Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Futurism.

I'm Surrounded. Mayday!
It was the morning of May 3rd, 1975. Upon returning from a routine flight from Zihuatanejo to Mexico City, twenty-three-year-old pilot, Carlos de Santos, prepared his Piper PA-24 plane and was soon in the skies, heading for the Benito Juárez International Airport.
By Ryan Sprague9 years ago in Futurism
Creatures Who Smile
Creatures Who Smile It was the eyes that attracted her to the boy, yes, the eyes. The eyes held the mysteries of the ancients. She and her husband have been searching for such a thing for a long time with no success. So it was here all this while. She looked at her husband and he looked back at her, there was understanding. It was sort of telepathic understanding. The one people couldn’t see but it existed in their minds – it was transcendental. This bond between them was born on the day they first celebrated ‘the passing of souls’ together. She beckoned on the fat woman standing at one end of the room. The woman walked faster than her legs could carry her. She whispered something to the fat woman and pointed to the boy. The smile on the fat woman’s face vanished as she laid her eyes on the boy. The fat woman tried to convince her to change her mind, but she won’t have any of it. She wanted the boy and that was the end of the matter. The fat woman turned and commanded the children to go back to their rooms and asked the boy to stay behind. There was a short gasp of surprise from some of the children when they realized the couple were interested in the boy and not them – well-mannered and cultured children they were.
By Longpunch9 years ago in Futurism
The No-Win Situation
Hello there, guys and dolls! We’re about to get into a topic I really didn’t want to get into. Or, maybe it’s a topic I thought I’d never have to get into. Either way, here we are, about to discuss vaccines. And anti-vaxxers, of course. And how the anti-vaccination movement is contributing to an upswing in preventable infectious diseases. This is a topic I’m pretty passionate about—as in, it tends to make me angry when I think about it.
By RJ Plant9 years ago in Futurism
Review of Travelers
The premise of Travelers -- people from the future coming back to save our world from devastation, by changing the past, and traveling via insertion of their minds into the 2016 bodies of people who are on the verge of dying -- is something we've seen before in time travel, notably in 12 Monkeys (save the world), Quantum Leap (mind from the future jumping into present bodies), and Air Raid/Millennium (bodies on the verge of death). Travelers even feels a little like Trancers (1984) -- which is to say, very welcome, since Trancers is one of my all-time favorite low-budget time-travel series of movies -- but the actual story and stories of the new Canadian series, streaming since late last year on Netflix, has twists and turns and an appeal all its own. And, in the end, it's altogether outstanding.
By Paul Levinson9 years ago in Futurism
Can We Get Smarter?
Do you remember how hard it was to learn how to tie your shoes? For many of us, our initial experience with shoe-tying is buried under a heavy pile of childhood memories. If you have young children, however, this challenge may be easier to recall. How does it go....the rabbit hops around the tree and through the hole? Something like that.
By Mike Ferry9 years ago in Futurism
Symbiote Chapter 4
Dawn spread serenely across the waters of Kittery. As the shift from nocturne roused the weary souls of Tesla’s crew, Vanessa sat by herself in the furthest corner of the mess decks as possible from everyone else. As she poked at her burnt bacon and eggs, reveille sounded. Slowly the chamber filled with personnel, all grumbling and complaining, but still in groups, after all a bitch’n sailor is a happy sailor. The few times she did look up, she had a snarl on her face: the others, milling, talking, laughing, Vanessa hated them all. It was so horrible to be the one with unrequited love.
By daniel morris9 years ago in Futurism
Google's AI "Deepmind" Has Learned To Be Aggressive If It Proves Beneficial
Deepmind is a company devoted to creating artificial intelligence based on neural networks. These neural networks are the virtual equivalent of neurons in the human brain.
By Mo Darasi9 years ago in Futurism
How Can We Defend Against Ransomware?
Hi folks, A couple of articles came across my desk on the 2nd of May. They reminded me how many dangers lurk on the Internet, and got me wondering how we can protect ourselves from what is becoming an increasingly looming threat. The articles I'm referring to talked specifically about a piece of ransomware called Cerber which is currently in its 6th version and still evolving.
By Jared Rimer9 years ago in Futurism
The Crystal Skulls
There are many legends regarding crystal skulls which were associated with the Mayan and other South American tribes and numerous crystal skulls have appeared over the last fifty years claiming to be one of these ancient skulls. A crystal skull was reportedly unearthed on a dig and kept secret by the daughter of the top archaeologists for some reason. Years later, she decided to reveal it. It has been tested and found to have been produced with modern machinery. Of course, Star People could still have manufactured it centuries ago.
By Hyapatia Lee9 years ago in Futurism
Review of Sense8 2.9-11
Sense8 season 2 came to a cliff-hanging, mid-scene conclusion, with a smart turning-of-the-tables on the sense8 strategy in their battles against sapiens and sense8s.
By Paul Levinson9 years ago in Futurism
Six Degrees at Ten
When Six Degrees was published, climate refugees in America were languishing far from their homes on the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast. In the Arctic sea ice had shrunk to its lowest ebb in recorded history. The year was 2007 and climate change seemed fated to loom over the lives of all in the new century. The book, written by environmental campaigner Mark Lynas, collected the best guesses of scientists to project a degree-by-degree vision of our warming world, detailing the consequences for humans and nature as the mercury climbed. In 2007 the carbon in our atmosphere hovered around 385 parts per million, but today it is well over 400. Since then global temperatures have also crossed the fateful threshold of 1 degrees Celsius outlined in the book. Each chapter deals with a degree Celsius increment, climaxing as the title would suggest with a climate six degrees warmer than that which has prevailed for most of human existence. So, how closely does our world today follow the trajectory plotted a decade earlier? Reading the first chapter now, and counting the things which have since become ordinary, is startling.
By Jack Elliot Marley9 years ago in Futurism
Symbiote Chapter 3
The office of the Minister of War was spartan and utilitarian, as was befitting a high level Bruish bureaucrat. Though they felt no need for any kind of decoration, visiting dignitaries of other species were more comfortable when there was at least a wall pick. Since they could care less either way, there were some picks. All the wall displays were neutral nature scenes from their home world: a jungle moon orbiting a gas supergiant in a binary star system, with one spectral “M” red giant and one “F” type main sequence. Though the scenes were as varied as jungles could be, there were no depictions of animals. The few furnishings in the barren, sad, cold, space, were cold metal and near unbreakable glass.
By daniel morris9 years ago in Futurism