Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Futurism.

The Skywalker Hand is Coming
As I was traipsing about the wide and wild world of the interwbs in search of awesome stuff, I stumbled—soberly—across this little nugget. If you don’t feel like going to the original article, then shame on you, but I’ll give you a bit of info on it before we get stared anyway. Take a big breath for this next line, because it’s a doozy. “Proof of Concept of an Online EMG-based Decoding of Hand Postures and Individual Digit Forces for Prosthetic Hand Control,” written by Alicia Gailey and Marco Santello of the School of Biology and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, and Panagiotis Artemiadis of the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, Arizona State University, is part of the closed-loop systems for next-generation neuroprostheses research topic from Frontiers in Neurology, a “Frontiers in” journal series from Frontiers.
By RJ Plant9 years ago in Futurism
Rewatching... Doctor Who: The Macra Terror – Part 4
"Confusion is best left to the experts." Saturday 1 April 1967 Jamie is trapped by giant crabs (the Macra of the title) and if that's not enough he has to contend with poison gas as well. The gas is what keeps the Macra active and at the moment the supply is being maintained, under the control of Control, by Officia the official. He's actually in charge of sending people into the mines. Nobody's keeping an eye on the Doctor and Polly though, which is lucky as it enables them to mess about with the controls and stop the gas flow, thus rendering the Macra docile and saving Jamie.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
Outrun Stories #18
“Let’s get down to brass tacks, Taurino. We all know why we’re here, and what we’ve got to do.” The boss raises his hands to his chin and looks our lead rival dead in the eye. A face off? Just more macho bullshit if you ask me, but at least it’s going the way Taurino said it would.
By Outrun Stories9 years ago in Futurism
Rewatching... Star Trek: The Alternative Factor
Thursday 30 March 1967 This one starts out very promisingly. A quite gripping prologue in which the Enterprise passes through some kind of magnetic field, and as Spock puts it, reality momentarily "winks out". We get some classic Enterprise turbulence acting this week, as the crew on the bridge do some synchronised staggering as the ship lurches back and forth. I don't think I've seen much of that (if any) in the series so far. Spock also reports that at the exact moment of this 'winking out', a man suddenly appeared on the previously lifeless planet below them.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
Mars May Have Once Had Rings, and Could Have Them Again in the Future
Saturn is, of course, famous for its exquisite ring system, but other planets have rings as well - Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune all have them, they just aren't nearly as prominent. Now it turns out that Mars may also have once had rings, and could have them again in the future.
By Paul Scott Anderson9 years ago in Futurism
Brutalist Stories #18
Neither of us dare mention it, but it lurks there, between us in the ether. Somewhere it rests in our minds, sometimes at the front, sometimes at the back, but the idea of saying it and making it concrete, making it like this place, solid and real, we daren’t, not yet.
By Brutalist Stories9 years ago in Futurism
Alex The Inventor-Chapter 9 (Pt.2)
Chapters 1 - 8 can be read at: Deep Sky Stories Chapter 9 (Part 2) - The Other Boy Looking through the thick green glass of the curved tube was an amazing experience all on its own because Alex could see all the layers of soil and rock passing by above and all around him. He and his companions were sliding slowly enough to allow them to catch glimpses here and there of life below the earth.There were, of course, the usual wriggling earthworms making their way slowly across the clear glass in search of food. Then - a surprise - a small, cozy den with a family of rabbits slumbered peacefully together against the glass wall. Alex felt soft gusts of warm air coming up the tube from somewhere below. This warm air must have attracted many little underground creatures who took advantage of it by cozying up against the outside of the glass.Next to pass by above his head was a swiftly burrowing mole, lying with its belly flat against the glass while digging with vigorous swimming motions through its element. The mole vanished suddenly into the dark, cool soil as its thin, sensitive nose led it away somewhere toward some morsel of food.
By G.F. Brynn9 years ago in Futurism
The Great Energy Coverup
The year was 1885 when trade journals especially in the electrical sciences were predicting free electricity and free energy in the foreseeable future. Incredible discoveries about the nature of electricity were just beginning. In doing so they would illuminate the world. If there was ever one person who advanced mans knowledge of the use of electricity it was Nikola Tesla, the original innovator for wireless electricity. This, at a time when history books acknowledge Thomas Edison as the great inventor of electricity.
By Dr. Williams9 years ago in Futurism
The No-Kidding Coolest Planets in Science Fiction
Warning: This list of coolest science fiction planets will probably offend someone. Odds are 99-to-1 I left off someone’s favorite fiction world, so sorry ‘bout that but please keep the hate to a minimum. I’m still on my meds from the Reddit Rage about my Greatest Protagonists post.
By Matt Cates9 years ago in Futurism
Best Dark Fantasy Books You've Never Heard Of
Dark fantasy is a genre that's as addictive as it gets. There's something about the dark, morbid, and twisted allure of these books that gets people hooked instantly. This genre is one filled with vampires, dystopian worlds, and high strangeness at every corner.
By Riley Raul Reese9 years ago in Futurism
Improving Quality of Life
We're going to focus on Brain-Machine Interface (BMI, also called Brain-Computer Interface, BCI), in relation to how it will help the movement inhibited. I write a good bit on both BMI and tech that helps the movement inhibited and that's because of my own physical issues.
By RJ Plant9 years ago in Futurism
HTC Bolt Review
A couple weeks ago I was out running errands when everyone’s biggest anxiety happened. I unlocked my phone screen and everything froze before going black. Rest in peace, HTC M8 Harmon-Kardon edition. We barely knew ya'. My phone had shuffled off it’s mortal Otter-Box and joined the network invisible. Luckily, I was right next to a Sprint store and popped in to see what they had. Having worked in electronics and telecom for several years, I’m a gear snob. Not just any phone or tablet will do.
By Mickey Finn9 years ago in Futurism