Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Futurism.
14/1/1967: The Underwater Menace – Part 1
My ongoing mission: to watch classic television fifty years after first broadcast... “You’re not turning me into a fish!” The problem I have with this episode is that Atlantis is presented as if it’s a legend (and indeed referred to as such) when it is in fact a fictional island from a MADE-UP STORY by Plato. The confusion arose when people started to speculate that Plato may have been inspired by a real place. But as far as I’m aware there is no evidence for this, and even if there was such inspiration, that’s all it was. There has never been any such place called Atlantis! So for Doctor Who to have a story set there, well the Doctor might as well visit the ‘legendary’ lands of Narnia or Tatooine or Oz or Pokemon.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
'Arrival' Gives Plenty to Ponder, but Possibly Misguides on Alien Purpose
A writer, I am poor. This means I get my Science Fiction Movies free from the library, and Arrival is only a three day loan. No time to watch it twice, this movie requires another viewing, and a two dollar a day fine would eat up all my profits. I also don’t feel like enduring three weeks on the waiting list to get the chance to contemplate its depth and give a full accounting. I don’t want you to wait either. So here it goes.
By Rich Monetti9 years ago in Futurism
12/1/1967: The Squire Of Gothos
My ongoing mission: to watch classic television fifty years after first broadcast... Another week, another red miniskirted yeoman coffee waitress. I didn’t catch her name. Perhaps Kirk knows, perhaps he doesn’t care. Kirk and Sulu suddenly disappear from the Enterprise bridge after a mysterious planet is spotted. Some other crew members beam down to rescue them, and they all end up in this castle, which turns out to be a fake one created by a fake human calling himself Trelane.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
We're All Doing Just Great
1 THE PAPERS Sam was alone when the papers arrived. Anje had deserted him some months before. She took the kids in the middle of one night when he was asleep. He hadn’t heard anything from her since. Seven years of relationship stopped and that was that.
By Robert Bayley9 years ago in Futurism
5/1/1967: The Galileo Seven
My ongoing mission: to watch classic television fifty years after first broadcast... Back in the studio this week. The Enterprise is delivering medical supplies to Markus 3. En route they discover a nearby quasar and Kirk orders a small team led by Spock to investigate. I guess scientific research comes under their remit even if it’s not strictly “new life” or “new civilisations”, but I can’t help but wonder whether interrupting a medical delivery is the appropriate time… Still, I’m sure Kirk knows what he’s doing.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
Mirror Cube
Since 2020, the Year of vision, we have been told that the universe is infinitely large but, as I said in my last post, (see Kaleidoscope Part 1) the universe is actually very small. Tiny. It’s vastness is a beautiful illusion created with smoke and mirrors. Whether this is designed to make us feel insignificant is up to you. Since I revealed my Tiny Universe Theory (T.U.T) to the world, on President’s Day, 2025, I’ve been feeling nervous…anxious… paranoid, I suppose. Worrying that I may have made myself a target for the forces that want us to keep believing that we are just an insignificant speck in an enormous universe that surpasses all understanding. There's a new President in the White House and, perhaps, there's a spy in the sky watching me from the Government block right now, I don’t know. I’m sure I see circles among the clouds in the sky when I'm out walking my dog, Robbo. If my social media accounts are shut down they will claim that I was the victim of a 'Bear' hacker.
By Ian Richardson9 years ago in Futurism
Wired...
Lost in thought, feeling so wired… this incredible high from the amphetamines is so powerful. Many call it an addiction, however, he has discovered it goes beyond that. This is a way of life. Everything is better when he is wired; he feels stronger, he feels more confident. Being wired is a way of life and in this dog eat dog world we live in every little edge helps. The amphetamines helped him through a very dark time when he refused to eat, or sleep, or screw. He feels like life has been drained from him, as if the visiting succubus has decided to do away with him for good. But he survived this time, with a little help from his friends.
By Alberto Pupo9 years ago in Futurism
Out of This World Science TED Talks
As Bill Nye (who needs to make TED Talks) once told us, "Science rules!" Everything runs on science, for it programs the universe around us to follow a set order and logic. But what if there are rules and concepts that we do not yet understand? What if, at the bottom of the ocean and the apex of existence, there are things so other-worldly that they sound as though they emerged straight from a phantasmic dreamscape? Too crazy to be real. Too insane. But they are. The ordinary person may go mad trying to wrap their mind around these mind-screwy concepts and ideas. But rest assured; your existential dread and horror need not overwhelm you. There are experts willing to explain it all. These TED Talks put the strangest science into focus, and explain that, yes, while our universe is a weird place, it is not beyond our understanding.
By Anthony Gramuglia9 years ago in Futurism
