So, back during the time of jules verne, flight and submarines were likely a common fantasy. Both were the exciting cutting edge research of the day. Many dreamed of flying or traveling underwater. So jules verne scored the big bucks writing a few books that tickled these fantasies. I just would like to know, what do all you sci-fi lovers think would be a topic today that would be perfect as a "modern day jules verne" topic? What I mean by this is: What today is science so close to having being accomplished and that we are almost certain is possible but just still is not practical that would make an amazing story? Some things I think do not fit would be spaceships that travel to different galaxies because this is still deep in the realm of fantasy, so is teleportation. Ive heard of "quantum teleportation" but this is much different. So.... stargate, star wars, star trek... I still consider fantasy. I beleive that true sci fi is pretty down to earth. Here are a couple topics I feel would make good down to earth sci fi stories: treating spinal cord injury, curing skizophrenia, curing HIV(at least 3-5 people in the world have went from HIV+ to HIV- within the last few years), driverless cars(think about drones.. then theres that car that drove from italy to beijing without a driver), Re-growing body parts and organs(very doable, working hearts that are your own and not attacked by your immune system can be grown outside of the body. Once implanted though, they get full of clots and you die though.), fully functional five fingered hand/arm prosthetic(just look at what darpa has, but no average joe has the money to have one of these as a prosthetic). I think that most sci fi anymore is becoming so far fetched that its difficult to connect with it and become excited. What do we see these days in sci fi? All things like transformers, robocop, terminator, aliens. Traveling to other planets, nothing that really relates to what is realistically possible. Not saying I dont enjoy these things. But things that are very grounded in reality have a whole new kind of excitement to them.
Take a look towards genetic manipulation, cloning, gene therapy, wetware, biotech, nanotech and transhumanism. This is what I think most closely parallels that "edge" your trying at. Back then they imagined great wonders would one day be possible through complex machinery, pistons, steam power or rockets. They didn't imagine the motherboard. The revolution we had in computing and how computers triple in performance output like what every year? every month? Yup, its only a matter of time before humans start swapping out parts w/ the artificial. Beyond prosthetic limbs, pacemakers. Thats sci-fi now, but just what it looks like in when it first starts to manifest... who knows? only the super-rich will know first. Live long enough to live forever. Oh yea, not to mention... Mark of the Beast (computer chips mandatory to buy/sell, own anything or claim any right as a citizen) Coming someday, maybe soon. :devil: ahem... anyway whats so far-fetched about traveling to other planets? We are working on that shit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_mission_to_Mars all your examples are a bit mundane, I'd agree they could be used as back of a background setting but a successful new method to replace people's spines isn't going to sell many novels... unless they use Alien tech, and the spine hijacks the central nervous system, transforming the recipient into a cannibalistic ZOMBOID.
("...fiction is by its very nature something that is either not quite or clearly untrue..." smiled the goblin again, continuing "...where humans want fiction in all its flavors if only because their reality in so dull and unchallenging, thus the lure of fiction is the taking one out of one's box here, but oddly the novice writer thinks that the storyline has to be true to life, they fret over details and discrepancies, where most readers don't care, they're not going to care for example that mcbeth turns scotish history upside down, or that certain lines in the bible can't be taken literary, no they simply want to be inspired and invigorated by what they read, and that is where you come in...")
Actually in Verne's time, there were diving bells and some wooden submarines. One was called "The Turtle." Another was Fulton's Nautilus. Verne and Wells were the most famous of forward thinkers. As for today, the cataclysm potential of climate change is one of the most important subjects to weave into mankind's reading diet.
I think that science fiction writers of Verne's age did a lot with what little they could imagine. Quite a lot. It's hard to imagine a far off future accurately or to describe it in a way that brings the readers forward with you. Science fiction today seems to constantly hit on the same points. It rarely seems to do it in a way that captivates me. Nano tech, Star Wars style space travel, self aware computers, etc. All the modern ideas seem to be referencing something else that came before it. It seems a lot harder to find enjoyable, original, science fiction now days.
If you are interested in dystopian futures where climate change plays a major role, I'd strongly encourage you all to read Paolo Bacigalupi's "The Windup Girl". Very grim and yet very engrossing!
