things characteristic ___MASK92___ or relating to ghosts , gods , or other supernatural beings , or to things beyond nature . Genre ( or ; from French " genre " , " kind " or " ___MASK78___ ", from Latin " genus " ( stem " gener -"), Greek  , " gés ") ___MASK22___ Cruz is the county seat and largest city of ___MASK22___ Cruz County , California . As of 2013 the U . S . Census Bureau estimated ___MASK22___ Cruz ' s population at 62 , 864 . Extraterrestrial life , also called alien life ( or , if it is a sentient or relatively complex individual , an " extraterrestrial " or " alien "), is life that does not originate from Earth . These as - yet - hypothetical life forms may range from simple single - celled organisms to beings with civilizations far more advanced than humanity . Although many scientists expect extraterrestrial life to exist , there is no unambiguous evidence for its existence so far . The science ___MASK92___ extraterrestrial life is known as exobiology . ___MASK50___ is a city in Wayne County , North Carolina , United States . The population was 36 , 437 at the 2010 Census . It is the principal city of and is included in the ___MASK50___ , North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area . The nearby town of Waynesboro was founded in 1787 and ___MASK50___ was incorporated in 1847 . It is the county seat of Wayne County . The city is situated in North Carolina ' s Coastal Plain and is bordered on the south by the Neuse River and the west by the Little River , about 43 miles southwest of Greenville and 55 miles southeast of Raleigh , the state capital and 87 miles northwest of Wilmington in Southeastern North Carolina . ___MASK50___ is best known as home to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base . Innovation can be defined simply as a " new idea , device , or method ". However , innovation is often also viewed as the application ___MASK92___ better solutions that meet new requirements , unarticulated needs , or existing market needs . This is accomplished through more - effective products , processes , services , technologies , or business models that are readily available to markets , governments and society . The term " innovation " can be defined as something original and more effective and , as a consequence , new , that " breaks into " the market or society . It is related to , but not the same as , invention . Innovation is often manifested via the engineering process . The exnovation is the opposite ___MASK92___ innovation . Speculative fiction is a broad umbrella genre denoting any narrative fiction with supernatural or futuristic elements ; this encompasses the genres ___MASK92___ science fiction , fantasy , horror , alternative history , magic realism , and superhero fiction , as well as combinations ___MASK92___ the previous genres . It typically strays strongly from reality and so may feature fictional types ___MASK92___ beings like mythical creatures and supernatural entities , technologies that do not exist in real life like ___MASK47___ machines and interstellar spaceships , or magical or otherwise scientifically inexplicable elements . The term ' s popularity is sometimes attributed to Robert Heinlein , who referenced it in 1947 in an editorial essay , although there are prior mentions ___MASK92___ speculative fiction , or its variant " speculative literature ". ___MASK29___ is an unincorporated community in ___MASK85___ County , ___MASK4___ , United States , about 9 miles south ___MASK92___ ___MASK50___ . Part ___MASK92___ this area includes the Brogden CDP . ___MASK29___ is included in the ___MASK50___ , ___MASK4___ Metropolitan Statistical Area . Science is a systematic ___MASK39___ that builds and organizes knowledge in the form ___MASK92___ testable explanations and predictions about the universe . Tim Pratt ( born December 12 , 1976 ) is a science fiction and fantasy writer and poet . He grew up in the vicinity ___MASK92___ Dudley , ___MASK4___ , and attended Appalachian State University , where he earned a Bachelor ' s in English . In 1999 he attended the Clarion East Writing Workshop . He moved to Santa Cruz , California in 2000 , and currently resides in Oakland with his wife Heather Shaw and son River . He currently works as a senior editor at Locus Magazine . Pratt ' s work has appeared in a number ___MASK92___ markets , including Asimov ' s Science Fiction , Realms ___MASK92___ Fantasy , Orson Scott Card ' s InterGalactic Medicine Show , and Strange Horizons . His story `` Little Gods '' ( online ) ( 2002 ) was nominated for Nebula Award for the Best Short Story . His story `` Hart & Boot , '' first published in Polyphony 4 , was reprinted in Best American Short Stories : 2005 . His `` Impossible Dreams '' ( Asimov ' s July 2006 ) won the Hugo Award in the Best Short Story category . Collection Hart & Boot & Other Stories was a World Fantasy Award finalist in 2008 . He has also had stories and poems published in various other markets and Year ' s Best collections . In 2009 , he donated his archive to the department ___MASK92___ Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University . Fiction is the classification for any story or universe derived from imagination  in other words , not based strictly on history or fact . Fiction can be expressed in a variety ___MASK92___ formats , including writings , live performances , films , television programs , animations , video games , and role - playing games , though the term originally and ___MASK27___ commonly refers to the narrative forms ___MASK92___ literature ( see " literary " fiction ), including the novel , novella , short story , and play . Fiction constitutes an act ___MASK92___ creative invention , so that faithfulness to reality is not typically assumed ; in other words , fiction is not expected to present only characters who are actual people or descriptions that are factually true . The context ___MASK92___ fiction is generally open to interpretation , due to fiction ' s freedom from any necessary embedding in reality ; however , some fictional works are claimed to be , or marketed as , historically or factually accurate , complicating the traditional distinction between fiction and non - fiction . Fiction is a classification or category , rather than a specific mode or genre , unless used in a narrower sense as a synonym for a particular literary fiction form . ___MASK4___ is a state in the southeastern region of the United States . The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south , Tennessee to the west , Virginia to the north , and the Atlantic Ocean to the east . ___MASK4___ is the 28th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the U . S . states . The state is divided into 100 counties . The capital is Raleigh . The most populous municipality is Charlotte , and it is the second largest banking center in the United States after ___MASK14___ City . Science fiction ( often shortened to SF , sci - fi or scifi ) is a genre ___MASK92___ speculative fiction , typically dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic science and technology , space travel , ___MASK47___ travel , faster than light travel , parallel universes , and extraterrestrial life . Science fiction often explores the potential consequences ___MASK92___ scientific and other innovations , and has been called a " literature ___MASK92___ ideas ." It usually avoids the supernatural , and unlike the related genre ___MASK92___ fantasy , historically science fiction stories were intended to have a grounding in science - based fact or theory at the ___MASK47___ the story was created , but this connection is now limited to hard science fiction . ___MASK46___ science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific accuracy . The term was first used in print in 1957 by P . Schuyler ___MASK71___ in a review of John W . ___MASK64___ , Jr .' s " Islands of Space " in " Astounding Science Fiction ". The complementary term soft science fiction , formed by analogy to hard science fiction , first appeared in the late 1970s . The term is formed by analogy to the popular distinction between the " hard " ( natural ) and " soft " ( social ) sciences . Science fiction critic Gary Westfahl argues that neither term is part of a rigorous taxonomy ; instead they are approximate ways of characterizing stories that reviewers and commentators have found useful . Fantasy is a fiction genre set in an imaginary universe , often but not always without any locations , events , or people from the real world . ___MASK27___ fantasy uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element , theme , or setting . Magic and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds . Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes , respectively , though there is a great ___MASK9___ of overlap between the three , all of which are subgenres of speculative fiction .