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RE: ALARM CLOCK DAWN (An Original Novel - Part 2)
So what you're telling me is you were responsible for Tupac at Coachella a few years back. In all seriousness, would have been amazing had you patented the idea and received royalties off it.
Enjoying this so far, and just as I referenced in your previous blog, has a very Timeline by Michael Crichton feel to it, billionaire innovator spending many billions on a secretive new technology.
Out of curiosity, how long is the novel? I assume each piece released is a single chapter.
Funny, @daut44! I wish I would've. Microsoft has also patented a similar technology in the past few years with the exact same name (Holo), I believe, since I wrote this. I've also seen a similar device appear in a big box office film recently. This happens all the time though with Sci-Fi authors. It's a strange feeling when you see something born of your imagination appear in the real world years later.
No, I haven't read Timeline but would like to after you mentioned it!
The novel length is just on the low-end of what would qualify it to be a novel but the sequel will be longer. I couldn't do the single chapter breaks just for the fact that some chapters are long and some are short. I'm trying to stick to around 1,000 words per post for consistency. I think this will be very doable.
I totally thought of the Microsoft HoloLens while I was reading this! Also made me think about all the hype surrounding MagicLeap. I wonder what kind of resources are being spent on those technologies - and if there wasn't a better place to spend it instead that might have uplifted humanity?
It's hard to justify short term improvements in technology over reducing the suffering of the sick, poor, and hungry, but this may be mitigated by technological game changers that save industries huge amounts of money and can lead to a greater amount of funds that can later be given to those in need.
It's a tough argument to make for many technologies, but I believe the most underrated people in terms of relative value to society are the ones that build platforms that allow visionaries to achieve great things. And something like affordable hologram (or the mysterious project Johann is working on in @ericvancewalton novel) could make business meetings essentially free and instantaneous could provide access to brilliant minds living in 3rd world countries who wouldn't have had a chance to succeed otherwise. Expediting the ability of people in certain areas to contribute to innovation can lead to exponential growth rather than incremental or linear.
@daut44, I'm a huge follower of up-and-coming technologies and there are a lot of really paradigm-shifting things in the works right now. Virtual reality and A.I. are going to speed up our evolution and solve a lot of our problems if they're implemented properly. If not, it'll be nightmarish. 3-D printing is also a game-changer. I used to think about how much change a person born at the end of the 1800's experienced in their lifetimes but anyone in their 40's or younger that have a normal life span will see quadruple the amount of change they did. IMHO. I just hope our brains have enough plasticity to keep up!
Yup, I'm a follower of Ray Kurzweil and hope he's right and AI doesn't devolve to Skynet.
And yes, I don't know how old you are, but I'm 32, one of those smack in between Generation X and Millenials. I had a cell phone in high school and have witnessed the technological changes as they come. I just hope I don't ever fall behind and become one of those angry cane wielding porch grandpas that wishes things were like they used to be (that is unless skynet comes to fruition :) )
Right there with you. I'm 38 and I remember the Internet when it was just dial up BBSes and AOL chat rooms. Now we have VR and 3d printing, self driving cars, and robots on Mars. We live in the future.
1000 words writing was very tired , I most long to write only 300 words :D
Great stuff Eric. Looking forward to the rest.
I can imagine it does happen all the time with sci-fi authors, particularly ones that base their story on modern day earth. Novels like Dune and Ender's Game that are set on places away from the planet human beings live on won't run into the same technological advances. But as I learned from the forward to Ender's Game, the hook to a story is about building a character and relationships, not necessarily about coming up with some unique technological idea. Curious to see whether Johann is that character or it ends up being Tristan Mack or someone else who has yet to be introduced.
Timeline is very interesting, overall it's not my favorite Crichton work, I preferred Sphere, Congo, Jurassic Park, Andromeda Strain, and Disclosure, so I wouldn't read it unless you were curious about exploring the similarities, but it was a really interesting take on backwards time travel and also a historical journey to Middle/Dark Age conflict in France.
Speaking of Tupac, did he really stage his own death?