Tom
An Old Friend
Just to share this Idea with you
From my article
There is much debate on science fiction stories containing fantasy elements.
The fanatics of the genres claim a science fiction story cannot have dragons, magic, sorcery, elves, giants and the like.
There are Hard scifi fanatics that refuse mind transfers, FTL travel and the like.
As a general rule of a science fiction story there must be a basis in actual science underpinning the technology used in the story. The story doesn't have to be about the science but the science must be probable.
Right now, there is science that supports the possibility of Elves, Giants, Magic, Sorcery, Dwarfs, Hobbits, Ogres, Dragons, Mages, Witches, Werewolves, Vampires, Frankensteins, and any other creature or manifestation you can imagine.
FOGLETS - A basis for experiments in the nanotechnology field called
"intelligent" polymorphic substances or "Utility Fog"
Reference - Aspects of Utility Fog
Original source: Nanotechnology
Dr. J. Storrs Hall
<josh@cs.rutgers.edu>
Quote:
Nanotechnology is based on the concept of tiny, self-replicating robots. The Utility Fog is a very simple extension of the idea: Suppose, instead of building the object you want atom by atom, the tiny robots linked their arms together to form a solid mass in the shape of the object you wanted?
Reference: Ufog Dreams
Quote:
* Change a certain volume from one substance to another, ie. change running water to solid wood
* Make objects appear and disappear, hence furnish your house
* Automatically recycle used or obsolete materials
* Connect to a super nano-internet which would provide a complete education for all in all languages
* Build entire cities, whether in Bogota or on the Moon
* Monitor your bodily functions, such as heartrate, etc. and take preventative action if necessary
* Have your DNA pre-programmed, thus provide you with total immunity from all bacterial and viral agents, such as colds and AIDS
* Perform surgery on the spot
* Read your mind!
Reference: Utility Fog
Quote:
"Imagine a microscopic robot. It has a body about the size of a human cell and 12 arms sticking out in all directions. A bucketfull of such robots might form a 'robot crystal' by linking their arms up into a lattice structure. Now take a room, with people, furniture, and other objects in it -- it's still mostly empty air. Fill the air completely full of robots. The robots are called Foglets and the substance they form is Utility Fog, which may have many useful medical applications. And when a number of utility foglets hold hands with their neighbors, they form a reconfigurable array of 'smart matter.'"
Reference: Dr. J. Storrs Hall - Research Fellow of the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing.
The best article I have read on the possibility of Nanotechnology is from Eric Drexler.
His Essays called Engines Of Creation is a wonderful journey into the coming era of new science.
Ok, so there is a basis for the substance of a demon materializing in a science fiction story. It can be structurally created in detail. That Dragon that attacks the space port? It can be a real substance creature. But how will it be able to move without life telling it what to do?
Here is an article that talks about the coming Technological Singularity
Singularity Institute
P.O. Box 472079
San Francisco, CA, 94147 USA
Yes, its a real place and so is the Nanotech Institute
Quote:
direct brain-computer interfaces, biological augmentation of the brain, genetic engineering, ultra-high-resolution scans of the brain followed by computer emulation.
Quote:
The Singularity is the technological creation of smarter-than-human intelligence.
Source: http://singinst.org/overview/whatisthesingularity
If you add a singularity computer controlling the nano-constructs they will have the processing power to move and act as if alive. If the nano-tech advances to a point of the ability to replicate living flesh and organisms the constructs will be "alive" in their own right.
My Point is that anything is possible when exploring science fiction concepts.
As for MAGIC, WITCHCRAFT & SORCERY
Thats the easiest science to explain!
Imagine you were born in the early 1800's and you saw a person reach down and start a campfire with his hand. What you didn't see was the Bic lighter he used to ignite the flame. Magic, Witchcraft and Sorcery is all relevant to the observers frame of reference. Just because you don't know about a technology doesn't make that technology any less real.
I invite your opinions and observations...
From my article
There is much debate on science fiction stories containing fantasy elements.
The fanatics of the genres claim a science fiction story cannot have dragons, magic, sorcery, elves, giants and the like.
There are Hard scifi fanatics that refuse mind transfers, FTL travel and the like.
As a general rule of a science fiction story there must be a basis in actual science underpinning the technology used in the story. The story doesn't have to be about the science but the science must be probable.
Right now, there is science that supports the possibility of Elves, Giants, Magic, Sorcery, Dwarfs, Hobbits, Ogres, Dragons, Mages, Witches, Werewolves, Vampires, Frankensteins, and any other creature or manifestation you can imagine.
FOGLETS - A basis for experiments in the nanotechnology field called
"intelligent" polymorphic substances or "Utility Fog"
Reference - Aspects of Utility Fog
Original source: Nanotechnology
Dr. J. Storrs Hall
<josh@cs.rutgers.edu>
Quote:
Nanotechnology is based on the concept of tiny, self-replicating robots. The Utility Fog is a very simple extension of the idea: Suppose, instead of building the object you want atom by atom, the tiny robots linked their arms together to form a solid mass in the shape of the object you wanted?
Reference: Ufog Dreams
Quote:
* Change a certain volume from one substance to another, ie. change running water to solid wood
* Make objects appear and disappear, hence furnish your house
* Automatically recycle used or obsolete materials
* Connect to a super nano-internet which would provide a complete education for all in all languages
* Build entire cities, whether in Bogota or on the Moon
* Monitor your bodily functions, such as heartrate, etc. and take preventative action if necessary
* Have your DNA pre-programmed, thus provide you with total immunity from all bacterial and viral agents, such as colds and AIDS
* Perform surgery on the spot
* Read your mind!
Reference: Utility Fog
Quote:
"Imagine a microscopic robot. It has a body about the size of a human cell and 12 arms sticking out in all directions. A bucketfull of such robots might form a 'robot crystal' by linking their arms up into a lattice structure. Now take a room, with people, furniture, and other objects in it -- it's still mostly empty air. Fill the air completely full of robots. The robots are called Foglets and the substance they form is Utility Fog, which may have many useful medical applications. And when a number of utility foglets hold hands with their neighbors, they form a reconfigurable array of 'smart matter.'"
Reference: Dr. J. Storrs Hall - Research Fellow of the Institute for Molecular Manufacturing.
The best article I have read on the possibility of Nanotechnology is from Eric Drexler.
His Essays called Engines Of Creation is a wonderful journey into the coming era of new science.
Ok, so there is a basis for the substance of a demon materializing in a science fiction story. It can be structurally created in detail. That Dragon that attacks the space port? It can be a real substance creature. But how will it be able to move without life telling it what to do?
Here is an article that talks about the coming Technological Singularity
Singularity Institute
P.O. Box 472079
San Francisco, CA, 94147 USA
Yes, its a real place and so is the Nanotech Institute
Quote:
direct brain-computer interfaces, biological augmentation of the brain, genetic engineering, ultra-high-resolution scans of the brain followed by computer emulation.
Quote:
The Singularity is the technological creation of smarter-than-human intelligence.
Source: http://singinst.org/overview/whatisthesingularity
If you add a singularity computer controlling the nano-constructs they will have the processing power to move and act as if alive. If the nano-tech advances to a point of the ability to replicate living flesh and organisms the constructs will be "alive" in their own right.
My Point is that anything is possible when exploring science fiction concepts.
As for MAGIC, WITCHCRAFT & SORCERY
Thats the easiest science to explain!
Imagine you were born in the early 1800's and you saw a person reach down and start a campfire with his hand. What you didn't see was the Bic lighter he used to ignite the flame. Magic, Witchcraft and Sorcery is all relevant to the observers frame of reference. Just because you don't know about a technology doesn't make that technology any less real.
I invite your opinions and observations...