Guest Speakers: Darin M. Bush, Holly Hogan, James P. Nettles, Dr. Alyse N. Steves
Track Director: Nicole Givens Kurtz
Assistant Track Director: Aziza Sphinx
What are things that were dreamed up in Science Fiction of the past that are now becoming a reality? The modern-day light-saber, known as a “plasma knife,” is a stunning achievement! Additionally, there’s been a resurgence of airship technology. Based on current research, there’s a large possibility of this coming through fruition. When it comes to vehicles, Toyota is focusing on “nitrogen combustion engines.” What this means is that they want to reduce carbon emissions, and get away from the use of petroleum. However, even a nitrogen combustion engine would still emit toxins – just not carbon.
And who can forget the shocking reveal straight from congress? UFO’s and aliens are in our midst! However, when a government admits something major like this, they’re usually hiding something bigger or worse. There has also been the rapid development of AI, showing that programs are capable of displaying reason and emotion.
Dolly the sheep was an earlier cloning experiment, and contrary to popular belief, she did not die from scientific tampering of her DNA. She had an unrelated medical condition called “large offspring syndrome” which resulted in her unfortunate death. However, people are now considering how to transfer consciousness from one body to another.
There’s been a significant rise of technology regarding the science of memory. How do we interpret visuals and see dream acuity in action? Scientists can now look through scans and trigger memories to occur. There’s no video just yet, but the script response shows what is occurring. To more concerning questions, how will this effect the legal system? If anyone has seen Minority Report, Total Recall, or Strange Days, we can understand how this could become a dystopian nightmare. In Lexx, they showcase a probe going through people’s memories to record events. While this exposes threats, it also reveals the greater context of what’s going on.
There is also the science of tracking biosignatures, and bodily reactions to high-performance or high-stress environments. The effects are staggering in regards to how stress affects people on a biological and cognitive level, including the impact of individual decision-making in the short and long-term.
We’ve discussed sheep, so naturally, it’s time to look at the science of mavericks. This refers to mixing genetics between multi-cellular species, or the possibility of going from animal to human, or vice-versa. Organ transplants from pigs have failed, so now there is discussion in science of how to make humans more pig-like.
Another branch of science-fiction refers to genetic modification of adults through the injection of retro-viruses, or “bio-hackers.” However, cells have barriers to prevent this, so you’d have to target the nuclei, which is far more difficult than it sounds. Embryo DNA is even more challenging. While it’s possible in theory, it is so extremely difficult in reality. There would have to be further implementations in designing healing factors, such as insulin implants, etc.
To further elaborate, can humans breathe oxygen-rich liquids? Yes, we do so in the womb, but we’re just not as good at it. What devices could be built or created for this? Apple innovates by leveraging government applications and commercializing them. Touchscreens go as far back as NASA in the 1960’s. Innovations are typically paid through VC (venture capital) funds, which are government owned and controlled.
One of the most mind-boggling concepts in sci-fi is how to get between stars, or travel through space quickly. Obviously there’s “warp-drive,” but what entertainment writers come up with is bull-shit, right? Well then, someone said “If the math works… it could be possible…” From there, it’s not too complicated for people to ask, “What’s the next step?” And NASA has one of the highest returns on investment.
So what will we see become sci-fi realities in the future?
Was there any scientific developments that didn’t make the list? Shout them out in the Comments Section below! What sci-fi dreams and nightmares could be manifesting right around the corner? We’d love to hear from you!
If you’d like to see more panels like this and receive the FULL experience in person, check out Multiverse Con! Get your tickets here: https://www.multiversecon.org/ Hope to see you there! 🙂
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