When Science Fiction Becomes Reality
by Jaden
An article in the LA Times that I read a couple months back had me a little worried about planet annihilation. “The end of the world as we know it; Europe’s atom-smasher may solve cosmic enigmas, reveal new dimensions — oh, and open a black hole,” was the title, written by John Johnson Jr.
I was going to write a post about it at the time, but instead of freaking everyone out, I decided to wait past the June 2008 launch date and see if we were actually all going to quietly vanish in a flash or not.
Maybe in some alter plane, we all died, but in this reality, we survived.
There’s this thing called the Hadron Collider that was some 20 odd years in the making by thousands of physicists; it resides deep under some cute little French and Swiss towns in a train-sized circular tunnel that span 17 miles. The concept is: Hey let’s shoot these subatomic particles at each other and recreate the big bang theory. Temperatures during experiments are hotter than the sun’s core and countered by temperatures colder than in outer space. Possible outcomes: black holes and time travel!
It’s a true story grandma would never believe. Grandma still can’t get over how long-distance calling is free.
NEWS FLASH:
While writing this article, I researched the date again, and the proton beams have not been shot. No wonder we’re still here! The experiment has been pushed back a few more months.
Oh, and by the way, it’s just a “micro black hole,” just a wee little thing, nothing about which to worry — except that black holes work by sucking in everything around them which makes them bigger and stronger (ie. smaller and more compact), which enables them to suck in more faster, including light — but this is all just theory — theory that will be put to the test.
Still sitting on my unpublished post, I see Yahoo! placed this story front page, “Scientists: Nothing to fear from atom-smasher.”
There are a lot of articles debunking fears and little in the way of challenging possible outcomes, uh, like the one wherein we all diiiiiiiieeeeee!
See, this is why things have to remain top secret, otherwise mass logic could get in the way scientific advancement.
The U.S. also had a cosmic plasma experiment under way, but supposedly abandoned it over a decade ago due to the billions of dollars in costs.
Researching further into the world’s scientific experiments, I found all kinds of fantastic ideas being tested by various nations around the world, the labs for which lurk deep under the earth’s crust.
Lots of projects are public knowledge, so just think about the ones that are not!
With the Internet, all this spy technology, big government, and massive science exploration, so much about what writers like Jules Verne, George Orwell, Ray Bradbury, H.G. Wells, Carl Sagan, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Philip K. Dick have written is no longer fiction, it is our reality.
What came first — the fiction story or the future reality?
Should writers worry about what ideas they bring into the world?
Or are science fiction writers seers and prophets who channel the future?
Comments
19 Responses to “When Science Fiction Becomes Reality”
Got something to say?
-
Subscribe
-
-
content rss
My father-in-law is involved in the project, and when interviewed about the experiment, he said this:
“The most exciting thing of all is we have absolutely no idea what will happen until we switch it on.“
I hope this puts your mind at rest.
Maybe if this was Europe in the 1600’s….writers would need to be careful what they said, lest they get buned at the stake.
But the whole point in a Western free-society is to be able to express yourself and have an open and free exchange of ideas. So writers should definitely NOT have to worry about they think or what they publish.
In theory, at least. Dosen’t always work that way.
(Wonder what Salman Rushdie would have to say about this?) .
Jaden
Forgot to say. On a related note.
I once read a cheesy Sci-Fi book about 20 years ago. About exactly such a thing, A fusion experiment gone awry and they created a small black hole that threatened Life as we Know It.
(Can’t remember the book). It wasn’t a very well known author.
Science fiction writers are seers that tap into the holographic possibilities we all can claim.
What about all that weird stuff in the desert in Nevada? What was that dead space alien documentary? I always wondered why the scientists spoke up about that stuff long after they left their jobs. I don’t think they were making it up.
I try not to think about this stuff because it freaks me out too much.
That would be a good Sunday picture post! hehe
Rob — Laughing here. I used to get very worried about everything under the sun. Not so much anymore. If we all get blown sky high, there’s nothing I can do about it, so why worry? Better to enjoy my days, especially if it might be my last. I know one brilliant scientist and he does not seem to care if we all vanish; he’d be happy about that, I get the impression; he’s not a big fan of humanity.
Friar — Interesting about that black hole book. There is a good chance that all of our developments today were written in a sci-fi book somewhere first. I sure have a few sci-fi stories to tell, but for the sake of weird coincidence and irony, with this whole fiction turn reality business, I write my stories with somewhat happy and hopeful endings — otherwise, it’s just extra stress and worry we don’t need, we already have enough of that.
Ellen — For sure, I will do an alien Sunday Picture Post; good idea.
Did you see this one:
http://www.screenwritingforhollywood.com/screenwriting-tips/the-sunday-picture-post-5-tip-research
My take on the Roswell alien thing from all the photos, evidence and reports (I think that is what you are talking about) is that it was a US top secret experiment they tried to cover up with the weather balloon story, probably remote control aircraft, and the images of the aliens are realistic human-like flesh dummies to test the impact of the experiment on the human body. (They don’t look like real human or alien.) If alien life was cruising around the planet, doubt they would go right over a US gov’t base and get shot down. More likely it was our own aircraft experiment that failed and crashed, since it was right next to a base. If aliens are smart enough to get here, they ought to be smart enough to not get shot down by us, right?
Jaden,
I have always thought that aliens are smarter than us from a technological and spiritual perspective. I really don’t think they are “stealing” humans and doing experiments on them, like they did in that hoakie movie, Fire in the Sky.
Why would they bother with humans if they are so advanced? But this begs the question, do moral and technological advances go hand in hand? I don’t know.
I think people have shared experiences on some type of psychic level that causes them to experience these things. I don’t think we can understand this yet from our extremely limited scientific perspective. Quantum mechanics is still coming to grips with all the new findings! The observer is observing the observed. It’s like a hall of mirrors. Like Indra’s net. You cannot observe “reality” without somehow altering it.
Not sure what I think of Roswell. I’m always open to other’s ideas and new research.
And what about the big penis guy in England? That is some trippy thing. Why would anyone invent this kind of thing unless you can see it from the sky?
Anyway, I better stop. I love this stuff and could go on and on trying to figure it out.
I’ll check out that link. Thanks.
Ellen — I feel all people and things are connected.
As for aliens snatching up humans: if aliens are visiting, I would say they are definitely picking us up and studying us. We humans have placed tracking devices in polar bears, penguins, condors, and all kinds of animals / birds / creatures on earth over whom we feel superior. On earth, we study everything! Sometimes to help the creature, but mostly to help ourselves.
“cannot observe “reality” without somehow altering it”
Absolutely. Imagine some godly scientist shining a light on earth to look at it — the power of that light could kill every single thing on the planet. Maybe that’s what happened to Mars. Just sizzled it right up.
“big penis guy in England” ????
Please share! I don’t know about this, but it sounds juicy!
Yeah, I have to stop too. Could go on forever and ever as well.
I think this whole UFO /Roswell thing is just an urban legend. I don’t think the govt. would be smart enough to cover up anything that big. They couldn’t even keep the atomic bomb secret, or the Watergate tapes, for that matter. .
The first person who could provide some kind of alien artifact, or alien specimen, scrap of metal…ANYTHING…would go down in history. It would be one of the most famous discoveries of human kind.
Yes somehow, despite all these sightings…the hard evidence always seems to be lost…and/or supposedly covered up by the govt.
People will believe what they want. For example, crop circles. They were a mystery, until the two guys who originated them confessed, and demonstrated how they did it.
Despite that..people STILL didnt’ want to believe it was a practical joke, and claimed they were made by something out of this world.
There is a really excellent book written on this subject by Carl Sagan, called the “Demon-Haunted World”. Definitely worth reading.
Jaden,
Just when you thought a phallus couldn’t get any bigger:
http://www.sacredsites.com/europe/england/cerne_giant.html
I have to go to this site and check it out for myself.
I think everything is connected too.
@Friar - I think things are covered up all the time through intimidation and repression of evidence. Governments do it as a matter of course.
Never mind the black holes! Blade Runner is CLASSIC! haha..
Jaden:
“My take on the Roswell alien thing from all the photos, evidence and reports (I think that is what you are talking about) is that it was a US top secret experiment they tried to cover up with the weather balloon story, probably remote control aircraft, and the images of the aliens are realistic human-like flesh dummies to test the impact of the experiment on the human body. (They don’t look like real human or alien.) If alien life was cruising around the planet, doubt they would go right over a US gov’t base and get shot down. More likely it was our own aircraft experiment that failed and crashed, since it was right next to a base. If aliens are smart enough to get here, they ought to be smart enough to not get shot down by us, right?”
I find that aliens and UFOs are a bunch of crappola! People are just seeing planes in the air…or other objects. If they say they’ve been abducted by aliens, they need to check themselves into the nearest psych-ward ASAP!
I remember when I was working at Canada Customs a few years ago, one U.S. traveler wanted to file for asylum because the U.S. gov’t was after him and they were going to inject some spiders down his back. I would put this guy in the same category as the above….check yourself into the nearest psych-ward ASAP!
@Friar - Maybe this goes back to your big forehead theories, but why do aliens always have big heads and big black eyes with tiny bodies? I find it odd that they are always portrayed like this.
@Jaden - What I meant was I checked out the website, but I want to go to England and see it for myself. That didn’t sound very clear.
@Jaden - Like Tweety!!!! Haaaaa!
@Sizzling Popcorn
I’m with you. Roswell was probably a cold-war top secret project, and the military was trying to cover up some botched experiment. It’s just that simple.
Carl Sagan wrote an excellent chapter on Alien adbucution…he said if you took all the people in the States who claimed this happened to them..and interpolated to the world’ popluatoin, then supposedly 50 million people would have been abducted.
Yet somehow, there is never any video evidence or any concrete proof…it’s just mass hysteria, combined with a well known medical phenomenon called “Sleep Paralysis”.
@Ellen
Good question, about why the Aliens are portrayed with big heads and buggy eyes.
I saw this on a documentary. It started as an illustration on a cover page from a Science Fiction Magazine from the 1930s’. This image became popular, even though most people had forgotten the origin. Since then, it’s become the common accepted way to portray aliens. (It’s become it’s on archetype, so to speak).
Big heads are for big brains. You should see how big my alien head is! Black eyes are from dwelling in dark places. Skinny little bodies are from doing no physical labor.
SizzlyP — Customs? That sounds like a great job for a writer — lots of stories for inspiration.
Ellen — From a professional computer graphic artist viewpoint, that sky view penis man looks falsified. I could have done a much more realistic version. The lines are too clean, it looks like the artist used the Adobe Photoshop paintbrush tool.
Friar — I have some concrete proof for ya. *wink*
Trench — Agree, Blade Runner is amazing, had to squeeze it into this article.
@Jaden - No, really! The England penis man is real! He has been in the hill for thousands of years. I don’t know what they did to the picture, though.
We base all this stuff on what we “know.” Which really isn’t much. I lke conjecture much better because it’s more interesting than linear logic. You only get so far with linearity. Einstein said imagination is more important than logic. So there. Nah. Nah.
Ellen — For sure. Where would we be without imagination?
Jaden,
Well, I didn’t mean nah nah to you personally. Just everyone in general.
Hollywood is full of aliens.
Ellen — Nah nah all you want, I don’t mind.