One of the traits that gets many science fiction enthusiasts tagged as being “nerds” or “techie nerds” is their fascination with futuristic devices and techniques that they’d like to have in their lives.

Whether the creation of any of these devices and techniques is possible in the future is a subject of debate even among scientists. And even the cost of these items is in question in today's financial systems, unlike the world of Star Trek where money no longer exists. Even if they could be created, would it be worth the cost?

Of course, I’ve offered the idea that our unobtainium reserves would provide both the materials needed and revenue to pay for the gadgets. Given the removal of those barriers, here are a few of the items that friends, co-workers and I have decided we’d like to see in our futures:

Food processors: What a wonderful thing it would be to press a button or two and have a computer dish out your favorite food, seemingly out of thin air. I can’t imagine it having the succulence of a perfectly prepared, sizzling steak, but who knows? Jean-Luc Piccard seems to have no complaints about how it produces his Earl Grey tea.

Beaming technology: To no longer have to drive or be flown somewhere, would be fabulous. And to just say someone, “beam me” up, over or down could get us out of some very tight spots.

Medical scanners: If a doctor could simply wave a salt shaker sized item at you and determine your medical condition and then with a few other tricks in his bag quickly heal you, that would save hours spent waiting in doctors’ offices, eliminate painful procedures and long recoveries.

Light speed travel/warping technology: If human beings are ever going to travel out of our solar system (given it appears to be a long time even before humans walk on Mars even though I’d like to see it in my lifetime), technologies will have to be developed that either enable us to travel faster than the speed of light, which some physicists have speculated isn’t possible, or find a way to fold space to shorten the distances between places.

Once again, scientists have debated the light speed issue, some saying it’s impossible to travel faster than the speed of light. According to Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity, published in 1905, nothing can exceed the speed of light, but that doesn’t necessarily close the door on that subject.

We’ve seen these scenarios in place in “Star Trek” and “Dune,” among many other places.

Another alternative is the concept of multi-generational spaceships, the idea that you won’t make it to distant destinations but your ancestors will make it.

Energy-rich mineral reserves. Whether it’s the “dilithium crystals” of Star Trek or “unobtainium” referred to in multiple science and science fiction works including “Avatar,” there’s widespread recognition that new resources or new ways to use them will have to be found to make science fiction writers’ dreams become realities.

The Science Fiction Sojourn blog is a free service and includes links to many previous columns. It is at http://blogs.hoosiertimes.com/scifi/

This could mean finding a way to use the energy produced by the Sun and other stars or using gravitational powers of moons and planets.

Time travel machines: When I ask my editor what I can do to help him on deadline, he frequently asks if I’ve got a time machine. I tell him I have it in development, but he’ll have to pay me in unobtainium to get it.

Indeed, most of us have times when we wish we could freeze time, go back in time or get a glimpse at the future.

Is it possible? Once again, scientists debate this one. A parallel concept to this is whether there are multiple universes in which there might be alternate versions of these lives.

Do I have the answers to these questions? No. But maybe if I read more science, watch enough Science Channel and science fiction programs, I’ll figure it out. It shouldn’t cost much more unobtainium to get that accomplished.

And, if you have any other futuristic devices that you’d like in your life, please write to this columnist.

Old Roddenberry project revived

In the late 1980s, a co-worker and good friend of mine talked about a project she’d worked on 15 years before with Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, called, “The Questor Tapes.”

The project never fully developed, even though a television movie was made. I hoped, someday, to hear more about it.

Last week, Rod Roddenberry, son of Gene Roddenberry and chief executive officer of Roddenberry Productions, announced he had reached a deal with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Television to develop “The Questor Tapes,” a pilot of the Gene Roddenberry concept.

Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, believed that Questor could have been bigger than Trek.

“The Questor Tapes,” according to the Roddenberry Web site, was originally conceived as a television series pilot about an android with incomplete memory tapes who searches for his creator and his purpose. The pilot ultimately aired as a 1974 television movie.

The Questor character became the inspiration for Data, a primary character in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

“My father always felt that Questor was the one that got away,” said Rod Roddenberry. “He believed that the show had the potential to be bigger than Star Trek.”

Rod Roddenberry will develop the project along with Roddenberry Productions Chief Operating Officer Trevor Roth and Imagine Television’s President David Nevins and EVP of Development Robin Gurney.

The Science Fiction Sojourns blog is a free service and includes many links to past columns with an index. Its address is http://blogs.hoosiertimes.com/scifi/

Story comments

No comments on this article yet.

Posting comments on this web site requires you to be logged in.

• Create your account
• Log in to your account