What the future will look like in 15 years and 50 years?

What will the future look like in 15 years?

I'm pretty optimistic about the future in 15 years. We've made great leaps in medical technology and space travel. SpaceX has made great strives in being able to get to Mars and I have little doubt in my mind that we will be able to at least get another probe to Mars and even start scoping out areas for colonies to begin. We also have great advancements in the medical fields with the ability to grow organs in labs and have them ready for transplants when needed. We also are coming up with better ways to treat cancer and while we wont be able to find a complete cure, we will be able to treat it better than chemotherapy. Everyone is also worried about climate change and while there are many argument to be made about whether or not we can reverse it, we have made progress in making cleaner energy a better and more reliable source of energy and in 15 years, it might be the most stable and cost effective alternative. And just to jump the shark, I think that in 15 years we'll have floating cities on the water. I just think that it would be a great experience and I'm sure some crazy person is willing to fund it. 

What will the future look like in 50 years?

I'm sure we'll have some kind of progress on a Mars colony and that NASA and SpaceX will be the leading lines. I am sure that we will have the ability to make organs in labs and that if you need a transplant, it will be available for them and it will be the most cost effective method and safest. I also think the genetically modifying babies on a semi large scale will happen. My best guess is that it will start in China because the Chinese government will fund anything remotely similar to that. I also predict that clean energy will make up a majority of energy sourcing purely do to how fast we are beginning to see the rapid development today. And just to jump the shark again, I predict that the floating water cities will work and we'll see some more floating cities on water that will go around the globe. 

Assessment

What is your reaction to the text you just read? 
   The text was weird and had a lot of elements that are thrown ate you. From having someone have multiple limbs that stretch out to people eating unfertilized eggs from these people. The story itself is interesting and I like the world building. It explains who they are and how their own politics work within T'Gatoi's society. I also like the backstory of T'Gatoi and the main characters mother, explaining the backstory of their relationship and their attitudes towards each other. I also like the descriptive events that take place and the reactions of all the characters involved. The overall story telling is really good and immersive, however, sometimes it gets a little confusing for me and I had to go back and reread some paragraphs. This mainly happened in the beginning when we had multiple names of people thrown at the reader and they all seem to sound the same.

What connections did you make with this story? Discuss the elements of the work you were able to connect.
   Some connections I made with this story relates to the types of science fiction stories that I like. I also make some connections to how I like to have backstories to the characters and they aren't some 2D cookie-cutter characters.
   This story, while confusing to me at first, fits in the sub genre of science fiction that I like. The story is not specifically horror or gory but I does have these elements in the story and rather be used as shock value, it feeds into the story. I also like how T'Gatoi is described, it being somewhat similar to a human but with physical abnormalities but still being similar in mentality. T'Gatoi is seen to share similar parental traits and takes care of our main character.
   I also like how T'Gatoi is more likable and that the author gives them a backstory and how their relationship is forged with the mother. I also like how the whole family is given a reason to make a bond with T'Gatoi and not be a family by circumstance.

What changes would you make to adaptive this story into a another medium? What medium would you use and what changes would you make?
   The medium I would change this too would be science fiction horror and as a movie. The changes I would make would be to make T'Gatoi seem more human at first and then transition to this creature with multiple limbs and how they move. I would also change how T'Gatoi attacks and have them draw out the killings to make them seem more protective over their family and show their perspective on killing others. I would keep the character relationships since they work really well but I would have the main character and the sister play a slightly bigger role and get more involvement with T'Gatoi. I think that would be more interesting to play on in a form of a movie.

The Martian by Andy Weir

  For this week, I read The Martian by Andy Weir. I had first saw the movie when it came out and I didn't know that it was based off a book. Now that I have read the book, I gained a better appreciation for the movie's quality. The book has to be one of my favorite books that I have read. 

The Martian is about a astronaut and botanist, Mark Watney, who is left behind on a mission on mars after he is hit by a projectile during a massive sandstorm that forces a evacuation. After the crest of the crew evacuates and the mission is called off, Mark wakes up and is now stranded on mars and has to survive for 4 years until he can be rescued. 

  The book is a great combination of science fiction and comedy and we really feel what Mark is feeling and thinking. We get our story from Mark though video tapes that he records and throughout these tapes, we get to see what his plans are and what he thinking at the moment. Any Weir does a great job of explaining the thought process and science behind the actions of Mark, from creating water inside the shelter to how he plans on taking a radioactive object and traveling with it around mars. The comedy comes in though how Mark talks and behaves. We see the small thoughts of Mark like how Aquaman can control whales that are mammals and not fish and how he really hates disco. The comedy elements help Mark seem more human and someone who actually existed rather than just a shell that has some human elements but is mainly a plot pusher.

  Overall, I loved this book and the characters inside. We get to see why they do the actions they do and how other around them respond. We get characters that may make shitty decisions but rather than just saying "I'm right", we see them explain why. An example would be how the director of NASA refused to tell Ares 3, the crew that Watney was apart of, that Mark was still alive. While is seems like a shitty thing to do, he explains that they would need to remains focused on the mission and they would be told once NASA has a plan to get Mark back. The characters feel human and have reasoning behind the decisions and this is what I loved about the book! I would strongly recommend this book if you are a big fan of science fiction and stories about space! 

American Gods

This week I read American Gods by Neil Gaiman. American Gods was an interesting take on how gods interact with the world and the people around them. We see different types of gods interact with the main character, Shadow, it ways that seem abnormal. The gods we see act less mature than Shadow by constantly swearing, yelling, and getting into fights with others. This is a break away from the typical type of gods we see in stories where the gods are mature, kind, and care about our protagonist. In the book, we see them act more human than gods and portray them as flawed. I found this type of take on gods interesting and a nice break away from the norm. They are more obnoxious with their actions rather than constantly act mature. This way, we see them as more human with god like abilities than gods trying to fit in with humans. They seem more natural and would fit in with society without standing out at all.