In the Courts of the Crimson Kings In the Courts of the Crimson Kings In the Courts of the Crimson Kings is a 2008 alternate history science fiction novel by American writer S. M. Stirling. The story takes place on the planet Mars in an alternate solar system where probes from the United States of America and the Soviet Union find intelligent life and civilizations on both Venus and Mars. The book is heavily influenced by the works of writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, and Leigh Brackett, among others. It is a sequel to "The Sky People", which is set on Venus. Stirling later
Akaa Solar System Scale Model man-made spacecraft) and the concrete pillar representing its location is at the center of the neighbouring town Viiala, approximately 7 km away from the Sun. The speed of light in the scale model is exactly 10 cm/second, so walking the 50-meter distance from the Earth to Sun "at light speed" takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds. In 2018 scale model of Proxima Centauri -star was added to Akaa Solar System Scale Model. Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star and the nearest star to our Solar System. It is located 4.24 light-years away and in the model's scale it has