Although James Blish's fictional futures feature an ultrawave/ultraphone, this is clearly different from the one in the Andersonian futures.
Sf jargon like "hyperdrive," "warp drive," "Terra," "Terran" etc can generate a spurious sense of continuity between diverse narratives. My father, having heard "warp drive" mentioned in Star Trek, remarked to me that it was also referenced in Lost In Space whereas to me, of course, this was just familiar sf terminology. We need sf that breaks out of genre cliches. The future will be different from anything that has been imagined so let's imagine something that has not yet been imagined. I started this post just with the word, "ultrawave," and did not know where I was going with it. Now I must watch some TV news and get back to rereading Stieg Larsson.
We have not yet exhausted the temporal epic, "Flight to Forever."
12 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I still hope some unknown genius will invent a real FTL warp drive or hyperdrive!
Once human beings finally start getting off this rock to live on other planets or asteroids of the Solar System we will probably start getting some of that new jargon.
Ad astra! Sean
It's impossible to predict the future -- and SF bears witness to the fact!
But it is necessary to prepare for contingencies.
Some current possibilities:
our present global system crashes completely;
it undergoes some kind of transformation;
it staggers on unsatisfactorily for longer than anyone could have expected.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling and Paul!
Mr. Stirling: Of course, I agree the future cannot be predicted. It was your arguments which convinced me the theories of John Hord had to be treated with skepticism.
Paul: The least bad alternative is the last in your list. I do NOT want a world dominated by either Maoist China or jihadist fanatics setting up a global Muslim theocratic caliphate.
The best alternative I can see as being somewhat possible would be an alliance of civilized nations led by the US unifying the world into a Solar Commonwealth a la what we see in Anderson's Technic stories. Or a US acceding to the British Commonwealth, with that leading to a similar unification of the world (as in Anderson and Dickson's Hoka stories).
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I do NOT want a world dominated by either Maoist China or jihadist fanatics setting up a global Muslim theocratic caliphate, unlikely though both of those options are. I also don't want a world of "might is right" where heads of state of powerful countries wage endless wars inflicting death, destruction and suffering on entire populations.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
It does not matter if the two alternatives we both agree are very bad. I believe what matters is there are people in Peking and within Islam who do have such ambitions and are willing to do what it takes to attempt achieving them.
Considering what human beings are like: competitive (including war like competition), tribalist, strife prone, etc., it is not realistic to expect nations (not just their rulers) to cease from struggles to achieve dominance.
I stand by the better alternatives suggested above.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
A continuation of what we have now?
I stand by the second alternative that I listed above.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, something analogous to a Solar Commonwealth/United Commonwealths would be far better than rule by Maoists/jihadists. And better than hopeless, futile handwringing moralizing by people appalled by how bad human beings are.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Let's forget the Maoists/jihadists. Neither of us supports them but you keep putting them back on the agenda.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Because, like it or not those Maoists/jihadists exist and they both have agendas inimical to everybody else in the world. They are both actively trying to achieve their ambitions. To dreamily ignore them is not a realistic policy choice. Recent cases like the FlightDubai incident or the plot to attack that RAF base in the UK itself shows the folly of trying to ignore them.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I do not advocate dreamily ignoring them! I meant forget them for purposes of discussions here and now. I am also concerned about the activities of governments.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Understood.
Ad astra! Sean
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