Fantasist's Scroll

Well, it might be more science-fiction than science…

At least, according to this article on Wired News, there are some people who doubt that solar sails will work. We’ll know soon, though, if the scientists behind Cosmos 1 are able to launch.
Solar sails have long been a science-fiction staple as a “real” way that we might get to other planets. Interstellar travel is sort of the “Holy Grail” of science-fiction and all the world’s space programs, as well. Luminaries such as Larry Niven have written about solar sails, but now we’re close to the reality of it. Of course, I doubt that I’ll live to see a solar sail take people to another planet even in our solar system, but stranger things have happened!
Anyhow, enjoy the article and the speculations.
Ad astra per aspera!

Volunteering to be monitored?

Well, according to this article on the International Herald Tribune, folks in London maybe doing just that. There’s a company that’s offering a cell-phone based tracking service in Britain. In theory, it’s meant to track kids and such, but I can see how this kind of thing might get misused. For instance, employers tracking employees. I know that several of my former employers would have liked to know where I was 24/7!
In any case, I can see the value of this kind of service, but I can see how it could be perverted, too.
How would you imagine this service being used in the future? No, wait, go write it!

Brian Marsden, apparently.

In this article on Scientific American, he talks about running the Minor Planet Center, which tracks comets, meteors and other near-Earth objects. I’m sure that the job is mainly trigonometry and physics, but it fascinates me that it even exists.
And, what a great bunch of ideas for science-fiction it stirs up. Of course, there’s the ever present idea of a meteor hitting Earth, but that’s been done to death. Or, that the folks who work here make first contact with extra-terrestrials. But, I imagined something more like a galactic air-traffic controller. I mean, if one has lots of space travel, it could become necessary, right? And, think about all the things they’d have to keep track of in three dimensions! Certainly there must be enough tension and action in such a setting to find a story.
Well, something to ponder, anyway.

Kind of creepy, really.

But, I can see how it would be usefull. This article on the Sydney Morning Herald describes a new way to generate power from blood. Sure, the first comparison is to the Matrix, but it’s more likely to be used like the Six Million Dollar Man. This process really doesn’t create much power, so it can only power small devices. In fact, the article speculates that it will only be used to power internal “devices” or “enhancements”.
So, now, imagine a cell-phone implanted into your jaw and mastoid cavity that’s powered by your own blood flow. I can see it in the near future. Fascinating concept, actually. What else might this enable? What enhancements would you want to see installed? The answers to those questions are science-fiction stories ripe for the picking. Go forth and write!

“Good morning, Mr. Anderton…”

Wow, shades of science-fiction! According to this article at the Register.co.uk, the US is developing passports with so-called smartcards in them. And, they expect to have them out by the end of 2004. Again, wow.
These smartcards are going to hold biometric data about the holder so that, in theory, they’re harder to copy or counterfeit. At least, that’s what the government is hoping. On the other hand, as my opening line alluded to, there are always ways around security, even biometrics. The line is from Minority Report, which is a pretty damn good movie. It’s based on a story by Phillip K. Dick, who is a great science-fiction author who also wrote the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which is the basis for Blade Runner.
In any case, see the movie and you’ll see how they get around security by messing with biometrics. It’s really fairly obvious, when you think about it.

A build it yourself Gauss gun!

No, really, you can actually make this sucker in your own basement. This website, in Russian and English, shows you how. It takes you through the process, step-by-step, in somewhat broken English. And, it makes a pistol, not a rifle, which is doubly cool. So, this isn’t a “firearm”, per se, is it covered by the same rules? I’d imagine so. It would be, basically, a concealed weapon. It looks pretty effective, too, based on the photos(here and here). And, because it doesn’t use an explosive charge, there’s virtually no sound when it discharges. I see all kinds of applications for this little sucker.
Look out Traveller, here we come!

This is too fascinating to pass up!

According to this article on Scientific American, blue crabs have two skeletal systems. The first, which is familiar to us all, is their shell. But, when they molt, they use another kind of skeletal system which relies on hydrostatic pressure to get around.
This leads me to imagine an intelligent alien that has a second, invisible, “back-up” skeleton, for emergencies. Or perhaps to make them flexible in some way. Imagine a shelled creature that escapes from a jail by shedding its shell and slithering out an air vent. Or, a humanoid wrestler or warrior who’s neck can’t be “broken”. Really, the possibilities are endless.
Just think about them some, then write about them!

Okay, this is an old concept, but it’s back in the news, so…

Data-goggles. Info-shades. Whatever you want to call them, they do the same thing. They’re an on-line manual that you can see, and sometimes hear, hands-free while working on something else. According to this story on EE Times, there are auto manufacturers that are actually using them right now on assembly lines to cut training costs and improve effieciency.
Of course, this is a staple of science-fiction. William Gibson used it in Virtual Light and there was a manga (Japanese comic) that used something similar, too. So, once again, we move a little close to science-fiction becoming our reality.
Personally, I’m waiting for a scene like the commercial where the guy is shouting buy and sell orders to, apparently, pidgeons. How soon before we have this technology available to the public? How soon after that will people crash cars because they’re looking through a goggle display instead of looking at the road?