Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Futurism.
The Watcher
From the dome of his mile-long tower, peeking above the cracked earth of a former schoolyard, Dalen studied a wall of sulfuric storm clouds overshadowing the husks of Chicago’s skyline. One level below, a window wrapped around the tower’s shaft overlooked the hidden city, laid out like the layers of an onion. Were the city lifted to the surface, it would look like a giant toy top. The carved streets and homes lay open like a labyrinth, lit by cauldrons of engineered glowworms hanging from the cavern ceiling.
By Sequoia Nagamatsu10 years ago in Futurism
Deadliest Places on Earth
Earth is a beautiful place. Rolling dirt-tracks through forests fill us with wonder; a fresh fall of snow brings out the pearly whites of our smiles and anyone who has ever climbed a mountain to gaze upon the sprawling, living lands below knows the uplifting gratification of that sight. Earth is also more deadly than we can fathom: natural disasters like tsunamis and earthquakes are unavoidable, unforgivable, and will always decimate populations without care or notice, but many troubles we cause for ourselves. We’ve created ghost-towns, cost the lives of millions, and been ravaged by the tumultuous venom of Mother Nature. The hubris of war has rendered many places on Earth unfit for humans, from Bikini Atoll destroyed by nuclear testing, to the Anthrax-riddled Soviet island of Vozrozhdeniya. But it doesn't take Cold War weapons research to render a place completely barren. Sometimes industries can wreak havoc just as permanent as war.
By Jake Burgess10 years ago in Futurism
H.E.L.G.A. - A Tale of Artificial Intelligence
December 20 - 5:32 AM (Miami time) 10:32 GMT An Undisclosed Secure Location Up to this point, HELGA had been following the complex set of instructions which Jay-L created for her as part of an emergency action list to be executed in the event that he could not be located. Part of the list of tasks included several methods of determining the nature of Jay-L’s disappearance. If the circumstances surrounding his absence were suspicious, then she had very specific orders she was to follow. Once she determined the high likelihood that Jay-L was being pursued for capture by the Special Forces Delta Group, under direct order of the U.S. President, a whole new set of options became available to her as a means of responding. However, HELGA had finally exhausted the myriad of options on that detailed list of instructions which Jay-L had prepared in the event of his capture at the hands of the government.
By Lucian Randolph10 years ago in Futurism
Meteorites and Asteroids Facts
With all the unknown objects and happenings beyond our control going on in outer space, as human beings we can’t help but wonder what the chances are of extraterrestrial disasters having a significant impact on Earth. Every day, people die from the strangest things, but for some reason we’re inclined to believe that there’s a looming possibility of life ending because of space rocks. So for those curious about astronomical catastrophes affecting our beloved planet, here are a few things to note:
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
Ben Bova Interview
"Don't ask your readers to admire your words when you want them to believe your story." Science Fiction author Ben Bova realized that the general rules of science - don't add an experiment to an experiment, and don't make things overly complicated - also applied to science fiction. His theory certainly brought him success. Starting out as a technical writer for Project Vanguard in the 1950's, Ben Bova went on to become a successor to John W. Campbell as editor of editor of Analog Science Fact & Fiction where he won six Hugo Awards. Throughout his career he authored over 120 books on science fact and science fiction, worked as editorial director for OMNI magazine, and was president of both the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America. He has appeared as the Guest of Honor at the Florida convention Necronomicon on two separate occasions, and in 2000, he attended the 58th World Science Fiction Convention as the Author Guest of Honor.
By Claire Evans10 years ago in Futurism
Can Science Prove Souls Exist?
There is a soul. Ironically, it was the skeptical world of science that has helped prove the theological doctrine of the spiritual world. The moment of astral disembodiment in which the energy of the soul leaves the body has been captured by legendary Russian scientist, Konstantin Korotkov. A bio-electrographic camera was utilized to photograph an individual at the exact time of death. Using the gas discharge visualization method, an advanced technique of Kirlian photography shows the life force of the person leaving the body gradually.
By Futurism Staff10 years ago in Futurism
Darkening Day
Remember when The Curtain went up? The only viable solution, extreme as it was, to save humanity from Earth's rapidly hyper-toxifying, invisibly over-saturating air. A superstructure, ten miles up, of floating chemical filters, each a sort of box-shaped balloon, converting noxious chemicals into safer ones. Billions of them, linked together into an edgeless shell spanning the entire globe.
By Breyen Katz10 years ago in Futurism
China's Environmental Cooperation
Ask a Westerner what most surprised them about their trip to China. If they were not staying in a five-star hotel in a major city on the dime of a major Chinese corporation, most likely you are going to get your ear bent with stories of people spitting on the floor of, not just a public streetcar, but their own bloody offices!...and also of pollution that makes L.A.’s ring-around-the-collar skyline circa the smoggy eighties look like a Rocky Mountain High by contrast. The brute summary is that this place is colossally productive, and also colossally filthy—and unashamed of it.
By Matthew Wilder10 years ago in Futurism
Elon Musk's Self-Driving Tesla Car
In 2012, there were 33,561 deaths from motor vehicle accidents. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors, announced in 2015 that Tesla cars would handle 90 percent of driving within five years. This plan included all Tesla vehicles being equipped with an autopilot system. Musk compared Tesla's autopilot to the autopilot in airplanes, where people still manually control the vehicle in risky situations.
By James Porterson10 years ago in Futurism
