What happened to my future?

Mario here:



Just got in from Bubonicon 43. Had an awesome time with the usual libations (courtesy of the Starfleet USS Anasazi), the bawdy guests, and generally outrageous behavior. Ahem...





The con theme was Steampunk, and I moderated the panel: Steampunk Definitions: More than Victorian Clothing. We discussed the growing popularity of Steampunk, especially considering that not long ago, quite a few in the publishing industry were convinced the subgenre was a short-lived gimmick. Of course steampunk hasn't faded, but flourishes. The panel batted around ideas about why the genre endures and one that caught hold was steampunk fills the Wow! void since science fiction has lost much of its sense of wonder and amazement. I mean, we are in the 21st century and what happened to the promise of intergalactic travel, anti-gravity boots, and flying cars?







Star Trek may have had warp drive and teleportation but the audience's gee-whiz factor has been hijacked by the iPhone. In this respect, we've outpaced the future. And consider, the US no longer has a manned space program and our astronauts will have to bum rides into orbit from the Russians.







So readers and writers have turned back the calendar and extrapolated the cool What Ifs? of the past. Airships, check. Steam-powered cars and robots, check. Clockwork what-have-youze, check.