Geek Culture, Writing and Other Junk from Writer C. A. Wilke
 
Category: <span>Science Fact-ion</span>

The Slide Toward Our Cyberpunk Future

The end is nigh. Okay, not really the end. In fact, not the end at all. More like the beginning… of a very dark time. A dark, cyberpunk reality.  A second dark ages, if you will. This post is not really intended to be political, but I expect it will …

Space Tourism: A Little Vacay In The Outer Atmo

Are we finally seeing the dawn of the age of space tourism? A little over twenty years ago, the Ansari XPRIZE sent a shot of adrenaline into the virtually nonexistent private space industry. From that first competition, several budding space companies were born, including Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and Blue Origin. …

A Database of Everyone

Dystopian Cyberpunk futures are built on data, how data is used and manipulated and stolen. But what if that data is the very essence of who you are?

How NOT to Starve to Death in Space

Or, in one end and out the other, then in again and out, and in again, and out. In the ineffable Douglas Adams’ grand adventure, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, he states “Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is.” And, …

To Neural Implant or Not To Neural Implant… That is the Question

Brain implants are a staple of science fiction, especially cyberpunk fiction like Neuromancer, Johnny Mnemonic, and The Matrix. Personally, I’ve been fascinated by the idea of computer-brain interfaces since I was a kid. I remember seeing a clip from an old TV show—I think it was Ripley’s Believe it or …

Catching 40 Billion Winks

Getting the Han Solo-Carbonite Treatment Because Space is Boring Humanity’s first trip to a distant star is likely to be boring. I’m not talking I’m-so-bored-I-can’t-find-anything-to-watch-on-237-cable-channels-or-Netflix kind of bored. I mean stuck-in-a-doctor’s-office-with-muzak-and-no-magazines-with-no-escape-for-20-years kind of bored. Think of it this way, it would be like a cruise ship without the water, ports, …