If movies set in the future are any indication of reality (and I think we can safely say that they are) 2020 is going to be a bleak year for humanity.
Edge Of Tomorrow: Live Die Repeat (2014)
This movie actually concludes in 2020, with an ongoing war with alien oppressors from 2015. If you haven’t seen it on the news it is probably because of liberal bias. At least we have mech-suits.
Update -> Unfortunately, while KutuluMike was able to get the lung transplant that he needs, he passed away about 1.5 years later due during the Covid-19 pandemic (although not due to Covid-19). He was remembered by friends on the Scifi.StackExchange.com Meta post KutuluMike (Michael Edenfield) has passed away.
Our very own KutuluMike needs to have both of his lungs replaced due to a severe lung disease. No one expects you to donate your lungs for this (in all likelyhood, you are currently using yours), and for whatever reason, he is only willing to accept human lungs (picky much?). However, he does have a Go Fund Me account where he is hoping to get money which will help sustain him after he gets a transplant. The money would go towards insurance, medical, and pharmaceutical costs. If you are able to contribute please do.
Go Fund Me <– click here to donate.
One of the greats is gone: David Bowie died on January 10, 2016. He left behind a legacy of brilliant music, groundbreaking films, and enormous contributions to the fields of science fiction and fantasy.
From his breakout hit “A Space Oddity” to his iconic concept album and persona Ziggy Stardust, and on to his Orwell-inspired masterpiece “Diamond Dogs” and beyond, his musical career, spanning nearly 50 years, defined science fiction rock and roll.
His acting performances – in “Labyrinth”, “The Man Who Fell to Earth”, “The Hunger”, “The Image”, and “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” (to name but a few) – mirrored the ethereal nature of his cosmic rock.
And the field of science fiction and fantasy returned the favor: as Smithsonian Magazine explains, Bowie inspired a number of characters in the genre we love so well.
In the Sandman comic book series, writer Neil Gaiman specifically based the character of Lucifer on the singer, while Batman scribe Grant Morrison later admitted to basing his version of the Joker on Bowie’s ’80s persona… Recently, the television series The Venture Brothers cast the leader of a massive super organization of super villains as a shapeshifter so inspired by Bowie that he took on the singer’s appearance.
I asked people from Facebook, reddit, and the meta.scifi.stackexchange.com what science fiction technologies they really wanted to see within their lifetime that they believed were achievable. Immediately some people forgot about that last little requirement, but that is okay. The few who gave estimates were in the 25-50 years time-frame. Few people explained why they wanted a certain technology, so I had to infer their intentions using wit and cynicism.
Space Travel – We gotta get off this rock.
The thing I like about space travel is most of this stuff doesn’t sound like science fiction, it is just a matter of investing billions (or trillions) and hoping it pays off.
Advanced Computers – Life is too boring.
We can put a man on the moon, but we can’t make killer robot police? – Dave Barry. Don’t worry Dave, we are totally going to make them friendly.
Healthcare – What I like to call ‘fear of death.’
Death isn’t so scary if you believe we’ll have technology to talk to the dead later (see The Insane).
Transportation – When I travel, I want it to be exciting.
There are two kinds of people, those who believe traveling is too dangerous, and those who believe it isn’t dangerous enough.
Manufacturing – We hate blue collar jobs.
Energy – Save the planet.
Only one person mentioned cheap clean energy. Personally, I see that as the technology that allows for all the other stuff. A new abundant energy source means we can finally build autonomous robots, and then we can upload our brains into them and live forever. With everlasting life, traditional space travel just becomes an exercise in not being bored, cue the virtual reality (which will be easy, since we are robots). Everything falls into place when we get a Mr. Fusion or a Tony Stark miniaturized Arc Reactor.
The Insane