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Sci-fi landscape v0.5

Ryan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:58:58 +0000

Need to take a break. I'll probably finish it up tomorrow.

Cyborg solution, then... software virus problem.

Jake — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:27:56 +0000

So the other day in the post Robosexuality I explained how I was watching a show on robots/robotics that didn't delve into possibly dangerous, human fatality-related consequences of "the Singularity" (the point when humans transcend biology).

I also mentioned wanting to get Daniel Wilson's book How To Survive a Robot Uprising (Tips on Defending Yourself During the Upcoming Rebellion .

Then, the other night, I saw another show on robotics (how in the hell do I keep stumbling across these cool, informative shows? Oh, and to those who say TV is useless - I beg to differ).

On this particular show on robotics, they did mention the future of humanity alongside robots, and they claimed that the humans that wanted to keep up/survive would have to be implemented with artificial parts, something the futurists like to call "transhumanism" - the mixture of biology and machinery.

Some of this is already done, with pacemakers and artificial limbs, and other parts of the body, but what the program was suggesting is much more drastic implementations, such as to the brain, involving silicon chips (such as the infamous RFID chips) and so forth.

Ok, I thought. So it boils down to adding robotic aspects to ourselves in order to best the technology - being like them, but also still having humanity. This is the answer! I thought.

But then today I saw an extremely disturbing episode of the sci-fi show Outer Limits.

Mind you, it is science FICTION.

And it was made in 1997.

But the fact is, it was the best damn episode of Outer Limits I had ever seen. Why?

The episode is called "Stream of Consciousness", and, in a nutshell, humanity is living within a futuristic society where everyone has implements on the side of their heads which interact with their brain in order to acquire all human data instantly, instead of having to read it/learn it.

The main character, however, is a human that had "brain damage" (he doesn't appear less intelligent) - so he wasn't able to have the implant, since he was very young.

But the disturbing part came when the "data stream" that all humans subscribed to started to give random humans a "virus" that caused information to be sought after/downloaded too fast for the brain to process - eventually killing the person.

So finally, the guy without the head implant has to go and find a written book that the data stream/computer had neglected to destroy (although it had neglected to destroy this copy) - in order to have his friend, a girl with an implant, read the book and spread the shutdown code to the whole system.

The problem was that, once all entwined together with this data stream, the stream itself was like a mass consciousness to all the people, and none of them would willfully destroy it (themselves!) Wow.

Basically, the question is this - if humans merge with technology as the transhumanists desire, would we doom ourselves to being vulnerable to something like a computer virus killing us?

A disturbing thought.

I'm just going to buy that fucking book, already.

Space Opera #4-2

mmannion — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:17:27 +0000

We had assumed a shape which evidently pleased the being that we were depending on. Some of us admitted that the four sticks we were moving around on were fun. The higher orders were watching the being with interest as it looked over the wreckage of the transport.

'Shit.' This was spoken several times and with some gravity as the being moved around the wreckage. The picture which formed was of some kind of smelly exudate. Ah, some kind of exclamation. We hoped this was a good sign.

'OK Fido, let's see what you can do.' It was looking at me. 'Can you move this bulkhead out of the way?' I put forward some arms and moved the large piece of metal to the side. 'Great.' It said, and stated moving around again.

The moving pebble might be useful after all. The bulkhead must have weighted a good ten tons. The main cabin which had been a midships was mostly intact but the drive unit was trashed for the most part except for a single drive assembly. The forward cargo bay was toast in the lava but the back bay where the thing had been was only partially hulled. The rest of the cargo were mineral specimens on consignment to some dirt planet in the Orion sector.

Brunner plays a strange game in Players

Bill the sci-fi guy — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:48:55 +0000

I think it says something about an author's skill when you read one of his books, and you find the first 75% of it not to your liking for whatever reason (too boring, too strange, seems like it's not going anywhere), but by the time you've read the last 25% you change your mind completely and end up regarding said book favorably. I've just had this experience, with Brunner's 1980 novel Players At the Game of People. Honestly, for the largest chunk of this very strange book I was skeptical about it's value, and it seemed very possible it would turn out to be utterly pointless. But by the time I read the last page and closed the cover, I was surprised to find myself nodding in approval, and appreciating the subtle and roundabout way in which the story unfolded.

Godwin Harpinshield is a member of a special group of people who -- how to explain this? -- live lives of inexplicable luxury, amongst and yet apart from the rest of humanity, and who have access to certain strange powers and experiences, including near-immortality or at least very long life. If that sounds vague, then you get the picture, because it IS vague throughout most of the book. As Godwin visits other members of this group in a surrealistic sequence of bizarre encounters, we get little sidewise glimpses into their existence, and obscure hints at where their unique abilities come from, or at least where they think they come from. Much of this is quite annoying, concerning mystical gibberish about astrology and astral guidance and the like; early on in the book it seems like the whole thing is going to stay on that track, thus my frequent wondering if this was a waste of time. I'm in a delicate position here, since I can't tell you too much without spoiling it for you. Suffice it to say that the answer, while left intentionally sketchy, is not a straightforwardly mystical one. Or at least, it doesn't have to be; there are perfectly good SFnal explanations available, which suits my preferences, of couse.

But that doesn't matter so much -- the source of the special powers isn't really the point. At its heart, this is a Faustian tale about the price of getting everything you ever wanted. Godwin has easy access to all the finest things in life: a fantastic (and fantastical!) home, expensive cars, instant travel to exotic locales, the best food and drink in the world, the company of as many gorgeous women as he likes. And he pays nothing for it. At any rate, he pays no money for these privileges, nor does he work for them. But as the novel progresses, we begin to discover that there is a price, after all. And along with Godwin, we are forced to ponder whether it's a price worth paying. Although Godwin gives off an almost constant sense of unease and dissatisfaction all along, the story gets most interesting when he finally starts to consciously question the reasons for his unease. The breakthrough moment comes here:

Something to do, perhaps, with pride?
Do I have pride?
He looked about him -- looked anywhere in the grand apartment except at her -- and asked, for the first time: "Did I create that? Did I earn it? Did I invent it or conceive it or design it?"
And felt the chilling knowledge overtake him:
Of course not. I simply accepted it when it was given.
Who have I been all these years? And worse yet:
What have I been?

The novel ends tragically for Godwin, who never reaches any solid conclusions about what he could or should have done differently in life. He finds no answers, but at least he asks some questions -- which is, I suppose, what we all do in this Game of People we call "life."

O Nevoeiro (The Mist)

LELLA — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:47:57 +0000

Stephen King é um produto da sorte, oportunidade e algum talento. Mas definitivamente, não é um escritor exímio apesar das idéias de gênio, geralmente mal desenvolvidas. As páginas de "Carrie" resgatadas do lixo foram parar nas mãos de Brian de Palma. O sucesso do filme catapultou sua carreira, sedimentada quando Kubrick escolheu "O Iluminado" para adaptar. Foi o suficiente para o transformar no "Mestre do terror".

O acontecimento se passa na cidade do Maine, onde uma terrível tempestade, seguida de uma densa névoa, provoca uma corrida ao pequeno supermercado local para estoque de alimento. Ali, um grupo de pessoas fica confinado enquanto um nevoeiro sobrenatural toma conta das imediações causando pânico e histeria.

"O Nevoeiro" já foi filmado antes sem grande estardalhaço. Frank Darabont, desta vez fez muitas alterações na estória original e quase transformou "The Mist" em outro roteiro. Foi um grande acerto.

Mesmo quem não é fã de terror, pode apreciar o completo e profundo panorama psicológico traçado sob a forma de um grupo heterogêneo preso num pequeno espaço, onde se conflitam divergências religiosas, diferenças sociais e de comportamento. Neste clima tenso estilo Big Brother envolvido por uma bruma misteriosa, é que cada ser humano, retornando a um status primitivo, pode vir a revelar um lado assustador. É o que parece acontecer quando caem as regras de civilização e os meios de comunicação e tecnologia que regem uma sociedade. É quando novos e perigosos líderes surgem.

Quem não quiser se preocupar com este pano de fundo cheio de metáforas e alegorias, vai aproveitar cenas de arrepiar num dos filmes mais aterradores já feitos. O elenco liderado por Thomas Jane é afinado, com destaque para Marcia Gay Harden que faz a fanática religiosa. A cena em que ela repele uma criatura medonha acreditando no poder de sua fé, é inesquecível.

No final chocante, fica difícil concluir se os monstros apavorantes de uma dimensão desconhecida seriam mais destruidores que os próprios seres humanos numa situação limite como a guerra.

Por: Carlos Henry.

O Nevoeiro (The Mist). 2007. EUA. Direção e Roteiro: Frank Darabont. Elenco: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Alexa Davalos, William Sadler, Laurie Holden, Chris Owen, Nathan Gamble, Andre Braugher. Gênero: Drama, Terror, Sci-Fi. Duração: 126 minutos. Baseado em livro de Stephen King.