humanity
The evolution of humanity, from one advancement to the next.
Postal Automations
“As you may know, the Red Queen Corporation, when it bought the U.S. Postal Service, decreed all of you would be replaced by robots.” Maury Holliday, the postal supervisor, had given a similar sort of speech for a million mornings (it seemed) with dispassionate tones he hoped sounded professional and authoritative and stone-like in its superior power, but certainly his subordinates must have seen it as the pure, broken, sucked dry dispassion it actually was. All the postal faces he spoke to were so drawn down by gravity, so prone to dying at any moment, how could he put any passion into any of this variety of speechifying? “We’ve known for a long time you’d be integral in training the robots who’d replace you. However, news has come down the pipeline that, considering the expense of programming robots, the Red Queen Corporation has outsourced the development to mad scientists who work on the cheap with the agreement that their robots may also be used one day to take over the world. That being said, as you train your robot replacements, please, and this is vital: don’t let them take over the world.”
By F. Simon Grant9 years ago in Futurism
The Occult
What does the word occult even mean? Definition of occult (Merriam-Webster): Adjective oc·cult \ə-ˈkəlt, ä-; ˈä-ˌkəlt\: not revealed: secret deep subterranean occult jealousy—J. C. Powys Not easily apprehended or understood: abstruse, mysterious occult matters like nuclear physics, radiation effects and the designing of rockets—Robert Bendiner Hidden from view: concealed occult underground passages Of or relating to the occult… the occult arts—astrology, palmistry, card reading …—Amy Fine Collins Occult practices: not manifest or detectable by clinical methods alone occult carcinoma; also: not present in macroscopic amounts occult blood in a stool
By Sydnie Beaupré9 years ago in Futurism
Where X Marks the Spot: An Interview with Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes is a writer, lecturer, personal performance coach and a killer philosopher. He has published more than 25 science fiction, fantasy and horror novels, including New York Times bestsellers. He’s been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, and Cable Ace Awards. And he wrote the Emmy winning episode, “A Stitch In Time” for Showtime’s the Outer Limits. He’s also written for the New Twilight Zone, StarGate, Andromeda, and Ben 10. I got to sit with Steve to discuss his viewpoints on the state of the field, life, the universe, and everything in-between.
By Joshua Sky9 years ago in Futurism
Interview with Trina Phillips, Chief Futurist at SciFutures
Trina Phillips is a writer, editor and one of the chief futurists at SciFutures, a company dedicated to helping companies bridge the gap between science fiction and reality, via ideation, prototyping and storytelling. Trina has been published in numerous science fiction publications, including Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show, AE and Daily Science Fiction. I had the opportunity to sit with her to discuss her career, and the myriad of ways her company is helping to shape forthcoming technology.
By Joshua Sky9 years ago in Futurism
Luminous Beings Are We
Myths persist in our time. They evolve, take on new lexicons, new symbols—some shiny and chrome. Myths take our reality and spin wonders out of it. One glimpse through the Hubble Space telescope and our universe is filled with cosmic gods. Sea voyages of old become star sojourns, traced through celestial vistas filled with megalithic starships—be they Star Destroyers, or Battlestars. Enter the wise old sage, the Hermit of the tarot deck, as the Yodas and Obi Wans. Stories have traveled with us from the tales we uttered around the primordial fires, to the towering statues of worship in the Hellenistic world, to advent of great works of literature. Still more to the booming, dazzling icons of the movie screen.
By Jeremy Johnson9 years ago in Futurism
10 Crazy Nigerian Myths - Part 1
I hail from Nigeria and the magic in Nigeria is something that goes deeper than what the eyes can see...it's a kind of magic you can feel. My hope is that with my content here on Vocal, I will be able to give you lot a little dose of that Nigerian magic ever so frequently. So bookmark my page, look out for my content, and by all means, say hello!
By Jide Okonjo9 years ago in Futurism
Chonicles of Nikklosannaro
Sannaro, an orphaned Saili teenager turned ASTRISI warrior has his loyalties challenged when humans from his past, now aligned with space pirates, launch an invasion on the Kumani, the ASTRISI home ship, a nomadic space faring people who raised him.
By Lyssa Thorne9 years ago in Futurism
What If Climate Change Isn't Real?
Although the vast majority of experts believe in the case for man-made climate change, the average person is much more likely to have doubts. Perhaps 95% of climate scientists believe human actions are warming the planet, but what about the other 5%? If the evidence is so compelling why aren’t they all convinced? Could it be a conspiracy by the environmental lobby, politicians or foreign interests?
By Ian Huyton9 years ago in Futurism
