Editorial – Apr 2022: The world still counting…
Hello everyone
Well, from the looks of things most of us are still here although with Putin still in Russia, I suspect we’re all wondering at when does he think he’ll want to take on the rest of the world, let alone wonder what kind of world will be left in the after-math. His actions in wanting the west to go on the attack and contradictory messages to the Russian people is almost like he wants it in the history books as not being the aggressor although he’s gone to far for that. Then again, history books have shown it’s the winners who write such books and Putin is just laying the ground work, albeit only to his people while the rest of the world knows the truth. It makes you wonder if that was the way in a galaxy far, far away.
The layers being stripped away pointing out that Putin’s information about the Ukraine was totally wrong because his own officers wanted to remain in their status as ‘yes-men’ to him rather than tell the truth or give a proper military assessment which should have stopped him attacking. No doubt this legacy is still going on and they are hiding the fact that some aspects of the Russian military ground troops are stalling deliberately because they weren’t even informed they were going to war. These war crimes mount up but Putin is still capable of committing a holocaust against the world than admit defeat.
I can’t help but feel what a horrible legacy to end mankind on if it comes to world war three. There are no winners with a nuclear war which is why its called mutually assured destruction. Any country would be MAD (sic) to commit to a nuclear war. We get drummed it into ourselves enough bearing in mind the number of SF films based on the subject. About the only ones likely to benefit are the UAP drones and they’ll be notifying their masters that by the time they arrive for some free real estate, the radiation levels will have gone down to an acceptable level. Shades of the dove in the Bible’s Noah story. That would make a SF story in its own right, especially as their motors and CPUs won’t be shielded enough to stop radiation seeping in.
The odd thing in the past couple years is that there has been a few stories written based on surviving covid and no doubt on the results of our current predicament but will readers or viewers want to relive something that they are likely to have personal experience of or see on the news? Things can get too personal. I suspect there will be enough real human stories out there to share emotional output than any fiction can support.
Something else to consider is how various countries, including my own, can be messed up by wrong political decisions percolating like a falling pack of cards. So often in the past, this has been used in fiction as social comment and satire but the extreme levels we have now makes them pale in comparison. This ultimately might end this sub-genre simply because it can’t compete with reality unless the scenario scenes are raised far than we have experienced so far.
In my review of ‘Earth Abides’ by George R. Stewart in March, I commented that practically all SF stories doing post-world catastrophe invariably have mankind going back to farming or hunting and don’t attempt to recover technology and even a benign political system from learning from what has gone before. Leadership has to look towards the future after all and give talented people the time to develop things anew. Assuming not all technology is fried, I would how far down the list would be the restoration of the Internet for communication, assuming computer tech hasn’t been fried and a paper library system. No matter how advanced we become, our knowledge is locked into both these systems and ability to read as well as implement and if we lose them we would have to work out from what we remember and hope we haven’t forgotten anything. Obviously we can’t all be scientists but ensuring you do have a basic knowledge of it and technology will prevent a future society from being misinformed or thinking its magic from the corner box and the work is done by real people. It would be scary to think what would happen otherwise. It isn’t as though the apes will replace us. They haven’t got the numbers or skill sets. We can at least read, follow instructions and attempt to get our technology back working.
The next generation of SF stories needs to look beyond the standard trope answers and provide wishful thoughts that we can think and implement solutions than get into a deep depression we are doomed. Optimism is remembered as much as pessimism and we need to instil that in any future generation.
So where is this going to leave Science Fiction in the future? Assuming there is a future to live in. One aspect we should never forget about SF or any fiction is that it is a means of escapism. SF does allow an aspect of dreaming of the future. It doesn’t necessarily have to be post-apocalyptical but something to look forward to. Whatever, it should endow some level of hope that we can get over anything with time. As such, there is a need to give hope that we might never face such a deadly situation again.
Would people use SF as a template to live in a post-nuclear holocaust future? If we do, I doubt if it’ll be based on only one version, if all you’re thinking is ‘Mad Max’. The primary thing will be to have sustainable food and water supply. I suspect it will take a longer time for the arts to return when survival is imperative. Our own geek nature of remembering what we’ve read might well serve such a situation.
Thank you, take care, good night and let’s hope the above doesn’t happen.
Geoff Willmetts
editor: www.SFCrowsnest.info
A Zen thought: We each only have one life, use it sparingly or willingly but never waste it.
What Qualities Does A Geek Have: We can be both optimistic and pessimistic.
The Reveal: Immortals never need to worry about life insurance as they have the Odin Plan for a long life.
Observation: Hands up all those who thought the 1957 film ‘A Farewell To Arms’ was about amputees?
Observation: If you thought the OSI (Office of Scientific Investigation) was only thought of for ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ and ‘The Bionic Woman’, would be surprised when you watch the 1953 film ‘The Magnetic Monster’. A little more digging and there was an OSI associated with the CIA at the time so it wasn’t an invention for them neither.
Observation Fact: I was curious as to whether ‘Quatermass’ was a real surname. It’s turns out that its more common in the Australian countries and means four hands.
Computer Observation: OK, for those who prefer a single menu opposed to the double menu system in Windows 11 File Manager, I found this at: https://www.ghacks.net/2021/10/04/how-to-restore-the-classic-file-explorer-context-menu-in-windows-11/
Assuming you’re the administrator.
In the Menu Search box, type CMD and press the icon.
In the window provided, copy and paste the following:-
reg.exe add “HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32” /f
The one thing it neglects to say is: Reboot or Restart for it to be implemented.
Look at your file manager menu and things will look like Windows 10 intended.
If you need to change it back to how Windows 11 looks, do the same as above but use this copy and paste instead:-
reg.exe delete “HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}” /f
I already had my ‘Preview’ command set up on the laptop but not on the backup desktop computer but its first use will allow you to select the Windows Photo Viewer.
Computer Observation: A frustration for some of us is Windows 11 having unexpected bouts of screen freeze. The explanations through google haven’t exactly useful or production. However, after the latest time, I did some exploration of the ‘Windows’ key and its associated letter commands. You might consider pressing the windows key and ‘L’ together. It will take you back to the Windows security screen, enter your PIN or however you get back into your computer and everything is back to normal. Well, until I find an easier way. The command works in Windows 10 as well although I haven’t tried it in screen freeze situations.
Future Adverts: My mother says she doesn’t want a funeral. Turns out she’s immortal and hasn’t even signed a will. [UK readers will get this from one of the TV adverts.]
Feeling Stressed: Look at the night sky occasionally and in the grand order of the universe, we are barely a speck in its life.
