As is natural for a man of my era, Heinlein is the exemplar when it comes to science fiction craftsmanship. But whereas in his youth he was something of a progressive I am a conservative. So, whereas his earliest “what if?” scenario for his future history was the United States becoming an unlikely Christian theocracy, I’m confronted with the reality of a United States that’s already halfway to becoming a woke oligarchic police state. Therefore, I’ll use that as the first component of my world building. Of course, it’s hardly original or surprising. Maybe it’s even lazy or boring. But I think it fits. Besides it can be a one off that’s quickly cured by a revolution that leaves a more interesting and fertile chaos in its wake.
And just as easy to add to the pot is the looming energy drought that is already a part of the daily conversation. Global warming, green energy, fear of nuclear power; all of these conspire to make the future a bleak prospect for the everyday people trying to eek out a living and raise their families. Therefore, technology around new energy sources and technologies is a no-brainer.
Now, all that’s good stuff but we need some cooler technology than geothermal turbines. So, we’ll add in cold fusion (or at least warmish fusion) based on the alleged ability of some heavy metals (platinum group, tantalum, etc.) to produce neutrons under the right conditions.
And we’re going to need a Mars mission I’d say. Why? Why not?
What about global unrest? I guess so. I’m not all that interested in Asia or Africa, or Europe for that matter, anymore. I guess I should think about their status to make the story convincing but I’ll leave that alone for the beginning.
What other technology? Well, biological and genetic should be in the mix. Maybe the ancient DNA information turns up some anomalies that point to a more complicated hominid prehistory that can be leveraged for some genetic engineering stories. Maybe some research produces a useful understanding of how other aspects of the cellular apparatus beside the DNA mediate evolution. Maybe some kind of evolutionary acceleration can be controlled using biochemical stimuli that are not currently recognized. Maybe this science is unlocked by a genius who wants to change humans. What kinds of change? Obviously, intelligence but how about gills to breathe underwater? Look at all those millions of square miles of ocean. Maybe make humans photosynthetic.
Artificial intelligence is a for-sure part of the universe. We need AI’s that in many ways appear to be conscious but whether they actually are I don’t currently know. I’ll have to see what works.
Extraterrestrials? I really don’t know yet. Maybe it’s too early for that. After all I don’t currently have a star drive. Maybe I’ll start by finding out if there’s simple life somewhere in the solar system. Could it be bio-pollution from Earth. Could algae and tardigrades have drifted from Earth to Mars. Sure, why not? And could they have developed some interesting new tricks trying to survive on a freezing, almost airless desert? Of course!
I used to toy with the idea that the gas giant planets (Jupiter and Saturn) might have a stable layer somewhere in between their hot cores and cryogenic surfaces where creatures swim and fight and live and die. Maybe that would be fun to play with or maybe an ocean inside of one of the Jovian moons would be better.
Okay, I think that’s enough to start with.
Energy? How about zero point? It was the rage about 20 years ago. I remember an absolute disaster of a book I started to read a couple/decades ago. I got maybe 20 pages in a threw it aside in disgust. It was supposedly about inhabitants of a neutron star but the denizens were anthropomorphized to the point that they might as well been Ozzie and Harriet. Much more recently, I read another book that did quite a good job of building on the same circumstance but I don’t remember the name of the book. Frankly, I doubt we would be… Read more »
I wouldn’t be surprised if some enterprising myrmecologists aren’t trying to figure out the chemical and tactile language of termites in order to tell them to stay out of my house. That’s research I could see funded by my tax dollars. But I’m sure it would end up studying transgender termite complaints of some sort.
I could see how we would be phantoms to creatures living in the core of a star. Kind of a creative story element for sure.
Zero point energy? Is that like quantum vacuum energy? All of the quantum field stuff sounds like magic to me.
”Zero point energy? Is that like quantum vacuum energy?” Essentially
The description of random particles popping in and out of existence is bizarre. But maybe it makes as much sense as anything else in this crazy universe. One of these days I must have a long talk with the boss upstairs.
I have read scifi where the gas giants are “mined” for hydrogen, etc in their atmospheres. Right now we can’t even get humans to Mars as we stopped the technological tsunami we created after Apollo. People are afraid of nuclear power because they are told to be. I’ve had a heart cath and I absorbed more radiation by a few thousand times than what was released at Three Mile Island. Handling nuclear “waste” is also ridiculously simple. Fuse it in ceramic blocks and put it underground a few hundred meters. Use waldos to move it to keep people safe. But… Read more »
Other than automation technological progress has been stagnant or worse for over fifty years. Maybe we can hope for a resurgence soon. But the people running this country are not smart people. Except for gaming politics and controlling idiots. That they do really well.