Just how did we get this wasteland?

I love a good post-apocalyptic story, living by your wits, outracing death, and searching for survival. Many stories set in these fallen worlds are focused on restoring what came before. The idea is that before the 'fall' everybody was much better off. Well is that true? Or is it a mistaken assumption by the survivors or author? What if the reality is that the world that came before is the one the precipitated the fall?

There is a fascinating article over at COSMOS Magazine entitled Civilisations: why they fail». What is interesting about the article is the examination of the role of self-deception in the failure of civilizations. The ability for a group of people to ignore an obvious problem, even one that will threaten their survival.

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Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific is a small island with big heads. It's arguably one of the most famous islands in the world but the people responsible for that fame are gone. Their civilization long since failed.

As the COSMOS Article asks:
What did Easter Islanders say as they were cutting down the last palm tree? Were they saying, "Think of our jobs as loggers, not these trees?" Were they saying, "Respect my private property rights?" Surely Easter Islanders must have realised the consequences of destroying their forest. One wonders whether people of the next century – if there are still people alive – will be equally astonished about our blindness today.

I ask, do we look back on the Easter Islanders as a great civilization, one that we would aspire to recreate? How about the Mayans? The Vikings on Iceland? *Maybe* the survivors looked back on those civilizations as something to recreate? If that was the case than they were themselves practising the same self-deception that led to their respective falls to begin with.

Are your post apocalyptic characters deceiving themselves? Do they perceive the world that came before as the paradise they must regain? Civilizations fail for reasons, those reasons don't just disappear after the fall. If your computer crashes and you reboot it, is the problem *really* fixed? Are your characters wise enough to recognize this? What does that recognition do to your story?




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Where's the Basement?

Proof that children the next generation of adults can read, write, and dream is found in the NASA Space Settlement Design Contest». Eric Yam from Northern Secondary School in Toronto, Canada, was one of the Grand Prize Winners»

Eric's winning proposal was for an Orbital Habitat that he named ASTEN (Right click here to save the 12mb PDF) one of the alternate names for the Egyptian God Thoth.

I am amazed by the breadth of thought that has been put into this document. Issues ranging from immigration through to nutrition are addressed. In the context of World Building this is a great example of what can be done if you are motivated.

Congratulations Eric Yam, the First Canadian to win the Grand Prize in this contest in the 16 years that it has been run.



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Lost in Space (well on the Moon at least)

I've had one of those days. A day where you start reading about the biology of Star Trek» and by the end are poring over transcripts of Astronauts lost on the moon». Too bad those astronauts didn't have this Google Moon Map» showing exactly where they were.

Here are some of the highlights from my trip across the web this morning.

Making Aliens: The Repercussions of Planetary Settlement»

Seven ways to control the Galaxy with self-replicating probes»

The Physics of Extraterrestrial Civilizations»

How did that trip bring me to the Moon and a couple of astronauts arguing over a map?
That's where the story idea exists.

Story ideas can be found anywhere, and often by combining different ideas. Just reading and letting your unconscious mind guide you across the web can be a great way to find inspiration.



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Ohhhhh GodHood

The Singularity» is coming. Seriously, any day now :). And Vernor Vinge is discussing it over at h+ magazine.

I've been waiting for the singularity for almost 20 years. Pretty much since the first time I was hospitalized. To some people the singularity means enhanced cognition, or free energy. Both wonderful things that will change the world, but to me it means Immortality. That's right I am not a fan of death. Nope, I don't like it at all.

When I was younger I was faced with a fairly scary disease. Death and Pain were suddenly much larger figures in my life than they should be for any child. It was in speculative fiction that I found escape from those terrors. In the stories I read science had conquered disease. Wonderful technologies like cloned organs, or medical nanobots worked miracles on a regular basis. These weren't wishes granted by a genie, or gifts from capricious gods, but the end result of steady scientific progress. This was something I could grab onto, something I could understand and relate to the reality I lived in.

We aren't growing new organs yet, though with stem cells we're close. We also don't have the medical nanobots. But there are many complex surgical procedures that are now done through an incision the size of an inch. I have one of those one inch scars. Had that surgery been done 10 years earlier the scar would have stretched all the way across my belly. In another 20 years perhaps that surgery will not even be necessary.

Over at SciFi Scanner is an article talking about some interesting experiments with Junk DNA». This is unused DNA that's in our genome, left over from the ancestors of humanity. It's similar to legacy code in a computer program that's been commented out, it's still there, just not used. Some of that legacy code when activated (uncommented) could potentially allow for things like an immunity to the HIV virus, or even other 'abilities' that lay in our evolutionary past.

The ability I'd like to see be (re)activated is regeneration. Yup the holy grail of immortality. It's in our genetic past somewhere, only at some point our primitive mammalian ancestors stopped regenerating. Instead they switched to growing scar tissue. Scars are great for mammals that have to run and hide and heal quickly, but that isn't the world humanity lives in. The evolutionary reasons for abandoning regeneration in favour of scars no longer apply to us. Yes, I dare to disagree with Mother Nature.

This is the singularity for me: The moment that we take control of our own evolution and design. When it's no longer just a random collection of genes that decides who is healthy and who is sick, that decides who lives or who dies. This is the future I still dream of.



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Data Visualization Ohhhhhh Pretty

Over at SF Signal there was a post that brought to mind all the cyberpunk I read as a, well, punk kid. The visuals are spectacular, works of art that are also full of information. In an odd way it brings to mind Leonardo da Vinci's drawings and technical schematics. It was impossible for him to separate the artist from the designer, the art from the information. This also occurs here to eye pleasing effect.

The videos were taken from a BBC Show called Britain From Above and on their site you can find more videos and photos. When I think of people surfing the datastreams, this is the vision I see, not some blocky digital junk that seems to be most prevalent in the film versions of those books. When it comes to putting my own characters into a cyberworld this is the standard that I'm going to reach for.


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The Future is ?

Yesterday I talked about the future of the writing industry. So today it seems appropriate to talk about the future described by the writing industry. Over at Locus Online is an interesting piece titled: Pitfalls of Prophecy: Why Science Fiction So Often Fails to Predict the Future by Gary Westfahl. It's an interesting read that looks at some of the basic fallacies often made when predicting the future. I would like to note that it's not only Science Fiction authors that fall into these traps, plenty others predict the future and get it wrong. We just seem to expect the SciFi doods to get it right, perhaps unfairly.

Seriously, Science Fiction is about story telling, and while science has a role in shaping a plausible scenario, few stories can stand alone with just science. It's in the human interactions that Science Fiction excels. In the relationships and decisions that are shaped and forced by the backdrop of the (science) fictional reality. This is why I use the term Speculative Fiction. It frees me from having to defend the science (real or imaginary) in my stories.

The reality is that most of the best science fiction ever written has zero chance of ever being plausible. Hyperdrive? Alien Warfare? Robots using Humans as Batteries? If you look at the science behind those ideas it doesn't make sense. I don't know if there are aliens out there, but it really doesn't matter because the science is pretty clear on extra solar travel. It's SLOW. Lightspeed is a great speed limit, but it's also irrelevant. The energy requirements alone to bring a manned vessel to a fraction of the speed of light (1 or 2 percent) are high enough as to render it effectively impossible. So science tells us that we aren't going anywhere, and it's unlikely we're going to meet others along the way. The human battery thing just falls because it's a dumb idea, you don't really need to understand science to get that one. But Hyperdrive and Aliens and Human Batteries all make great backdrops to compelling stories.

Here is a great Mind Meld from SF Signal that looks at the predictions from Science Fiction and what has occurred and what has not. As with all Mind Melds a lot of the value is in the discussion by the participating authors as they present their own take on the question. James Gunn, Adam Roberts, and others being some of the participants.


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Market Mondays: Industry Future?

So even as the industry is in trouble agents are actually experiencing an upswing in queries. Perhaps it's the current recession driving people to write, losing your job gives you time to pursue your dream of getting published. I tend to think that is a simplistic look at what's happening. It may explain some of the bump in submissions, but that can only be a short term impact. Eventually those who lost their jobs will get new ones. Starving writers are romantic in fiction, but it's a less attractive life if you actually are starving. So what do I think may make up the rest of the rise in queries? Well let's look at the reality of the situation and the future.

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First of all, there is no money in books. J.K. Rawling aside, most authors make a pittance for much of their career. Now show me 20 published books later and we're talking, but how many make it that far? I understand that there will always be dreamers who expect writing to pay their way. But when a mortgage payment is due: How many are going to choose writing over any other form of employment with an hourly wage? Even sitting on a street corner begging can bring in more (though 300$/month isn't that great).

Today the industry is facing the largest changes to the publishing model since the Printing Press. The Internet? Ebooks? Kindle? Print on Demand? Where the technological changes are taking us is a subject of much debate. Can the business change in such a way as to ensure survival? Is it just a matter of improved marketing and lower pricing? Not everyone agrees it's that simple. Readers are driven by a number of factors in making a purchasing decision beyond price. Corey Doctorow perhaps has the best take on this. He believes the industry will survive, but with massive changes. There will be more niche markets for authors, and less of a role for large publishing houses to play. Something that is being witnessed in the music and film industries today.

However people are still writing, and querying in increasing numbers. So why do I think it's happening? Hope, not hope for a better income, but hope for recognition, for discussion, for change and a better world even. These people don't care that the industry is struggling and collapsing around them. They create because they can, and they want to share their messages and ideas. I have no idea what Paramount Pictures, or Producer Jerry Bruckheimer think of the average Youtube video, but they'd be fools not to acknowledge the impact on their industry by the content producers on Youtube. People who could not get a voice in the mainstream market and industry, found and created their own niches and markets. While major studios struggle, 1000's of individuals have found their voice. Whatever future comes for the publishing industry, it will be driven by the content producers, the Writers creating and submitting today, and their Readers. Anyone who tries to control or constrict the channel between them will eventually find themselves shunted to the side as an impediment to progress.

As dark as the world may seem, people are realizing that we are at the beginning of a new century that will probably see more change than the previous 10 combined. New ideas on government, or social interactions are being developed right now by people young and old. The impossible is made reality on a daily basis, be it medical miracles or new technological marvels. While the world struggles with global warming, the prize of free (or near zero cost) energy comes closer and closer to fruition. With all of that going on around us: Who can't help but dream a little?




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Botox, Loss of Empathy and Darwin

There's an article about the evolution of facial expressions published in 2008 at Discover Magazine. The Article (3 decent pages) goes into detail on Darwins fascination with human and animal facial expressions. The author (Carl Zimmer) traces the early studies of Darwin in this field through to the understanding of modern science. It's fascinating stuff, especially when they start talking about the Botox.
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According to science a good part of our ability to understand facial expressions, to empathize with people, depends on our ability to mimic the expression. When we mimic someone's expression, we actually experience the emotion. As Darwin discovered even understanding the snarl of a dog is easy once you writhe your own lips and expose teeth (which makes me wonder about mimicking alien faces).

In different studies researchers paralysed or otherwise limited people's ability to smile. They found that this inhibited the test subject's ability to understand/recognize a smile in a picture. Using brain scans researchers have actually mapped a direct link between facial muscles and brain activity in the emotion centres.

Fascinating stuff. But where is the Botox? Well it so happens that not only are researchers paralysing facial muscles, but so are plastic surgeons. And the muscles they tend to paralyse the most? Frown lines.

People are unable to frown, and thus are less able to understand/empathize with the emotions that produces those frowns. Emotions like anger and sadness. It can be theorized that this is leading to a happier population. Fewer people frowning, triggering few empathetic frown responses, and the spiral goes down to zero. It may even explain why the Stars seem to have a better life than the rest of us. They do have a better life. They can't get sad or feel the pain of others as easily.

However the article finishes with this comment on our Botox Culture:
"But for all the Botox youthfulness plastic surgeons may want to think about, neuroscience raises a darker possibility. Making faces helps us understand how other people are feeling. By altering our faces we’re tampering with the ancient lines of communication between face and brain that may change our minds in ways we don’t yet understand."


Now that could be an interesting story.



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44th President of those United States

I say 'those' because I'm not American. However I have nothing but good feelings for my neighbours to the South nearly 99.999% of the time. With this new President will come a great number of changes in Science, Technology and Environmental policies.

Some of the changes that I await with Excitement:
The creation of the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) position, this is an important step to bring the American Government's Policies and Technology into the 21st Century.
The replacement of the current FCC Chairperson, with someone who is able to understand and work with the desires of consumers and business.
Finally the Changes in Energy Policy driven by people like Steven Chu as the Energy Secretary, while still having someone running the EPA who actually understands the environments needs/limits.

Ultimately though I wish them (the Americans) more satisfaction with this administration than they had with the last one.

Watching the inauguration of Obama some things resonated with me. This is an office that has passed non-violently between it's holders 44 times now in history. This is a remarkable achievement for any country when you look at the longer history for Humans. When I read Speculative Fiction I typically find Democracies to be in the minority. Many times it's the dream of a protagonist, but just as many times I've seen it reviled by characters. The sad thing is that rarely a different alternative to Democracy is presented in these stories other than the various forms of Tyranny that we've known throughout history.

Why is it that a world with spaceships, massive power generation ability, and advanced biomedical treatments has a King? Technology both changes and enables change within the societies that spawns it. It is illogical to expect modern soldiers to carry swords on the battlefield, not when Guns exist. It should be equally illogical to expect future societies to govern themselves in limited traditional manners when new technology will exist.

I don't buy a King with a spaceship, but I would buy something like Realtime Democracy, a constant monitoring of opinions and beliefs of the existent society. If you watch 24 hour news you might believe we are already there.


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