Lost In the Age of Technology

by Kristin Saunders

The luxuries of the twenty-first century are not to be laughed at. In one day it is possible to talk with someone for hours half-way across the world, cook a meal in minutes when it used to take hours, and travel a hundred miles in relative ease. We have created such glorious things for ourselves. The futures we can imagine are just as grand. It would be possible to travel from New York to Tokyo in a few hours by vacuum-sealed bullet train or even farther via instantaneous teleportation. It is easy to see sterile work environments that gleam without the aid of a dirty mop, and machines tending our every need. It is so easy to imagine the next step, and the step beyond that. Every convenience easily imagined, then the device eventually engineered.

Stop. Think.

Is this the luxury you really want? I only ask because your microwave meal is currently lacking the flavor of the prepared food your mother made. That bullet train may get you where you are going, but you may miss the journey and the experiences a trip halfway around the world would give you now, or even one-hundred years ago when you would have had to cross the ocean by boat.

Face Time may try to replace face-to-face conversation, but you miss out on the small ticks like a person’s twitch or their general body language. Never mind glitch wireless or the overall warmth of a person’s actual presence. Nothing can replace that feeling of being in the moment with someone.

Technology has its place in our lives. It does afford us time, but it can also waste it both in quantity (Internet) and quality (traveling to the grocery store by bike versus driving a mile down the road.) If we really thought about every piece of technology we used, I’m certain many of us would go without some portion of it. I know given the chance I’d go without my cell phone and keep it to house service, because outside a car breakdown, I just don’t need or want that much connectivity in my life.

Recently, I’ve even taken yoga to tear myself away from the Internet and the television. The most relaxing moment being an instructed ujjayi breath or “yoga breath.” They are simple to do, draw a breath deep down into the core of your belly. While holding it, allow your mind to focus on your body. Exhale through your mouth and let the thoughts of the world fall away and exit with each breath.” This type of breathing requires focusing all your attention onto yourself. It is a meditative exercise and can bring a person to really respect the body they are using.

Technology is not an entirely bad thing, but I do think it comes with its demons. And expecting that we will have more technology in the near future I think it’s time we started asking questions like, “When was the last time I experienced the living world outside my door?” It may sound silly, but in an age where technology is carried with us in every moment of our lives it could be very easy to lose your sense of self. Something that should be precious. The future is waiting at our doorstep and I’m hoping we find a way to separate ourselves and know ourselves outside of the technologies and luxuries we create.

Kristen Saunders is an intern Penumbra EMag. She loves to write science fiction in her free time and recently started her own blog The Musings of a Growing Writer.

The Patriotic Zombie

by Kristen Saunders

Super Bowl Sunday is about as American as you can get. As I sit watching the commercials and writing this story (a few weeks before you’ll see it) I am reminded of other pieces of culture that are truly American, Harleys, muscle cars, country music, boy scouts, apple pie, and zombies. That’s right zombies.

America has been obsessed with these brain dead, flesh eating, unsexy hobblers for a long time. The fascination began when an American named William Seabrook wrote a wildly popular book in 1929 called The Magic Island. His story talked about Haitian voodoo witch doctors raising the dead to do some back breaking labor, a far cry from today’s popularized flesh eaters. Never-the-less within the U. S. these rotting undead were popular and continue to this day to gain a devoted following.

Zombies are now a part of mainstream. I have seen my friends doing zombie makeup as a hobby outside of the haunted month of October. Zombie crawls, or large flash mobs of costume zombies, have become popular in recent years. The larges zombie crawl on record happened on the thirteenth of October in the Twin Cities. The Guinness Book of World Records has the count at 8,027 people gathering together, but it is believed there were almost 30,000 participants total outside of the official counting area.

A new event based around trying to maintain your humanity is the nationwide 5k Zombie infested obstacle course called Run For Your Lives. It travels from state to state and involves running from zombified actors who are trying to steal your life (which are represented by flags around your waist.) There are survival kits with extra lives hidden throughout the course, though with zombies all around traversing this course is a one of kind experience. Nothing will train you to be better prepared if you’re caught on a camping trip at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse.

However, for those sitting at home the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have some suggestions for survival. The government is taking the zombie threat seriously and it wants you to be ready for the outbreak. The CDC recommends you prepare an emergency kit in your house stocked with food, water, and medical supplies. They even commissioned a short educational comic to show the importance of preparedness for the moaning horde called Preparedness 101: Zombie Pandemic. It’s a free read and mildly entertaining, as it very much resembles a B-movie.

According to ABC news Home Land Security took it one step further by doing a rather costly scrimmage during last year’s counter terrorism summit. Each ticket was a thousand bucks and was paid by American tax dollars. After all what’s more important than training against terrifying flesh eaters?

Not to worry though, while the scrimmage was part of the thousand dollar summit, it was not the only thing money was spent on. If you want real misappropriation of funds, you should look no further than the subsidies going into the technology industry. Zombies rake in about five billion dollars a year into the American economy according to 24/7 Wall Street. There are books, movies, comics, costumes, art, and some very popular video games that fund the industry. There’s a cult following and an almost guaranteed income to anyone who puts out a product of even mediocre value. Despite that trend, The New York Times reports that video game developers who, “straddle the lines between software development, the entertainment industry, and online retailing,” get some major funding from the U.S. Government. That money goes to more than just zombie video games, but in the end parents weren’t thrilled when they learned their money was going towards the promotion of these violent creatures.

Whatever your disposition towards them, zombies are here to stay in American culture. Horror writers should take note that, should you wish it; there are several immersing experiences out there to inspire you. For now I will go back to watching the half time show. I’ve got plans that involve me, guacamole, bean dip, and a bit mindless entertainment.

Sources: 24/7 Wall Street, ABC, and The New York Times.

Kristen Saunders is an intern Penumbra EMag. She loves to write science fiction in her free time and recently started her blog The Musings of a Growing Writer.

Introduction to the Godfathers of Science Fiction

by Kristen Saunders

You must forgive me for what I’m about to write, but I’ve committed a most grave sin among passionate science fiction readers. I have been enjoying the genre for years without reading any of the stories from the godfathers of science fiction. I had never heard of Arthur C. Clark or William Gibson until today. Until yesterday I had not touched Orson Scott Card, only a week ago did I touch Ray Bradbury, and I’ve never touched H.G. Wells. My familiarity with Isaac Asimov is limited to one short story called, Liar.

I read Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in the sixth grade and horribly failed the accelerated reading test. That particular AR test was set up to fail; it revolved around what bodies of water the Nautilus was in and when. Heinlein and Herbert were introduced to me last year, and I’ve only read one of each of their books. Neither being their most popular pieces. I guess I developed a tendency for fantasy without realizing it.

I haven’t been completely separated from the genre of sci-fi. I’ve watched science fiction movies and television shows for years. Sitting on the couch nestled under warm blankets watching Star Trek with my mom was a regular weekend ritual. I absorbed the story lines with relish and as a child would regularly take my hair band and put it over my eyes to mimic Geordi La Forge. I’ve always been a bit of a nerd and enjoyed reading, but I never really pursued science fiction in the written form.

The realization that I had not read these masters of the page came to me when we started putting together the Ray Bradbury issue of Penumbra. The first time I encountered Bradbury’s work I wasn’t even aware of it. I was at home sitting on the basement couch watching the movie version of Fahrenheit 451. As a high school student I finally understood why everyone had been so obsessed with the book. It was a terrifying prospect to me to go without books or reading, to become a drone that does nothing but watch television, and to watch those thoughts and words burn! I watched the film all the way through. Yet, I still chose not to pick up the book. I didn’t know who the author was, and I didn’t look for other works by the author of the story. At that time I didn’t see the point in reading a book I’d already watched. My mentality since then has changed, but by the time college came around Fahrenheit 451 was something that was in the recesses of my memory.

I wanted to understand Bradbury before I started work on his homage, so I sat on my very comfortable and thoroughly used couch to read his short biography and an excerpt from The Martian Chronicles. The enlightenment I obtained from this molder of sci-fi made me realize what I had been missing. For now, I have a lot of catch up reading to do to repent for my past reading sins.

Kristen Saunders is an intern Penumbra EMag. She loves to write science fiction in her free time and recently started her blog The Musings of a Growing Writer.

The Futility of Utopia

by Kristen Saunders

What is utopia? It is an ideal community or society possessing highly desirable or perfect qualities. The problem lies within humanity’s inability to agree on a single course of action that would create a desirable outcome.

Desire is such a dangerous thing especially when there is only a limited quantity of something. “Something” could be money, time, space, a job, resources, or even the thoughts of people. It then stands to reason that a utopia would be able to fulfill everyone’s desires.

There have been several different kinds of government systems to try and equalize our desires. It could easily be said communism is an even distribution of things so that people will always have the basics and occupation. No one is left to suffer or to have their mind wandering endlessly. However, they can dream of more and are often stuck in a role they are not happy with.

Republics and Democracies are a representation of the people. The people, or their representatives, find their own balance and have their voices heard. Essentially distributing roles and resources as needed in each area. However, the state does not guarantee anything. The people must work with those around them to obtain the resources they need. Those who are not of the majority often lose their say in how the distribution is done for the community.

Dictatorships and Kingdoms raise up a few who would ideally provide and protect those bellow them. Very often this works out poorly. Those at the top often become greedy and deprive the people below them of their basic needs.

Wars are always the result of governments, or on a smaller scale people, having a shared desire of a limited resource. The desire often stems from a need that must be met. Sadly in many cases there is no way to satisfy the needs of everyone and eventually conflict breaks out.

The balancing of desire is a tricky business with an entire society. So hard in fact it is almost impossible to imagine a true utopia where everyone is happy. I would venture to say it would be impossible if people are responsible for the making of that world.

I imagine if utopia actually existed it would be different than we would normally think. It would be a world without want and everyone would have their place. Not only that, but they would be content with their lot.

If utopia existed, the society would very closely mimic that of the Borg from Star Trek. Your personal desires would be gone; you would want for nothing. Your directive would be your life, but you would always be satisfied and taken care of. Utopia would lie in having no desire for more and never dreaming of anything greater. It would the pinnacle for everyone to achieve. There would be neither great happiness nor great sadness. Everything would be in balance, and eventually there would be peace because everyone would be a part of it. After all, resistance is futile.

Kristen Saunders is a recent addition to Penumbra EMag, serving as an editorial intern. She loves to write science fiction in her free time and recently started her blog The Musings of a Growing Writer.

The Future of Exploration

by Kristen Saunders

October 16, 2012 before he took the highest skydive in history, Felix Baumgartner said, “Sometimes you have to be up really high to know how small you are. I’m going home now.” A minute or so later he would be the first man to break the sound barrier with nothing but his body going 833.9 mph. Seven years were spent planning and engineering Red Bull Stratos; the project that gave Felix the chance to break three world records in one day. On top of sky diving from the highest point ever, 128,100 feet above the Earth’s surface, he also ballooned to the highest point in history and managed to stay alive. His special pressurized suit kept his blood from boiling in the stratosphere.

Red Bull Stratos was one of many historical explorations that have been done this year. Not only did we achieve our highest heights, we went deep under water, finally taking footage of the distinguished Challenger Deep. In March, James Cameron successfully culminated eight years of hard work. He traveled to the deepest known point on the Earth’s sea floor, Challenger Deep, which lies at the bottom of Mariana’s Trench. Cameron traveled 36,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean in a one man submarine called Deepsea Challenger to see what lay at the bottom of our oceans. He was the first to capture images of life from those depths, succeeding where the Trieste did not in 1960. The Trieste’s descent kicked up so much silt nothing was able to be captured on film.

These projects employed new technology to achieve some of the greatest moments of exploration in our life time. Mars Rover Curiosity also joined the news in August landing on Mars by way of a rocket propelled space crane. These feats of engineering are changing not only what we are able to see, but what we will be able to do in the future.

Writers will now be able to look on these markers of history and imagine what we may next encounter here on Earth or on other planets. The technology in the suit that Felix Baumgartner wore could easily be translated into a suit someone on Mars (or another planet) might wear. The next great sport could be strato-jumping and the wars of the future may well be fought by one-man-submarines at the depths of the oceans. Our history tends to shape our fiction and I am watching closely to see where our next “small steps” will take us.

I am curious to see the role of companies in these projects. NASA’s Curiosity was the only project the U.S. government fully owned. Rolex sponsored the Challenger Deep dive and Red Bull plastered its name into the Red Bull Stratos project. Companies are starting to make major investments in science as pet projects. This isn’t a rant; it is just what’s happening. Private firms are making the discoveries of tomorrow. This may change how exploration will be done. It could open doors of opportunity for some and also shut them for others.

It will be interesting to see how these events will affect the writing done in the near future and also the years to come.

Kristen Saunders is a recent addition to Penumbra EMag, serving as an editorial intern. She loves to write science fiction in her free time and plans to take on NaNoWriMo this year.