Couldn’t resist reposting this one for those of you who haven’t seen it elsewhere – octopus suction-cup body-mod implants!
The meat can (and will) be hacked. Nothing else needs to be said.
All posts by Paul Raven
Should science fiction short stories be more optimistic?
For obvious reasons, science fiction short stories are much on my mind at the moment. But it’s not just me – a long-standing feature of the science fiction scene, the sheer quantity of debate that the topic of short stories produces on a regular basis is an indicator that those who care about it care enough to speak their mind.
For example, our good friends over at SF Signal have a new iteration of their “Mind Meld” group interview articles in which they quiz various luminaries of the sf short story markets about the purpose of short fiction.
Leaving purpose aside for a moment by treating it as a given, what about tone? Regular readers here at Futurismic will be aware we try to take an optimist/realist attitude with our blogging topics – there’s no point ignoring the problems we face, but nor is there any point in descending into fatalism. It’s not constructive, and it’s not fun to read.
Jason Stoddard, who has had a number of stories published here at Futurismic (as well as numerous other markets), finds himself wishing for a similar attitude in science fiction short stories, and vows to walk the walk:
“I really, really think things will work out. Some of today’s writing is so dark that it makes me want to slit my wrists and slip into a warm tub. It might be technically excellent, and the characters may be fully rendered and real, but man oh man, it’s not what I want to read.
So take a look at the new tagline on this site: Strange and Happy. Consider this my new personal emblem, and a challenge to not only writers everywhere, but to the world in general.”
I’m a sucker for a dark setting – I saw Mad Max 2 at a very impressionable age – but it should be plain from my blogging here that I like to think we can work through the issues facing us. And after reading Stoddard’s post, I realised he has a point – there does seem to a shortage of optimistic science fiction. [Image by solidstate76]
Question is – is it just me and Stoddard and a few others? Or are you hungry for some science fictional optimism as well?
Second Life enabling better US-Islam relations?
While frequently dismissed as a frivolous diversion (which, to be fair, it is to some), Second Life has the potential to be much more than just “IRC with graphics”.
The technological uses are the most obvious, and already being investigated by companies like IBM; Second Life is an ideal environment for large-scale data visualisation, for example.
Recent mainstream media stories have suggested that Second Life is a haven for terrorist recruitment and money laundering. While the potential is arguably present (and the actuality overstated), the flip-side is that virtual worlds provide a space where more positive forms of cultural exchange can occur – like a Muslim investigative journalist being able to experience a service in a virtual synagogue. [Image by RykerBeck]
The cynic in me suggests that we will export our human propensity for divisiveness wherever we go, be it into outer space or the inner space of the metaverse. But perhaps the lower barriers in virtual worlds will make it easier to overcome the old hatreds … by allowing us to see “behind the veil”, to coin a phrase.
Vaccines delivered by tattooing
First the good news – there may be a more efficient way to receive vaccinations than traditional injections.
But before those of you with a phobia get too excited by the prospect, the alternative still involves needles – the needles of tattoo machines, in fact.
“… administering pieces of DNA from the human papillomavirus virus into the skin of mice by three tattoo-gun injections produced a 200-fold greater production of antibodies to the virus than was achieved with the old method of a needle injection into a muscle.
Vaccines made with bits of DNA are not new, but the usual ways of delivering them have not worked very well. The reason that tattoo injections are so much more effective is thought to be because the repeated puncturing of the skin by the rotating tattoo needle does real damage to the skin — the presence of a bona fide wound causes inflammatory cells to flood into the site, where they speed and enhance the immune response to the vaccine.”
So probably more painful than traditional hypodermic injections, but cheaper and more effective – two factors that matter a lot in the world of health-care. [via grinding.be] [image by Frenkieb]
We can assume that someone will come up with a less painful way to achieve the same results, too. How about some sort of sticky patch that uses an enzyme to create a skin wound, then delivers the vaccine and starts the healing process, all in one?
Fiction returns to Futurismic in March!
Yes indeed – we’ve been promising it for ages, and now we’re going to make good on that promise.
Futurismic will start publishing fiction again in March 2008!
Monday 3rd March, to be precise – and on the first weekday of each month after that, as well. Between now and then there will be a few other changes taking place, and after the fiction you’ll see the return of our non-fiction columns as well.
Those of you reading now who’ve stuck with us through the last year or so without fiction, you have my sincere gratitude – we’re going to make sure that Futurismic comes back as good as before, if not better.
Those of you who’ve started reading relatively recently, I hope you’ll find that Futurismic‘s fiction output gives you more reason to come back regularly. We pick stories that match the sort of content we blog about – so if you find the daily topics interesting, there’s good odds you’ll enjoy the fiction too.
There will be more news and more developments to come in the next few weeks; as the new editor-in-chief here at Futurismic, I’m really excited about the prospects ahead of us, and I hope you will be as well.
Stick around – it’s going to be a great trip. 🙂