Upload

Nathan (Robbie Amell) is a programmer who is working on freeware software for uploading consciousness after death, providing digital immortality in a virtual world.  But before he has it ready to roll out, he is killed in a freak car accident.  His girlfriend has arranged for him to be uploaded to the popular Lakeview server.  He must now come to terms with his death while figuring out how to 'live' in this virtual afterlife.  Of course, all his family and acquaintances can 'visit' through virtual reality equipment or even just make a phone call.  To help him adjust, he has an angel.  Nora (Andy Allo) works as an angel, appearing when called and providing guidance and some emotional support.  Nora finds she is attracted to Nathan and he feels the same.  Their growing affection is a central part of the series.

The show explores a variety of possibilities in the near future.  There are the driverless cars, phones that are integrated into your hand, uploading consciousness into a server, the continued existence of the dead and their efforts to adapt, and much more.  There is even a young boy who died almost ten years ago but he has not aged.  His 'younger' brother is going to senior prom.  Huh.  However, the show has not delved into the idea of copy & paste.  If you can be digitized, can you be copied?  At one point, a dead person attempts to download into a clone of his old body and it is a given that he is no longer on the server after the transfer.  Why?  That's not how computer files work and we are repeatedly shown that Nathan is just a bunch of computer files.  Maybe next season.

It is an entertaining show and recommended.  It is available on Amazon Prime.

Faster than I expected!

As if to confirm yesterday's ramblings on the world of the future, I came across these two stories today:

China is genetically engineering babies.

http://www.vice.com/read/chinas-taking-over-the-world-with-a-massive-genetic-engineering-program

The saber-tooth tiger could come to a zoo near you though some think it's not such a good idea.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/future_tense/2013/03/de_extinction_isn_t_a_good_idea.html

The future is arriving faster and faster.

The March of Science

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-03/scientists-resurrect-bonkers-extinct-frog-gives-birth-through-its-mouth

An extinct frog has been brought back to existence by some scientists.  I have expected this ever since Jurassic Park was released in 1993.  It was only a matter of time.  A hundred years from now, it will probably be common to see saber-toothed tigers and mammoths at the zoo, maybe even dinosaurs.  Extinction is not as permanent as we've been led to believe.  Now when Greenpeace or the Sierra Club claim that so many species are going extinct every year because of this or that, we don't need to worry.  We can bring them back, if we need to.  In fact, we get the benefit of seeing how things go without this or that species.  Maybe things are better without the banana slug or the snail darter.  If not, bring it back.

 

Eventually, we will understand the genetic code to such a degree that mythical beasts will be made.  How hard will it be to create a unicorn?  A dragon?  A pegasus?  I recall a book I read - by Robert Heinlein, I think - in which a character asked to have a pegasus made and the geneticist explained that it wouldn't be able to fly on account of physics; but he could make it.  It won't be long after that when we start creating mutant humans.  Maybe splice dog olfactory senses into a human to do away with police dogs.  How about the eyes of a hawk?  May sound crazy now but it will happen.  Perhaps not in the US, but certainly in other countries.  The super human is coming.  Who needs steroids when you have engineered genes?  How will that affect sports?

 

Not only genetically-enhanced, but probably also cybernetic.  Much of technological innovation has been shrinking the distance between people and technology.  The smart phone is very nearly an appendage already.  Google glasses are here and will bring a whole new angle to reality TV.  I've read of nanobots in the blood stream that will keep track of one's health.  Imagine a nanobot that cleans out your arteries: it's coming.  There is a web series called H+ that suggests these nanobots will be vastly more versatile than just keeping you healthy; you might become your smart phone.

 

Sure, much of this may be decades away, some might come in the next few years, and a lot is already here.  But all of it is just a matter of time and I'm probably underestimating what will be possible.