Tag: scifi

Annihilation

Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the 2nd expedition ended in mass suicide; the 3rd expedition in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the 11th expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer.

Blade Runner 2049

please let this not suck

2017-11-20:

You may not have guessed that the dystopian state of Los Angeles filmed in Blade Runner 2049 is a real place, just smaller. The scenes, from Los Angeles to the Trash Mesa and Wallace Tower were built to scale in Wellington, New Zealand by Weta Workshop, the massive ‘miniature’ sets were then filmed by cinematographer Alex Funke.

What will the future call us?

Even more can be packed in if you use a historical name which—like Late Antiquity or Early Industrial Revolution—implies that our centuries are mostly important for their relation to some even more important neighboring era. If this is the Prepandemic Age, then 2100+ are going to be very bad centuries; if this is the Late Pandemic Age, they’re going to be great centuries. The Early Unification. The Late National Era. The Late Surface Era. The Interimperium. The Truce. The Early Digital Ages. The Late Digital Ages. Comparative labels with a strong judgment—positive labels, negative labels—can also imply enormous amounts about what comes after the 21st century. Are we the Dark Digital Age? Or the Golden Digital Age? Are we the Dark Interracial Age? The Golden Interracial Age? Entire future histories spin out in the imagination from each one.

Military Futures

The US Marines have tried to project trends and scenarios 15 to 30 years into the future. They had guidance from professional science fiction writers. They created a detailed baseline projection of a more urban world population and then had 2 alternate scenarios. Then they created narrative stories that considered conflicts within the baseline or alternate projections. They projected demographics and then they projected technology. The alternate scenarios are

  • a world of water scarcity
  • a world where China and India are near peers in economic and military power

Shores of Titan

As humanity expands outward, the frontier is Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, and the only moon in the solar system to have a substantial atmosphere. Titan around 2260 is much like present-day Antarctica: home to a variety of research stations operated by scientific agencies of various powers in the inner system. Titan is much more interesting than Antarctica, however. Apart from the Earth, it is the only solar system body to have natural liquids on its surface, with a complex cycle of evaporation, rain, erosion, rivers, lakes, and seas. The largest sea, Kraken Mare, located near the north pole, is larger than Earth’s Caspian Sea. Titan’s atmosphere is half again as dense as that of Earth, and with only 14% of Earth’s gravity, it is possible for people to fly under their own muscle power.

Valerian

luc besson! this looks fantastic. he’s one gifted world builder, unlike that amateur jj abrahams.

Valerian and Laureline are special operatives for the government of the human territories charged with maintaining order throughout the universe. Valerian has more in mind than a professional relationship with his partner – blatantly chasing after her with propositions of romance. But his extensive history with women, and her traditional values, drive Laureline to continuously rebuff him. Under directive from their Commander, Valerian and Laureline embark on a mission to the breathtaking intergalactic city of Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis comprised of 1000s of different species from all 4 corners of the universe. Alpha’s 17m inhabitants have converged over time – uniting their talents, technology and resources for the betterment of all. Unfortunately, not everyone on Alpha shares in these same objectives; in fact, unseen forces are at work, placing our race in great danger.

Westworld

very promising start

2017-11-22: i’m not too optimistic for season 2. it’s hard to see how you could top anthony hopkin’s performance in the finale, the wild west feels done. so it is disappointing to see this return to the same setting.