A lot of my writing lately has either been about zombies or cybernetic beings, and the other day while I was writing down an idea I had for a future short story about androids, I started thinking about some of the best stories ever written about cybernetic beings/androids.
The funny thing is they all seem to call into question the same issues. Phillip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," has an elite model of android that blends in perfectly with mankind, but mankind still feels the need to wipe it out, while the androids just want to live a better life.
First and foremost, why on earth would mankind create cybernetic beings that LOOK and ACT just like mankind? Beings that could infiltrate the ranks of humanity undetected, live among us...
Then I thought about the movie AI, one of the most moving films about artificial intelligence that I have ever seen, and I realized that if we created things that were like people, that is probably exactly how we would treat them. We would make them as real as we could, so they were just like human beings, and then we would demoralize them and use them for circus entertainment and target practice.
Which, of course, is probably what prompted the cylons of Battlestar Galactica to retaliate against and attempt to annihilate their inhumane, human masters. So that brought me back to my original thought. Why would we create something like that if we were only planning to be cruel to it all along?
The short story that I will have featured in the upcoming issue of eMuse speculates on the above, basically posing the question, "If mankind could create a pseudo mankind to take his aggression out on without the guilt, would he do it, and would it be guiltless? In abusing a replication of mankind, is he not abusing mankind?"
What do you think? Is the portrayal of mankind in these types of stories a prelude of things to come? Will we one day create beings so real that they are indistinguishable from their creators only to treat them like crap?
Anyway, back to the keyboard. I'm thinking of clever ways to combine zombies and cyborgs... should make for some whacky horror/science fiction.
Showing posts with label Cylons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cylons. Show all posts
12 March, 2009
13 January, 2009
Too Late: Frozen
And no, that's not just the title of a clever Type O Negative song... it's the current title of my existence. Temperatures are dropping here and they are saying we may even have some in the negatives by week's end. I am not a fan of Lady Winter's wicked breath. She burns my lungs and makes me sleepy. Like a bear, I would rather hibernate beneath a stack of warm, fuzzy blankets than join the world and be productive. It's a shame they don't make some kind of hibernation fund people like me can subscribe to so my family doesn't suffer financially from all of the work I'd rather not do. The hibernation fund could also send people around to do the things I'd rather not do, like shop, cook, clean and of course, transcribe all of my ideas into perfectly formatted novels and short stories.
Ah, the good life.
It's times like this that make me wish I had a laptop. Then again, a laptop would definitely contribute to a lot more laziness. I can already see myself propped up beneath a pile of cozy blankets, mug of tea on the side and the remote poised on my right. Laziness. It is so appealing, but I rarely let it win.
The highlight of my day (beyond a three episode Battlestar Galactica marathon during treadmill and downtime...) was when my mother called to tell me that her house was haunted. We've been trying to tell her that since I was in the seventh grade. I had my first paranormal experience in the neighborhood, just two houses away from her house. Shortly thereafter (around the time I was six or seven,) I woke up one night and heard a strange ring-tingling sound. I was scared, but I also had to go to the bathroom. I jumped out of bed and went out into the hallway only to be drawn into the living room by a brilliant golden-rosy hued light. As I drew closer to the living room, I saw a this strange swirling pattern of light that shined as it turned right in the center of the room. I have no idea what it was.
Some might say I was dreaming, or that my memories are askew, but over the years enough has happened in the house to make me question the truth. Friends and I always had bizarre experiences while playing with Ouija boards, and my brothers and sisters have also had paranormal experiences there as well. My brother believed in an entire phenomenon that centered his things being taken when he wasn't looking. Entire glasses disappearing from right beside him. Once an ashtray disappeared only to fall out of thin air about three days later.
Apparently, tonight the lights in her hallway kept turning on and off even though no one was touching them. Interesting. I told her to call TAPS.
I am pleased with how much I've been writing lately. Four chapters in less than a week is far more than I had written the week before, and I'm really enjoying the story I'm working on as well. So much so that I'm going to say farewell to thee and see if I can't pay homage to the muse for about an hour before hitting the hay.
I leave you with this very funny video that made me laugh today. I hope it gives you a chuckle too.
Ah, the good life.
It's times like this that make me wish I had a laptop. Then again, a laptop would definitely contribute to a lot more laziness. I can already see myself propped up beneath a pile of cozy blankets, mug of tea on the side and the remote poised on my right. Laziness. It is so appealing, but I rarely let it win.
The highlight of my day (beyond a three episode Battlestar Galactica marathon during treadmill and downtime...) was when my mother called to tell me that her house was haunted. We've been trying to tell her that since I was in the seventh grade. I had my first paranormal experience in the neighborhood, just two houses away from her house. Shortly thereafter (around the time I was six or seven,) I woke up one night and heard a strange ring-tingling sound. I was scared, but I also had to go to the bathroom. I jumped out of bed and went out into the hallway only to be drawn into the living room by a brilliant golden-rosy hued light. As I drew closer to the living room, I saw a this strange swirling pattern of light that shined as it turned right in the center of the room. I have no idea what it was.
Some might say I was dreaming, or that my memories are askew, but over the years enough has happened in the house to make me question the truth. Friends and I always had bizarre experiences while playing with Ouija boards, and my brothers and sisters have also had paranormal experiences there as well. My brother believed in an entire phenomenon that centered his things being taken when he wasn't looking. Entire glasses disappearing from right beside him. Once an ashtray disappeared only to fall out of thin air about three days later.
Apparently, tonight the lights in her hallway kept turning on and off even though no one was touching them. Interesting. I told her to call TAPS.
I am pleased with how much I've been writing lately. Four chapters in less than a week is far more than I had written the week before, and I'm really enjoying the story I'm working on as well. So much so that I'm going to say farewell to thee and see if I can't pay homage to the muse for about an hour before hitting the hay.
I leave you with this very funny video that made me laugh today. I hope it gives you a chuckle too.
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