Exploring the Future: Beyond Robots in Sci-Fi Writing

[Moni]

Hmm... I write Sci-fi in my little country :) Most of my sci-fi are of Asimov type Robots ;)

Now I want to know other than robots what else can dominate the future world ?

Can you help me?

 

[selfAdjoint]

Genetic modification of humans. One author did a whole series just based on the idea of artificial wombs. Let's see, don't need pregnant women anymore, what type of society could evolve? One might be all men, another supertech designer babies, etc. etc.

Here's a free story idea that occurred to me the other night. The story would be called Slime. A small number of earthlings are dropped onto a newly found planet - this is early days of colonization and thery're going to be left for, say, a year before the colonizing agency checks back on them. There's a big bonus if they can make a go on the planet because they will be on the ground floor and will become big shots, but meanwhile they have to survive and if possible flourish.

The planet is in its prokaryote phase - pre animals, pre plants, pre everything but bacteria. And bacteria are eveywhere. Bacterial slimes cover every square inch of the rocky (no soil yet) surface. Ick! Now invent some interesting characters and put them though this. Have them all but give up and then discover something (what?) that enables a big finish where they win and succeed.

The point of all these stories (including Asimov's robots!) is to critique/satirize our lives today. You get a bullying galactic empire and maybe it looks a little like the Bush regime in the US. On the other hand if your galactic empire is all talk and never actually prevents wars, maybe it resembles the UN. You get the idea.

 

[Jeebus]

I don't want to sound idiotic, because selfAdjoint did an excellent job at expressing his opinion. But I also think that, possibly, even Chimpanzee's / Bonobo's could possibly have a threat on the future, perhaps maybe in 350 years? If you ask me then, I might change my opinion a bit, but their brain calculations are similar to ours, and I would say they have basic logic, even perhaps more. Afterall most know how to do sign language.

Nevertheless, I doubt it, greatly. I think we might incorporate them into the mix though. One Nation Under Chimpanzee's.

 

[Nereid]

Sci-fi authors have used a wide range of future dominators, from simple projections of today's (and yesterday's) good guys and bad guys (maybe even some gals too? Ursula Le Guin??), through projections of other animals we know (bees and ants are quite interesting), robots (lots of examples; my scary ones are Benson's), and even life forms not of this world (e.g. plasma beings who reside in the twilight zone around spinning black holes; nuclear-matter beings who live on the surfaces of white dwarfs and neutron stars). And I'm sure I've missed lots.

One idea I'd like to see more explored (maybe I just haven't read widely enough) takes our (homo sap.) utter insignifance through several (seven?) layers - we're billions, but cf Insecta we are but a large ant colony; cf rock-dwelling bacteria, C Insecta is but a few seconds of reproduction; then the whole one star in a galaxy, one galaxy in the universe thing; next baryonic matter as the scum of the universe (long live dark matter sentients!), with maybe a diversion through the >10 OOM time-zones between Planck time and the lifetime of the most unstable meson; on to wild speculation about dark energy. Perhaps the point could be, at each stage, who but neurotic nerds would think of studying such minutiae, let alone consider them possible dominators of the world? Or the reverse; who'd a thought such curiousities could rule our world?

But I digress and haven't answered your question. How about something completely unexpected?

 

[selfAdjoint]

Nice thinking. A novel that does a little of what you want is Shild's Ladder, by Greg Egan, who actually worked with Baez et al on the asymptotics of the 10j symbols.

 

[Moni]

Originally posted by selfAdjoint
Genetic modification of humans. One author did a whole series just based on the idea of artificial wombs. Let's see, don't need pregnant women anymore, what type of society could evolve? One might be all men, another supertech designer babies, etc. etc.

Here's a free story idea that occurred to me the other night. The story would be called Slime. A small number of earthlings are dropped onto a newly found planet - this is early days of colonization and thery're going to be left for, say, a year before the colonizing agency checks back on them. There's a big bonus if they can make a go on the planet because they will be on the ground floor and will become big shots, but meanwhile they have to survive and if possible flourish.

The planet is in its prokaryote phase - pre animals, pre plants, pre everything but bacteria. And bacteria are eveywhere. Bacterial slimes cover every square inch of the rocky (no soil yet) surface. Ick! Now invent some interesting characters and put them though this. Have them all but give up and then discover something (what?) that enables a big finish where they win and succeed.

The point of all these stories (including Asimov's robots!) is to critique/satirize our lives today. You get a bullying galactic empire and maybe it looks a little like the Bush regime in the US. On the other hand if your galactic empire is all talk and never actually prevents wars, maybe it resembles the UN. You get the idea.

Thank you very much selfAdjoint for your nice reply and that Free Plot ;) and your thinking with the Foundation and Bush ha..ha.. fine :)

But the story is something like those "Songs of Distant Earth" of Arthur C Clarke!
Hmm...but this theme is also for distant future...what about near future?

 

[Moni]

Originally posted by Jeebus
I don't want to sound idiotic, because selfAdjoint did an excellent job at expressing his opinion. But I also think that, possibly, even Chimpanzee's / Bonobo's could possibly have a threat on the future, perhaps maybe in 350 years? If you ask me then, I might change my opinion a bit, but their brain calculations are similar to ours, and I would say they have basic logic, even perhaps more. Afterall most know how to do sign language.

Nevertheless, I doubt it, greatly. I think we might incorporate them into the mix though. One Nation Under Chimpanzee's.

may be...but Chimpanzee's are not improving, are they?

and about threat...I don't think so, as they'll never become like ours...its important to be equal first to overtake right? ;)

 

[Moni]

Originally posted by Nereid
Sci-fi authors have used a wide range of future dominators, from simple projections of today's (and yesterday's) good guys and bad guys (maybe even some gals too? Ursula Le Guin??), through projections of other animals we know (bees and ants are quite interesting), robots (lots of examples; my scary ones are Benson's), and even life forms not of this world (e.g. plasma beings who reside in the twilight zone around spinning black holes; nuclear-matter beings who live on the surfaces of white dwarfs and neutron stars). And I'm sure I've missed lots.

One idea I'd like to see more explored (maybe I just haven't read widely enough) takes our (homo sap.) utter insignifance through several (seven?) layers - we're billions, but cf Insecta we are but a large ant colony; cf rock-dwelling bacteria, C Insecta is but a few seconds of reproduction; then the whole one star in a galaxy, one galaxy in the universe thing; next baryonic matter as the scum of the universe (long live dark matter sentients!), with maybe a diversion through the >10 OOM time-zones between Planck time and the lifetime of the most unstable meson; on to wild speculation about dark energy. Perhaps the point could be, at each stage, who but neurotic nerds would think of studying such minutiae, let alone consider them possible dominators of the world? Or the reverse; who'd a thought such curiousities could rule our world?

But I digress and haven't answered your question. How about something completely unexpected?

Aha! Yours one is Hard Sci-Fi even for understanding :(