How advanced would a spacefaring alien or future civilization become? What is the ultimate fate of intelligence in the universe? Big questions, but there are fundamental underpinnings that affect any civilization that might be out there, perhaps none more fundamental than energy. Civilization’s progress may … Continue readingThe Coming Union of Intelligence and the Cosmos Primeval
Have dystopian futures produced a dystopian present? The world of “the pandemic” in 2020 is often compared with a dystopia, and with good reason. Official control of the minutiae of everyday life, the ruination of livelihoods, the casual slaughter of the dreams of countless millions, … Continue readingOur Dystopian Moment: The Fruit of Our Dystopian Futures
We hear much talk about globalization and its effects on human societies, but relatively little about the promise a more globalized and technologically advanced world holds for improving fundamental aspects of our daily lifestyles. Much discourse around the topic over-complicates globalization, which is fundamentally the … Continue readingLifestyles in a Fully Globalized Future
2020 will undoubtedly go down in history as the year “lockdown” was introduced into most people’s vocabularies, the year in which mass imprisonment by decree, without charge, trial, conviction, or even any evidence whatsoever of being sick, was introduced by ruling classes the world over … Continue readingLockdown, the Culture of Fear, and the Politics of the Future
When doing some research for my novel, which now stands at 19.557 words, the Venus chapter (12,949 words) having been completed yesterday, I did some calculations for how long spaceflight would take under constant acceleration, the method the main characters in my novel are using … Continue readingConstant Acceleration: Across the Solar System and Beyond
It looks like I’ve had science fiction and space opera on my mind lately, and I haven’t stopped since the last post, so I thought I’d share with you my thoughts on a science fiction world I’ve been building for myself. That is somewhat different … Continue readingWorldbuilding a Space Opera Setting of My Own
In the science fiction setting I am worldbuilding, Proxima Centauri b as in real life is a roughly Earth-sized planet with an orbital period of 11 days, and is the closest known exoplanet. In real life we don’t know much about Proxima Centauri b aside … Continue readingThalassa, or Proxima Centauri b: The Pale Green Dot
When worldbuilding a science fiction or especially space opera setting, it is often desired for the scope to encompass more than one solar system, spanning part or all of one galaxy or even beyond. There is just one big problem: no object with mass can … Continue readingWorldbuilding Faster than Light Travel
For the entire history of computing to date, and even dating back to the advent of television, glowing screens with a board-like form have been the primary and ever-more-dominant way people consume information. This “glowing screen” or “glowing board” paradigm reached its culmination in the … Continue readingIndistinguishable From Nature: Toward a Ubiquitous Dark Web
One of the most distinct characteristics of life in outer space is the lack of gravity pulling you and everything else down to the floor. Objects and people inside any structure launched into orbit will float around and experience zero gravity. This is not a … Continue readingArtificial Gravity in Outer Space: Centrifuges and Beyond