Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Futurism.
The Physiological and Psychological Aspects of Sending Humans to Mars
Abstract The body is an extraordinary and complicated system that automatically detects, and responds to, dramatic environmental changes around it, particularly in an environment of weightlessness. The entire body is involved in the complex and rapid response to micro- or zero gravity, and space science is just beginning to form a picture of what is happening inside the body under these conditions. When an astronaut goes into space, as will be the case during an eventual mission to Mars, his or her body will immediately begin to experience a multitude of changes, causing the astronaut to feel and look slightly different. The crew would succumb to massive bone and muscle loss as a direct result of long-term exposure to micro- or zero gravity, and would suffer cell damage from ionizing cosmic radiation, potential permanent vision problems, and psychological and sociological deterioration due to isolation. Nonetheless, past space flight experiences from crews in the United States and the former Soviet Union have demonstrated that humans can survive space flights of several months, or even up to a year in duration. This study identifies the psychological and physiological aspects of a manned mission to Mars and will recommend countermeasures and prevention strategies designed to combat many of the problems associated with long-term exposures in space. The International Space Station (ISS), moreover, has an enormously vital role in assessing the health dangers of sending humans to Mars. Thus, a recommendation to place a crew on the ISS to simulate a flight to Mars is addressed.
By Antonio Paris9 years ago in Futurism
New 'Blade Runner 2049' Trailer Released
"There is an order to things." Science fiction fans have never stopped talking about Ridley Scott's classic science fiction film Blade Runner. The original, starring Harrison Ford, Sean Young, and Rutger Hauer, remains a favorite among genre fans for numerous reasons. The cyberpunk aesthetic, the complex questions about the nature of humanity, and, of course, Harrison Ford.
By Anthony Gramuglia9 years ago in Futurism
A Primer for Symbiote
One of the most powerful, technologically and biologically advanced super weapons has been stolen from a secure research station and tracked to a third rate, backwater world at the edge of explored space overrun by bloodthirsty savages. If this news were to escape to the general public, the repercussions could be just as disastrous as the enemy getting a hold of the weapon. A select group of specially trained elite is chosen to find and return the weapon, before it’s too late. The fate of the galaxy, its very future, rests squarely at the feet of these five teachers, what could go wrong?
By daniel morris9 years ago in Futurism
Outrun Stories #22
Hope’s a funny kind of pain. I mean, in comparison to everything else it holds its own. You can be bruised and battered and hammered into the fucking ground with bullets and bats and fuck, that all hurts like hell, but hoping that it will end. Hoping that something better is coming. Hoping that you’ll get out. That’s a different type of pain all together.
By Outrun Stories9 years ago in Futurism
Review of Sense8 2.4-5
One of the most significant secondary themes of Sense8 is the personal relationships our sense8s have to sapiens, as we humans are now increasingly known and referred to in the series. These range from significant other partnerships, as in Lito and Hernando, Nomi and Amanita, and Kala and her devoted but lackluster husband, to lifelong friends such as Wolfgang and Felix, to mortal enemies as in Sun and her monster-in-sheep's-clothing brother.
By Paul Levinson9 years ago in Futurism
Alex The Inventor-Chapter 12
Read Chapters 1 - 11 at: Deep Sky Stories Chapter 12 (Part 1) - Belated Truth and Secret Nobility It was an educational time for Alex during the half hour he spent in Rainah's, "Resting Room", as she liked to call it. It was also a time for healing. Miss Vee gently immersed Alex's burned hands in a basin filled with a cool, healing gel compound. After only a few minutes soaking in the gel, Alex withdrew his hands to discover that the throbbing pain had subsided considerably. Bandages were then wrapped around each hand to prevent infection.After the shock and strangeness wore off, seeing Rainah put her prosthetic legs on was quite fascinating. As Miss Vee put it, "Any challenge or hardship in life can be overcome with a determined mind and a little ingenuity."The legs were very interesting because they not only performed perfectly as replacements for the ones that were lost during her hibernation, they also provided Rainah with several distinct advantages. The first and most obvious was that she could literally run the legs off anybody and barely break a sweat. The legs, which had ‘Fluid-Motion High-Speed Servo-Motors’, were powered by high-powered, rechargeable ‘Tritium-Cell’ Batteries, and had ‘Endo-Nerve Ganglia’ sensors which amplified her normal nervous system's electrical impulses.The resulting normalized feedback from her brain mirrored all the proper movements and reactions that any biological legs would have. But because of the nerve amplification and the extreme power output that Tritium-Cell batteries allowed, short bursts of higher than normal strength and speed were possible. But there was more, much more than Miss Vee or John Faraway had expected when they gave Rainah new life with the new legs. Because of the thinner atmosphere on Mars, Rainah's people not only adapted to it, they also learned telepathy because of it. This eliminated the need to waste precious energy (and breath) talking. Because of the two-way biofeedback connection with her nervous system, the new artificial nerves amplified not only Rainah's physical but also her telepathic abilities. A mind could not just be spoken to, she could also read it like a book.Under ideal conditions, such as a mental exercise (like a geography test) Rainah could even find and mentally pull the appropriate memories to the forefront of a person's mind. It was like opening a facet wide and letting the information spill out of the person so fast, that they would have no comprehension of what was happening until it was finished.The first time it happened, Miss Vee was in her kitchen, trying to remember an old cookie recipe that her mother had taught her years ago. She wanted to make enough for both Rainah and Alex, since she was caring for both of them at that time. Before she knew what was happening, ten minutes had elapsed and a fresh batch of oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies was baking in the oven. Miss Vee was completely befuddled and Rainah had a secretive, mischievous grin on her face. The legs had one more distinction: they grew in perfect unison with Rainah‘s natural growth.With the aid of ‘Omni-Balanced Molecular Silicate Growth Plastics’ the bionic legs constantly mirrored their own growth with Rainah's. They were, for all purposes and appearances, her legs. The only time she had to take them off was during the night or any time she needed some rest in her little room. Her prosthetics were then placed into a specially designed recharging container attached to her bed. All Rainah had to do was shuffle over, drop down onto them and then walk away after opening the small container doors.During their time together, the mood in the little Resting Room had soon changed to an upbeat and happier one. And so, after Rainah had had a short rest to allow her prosthetic legs to recharge, Miss Vee called a brief but serious meeting with both of them. During that time, she discussed important matters with Rainah about the Biosphere. A particular issue they focused on regarded the routine operations in the habitat and how well each successive crop was growing in the artificial Martian environment over the past twelve years.Soon, however, the topic began to shift back to a familiar worry that was always on their minds: how much longer they could remain hidden from the Others. Alex soon was forced to realize that there very little time left at all. But out from that ominous train of discussion flowed another topic from Rainah which immediately captured his attention and left him wanting to know much more. Yet, it was how she said it, how she turned to the subject, as though on cue from previously scripted lines that gave Alex his first hint that all was not quite as it should be.
By G.F. Brynn9 years ago in Futurism
Robosexuality: The Science Fiction That Predicted Humans Falling In Love With Robots
Twenty years ago, if you would have said that there would be people out there who have robotic girlfriends or digital girls, most people would have laughed. However, nobody's laughing today. The demand for robotic lovers is growing - and companies are legitimately working to give people the robo-lovers they want.
By Ossiana Tepfenhart9 years ago in Futurism
