We discuss the four-novel series “Cities in Flight” by James Blish in which entire cities lift off into space to search for economic opportunity. Then we argue the difference between conceptual and speculative science in fiction.
Links:
Cities in Flight by James Blish [1970]:
https://archive.org/details/citiesinflight00jame/mode/2up
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction entry on James Blish:
https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/blish_james
Wikipedia article on P.M.S. Blackett:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Blackett
Wikipedia article on James Branch Cabell:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Branch_Cabell
