An interesting idea about the course of history and technological creations that have taken place is that it is all a unique chain of events that relate to each other. Just as the coming of the bronze age made stone and bone tools obsolete, so did the advent of guns make rows and rows of heavily armored knights obsolete. The invention of sewing machines and tailoring factories allowed the mass production of textiles and affecting the prices of clothes and their accessibility.
But what if this rigid set of historical events happened in a different way? What if the invention of the airplane happened during the renaissance? What if steampowered tanks rolled across the known world in the name of Caesar?
Ideas such as this are what comprise the genre of Steampunk. Generally themed around the mid to late 19th century, the science fiction genre of Steampunk originated from several sources in the late 1970's. Originally about a victorian-esque 1800's world where steam powered appliances and ornate, Baroque devices often have gears or components visible. The concept of steampunk is a unique blend of victorian art, 1800's society, and scientific discovery.
But what are the odds of history having had a different course? Well, it's not like we can go back in time (yet) and change things and then zip into the future and see how things worked out differently, but what can be said definitively is that what HAS happened is a very specific chronological line of events that happened in a very specific way, and should something have happened differently then we would most likely have ended up with a very different product, and that product would be our history.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Taleweaver!
In the light of the moment I've decided to write a short science fiction story about my favorite college!
Our story takes place many years in the future in the year 201,000 in the distant star-nexus of Philo. Deep in the black void of space near a star system known only as "The Illadelph" three factions battle for control of Philo as enemies clash and alliances are formed amongst the stars.
Orienta-Un:
The nation in which our story is centered. Though now the most powerful of the colonies in The Illadelph, they hold their own and seek above all the cease violence and bring negotiations to the table, stopping the Orien-Framanian War.
Vlad Diback: The president of Orienta-Un and the main character of out story. he is attempting to stop tensions between the Framanian Baronies while assisting the Palmonians in their mission in the system.
Wico-Sama: An aged practitioner of arcane studies, he is the guru of our story and the high councellor of the Orienta-Un council. Though wise beyond measure, many of his decisions are frowned upon by the less experienced.
Gin'Dujis: A techno-scribe who is the head of the Orientan holo library. She serves to proliferate data throughout Orientan colonies and strives for excellence and purity in knowledge.
Criep: An aged nubian descendant from the Swernet Ghothut colony, his role in our tale can be summed with the phrase "Unremembered history repeats itself."
Palmo-Theologicon:
A collection of ex-monks with multi-dimensional diversity that express deep holistic understanding. They are long-standing allies of the Orientians and are seen as a peaceful people though their political power in the system is small. Lead by Walowan Cha-Sthim, the Palmonians seek to spread their beliefs throughout the system and remain a peaceful and politically neutral organization.
Framanian Baronies:
A band in interstellar mercenaries who have recently settled into The Illadelph. These tyrants coax innocent settlers of the fringe worlds into joining their glorious society, known only as "The Establishment" where their bodies are subjected to addicting chemicals, thus fueling a need to serve and get their fix. Lead by Overlord Joa'Fn, the Framians are a loosely knit series of baronies at their heart, leading out the seas of chemically addicted mind-slaves to conquer the galaxy.
Our story takes place many years in the future in the year 201,000 in the distant star-nexus of Philo. Deep in the black void of space near a star system known only as "The Illadelph" three factions battle for control of Philo as enemies clash and alliances are formed amongst the stars.
Orienta-Un:
The nation in which our story is centered. Though now the most powerful of the colonies in The Illadelph, they hold their own and seek above all the cease violence and bring negotiations to the table, stopping the Orien-Framanian War.
Vlad Diback: The president of Orienta-Un and the main character of out story. he is attempting to stop tensions between the Framanian Baronies while assisting the Palmonians in their mission in the system.
Wico-Sama: An aged practitioner of arcane studies, he is the guru of our story and the high councellor of the Orienta-Un council. Though wise beyond measure, many of his decisions are frowned upon by the less experienced.
Gin'Dujis: A techno-scribe who is the head of the Orientan holo library. She serves to proliferate data throughout Orientan colonies and strives for excellence and purity in knowledge.
Criep: An aged nubian descendant from the Swernet Ghothut colony, his role in our tale can be summed with the phrase "Unremembered history repeats itself."
Palmo-Theologicon:
A collection of ex-monks with multi-dimensional diversity that express deep holistic understanding. They are long-standing allies of the Orientians and are seen as a peaceful people though their political power in the system is small. Lead by Walowan Cha-Sthim, the Palmonians seek to spread their beliefs throughout the system and remain a peaceful and politically neutral organization.
Framanian Baronies:
A band in interstellar mercenaries who have recently settled into The Illadelph. These tyrants coax innocent settlers of the fringe worlds into joining their glorious society, known only as "The Establishment" where their bodies are subjected to addicting chemicals, thus fueling a need to serve and get their fix. Lead by Overlord Joa'Fn, the Framians are a loosely knit series of baronies at their heart, leading out the seas of chemically addicted mind-slaves to conquer the galaxy.
Apolalypse!
Stories of the wold ending are far from new in the realm of fantasy. The word Apocalypse comes from Revelation, which is probably one of the first stories that depicts the world ending. The legend of Atlantis may also be a root for tales of the apocalypse, being that it is the story of an entire continent being destroyed by Poseidon.
Apocalyptic stories are quite prevalent in modern fiction. From movies like 2012, Armageddon, Knowing, Waterworld, The Matrix and Akira, Hollywood and beyond have used the end of the world as a recurring source for audiences. Even more films such as The Terminator, or Avatar imply an apocalypse. Books as well imply a destructive end of the wold quite frequently. Obviously Revelation being the most transparent of these examples (it being the root of the word, and probably the largest source of world-ending material) but books such as Mary Shelly's "The Last Man", The War of the Worlds, and After London discuss a variety of ideas of how the world will end. In fact, with such an abundance of different earth-bane tales its hard to find a scifi story where the world isn't blown up.
Scifi typically falls into one of these categories:
Catastrophe: Earthquakes, Lava, Meteors, Global Warming at its finest!
E.T. Threats: Aliens blastin' all the humans to bits.
Technology Failure: Science has failed us!
Pandemic: Zombies want your braaaaains!
Nuclear War: Nuff said.
Though it's difficult to say *why* audiences like stories about the world ending and I dont know enough about the sociological reasoning behind it, a lot of it probably stems from a subconscious understanding people have that this world is temporary. Especially with the rise of Global Warming, more and more people hear those two words on a frequent basis and they kinda get ingrained with the concept of the world coming to a close.
So the next time your out walking your dog, doing your homework, or just talking to someone, remember. That could be your last.
Apocalyptic stories are quite prevalent in modern fiction. From movies like 2012, Armageddon, Knowing, Waterworld, The Matrix and Akira, Hollywood and beyond have used the end of the world as a recurring source for audiences. Even more films such as The Terminator, or Avatar imply an apocalypse. Books as well imply a destructive end of the wold quite frequently. Obviously Revelation being the most transparent of these examples (it being the root of the word, and probably the largest source of world-ending material) but books such as Mary Shelly's "The Last Man", The War of the Worlds, and After London discuss a variety of ideas of how the world will end. In fact, with such an abundance of different earth-bane tales its hard to find a scifi story where the world isn't blown up.
Scifi typically falls into one of these categories:
Catastrophe: Earthquakes, Lava, Meteors, Global Warming at its finest!
E.T. Threats: Aliens blastin' all the humans to bits.
Technology Failure: Science has failed us!
Pandemic: Zombies want your braaaaains!
Nuclear War: Nuff said.
Though it's difficult to say *why* audiences like stories about the world ending and I dont know enough about the sociological reasoning behind it, a lot of it probably stems from a subconscious understanding people have that this world is temporary. Especially with the rise of Global Warming, more and more people hear those two words on a frequent basis and they kinda get ingrained with the concept of the world coming to a close.
So the next time your out walking your dog, doing your homework, or just talking to someone, remember. That could be your last.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Weapons of Science Fiction
A long standing interest of our race has been the creation and use of new and futuristic weaponry. From some of the earliest science fiction books (written in as early as 1900) stories of "land ironclads" crawling across the countryside by foreign armies and annihilating their technologically inferior enemies.
Often a stunning revelation is that these strange new implements of destruction are created in writing before they are physically made in the world. An example being the atomic bomb being envisioned by H.G. Wells in 1914, 30 years before its creation and use in the second World War.
Weapons of increasing popularity with shows such as Star Trek, Star Wars, and the writings of Arthur C. Clarke are energy weaponry. Primarily envisioned as beams of light or heat that can disintegrate things, from their invention as an idea in the 1950's they rapidly became one of the most popular scifi themed weapons, particularly in the 60's and 70's. Five years later in 1965 the laser was invented, though of course nowhere near as powerful or impressive as its authors had forethought it, this fledgeling technology would have impacts in surgery, data recording, music, architecture, landscaping, and even photography.
Often a stunning revelation is that these strange new implements of destruction are created in writing before they are physically made in the world. An example being the atomic bomb being envisioned by H.G. Wells in 1914, 30 years before its creation and use in the second World War.
Weapons of increasing popularity with shows such as Star Trek, Star Wars, and the writings of Arthur C. Clarke are energy weaponry. Primarily envisioned as beams of light or heat that can disintegrate things, from their invention as an idea in the 1950's they rapidly became one of the most popular scifi themed weapons, particularly in the 60's and 70's. Five years later in 1965 the laser was invented, though of course nowhere near as powerful or impressive as its authors had forethought it, this fledgeling technology would have impacts in surgery, data recording, music, architecture, landscaping, and even photography.
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