Matthew S. Williams's Blog, page 204

Titan’s Tropical Methane Lakes!

Recently, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft did a fly-by of Saturn and noticed something unexpected on its largest moon of Titan. In the so-called tropical area of the moon, where temperatures rise to a high point of −179 °C (or −290 °F), it appears that there are lakes of liquid methane. This is a surprise to scientists who previously assumed that liquid bodies could only exist near the poles.

Appropriately, this region is known as Shangri La, which appears to have some dark areas which showed up on Cassini’s visual and infrared mapping spectrometer. One of the tropical lakes appears to be the size of Utah’s Great Salt Lake, and features a depth of at least one meter. When asked where these lakes came from, Caitlin Griffith – a Cassini team associate at the University of Arizona – speculated that the lake is being fed from an underground aquifer. “In essence,” she says, “Titan may have oases.”

Knowing about these lakes and where they come from is an important step to understand how weather works on Titan. Whereas the Earth has a “hydrological cycle” (aka. a water cycle), Titan has a “methane” cycle, where methane is circulating rather than water. What’s more, ultraviolet light is able to pierce through Titan’s atmosphere, causing it to break the methane apart on contact. This in turn results in a complicated chain of organic chemical reactions.

These finds are significant for two reasons. For one, it means that life might actually exist on Saturn’s largest moon. The chemical reactions in question involving UV light and methane gas might very well be able to produce organic molecules such as amino acids, the building blocks of life. And second, it could mean the planet would be a suitable candidate for terraforming some day. Liquid methane might not be suitable for humans, but with the right kind of equipment and chemical know-how, it could be converted into water and water vapor without much trouble.

Or we could simply use it as is, pumping it out as fuel. On the other hand, who’s to say we shouldn’t just sit back and watch the life grow. In a few million years, assuming humanity is still alive, Titan may very well join other moons like Europe is producing native life that will emerge from the primordial soups and look out at the stars. And if they then reach out, they might just find us in the mood to share with them. Who knows? It’s the prospects that are exciting!

Source: I09 Magazine.

The Future is Here: Portable Coilguns

It seems that not only the US Navy is experimenting with electromagentic guns. Personal inventors are doing said same. I present you with the CG-33 Portable Coil Gun, the best EM gun to be presented to the world as of yet. And the funny thing is, it was made by an independent inventor named Jason using simple OTS (off-the-shelf) electronic components. These include a 12V Nickel-metal battery, a series of capacitors and a bolt action loading system.

You might want to study up on mechanical and electrical engineering before attempting to build one of these, but the results are impressive. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jason got a call from Heckler and Koch or some other gun manufacturer in the near future!

Dystopia and Deathmatches in Sci-Fi

Battle Royale:

This controversial story, also adapted into a film, takes place in an alternate universe where Japan is a member region of a totalitarian state named the Republic of Greater East Asia. Alluding to the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere of WWII, it is clear that this a world in which Japan won the Second World War and continued on the path of fascist Imperialism.

In any case, the story revolves around what is called “The Program”. Under the guise of a “study trip”, a group of junior high school students from a fictional town are gassed on a bus. They awaken in the school of an isolated, evacuated island and learn that they have been placed in an event where they must battle each other to the death, or all will die.

Officially a military research project, it is a means of terrorizing the population, of creating such paranoia as to make organized insurgency impossible. Every year, fifty classes are selected to participate where students from a single class are isolated and are required to fight the other members. It ends when only one student remains, with that student being declared the winner.

Their movements are tracked by metal collars, which contain tracking and listening devices; if any student should attempt to escape the Program, or enter declared forbidden zones, a bomb will be detonated in the collar. If no one dies within any 24-hour period, all collars will be detonated simultaneously and there will be no winner.

Banned in many countries (the novel and the film) because of its controversial and graphic nature, Battle Royale has gone on to inspire such books as The Hunger Games.  Combining a Lord of the Flies-style appraisal of human psychology with a indictment of reality TV, this story remains one of the most effective pieces of modern dystopian literature featuring death matches.

Dune:

Fans of Dune will remember the lovely scene in the novel where Count Fenrig travels to Geidi Prime to speak with the Baron. Once he arrived, and in honor of Feyd Rathau’s birthday, he was treated to a gladiator match between Feyd and a slave gladiator. This is a common feature on Geidi Prime where death matches are considered public entertainment and every major city has its own arena.

And what better place for this kind of entertainment than Geidi Prime, a world run by ruthless overlords and characterized by harsh, perverse brutality? And that was the point after all. The Harkonnen’s were the bad guys in this tale and everything about them, their appearances, ethics, and homeworld was designed to match.

Robot Jox:

Taking place in a post-apocalyptic world where conventional warfare is forbidden between nations, Robot Jox tells the tale of a gladiator-style sport where giant mechs do battle in open arenas. This is how the two super-nations – the American-influenced Western Market and the Russian Confederation – work out their differences.

Of course, espionage and betrayal remain an integral part of the games, mirroring the Cold War. What’s more, the games often rigged to ensure that one bloc can get a leg up on the other. And in the end, the entertainment factor is also a driving force behind the games. In a post-apocalyptic world, the masses need some form of entertainment to distract them from the shock and horror of their daily lives.

The Hunger Games:

Following in the same vein as Battle Royale and Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games tells the tale of a not-too-distant future where the United States has degenerated into a tyrannical government ruled from a political seat known only as “The Capitol”. Every year, the rulers of this city force all the outlying districts to send two young people – one boy and one girl – to compete in a free-for-all known as the Hunger Games.

The purpose of these games is simple, to keep all districts in a state of awe and fear so they won’t be able to contemplate another uprising. Years back, it is said that the 13 districts committed to one such uprising, the result being that District 13 was destroyed. The remaining twelve now send their competitors and try to exploit the incentives, which just happen to be rations.

Throughout the book, several things are made clear about the games which highlight its satirical nature. Satirizing reality TV shows, we learn that the games are televised, incentives are offered to keep the games going, and contestants draw sponsors based on their popularity. In addition, extra elements like romances and collaborations are encouraged to ensure that the games remain interesting and dramatic.

In the end, the games serve the purpose of keeping people down but also exploiting their destitute nature by offering them a shot at something better. When the games are over and only one person remains, they will receive enough rations to last them a lifetime. Many times over, it is also shown how life in the capitol is opulent and comfortable, whereas the outlying districts are malnourished and must do things like hunt illegally for food. And of course, the farther the district from the capitol, the more difficult life is, another aspect which the capitol exploits to ensure its continued survival.

The Running Man:

Written by Stephen King under the pen name Richard Bachman, The Running Man is also a near-future dystopian tale set in 2025 where the US has become a totalitarian state because of economic fallout and wide-scale starvation. For a population dogged by hunger and martial law, the only real source of enjoyment is a televised TV show where convicts are forced to engage in gladiator-style combat against seasoned “hunters”.

Aptly named “The Running Man”, the show begins when a series of “enemies of the state” – i.e. convicts – are released into a massive arena where they are pursued by a group of network-employed hitmen. For every hour they remain alive, they earns 100 dollars, plus a bonus for every Hunter they kill. If they survive 30 days, they earn a total of 1 billion “New Dollars” and a full pardon. Or so they say…

Though the novel and the movie differ in terms of plot and resolution, the basic elements are the same. In a future where the vast majority of the population is indigent and desperate, brutal spectator sports are seen as the only outlet. In both versions, much is made of how popular the games are and how important they are to both the network and the government, hence why every attempt is made to ensure that the Hitmen always win.

This serves to reinforce the notion that enemies of the state will always lose when faced with the governments brand of justice, which in this respect is similar to a show trial. It also ensures that the most profitable business in that day and age, since the show grosses billions of dollars in sponsorship and betting on convicts is also a big side-business, stays up and running. So in addition to serving as a source of social control, the games are also an example of corporatism, where the government has a lucrative arrangement with its biggest corporations.

Unreal Tournament:

Don’t laugh! Yes, this may have been a glorified (and gory) first-person shooter in it’s time, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t also inspired. Though gamers cared little for the storyline, the fact remains that Unreal Tournament actually had a dystopian theme that drew from several classical sources. Set in a future where the Earth government creates a no-holds-barred arena deathmatch game to settle disputes between deep space miners.

However, when it became clear just how profitable and popular the games were, the games expanded to become an interstellar affair where anyone could fight and the prizes were astronomical. In turn, the corporate responsible for creating the games also became incredibly powerful and used every tool in its crooked arsenal to make sure that competitors were in good supply and things always worked in their favor.

Any player who survived long enough to make it to the end would square off against the companies own cyborg. If they were fortunate enough to kill him too, they received the grand prize and rank of Tournament Champion! All of this, though it took the form of a first-person shooter, calls to mind all the previously mentioned examples of dystopian science fiction and psychological realism. By pitting the desperate, the brutal and the avaricious against each other, a company was able to make an obscene amount of money and keep people blind to the true abuses of power in their universe.

Final Thoughts:

In the end, all of these examples have one thing in common. Whether the setting is a post-apocalyptic world or just a destitute nation dealing with economic downturn, the element of social control is always there. By throwing the powerless, hungry and greedy into an arena and ordering them to kill or be killed, a government ensures that it not eliminates potential threats but channels discontent into something truly atavistic and brutal. Though this is in many ways inspired by the Roman example, modern developments seem to be the true inspiration.

Like all dystopian literature, it seems that developments within the late 19th and early 20th century were the crucial factor. It was here that writers and social commentators truly came face to face with humanity’s abundant capacity for distraction, atavistic behavior, and indifference to suffering. That is another thing that all these pieces of literature have in common. Whether it is the brutal cynicism of those who profit from the games, or the uncaring nature of those who enjoy them, a disgusting lack of empathy runs through them all like a vein.

For what is worse than exploiting misery for the sake of entertainment? It’s one thing to persecute people directly, but making the oppressed and exploited fight each other for the scraps off your own table? That’s a real dick move!

Speaking of which, stay tuned for my review of The Hunger Games. I’ve finally gotten to the end of the book and will sharing my long-promised thoughts on them real soon! Thank you all, and remember: don’t let the bastards pit you against each other! FIGHT THE POWER!

Reality TV gets the Hunger Games treatment!

My wife forwarded me this gem, which was shared with her by one of her friends on Pinterest. Man, that thing is becoming the new Facebook! But that’s a separate satirical issue. Mainly I think this hilarious recommendation is perfect at combining reality TV with a satire thereof. The Hunger Games, true to the best traditions of dystopian sci-fi, depicted a future in which young people were pitted against each other for the entertainment of the privileged. Who says this is not an elegant solution to our current problem with reality TV stars? Wouldn’t it solve all our issues with them?

Think about it… they annoy the hell out of us. And yet, the more we talk about them, the more press they get. The more press they get, the more famous and rich they become. It’s a terrible, viscous cycle! Turn them loose in an arena with orders to kill each other, with the remaining person getting set for life, and we’d pretty much kill all those birds with one stone. Actually, its more like we’d be ordering the birds to kill each other, but the point remains. All but one reality star is gone, and the remainder never need bother us again.

Sounds kind of twisted, but what better way to introduce my next concept piece: gladiator-style death matches in sci-fi!

P.S. Wouldn’t you know it? This just happens to be my 300th post! Yaaaaay, another milestone!

The Future is Here: The 5-Axis Robot

3D printers are becoming all the rage these days. Machines that can take a computer-generated blueprint and compile an object out of plastic that matches it exactly, what’s not to love about that? But recently, the Japanese company known as Daishin Seki produced a machine that could literally sculpt metal. The concept is pretty much the same: you create a diagram on your computer, upload it to the robot, make sure it’s loaded with a block of metal, and just sit back and let it do its thing.

The initial test of the machine was caught on video, where it turned a block of aluminum into a one-piece motorcycle helmet. Yes, this work of metallic art has no seems, no screws, no separate parts. So its likely to be a hell of a lot more durable than one that was slapped together. Quite impressive. The applications for this growing technology truly are limitless.

However, this does raise some genuine concerns. For one, human machinists can’t keep up with this kind of technology. So really, it is no longer a competition between a human being and a machine, but between two kinds of machines. This new form of computer-assisted design, known as “machining”, stands in contrast to “printing” – i.e. use of a 3D printer. As time goes on, these two methods are likely to compete for consumers and investment, eventually procuring certain niches of the design market. Meanwhile, human machinists will be left behind, with nothing to do but watch and get re-educated on the use of these machines.

Well, no one said “progress” was all sunshine and roses. And the elimination of man-power is one of the hallmarks of high tech. So unless we choose to jam these machines up, we’ll just have to be content to watch them churn out cool stuff, huh? Enjoy the video clip below:

Crashland – Chapter 12 Now Appearing at Story Time!

The votes are in and chapter 12 of Crashland is now available at Story Time. Last time around, the protagonist William Holden was being introduced to the final member of the crew. This, he discovered, was a cybernetic being known as Simon, a breed of human being designed to monitor cyberspace at all times. He also deduced what Jacobs plan was… unfortunately he didn’t tell the rest of us what it was. Yeah, I know, but I aint telling neither!

In any case, their discussion was interrupted when one of Jacobs men came to announce that they had a problem. When he learned what it was, he conveyed to Holden that they did indeed have a problem! The only question was, what was the nature of it? I asked audiences to decide. Was it: a. a rival gang attacking their hideout, b. an unruly mob that was threatening their friends who are camped out near the entrance, or c. the tube collapsing?

Well, the votes are in and audiences have once again decided. It’s C! The tube is collapsing, and now Holden, Jacobs, and his little band of agents will have to evacuate quickly! Come and by and see what happens, then stick around to vote on the next chapter! It’s all happening over at Story Time.

The Dark Knight Rises gets test-screening, recieves standing ovation

Wow, third trailer today! But I just forward them to you fine folks, I got nothing to do with their production… unfortunately. And the big news is not the movie trailer itself, we’ve seen enough of those to know what’s going to happen by now. What is news is that The Dark Knight Rises recently got a test-screening by Warner Bros. executives in order to gauge audiences reaction to movie and its extended cut.

The full-length version ran for a whopping 4 hours, rivaling Kenneth Branagh’s massive movie production of Hamlet. And anyone who’s seen that one can attest to the fact that no movie, no matter how awesome, can ever expect to hold audiences for that long. Especially in this day and age! As such, it has since been cut down to 2 hours and 45 minutes. A good run time, but nothing the Dark Knight can’t handle.

And the audience reaction was nothing short of stellar. Apparently, the first group to see the final chapter of the Batman saga gave the film a standing ovation. The rest of us can therefore rest assured in the knowledge that it’s going to be a spectacular film and that we absolutely must see it! It has been confirmed that director Christopher Nolan will not be giving the film a press release screening, so the only way to get an advanced view of the movie is to attend the midnight screening of it on July 20.

That is the official release date, when the movie will be released all across North America, and the rest of the world shortly thereafter. Once again, I can’t wait! Only a week to go… Here’s one final trailer to tide us over!

Star Trek 2 Teaser Trailer

And wouldn’t you know it, it seems that the good people over at Movieclips have also released a teaser for the upcoming Star Trek 2 movie. Like all teasers, it doesn’t tell us much. But a few things are clear. For one, it’s likely going to focus on the discovery of some new alien species – or at least new from a prequel standpoint. Then again, since they established that the new movies take place in an alternate timeline, anything is possible. Second, it’s abundantly clear that Abrams will be returning the director’s seat and that the ensemble from the first movie will be reuniting.

On top of all that, it is revealed by the source that Benedict Cumberbatch, the British actor known for his roles in War Horse, Atonement, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and the upcoming adaptation of The Hobbit, will be making his Trek debut as the villain. It’s all set for release sometime in 2013. And since The Hobbit will be debuting around the same time, it’s sure to be a good year for movie-goers, and Cumberbatch! Check out the trailer below.

Skyfall – Official teaser trailer

Good news everybody! The people who brought you Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace have finally released a teaser trailer for the new Bond movie. I know this doesn’t quite fall into the category of science fiction, but I love the new Bond films. And if it’s of interest to me and to others, I’m sure to post about it!

Named Skyfall, the new movie is apparently going to involve revelations about M and an attack on MI6. In the course of it all, Bond’s loyalty will be tested, and he will have to make more sacrifices to save the only home he’s ever known and only job he’s ever been good at. Check out the trailer below.

Another G5N Anthology in the works!

Don’t you just love it when things come together, and by things I mean talented people and a good concept? Well that seems to be happening once again. A few months back, I joined Writer’s Worth over at Goodreads, a writer’s group dedicated to promoting new talent and aspiring authors. We have since morphed into Grim5Next, an online community with its own site and members all over the world. Our first anthology, World’s Undone, is coming together nicely and should be finished in a few months.

But more recently, a couple of Grim5Next people got together and decided we wanted to get to work on another anthology. Maybe we’re all a little driven, but somehow, we just couldn’t wait for the first to be released. And with the departure of the master-singer of sci-fi, Ray Bradbury, and the news of the Venus transit, we felt ourselves inspired. In fact, it all began with a single conversation between Mrs. Khaalidah Muhammed-Ali and myself:

Khaal­i­dah: Four nerds verg­ing on geeks live in my house, of which I am one. One of our nerdi­est but fun con­ver­sa­tions cen­tered around the ques­tion “Would you rather go to space or the bot­tom of the ocean?” Hands down the answer was space. I once dreamed that my son, now 21, would one day go to space and walk on Mars. He is no longer a child who dreams of space, although it still intrigues, and space seems a dis­tant child­hood dream of his. But even for myself, at the ripe old age of 41, the idea of going to space is a bright hope, even though I know it is unat­tain­able and unre­al­is­tic. But, given the chance, I would go. This post reminds me of the awe­some­ness of our great uni­verse, of the chaotic ran­dom­ness, of the beauty of this world and the things we have to be grate­ful for, and of how utterly minus­cule we peo­ple really are in the grand scheme of things.

Me: Okay, you need to write this down. I fore­see you doing a story where a fam­ily does go into space. Ho boy, I smell another anthology here!

Khaalidah: An anthol­ogy about space, going to space or any­thing related sounds awe­some. I vote for you to be the edi­tor. What do we need to do to get started?

That’s how it all got started. After some initial brainstorming, we plotted out what we wanted this all to be about. Space and Colonization! In the near future, such endeavors might just become a reality. In fact, they might have to be if we want to survive as a species. And inspired by the dearly departed Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles, I thought we ought to tackle some of the same issues he did, taking into account some more recent historical developments. Like Bradbury’s chronicles, it will be a series of interlinked stories, but told from different points of view in different time frames.

After some astrological research, your humble editor selected a location. 61 Cygni, the star system that sits roughly 11 and a half light years away from Earth. Though there’s no hard evidence to support the theory, it has been ventured that there may be a system of planets in the system, including three small objects, two gas giants, and one mega-planet. At right, you will see the little map I prepared for our, and your, viewing pleasure.

And in time, we picked up some more dedicated souls, William J Joel and Goran Zidar, who you may remember from Story Time fame (he’s the inventor). Already, these two have signed up for slots in the opening part of the anthology. Divided into four stories, Part I will tell the tale of how colonization is getting underway here at Earth in the not too distant future. And before it ends, it will address the issues of converting the new world over to human needs, and how the local flora and fauna are not too happy about it!

And of course, I got a few more people who’ve volunteered to help just as soon as they have the time. Courtney, Jinn and Doremy, I’m looking in your direction. You’re initiative is most appreciated and there’s still plenty of stories to be written and slots to be filled. And of course, Parts II and III are still in development, and slots remain open for more writers. Though it’s still in development, I know it’s going to be inspired, thanks to the people we got working on it. I also know we are going to have fun doing it.