humanity
The evolution of humanity, from one advancement to the next.
Brutalist Stories #1
“There’s a piano playing in my mind.” The fog glittered in the light from the lamps that circled him. A high note, a low note, a high note, a low note. Back and forth, back and forth. One for her, one for him. He looked up and away from the path in front of him to the ceiling of the dome and a high note rang through. A sonic hallucination, the vibration of the key and a memory flashing before him, projected onto the fog. Her smile, her laughter, a moment, a memory, a time and place far away from here.
By Brutalist Stories7 years ago in Futurism
Hero to Zero
The battle was over, so many were killed. War is an unimaginable horror, and this is the sort of war whose images of mechanized death are enough to create nightmares forever. He tosses and turns in his comfortable king sized bed, the pictures of the young men tattered and torn shred apart. He froze, and he ran like a coward. They towered over him by a good three feet, mechanized limbs and laser cannon barrels pointing right at his head. The moment of martyrdom was in front of him and one fell swoop he just pushed him. A human shield if you will, to be vaporized into ashes as he took a blast to save his life. In the heat of battle a moment of self-preservation, a kid from Sector 9 one of the worst shantytowns on the planet. There he was the decorated veteran, a name with generations of warriors and an incredible amount of inherited wealth. He cannot forget the look of the man in the mechanized suit. Disbelief at the act of cowardice he had just seen, he did not bother to take another shot and behind the glass, he remembers that twisted smile that haunts him still, he decided to let him live to live with the guilt of what he had done. He can't sleep.
By Alberto Pupo7 years ago in Futurism
My Greatest Achievement
It happened again today. His ego shattered, and he must pick up the pieces and move? Yes, very easy for people to say. He had given eight years of his life to her and her cause. She said it would be for the best. Like a good soldier, he fought, against all the odds, against creatures that were quite frankly terrifying. He was her rock; he has been shot at, bombed, taken a swim in a lake of fire, and even taken a bullet for this woman. Once he told her “I would follow you the ends of the Earth” and that he did. She was a pretty amazing woman. Strong, resolute, brilliant, funny when she wanted to be, and every once in a while she would fuck him and blow his mind. He misses her, but then today after so many years of fighting the good fight, after so many years of being by her side, she told him it was over.
By Alberto Pupo7 years ago in Futurism
The Anger
Rage, he has never been so enraged! The gall of these people. He is late for work, and they are simply standing there with a dazed look on their faces. He honks his horn they seem not to hear anything at all. He is suppressing the urge to get off his car and inflict great personal harm, but there is something bovine in their expressions he can't quite understand it. All this time, he continues to look into their eyes, but the expression is so damn vacant all it does it enrage him even further. Through his rearview mirror, he could see a conga line of angry drivers, people just like himself waiting to get to work. Some are desperately dialing their cell phones hoping that the boss will have mercy, pleading, hoping, making up excuses; you can hear the venom in their voices. He turns on the radio the sounds emanating from the stereo embody his frame of mind.
By Alberto Pupo7 years ago in Futurism
Seeing Through Doors
Sometimes when the door opened, it coincided with another door at the end of the hall opening. When that happened, if Desset pressed himself against the far wall, he could see outside. The glimpse never lasted more than a couple of seconds, but even the briefest image of yellow sunlight on white pavement and neatly trimmed green grass lingered in his mind for days. At night, when he was locked in place, he dreamed of wind in his hair and warmth on his face. He always woke from these dreams in tears, gnashing his teeth to keep from wailing.
By Jeffrey Aaron Miller7 years ago in Futurism
The Philosophy of Westworld
Michael Crichton wrote and directed Westworld for the big screen in 1973. That same decade, in 1976, an adjunct professor named Julian Jaynes made the bestseller list with a surprising title: The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. You wouldn’t think that a book with a name like that would become such a popular success. Yet, there it was. In 2016, when Westworld came to the small screen in the re-imagined HBO series, you wouldn’t imagine Jaynes getting heard from again. Especially since bicameralism wasn’t even mentioned in the Michael Crichton’s original film. Yet, there he was. Early on in Westworld’s first season Dr. Ford, one of the creators of the park, explains how he and his co-founder Arnold used a “debunked” theory about the origins of consciousness to bootstrap A.I. The scientific community didn’t recognize bicameralism as an explanation for the origins of the human mind, but, as Dr. Ford suggests, it could be useful for building an artificial one. Thousands of people—perhaps more—started Googling for “bicameral mind.” Bloggers and YouTube channels capitalized on the sudden interest by writing articles and introductory videos about this weird, arguably psychedelic theory of consciousness. Suddenly everyone was interested.
By Jeremy Johnson7 years ago in Futurism
My Out of Body Experience
My out-of-body experience happened when I was four years old. I nearly died in the hospital. I saw no angel. No Jesus. No Moses. I did encounter a light. It had a voice without words. Was it my mother's essence? I wondered as I grew older and learned of possibilities. I spoke with the light and it told me to stay on Earth. I wasn't finished yet. I needed to do some work. I needed to tell my story. I complied. I'm still here.
By Bennett Litwin7 years ago in Futurism
Telepathy and Quantum Physics
Telepathy is one of the ten magical gifts I have been told by several medicine men and women that we will soon be capable of receiving. Since we are all at different stages in our evolutionary process, I believe we will each be able to receive telepathy only after we have evolved to the point we are capable of practicing it with love and benevolence. Even so, every gift can also become a curse. Our gifts can be double-edged swords we can either use to advance our species or to destroy it. Life is far more precarious than most of us are aware and we must be vigilant to defend its dignity and sanctity.
By Hyapatia Lee7 years ago in Futurism
Lessons from The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror
The social commentary and criticism found across episodes of The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror invite viewers to self-reflect on their own social judgments. In particular, The Twilight Zone’s “The Eye of the Beholder” (1960) and Black Mirror’s “Men Against Fire” (2016) both raise awareness to public fears of those who are deemed different or abnormal.
By Erica McCrystal7 years ago in Futurism
The Shadowvectors Present The Jokeress
Welcome to the world of The Jokeress The Jokeress is a STATE of MIND. We humans are constantly told how to dress, how to look, and how to act. The Jokeress is an ebook and paperback series on the subject of obsession. It is how far our obsessions can drive us. It also reminds us of how we can search for things we already have. All we have to do is find the nearest mirror and stare into it.
By Bryan Follins7 years ago in Futurism