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| *involuntary shudder*; Yes, Dougal Dixon again | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 10 2008, 01:49 PM (6,059 Views) | |
| Sliver Slave | Jul 10 2008, 01:49 PM Post #1 |
I'm going back to basics.
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Did anyone else get an involuntary shudder when they read man after man or nemo ramjet's all tomorrows? I know I sure did. There was just something about those two books that unsettles me. Or do I just have a weak constitution? |
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| Marty Party | Jul 10 2008, 02:59 PM Post #2 |
Fithp Herdmaster
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seems to me you failed your saving throw |
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| Carlos | Jul 10 2008, 04:05 PM Post #3 |
Adveho in me Lucifero
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Well, I think their views of post-humans are -how should I say this without offending people- "ficticious". I don't human beings could give rise to crab like things living in space (like in Man After Man) or to weird colonial beings (like in All Tomorrows), or to any of those things |
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| Saxophlutist | Jul 10 2008, 04:43 PM Post #4 |
Adult
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Of course there was the element of genetic engineering from an advance (malevolent) alien race in All Tomorrows. 
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| Sliver Slave | Jul 10 2008, 05:37 PM Post #5 |
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I'm going back to basics.
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Like Saxo said, All Tomorrows had advanced aliens, but yeah, space living humans in 200 years? As if. that doesn't make them less creepy. |
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| Livyatan | Jul 10 2008, 05:37 PM Post #6 |
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I am also very conservative when it comes to post-humans. I think the more creative they are the more fun they are to make, but in my mind only a humanoid post-human could ever really work. |
The grand Livyatan on deviantArt: link
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| Giant Blue Anteater | Jul 15 2008, 11:00 AM Post #7 |
Prime Specimen
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I disagree with those notions. I think 40 million years of gene-splicing is long enough to create some of the wierdest abominations derived by man, wether it'd be a biological novelty pen who secretes some kind of ink-like substance from its' anus when pressed somewhere, or a giant, hungry, deep-sea vermiform creature, or a tiny, fetoid creature. Indeed, they may be mammals, but tens of millions of years of genetic modification can pretty much be able to revert humans back to the level of fish, if the Qu so desired. Humans themselves are very adaptable, and if they were genetically modified to be a herbivore, but still be a humanoid, within millions of years' time, they'd probably converge to quadrupedalism in order to bear more weight for a large, plant-eating body. There are gorillas, who walk on fours, and they largely feast on plants. Also, don't forget that the Colonials (the blocks of human flesh) didn't evolve, as with the other odd post-humans, but were genetically modified. I think it is certainly feasable, although quite a lot of gene-splicing would be required to simplify them. Though I never read Man After Man, crab-like people in space isn't possible, at least not in my opinion. Edited by Giant Blue Anteater, Jul 15 2008, 11:00 AM.
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Ichthyostega
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| Livyatan | Jul 15 2008, 11:05 AM Post #8 |
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I agree that through genetic modification and severe nuclear radiation that a whole variety of post-humans could be created but I am worried whether we will survive long enough to do any of that. |
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The grand Livyatan on deviantArt: link
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| Carlos | Jul 15 2008, 12:37 PM Post #9 |
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Adveho in me Lucifero
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Thing, we humans are pretty limitated when evolving naturally. The only way we could give rise to any futuristic bizarre forms is via genetic modification, as GBA said, but: 1- Many people will not support this 2- As obvious, there be usefull "mutants" and unusefull ones, which I guess will never be made thanks to the fact that decent geneticists only make usefull organisms. And colonial chunks of flesh is not usefull. |
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| Sliver Slave | Jul 15 2008, 01:42 PM Post #10 |
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I'm going back to basics.
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Weren't the colonials intended as being punished by the qu? |
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| Carlos | Jul 15 2008, 02:31 PM Post #11 |
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Adveho in me Lucifero
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Yes, but the qu probably don't exist and we humans, the living beings that are most liley to genetically mutilate ourselves, probably won't do it |
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| Ànraich | Jul 16 2008, 05:22 AM Post #12 |
L'évolution Spéculative est moi
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The most unrealistic thing about All Tomorrows was the continuity of the space travel. We will NOT have Mars colonies, space flight, exploration of the solar system, ect in 200 years. Sure, we could have occupants on Mars and begin terraforming, but a colony is a self-supporting system. Mars will not be in a self-supporting state for thousands of years. Terraforming takes a long time; it took Earth nearly two billion years to do it naturally. Mars has no magnetic field so that would need to be either repaired or replaced with artificial magnetic fields. Mars has too thin an atmosphere for any surface heat, we would need to "pollute" Mars for at least 200 years before it was warm enough to put liquid water and algae on it. It would take another few thousand years, with human help, to attain a sustainable atmosphere. Even then most of the planet would be desert. Arthur Clarke's view in 3001 was much more believable. Then again, it's all science fiction, and therefore fiction so who cares? We can't accurately predict what technological breakthroughs will occur in the future. What world war I veteran would have ever thought a weapon as powerful as the atom bomb was even possible? What V2 rocket scientist would have ever thought that his simple little design would someday let us communicate over unbelievable distances via satellite? What P-51 Mustang pilot would have ever thought that planes might someday exceed speeds of 1800 mph? We can speculate all we want, but the future is unpredictable. Edited by Ànraich, Jul 16 2008, 05:23 AM.
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We should all aspire to die surrounded by our dearest friends. Just like Julius Caesar. "The Lord Universe said: 'The same fate I have given to all things from stones to stars, that one day they shall become naught but memories aloft upon the winds of time. From dust all was born, and to dust all shall return.' He then looked upon His greatest creation, life, and pitied them, for unlike stars and stones they would soon learn of this fate and despair in the futility of their own existence. And so the Lord Universe decided to give life two gifts to save them from this despair. The first of these gifts was the soul, that life might more readily accept their fate, and the second was fear, that they might in time learn to avoid it altogether." - Excerpt from a Chanagwan creation myth, Legends and Folklore of the Planet Ghar, collected and published by Yieju Bai'an, explorer from the Celestial Commonwealth of Qonming Tree That Owns Itself
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| Giant Blue Anteater | Jul 16 2008, 10:49 AM Post #13 |
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Prime Specimen
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And where does it say all the space travel and terraforming was achieved in just 200 years? I think the book said it took millenia to achieve all those, not 200 years.
Edited by Giant Blue Anteater, Jul 16 2008, 12:22 PM.
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Ichthyostega
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| lamna | Jul 21 2008, 04:32 PM Post #14 |
 
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For what happens to people, well that does not bother me much. If something from humans survives, that is good enough for me. If it is intelligent, even better. However deep future fiction often annoys me because of all the confusing things going on. They make the world very unbelievable. Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s 3001 and Songs of Distant Earth are some of the only far future novels I really enjoyed. Usually I never like anything set more than 200 years in the future. |
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| Sliver Slave | Jul 25 2008, 05:25 PM Post #15 |
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I'm going back to basics.
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I would check but I'm using an old version of firefox, and it goes into a coma whenever I try to open pdfs. Also, how did Arthur portray the future in 3001 and songs of distant earth? |
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