Editorial – December 2024: The Future Of Us.
Hello everyone,
Time and events are forever moving forward, not always going the way we would like. At times, it serves as a reminder that we are all growing older, yet our wisdom is not always reflected. There’s also some trepidation toward what is going to happen in the near future and a shudder at the threat of another possible world war.
With so many struggles occurring around the world, one cannot help but wonder if science fiction will ever be able to claim its own future. There are numerous junctures where uncertainty looms over who will prevail. This presents a significant challenge, given that a significant portion of our present computer-based technology was once the realm of science fiction. Our reality is drifting again. We can only hope that the success of returning to space and exploring the planets and moons could avert man’s extinction, instead of limiting him to a single planet. The problems of sustaining an off-world colony will depend on how quickly it can become self-sustaining. Disturbance poses a greater challenge than local wildlife or abandoned spaceships. No quick emergency rescues.
The Apollo program, when the computer on board the lunar lander was less powerful than a current calculator, led to many of our technological advancements. Without a doubt, many of the technological advancements required for these colonies will have an impact on our home planet. We will need to test hydroponic crops and similar technologies here, and improved yields could undoubtedly benefit the world’s poorest regions. It would also aid in the recycling of carbon dioxide into oxygen.
If I were to apply a science fiction twist to this, our space pioneers would need to adapt their bodies to survive in reduced gravity and even hibernate to conserve resources. Every time I read about studies in species that hibernate and the discovery that we have the same genetic mechanism but it’s not used, it does suggest the possibility that it could be used again. We certainly can’t land on any other planetary body and suddenly find that we can barely crawl through a lack of real gravity for so long in flight. Solutions to this will move science fiction a long way from the old Wild West depiction of space. Considering my observations from last month, which suggest that other products are evolving at an accelerating pace, it’s reasonable to anticipate that Man will undergo further transformations in order to venture into the galaxy. Whether such fictional depictions will be seen in TV and films remains to be seen. Bioengineering has been a common practice in science fiction before. Many of John Varley’s stories gave prominence to such physical changes as being commonplace. Whether we’ll go as far as exchanging legs for another set of arms remains to be seen. It does give an interesting consequence that the future spaceman will no longer be able to live on Earth, which would ultimately mean moving ever outward. It will also change our views on commerce and materials, creating a whole new order. The man of the future will be far different from us. Whether we can relate to them or not is still up for debate. It has better odds than being able to sustain centrifuge gravity in space.
We often wonder why other species haven’t evolved into space travelers. Physical limitations could be a contributing factor, as could the reliance on artificial intelligence for physical tasks. Both scenarios would pose far greater challenges than the speed of travel. Even so, we must consider the desire to travel independently to be more fulfilling than any creation we might make. Whether we would take a similar appearance to that of the mythical greys remains to be seen. No one has ever considered their shape to be better in low gravity with eyes tolerant to bright light. Strangely, the medical examination of abductees makes sense, considering the potential for genetic modification or the creation of altered humans. Hmm… I could make a story out of that idea.
If you were an alien who wished to take a sample of a planet’s sentient species on a space journey, wouldn’t you want to adapt them to survive the trip? While making such changes quickly is unlikely, it’s crucial to first study the species in question to identify necessary changes and potential issues.
Just because, even in our fiction, we present aliens with similar agendas to our own doesn’t mean they won’t have their own solutions. There is a prevailing belief that alien UAPs are particularly interested in the nuclear arsenals of various countries. One can only hope they have an ecological program to preserve some sentients from themselves, or Man would be a small footnote in the history of the universe. What an indictment for intelligence.
It would be comforting to know that there will not only be a tomorrow, but also another decade. There are numerous challenges facing our species, including a potential world war. A potential world war. Global warming. Extreme weather conditions. Leaders in various countries fail to acknowledge the existence of global warming. If we’re headed towards disaster, there are numerous options that lead to the same outcome. One can only hope the rest of the animal kingdom survives enough to keep going. If we don’t unite our collective minds beyond politics and ignorance, intelligence as an evolutionary advancement is destined to stagnate. This is a stark warning for the year 2024.
Thank you, take care, good night, and I hope for a better new year than this one.
Geoff Willmetts
editor: www.SFCrowsnest.info
A Zen thought: Empty thoughts never beat constructive thinking.
What Qualities Does A Geek Have: To think in sand inside and outside of the box.
The Reveal: The world is forever getting smaller with ever more connections.
Observation: The main flaw in the 1971 film ‘The Andromeda Strain’ is the scientists being decontaminated before getting to the lower level of the Wildfire unit. We know far more now than back in the 1970s but the human body is composed of various micro-organisms so getting rid of them is likely to make the body sick. On top of that, the outer skin removal as an ash exposes the naked skin to all kinds of infections but as the head is protected, any contamination would still in on head skin.
Observation: Did you hear about the time traveller who went into the past and bought all the first edition ‘Harry Potter’ books expecting to make his fortune when he returned to his present? He didn’t. It might have had a paperback edition but it never achieved massive sales.
Feeling Stressed: There is always someone having it worse than you.
