Welcome to the Future

Source: Wikimedia | User:Base64

Hong Kong now looks like something out of blade runner or Neuromancer, a vast sprawl of high tech buildings, and lights that bounce off the clouds giving the whole scene an apocalyptic glow. It almost appears unreal, like the still frame from a science fiction movie, one feels the need to take a closer look to see if the brush marks are visible.

This world we live in, has become the science fiction setting that science fiction writers were writing about in the 50s. It’s finally here, albeit with a few things not quite as imagined. Space travel for example lies sorely neglected, though we do now have space tourism and spaceports. Flying cars are another science fiction fantasy that just never materialized, due in part to the inability of air traffic control to cope even with planes in the sky, let alone cars. Some day, when humanity has found a cheap source of fuel and has advanced enough computers to manage a profusion of objects moving about the skies, then flying cars may become a reality. Till then we’ll just have to content ourselves with Segways zipping about.

Credit: Left: Wikipedia | Right: R.Carson

Segway Personal Transporters are another technological marvel; two wheeled, they keep their balance when you stand on it, and zip forwards when you lean forwards and slow down as you tilt back. Now police in various countries use them, in various incarnations such as the Segway Assault Service (SAS). The storm troopers of many a dark sci-fi tale have arrived. Though for the moment confined mainly to airports and large citys, it seems certain that Segway mounted police offers will soon become a common feature of life everywhere. Segways are also being employed in tourism, with Segway tours of cities available to take in Paris, Chicago, Washington DC, New Orleans, and Atlanta to name but a few.

Credit: NASA-JPL

Though space travel has not proceeded as expected by science fiction writers, we have not been idle. Since the 60s we’ve been sending numerous probes to every corner of our solar system. We monitor the sun in great detail via the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and have sent probes to Mars in search of life. Millions of people have tuned into the exciting journey undertaken by two probes: Spirit and Opportunity, as they landed on Mars, and began to wander across the martian surface collecting data and taking picture. To everyone’s amazement, they not only lasted beyond their 3 month warranties, but they just keep on going – and in the years since they first arrived have brought back a wealth of information that helps us to unravel the mystery of Mars. All this effort is designed with one important question in mind: ‘was there ever life on Mars?’