David Nadas

Science Fiction

recent posts

about

Surfer, Marine Biologist and Technologist = The ingredients of writing the perfect Sci-Fi

  • Is gaming a waste of time? No.

    Anyone who has spent time with me discussing technology or science fiction knows that one of the most influential books I’ve ever read is Snow Crash (1992) by Neal Stephenson. For me, it was a trailblazer, lighting the way to ideas often overlooked by mainstream thinking. For anyone entering the field of information technology, it’s like a guidebook for imagining the future. But, amusingly, very few of the people I’ve urged to read Snow Crash ever actually did—much like when someone says, “You really should read the Bible…”

    I doubt even Stephenson–– when he finished writing this novel–– fully anticipated the profound impact his work would have. Beyond laying out the blueprint for the internet, coining future-defining phrases, such as the Metaverse (Facebook’s Meta)…, defining concepts of franchising a culture, and inspiring entire gaming platforms (i.e. Second Life, World of Warcraft, etc), Snow Crash set the stage for a wave of sci-fi novels and films that followed his vision.

    But for me, one brief passage in the book sparked a truly unconventional view: it led me to question our so-called “addiction” to screen time—or, as I like to call it, glassed. The hours people spend immersed in digital worlds aren’t necessarily wasteful or detrimental; instead, they offer new avenues for creativity, connection, and exploration. This, however, is a perspective I rarely succeed in convincing others of. My audience often hears me out, their interest piqued at first, only to be overwhelmed by new ideas before they drift away, defaulting back to familiar doubts about technology’s role in our lives.

    Stay with me on this, and if you can”t, just scroll to the bottom and watch the trailer, then come back to this part of the post:

    The protagonist in Snow Crash, Hiro, encounters Da5id. In real life, Da5id is a quadriplegic, but in the Metaverse, he is a formidable presence—a “bad-ass” who moves freely and with authority. His character exemplifies how people can adopt powerful, alternate personas in digital spaces, unconstrained by their physical limitations in the real world. I think why this resonated with me much as it did, may have had a lot to do with the character, Da5id (sounds a lot like David), who opened my eyes to a world I had thought of as just play, until I heard his story.

    If you have ever spent time in an MMO (Massive Multiplay On-line game), you can easily loose your concept of time as well as who you really are. In these MMO platforms, you adopt an Avatar to represent you in the digital world, like putting on a cowboy hat or crown as a kid and the alter-ego you became. I myself have never submerged in one long enough to dive into the abyss, but those who have, like Hiro, just may have had a better life in the digital world then the one, limited by flesh and blood.

    At parties, if I am lucky enough to be in the company of others who bring up the inevitable: “The real problem with this world is that people are spending too much time on their phones...” This is where I cast the line and with just the right amount of jigging, I set the hook…. but more often I loose my catch before reeling one in. If you have ever seen a fish with a hook set in it’s jaw, as I have, the first thing you notice are the glassing of the eyes–– they are only thinking of escape, like my audience. LOL.

    But too my point and before I loose my catch, I highly recommend you watch this amazing NetFlix documentary called, The Remarkable Life of Iberlin, before it is gone. Then afterwards, we can have that conversation. Thank you , as always, for your time.

  • Blockchain Voting – not perfect, but a much stronger trap than what we have.

    Just as every mousetrap eventually gives way to a more clever mouse, securing elections presents a similar challenge. Evidence of substantial voter fraud in recent U.S. presidential elections isn’t hard to find—I avoid conspiracy theories posted social as well as main stream media feeds, and rigorously fact-check my sources and there is direct evidence of fraud that the mainstream media does not report

    Could blockchain be the answer? By using it as a voting platform, we may finally create a trap that’s tough for even the smartest mouse to evade.”

    Yes, blockchain can be used as a platform to validate voting, offering benefits like transparency, security, and verifiability. Blockchain’s decentralized nature ensures that once a vote is recorded, it’s almost impossible to alter, helping to protect the integrity of the election. Here’s how it could be effective:

    1. Transparency: Each vote recorded on a blockchain would be visible to all, but without revealing the voter’s identity, preserving privacy while ensuring openness.
    2. Security: Blockchain’s encryption and consensus mechanisms make it highly resistant to tampering, ensuring that only valid votes are recorded.
    3. Auditability: Blockchain enables a traceable, verifiable record of all votes, which makes it easy to audit results and detect irregularities.
    4. Access Control: Through cryptographic methods, blockchain could allow only eligible voters to participate and limit the number of votes per person, thus addressing voter identity and eligibility concerns.

    However, let’s introduce a very smart mouse and while a blockchain voting platform is secure by design, it’s not completely immune to potential forms of manipulation or misuse. Here are some ways in which it could theoretically be exploited:

    1. Voter Coercion or Manipulation: If individuals can vote from personal devices, there’s a risk of coercion by someone else, which blockchain itself cannot prevent. For example, someone could exert pressure on a voter to vote a certain way, or vote on behalf of someone else under duress.
    2. 51% Attack: In public blockchains, if one entity controls over 50% of the network’s computational power, they could potentially alter the blockchain’s records. This is unlikely in private or permissioned blockchains, where access is tightly controlled, but it’s theoretically a concern for public or decentralized voting systems.
    3. Voter Identity Theft: If voter authentication isn’t secure or if voter registration databases are breached, an attacker might gain unauthorized access to voting credentials, enabling them to vote fraudulently in someone else’s name.
    4. Exploitation of Smart Contract Vulnerabilities: Blockchain voting might use smart contracts to tally votes automatically, but if these contracts are poorly designed or coded, attackers could exploit vulnerabilities to misrecord or miscount votes.
    5. Device Security: If a voter’s device is compromised with malware or spyware, an attacker could intercept or alter votes before they’re cast on the blockchain, a risk outside of the blockchain’s control.
    6. Node Manipulation: If specific nodes on a blockchain are compromised or bribed, especially in permissioned blockchains, they could censor transactions (votes) or disrupt the voting process.

    To build a truly secure blockchain voting system, it would be essential to address these potential weaknesses through enhanced voter authentication, network safeguards, and robust smart contract development.

    But the real, more tangible issues are these: Scalability, privacy concerns, and the need for widespread digital literacy. But with time, the blockchain’s potential is promising for secure and transparent voting systems.

  • When it comes to asteroids– close counts

    On April 13, 2029, the asteroid Apophis (designated 99942) will pass within 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) of Earth—an incredibly close distance in astronomical terms. This asteroid is about 1,100 feet (340 meters) in diameter.

    NASA assures us there is no risk of Apophis impacting Earth for at least the next century (really). If you’re curious, NASA’s website offers live tracking of the asteroid’s current location, which is definitely worth checking out.

    Still, when it comes to asteroids, even a near miss can feel unsettling—like playing horseshoes, where close counts.

    To put the distance in perspective: if we were to unravel Earth’s circumference (about 24,000 miles) into a straight line, it would stretch 4,000 miles beyond where Apophis will pass. For further context, geosynchronous satellites orbit 22,000 miles above Earth’s surface—2,000 miles farther than Apophis’ path—and there are roughly 400-500 such satellites currently in orbit.

    And here’s an interesting coincidence that NASA doesn’t mention: Apophis will make its closest approach on Friday, April 13th. Yes, Friday the 13th. And then you need to consider the name, Apophis, the ancient Egyptian god of chaos and destruction….

    For a thrilling and thought-provoking read, check out Red Lightning by John Varley, if you can find it (out of print). In this science fiction novel, a massive, unidentified object skips past Earth, initially feared to be a weapon but later revealed as an asteroid. Although it didn’t collide with the planet, it came close enough to generate a shockwave that grazed the Atlantic Ocean, triggering 300-foot tsunamis that devastated the Eastern U.S. coastline as well as parts of Europe and Africa. It’s a gripping story that blurs the line between fiction and reality—reminding us that we are all in a game of Galactic Roulette.

  • Musk-TRUMP Interview: Cyber War and the Future of Technology Revealed

    The night of August 12th 2024, I think the world caught up to Science Fiction: The Musk/TRUMP interview. It was set to start at 8:00 PM ET on the X platform. I logged in and made a bee line to Elon’s feed and tried to join the space, but in doing so the platform froze…

    As a career IT professional, with an expertise in enterprise monitoring–– having the ability to know what are inside the data packets and where they came from, I suspected a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack by the machines of opposition, bent on bringing down this particular X space for fear of an awakening. Very Orwellian. It was later determined that a DDoS attack was at play here.

    The DDoS was doing its job and seeing I was not able to join this space I jumped over to YouTube and searched for “Musk-TRUMP interview” and found a live feed I could lamprey onto it. They too were having issues but the narrators were keeping the 251K of us lampreys on their feed up to date. They were hearing Trump’s mic but it was faint and cutting in and out. I kept this tab opened and jumped back to X and searched for TRUMP’s feed. BINGO! I was in. The DDoS attack was focusing on Elon. But by then, the team at X had isolated the DDoS sources and held off the attack.

    This played out like the famous EVE online Massacre of M2-FXE. Kudos to the guru’s of X.

    I kept jumping back and forth between platforms and found, like myself, thousands were lampreying off other live feeds wherever they could and these numbers were well in to the seven digits. So there were a lot of unaccounted sessions for the live stream and then take into account the recorded event listened to afterwards, shared and viewed. The totals, that the opposition doesn’t want you to know, will be into the hundreds of millions.

    There is no going back from here for the line in the sand has been crossed, where wars of the future will be fought online and you will be notified as to when and what termination station you are assigned.

    Of all the events I have witnessed over the years, I feel this event was up there with the moon landing, played out in cyberspace with a message that was clear– The future is exciting for those brave enough to see it. I’m sure this event rocked the Ministry Of Truth and you can already see the expected NewsSpeak not carrying this link while counter-playing the effect it had. They will focus on the X platform having glitches, a rambling conversation, their fact checking, but not on the overall message to the world and how many tuned into it. Long live the Winston Smiths!

    P.S. When I used WordPress’s AI Assistant to provide feedback of my post (which is fantastic by the way) I was warned about the legalities and sensitive information Big Brother is everywhere.

  • The Great Deception

    As a writer of science fiction, I draw inspiration from the silent mentors of my past: George Orwell, Ayn Rand, Ursula K. Le Guin, and others. Like all writers of fiction, I hope to pass on something I have said that others will use as a compass for themselves.

    Reading George Orwell’s 1984 for the first time in the 70’s was pure fiction to me at the time, but like all Science Fiction they are just facts not yet experienced. Getting older is thought to be a curse, but the curse is seeing more clearly than when in youth. You can’t ignore the past and expect a miracle outcome, only a failure to trip over it later in life.

    Some of my favorite notable quotes from these authors:

    “The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it” – George Orwell

    “The people will believe what the media tells them to believe” – George Orwell

    “We can evade reality but not the consequences of evading reality” – Ayn Rand

    “There is no difference between communism and socialism, except in the means of achieving the same ultimate end: communism proposes to enslave men by force, socialism – by vote. It is merely the difference between murder and suicide” – Ayn Rand

    “Lying is the misuse of language. We know that. We need to remember that it works the other way round too. Even with the best intentions, language misused, language used stupidly, carelessly, brutally, language used wrongly, breeds lies, half-truths, confusion. In that sense you can say that grammar is morality. And it is in that sense that I say a writer’s first duty is to use language well” – Ursula K. Le Quin

    “Injustice makes the rules, and courage breaks them” – Ursula K. Le Quin

    More quotes by these great Authors:

    George Orwell

    Ursula K. Le Quin

    Ayn Rand

  • When will the battle between truth and artificial realities take place?

    I came across a fascinating read on BBC.com about fake newspaper companies in the US, which are owned and operated out of Russia; their objective? To spread misinformation. Yes, nothing new here, but read between the lines, where Sci-Fi Writers gather their ideas and see the future in the rear-view mirror.

    Synopsis for novel, Feed©:

    “In the year 2224, the world is a place where truth and fiction have become indistinguishable, where society has been nursed for a century on fabricated posts, altered histories, and manipulated facts. 

    Every aspect of one’s life is dictated by the “Feed,” a global entity of tailored information to each individual, creating personalized realities. People live in isolated bubbles of perception, their beliefs shaped by an algorithm designed to maximize engagement rather than truth.

    Enter O, who stumbles upon a hidden cache of unaltered records from the 21st century. As O delves deeper into these relics of the past, he begins to see the stark contrast between then and now. Driven by a desire to uncover the truth, O forms a clandestine group called “VeriFire” who are determined to burn down the Feed through its own memes.”

    The other morning I was invited by a friend, who each Monday he and a crew finds a quiet little breakfast place to catch up and solve the worlds problems.

    What I noticed among the facts presented to support a statement or argument came from posts presented on their smartphones: unquestioned, unvetted, untrue…. We have all seen this among among our own friends and family, but I can no longer keep up on their education of seeking out the truth before propagation begins.

    If this is where we are now, how can A.I. prevent the speed of false information if A.I. is the source?

    For every mousetrap their exists a smarter mouse.

    But there just might be a profound effect when we approach the fork in the road. Will the weight of disinformation become so heavy that humanity will sink beneath its own wisdom or will a primitive allele, a safety mechanism for survival, be awakened where the truth will prevail and the Feed is reduced to ashes? DNA might be slow to replicate in comparison to algorithms, but genes passing the baton to their memes is a cleaver one. While the Algorithms are focusing on their Adversary (DNA), the memes will be flying under the radar.

    Start by awakening your friends and family to unveil the truth before propagation.

  • A Day At Sea with A.I.

    I recently gave a talk on writing and a section of that talk was dedicated to tools of writing of which A.I. was one of those tools.

    When mentioning the use of A.I. for writers, some immediately think, Cheating! Yes and No. If I am using A.I. to cut and paste into something I call my own, then I have gained nothing and I would not consider myself to be a writer. If I use A.I. as a tool (muse), then yes, I am a writer. I see using A.I. no differently than observing people on the streets or in a cafe to flesh out my characters or working on ideas with a spouse, partner, relative or friend, paid editor or agent. The way I use A.I. is to ask questions, feed in twists, elaborate on characters, solicit feedback and we go back and forth until ideas emerge. I take bits and pieces–mostly concepts and write from there.

    Every profession requires practice to get good at something. I often practice writing treatments of fictitious novels I may or may not ever revisit. I do this to hone my writing skills and the use of A.I. has been a nice tool for improving my writing, without losing my voice. This is one of those treatments.

    While at sea on a cruise steaming towards Singapore on calm seas with mysterious islands that slip by, I had an idea for a plot. What if our ship became disabled and ran aground on reef, far, far away from populated areas? And what if the surrounding waters were not what it appeared to be–somehow, by something alien… a sentient presence?

    Text to image creation using Canva.com – DALL-E A.I. image generator

    I needed an image to start with and from that image the words would flow. Using the (free) platform Canva.com, which in turn uses DALL-E as the text-2-image generator, I fed into it: A disabled cruise ship on a reef, rusted and encrusted with barnacles.

    The image was a little bit worse for ware, but it will do. I could have taken more time getting the image I needed, but for this exercise it was a good start.

    Now I had an image to work with, so scooting over to chatGPT I asked: “Please elaborate on this plot: A disabled drifting cruise ship wrecks on a reef three mile from an uninhabited island. Passengers are in high spirits knowing help will arrive. Volunteer officers, crew and passengers set out to reach the island. Days slip by and no help arrives. But before chaos sets in, an alien presence in the surrounding waters is discovered.” [Return].

    I would love to have shown you the text chatGTP spits out and the new directives I command, but it would fill volumes.

    Think of this plot as “Lord Of The Flies” meets “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind”

    We chatted back and forth on ideas for a good hour. When using a platform like this, you get better at syntax, for example: “be brief” or “rework that idea” or “replace that idea for this one: …… ” or “my protagonist is a marine biologist, slightly on the spectrum, and the antagonist is a lecturer onboard.

    After awhile I forget I am using a machine and begin to believe there really is someone on a keyboard far away conversing with me.

    Anyway, this is what we agreed upon as a treatment and not the result of a cut and paste. A.I. is good, but you begin to recognize the voice as not your own and the same for everything it spits out. There are clever parts to sentences and phrases I might use–no different as to what my editors suggest– but the concept and writing remain my own.

    So here we go:

    When a luxurious cruise ship becomes disabled by an unknown and mysterious origin, wrecking on a treacherous reef just three miles from an uninhabited island, initial optimism reigns among the passengers. With seemingly endless supplies of food, drink, and entertainment, the passengers and crew rally together, their situation as if merely on a prolonged vacation as festive as any hurricane party can be.

    Days slip by without word from the scouting officers and crew who set out for the neighboring island and those days turn into weeks and months. Despite the lack of communication, the passengers maintain their optimism but as time drags on and no help arrives, the atmosphere aboard ship begins to ebb.

    With resources squandered and basic amenities like electricity and plumbing rendered useless, factions form and individuals begin to vie for control and access to remaining supplies. 

    Just when it seems that the passengers and staff are on the brink of turning against one another, a new threat emerges from the surrounding waters. The presence of sentient lifeforms seemingly capable of feeling positive and negative feelings grip the remaining passengers and crew. Are they friend or foe?

    As credit to chatGPT, I let it write out the synopsis of my treatment entirely on its own. It even came up with a catchy title I think I would use.

    “Sentient Waters” is a thrilling tale of survival, exploring the fragility of human nature in the face of adversity and the unknown. As the passengers grapple with internal strife and external threats, they must band together to unravel the mysteries that lurk beneath the waves.”

  • A robot in every pot!

    It was during the 1928 Presidential campaign, the slogan “A Chicken in every pot and a car in every garage,” was coined.

    I was reading a briefing from Goldman Sachs, this morning, of their analysis that the robotics industry may grow faster than expected—AI being a catalyst— and the need for humanoid robots are on the rise. They are predicting a world market value of $38B by 2035– a six-fold increase from previous projections!

    Ameca generation 1 pictured in the lab at Engineered Arts Ltd

    From personal experience, every prediction I have seen of where technology will be in five years has fallen short. I think the projection is low. Technological advancement happens exponentially and AI is now in a place to supplement programming— programmers who will work 24 x 7 x 365. I think the prediction world wide will be in the trillions.

    Focusing on just the US, what I feel is has bot been fully explored is the genFactor. With influencers— now as a sanctioned career path in H.S. and college— that will leave a huge gap in the operations aspect of human maintenance needs. Someone has to fold laundry, sweep sidewalks, serve food products over counters, stack shelves, pick crops, drive trucks, handle hazardous waste… and the tasks are endless. Everyone can’t be home on a pane snapping selfies holding products no human is willing to manufacture.

    Humanoids to the Rescue! Not so fast. There is now a significant population increase from immigration- 8 million additional humans if placed into a separate category would be the 12th most populated state in the US. Is this coincidence or a premeditated plan?

    Will these new immigrants be unwillingly herded into labor?

    There will be consequences, when robots compete for the same jobs—a subclass warfare between the two.

    I can rattle off dozens of SciFi novels to serve as blueprints for how this will turn out. Science Fiction is fact about to happen.

    If I’m elected President, I promise a robot in every kitchen and an EV in the garage!

    In the mean time, my BOTZ holdings are up 27%.

  • SORA – Things just got a lot more complicated.

    Open AI’s new platform, SORA is mind bendingly crazy beautiful. The platform (model) was developed to create realistic… and I mean realistic… scenes from text. The current model can produce video up to one minute long, which is long enough to change reality. The SORA model was released to the RED TEAMERS, who will weigh in on the safety, risks & Harm aspects of releasing this to the wild. This, I think will be difficult to identify good vs. evil, for every mouse trap there is a smarter mouse.

    Currently, the SORA platform has been handed out to a few artists, designers, filmographers, etc. Open AI is showing the public early work to give us a sense of the capabilities of what is on the horizon.

    Click on the image below, but ONLY AFTER reading the prompt that was fed into the model to create this imagery. Crazy simple…..

    Screenshot

    Prompt: A stylish woman walks down a Tokyo street filled with warm glowing neon and animated city signage. She wears a black leather jacket, a long red dress, and black boots, and carries a black purse. She wears sunglasses and red lipstick. She walks confidently and casually. The street is damp and reflective, creating a mirror effect of the colorful lights. Many pedestrians walk about.

    There are so many aspects of this video that you need to take in by watching this several times. My favorite… the skin detail and startling attention to detail in the reflection off her sunglasses.

    There will be those who say, ‘Why would someone even develop these capabilities? It’s just going to lead to further chaos!”

    Leave that question to rattle around for the binary talking heads. In the meantime, I commend OpenAI for sharing this, early. AI is already here–it’s not going away and I would hate to see a bit placed in the mouth of AI, catering to the least common denominator; we did not get to the moon without taking a risk.

    I am betting that these developments in AI will provide a platform for humanity to advance–just like the calculators did in the 70’s, when the fear they would dumb down our engineering capabilities never happened. These are tools for humanity–time for humanity to stop staring at the glass for what is seen and see it for what it is. The medical, engineering, theatrical aspects, etc. are game changers.

  • Mystic Men

    It seems like OMD’s song “Maid of Orleans” and how it might have been overlooked is not uncommon; many significant events, whether in music, art, or other fields, can sometimes be overlooked or not receive the recognition they deserve in their time.

    When I heard this song back in 1981, I was living in Noank, CT with my best friend, George (God rest his Soul). We were different in many ways but loved the same music. Whenever I listen to this song, I am transported back to that small town, living hand to mouth, opting to ride my bicycle to work to save on gas (~$1.35/gal) and spending what little we earned on music and drinking at Chucks until closing, failing miserably to pick up girls. But in our defense, I don’t think it was us, personally. You see, we smelled like fish 24×7, having worked at Mystic Aquarium. But wandering home from Chucks, four-sets of taillights in our vision, we left our “ducks” on the front porch, where even the stray cats stayed away from our boots. After a shower and change of clothes, one of us would slip on a white glove and remove an album from our collective stash then spin music finto the late morning (for medicinal reasons).

    Excerpt from “Mystic Men” (WIP)

    In memory of George “Gil” Lavigueur – Sept. 27, 1957 – May 13th, 2012

    My best friend

    The day everything began to unwind,the color of the water around Fort Wetherhill in Jamestown, RI was a Payne’s Grey.  I remember that because it was the same color as the sky and there was no horizon line for either.   To say it was cold that morning was an understatement.  The sky felt as heavy as lead and If the cove had remained still for even a minute it would have frozen over.  

    I remember it being the first day of January because we had just celebrated 1981 the night before, closing Chucks as usual. Leaving alone as usual, not remembering how we got home, as usual.

    Diving was a great way to work off a hangover and while the recreational diver was at home on a day like this, drinking their coffee in front of the fireplace and watching reruns of Jacque Cousteau, George and I were about to enter the water on the western side of the hill. We were the real deal; Marine Biologists making $10,000 a year before taxes.  We stopped off at a coffee shop on the way, ordering two black coffees, each; one for us the drink, the other to pour into our wetsuit just before we entered the water…..