Many long years ago I wrote a few really bad sci-fi stories set a few hundred years down the line. Humanity had easy FTL warp drive, numerous terraformed colonies, relationships with three other intelligent alines… and a bajillion genetically modified and uplifted species of Terrestrial critters. The thing I realized was that if technology was sufficiently advanced, pretty much *anybody* could modify a critter. Which meant there wasn’t one strain of uplifted cat… there were a *lot.* Some could interbreed, some couldn’t. Some did well, some were tragic.
So there were human-level-smart cats with opposable thumbs and the ability to walk bipedally and speak clearly. There were others that were smart, but otherwise phsycially unmodified. *These* cats were seriously pissed off.
Nuclear terrorism is always going to be a challenge, for the simple fact that even if you have perfectly good blueprints for a bomb, getting the plutonium is going to be a challange. But genetic terrorism, or genetic chicanery, will eventually require little or nothing more than a laptop, a program, and a genetic lab that can fit in a USB drive.
I know this has nothing to do with this,but I know somebody that
actually put their cat and two dogs on facebook referring to “Cat
Facebook Friends-Furball Fables” on YouTube.
That is the sort of ad that I don’t mind watching, being intelligent and well-produced.
(That it also describes the end of the world as we know it is a convenient perk)
Jim
Many long years ago I wrote a few really bad sci-fi stories set a few hundred years down the line. Humanity had easy FTL warp drive, numerous terraformed colonies, relationships with three other intelligent alines… and a bajillion genetically modified and uplifted species of Terrestrial critters. The thing I realized was that if technology was sufficiently advanced, pretty much *anybody* could modify a critter. Which meant there wasn’t one strain of uplifted cat… there were a *lot.* Some could interbreed, some couldn’t. Some did well, some were tragic.
So there were human-level-smart cats with opposable thumbs and the ability to walk bipedally and speak clearly. There were others that were smart, but otherwise phsycially unmodified. *These* cats were seriously pissed off.
Nuclear terrorism is always going to be a challenge, for the simple fact that even if you have perfectly good blueprints for a bomb, getting the plutonium is going to be a challange. But genetic terrorism, or genetic chicanery, will eventually require little or nothing more than a laptop, a program, and a genetic lab that can fit in a USB drive.
I know this has nothing to do with this,but I know somebody that
actually put their cat and two dogs on facebook referring to “Cat
Facebook Friends-Furball Fables” on YouTube.
Scott —
Loved the ad. It’s up there with Cows With Guns.
But.
Your sf scenario above in the comments — ever hear of Cordwainer Smith?