First Contact: Aliens and Humans Meet for the First Time

One of the most popular topics of sci-fi, first contact has 'happened' in so many ways that it's scary to think about. It is normally a massive spaceship that arrives above Earth, and we puny humans find out that there's an alien race out there that is super highly advanced and has been traveling the universe for thousands of years, and the race itself is actually millions of years old. But what most sci-fi authors and directors don't take into consideration is the thought that we humans might be the ones who find another alien civilization that's less advanced than us. Oh humans, in your ever 'smart' ways. But maybe, we'll be traveling in space and come across an alien search party doing the exact same thing as us. Highly unlikely, but you never know.

In many movies, there are massive agencies completely devoted to alien contact, and keeping aliens from interfering with most innocent, mindless humans. Some examples of this are: the Men in Black, Torchwood, and the famed Area 51, which is a real compound in Nevada, but no one really knows what goes on there. Some people believe some things. I guess that I'll let them.

How first contact might happen is unknown. It's been guessed, theorized, and imagined by thousands of people. I like to think that it's peaceful, possibly when it happens we will have already made contact with the aliens and they send a peace party and we begin teaching them things, they begin teaching us things. The theories and ideas get more and more outrageous as more and more information and stories are fed into the imagination. But who knows, maybe one or two of them will be confirmed. I guess we'll find out one day.

We may or may not have first contact when it's all over. And we may or may not be obliterated, or raided, or some disease unleashed among us. If we survive first contact, then the bounds of the human mind and ideas will be expanded almost exponentially. And we will be exposed to a universe that is like no other, shown the track of space and time. It will be the most important event in human history. In the end, first contact will be a crucial part of the human race and its history, although there may not be a first contact ever. I guess that we'll theorize and guess about it forever. Thanks, Aidan.

The Buildings of the Future

Most people assume that the future will be filled with 500-story skyscrapers decked in white metal curved beams and gigantic glass banks that make up the massive walls. However fantastical this may seem, information and technology are saying that some of those stereotypes and dreams just might be possible. I'm not gonna give any of those fairly random predictions on when this might happen, but there is considerable evidence to prove that it's possible. Other things might be possible, as well. I, for one, love architecture, so studying this has been fascinating, fun, and satisfying for me. Strangely, I really almost no longer have the aspiration, but at one point in my life I wanted to be architect. Because of this, I am naturally fascinated by designs and ideas of buildings that might be possible in both the near and distant future. There are theories, designs, and ideas for gardens, space stations, ecosystems in space, spaceships, skyscrapers, factories, hospitals, houses, honestly, there isn't space here to fit it all. Many of the designs are eco-friendly, made for efficiency, and are beautiful, sometimes almost positively sparkling.

An idea that I have thought of are buildings separated into certain zones, much like the zoning in existence today. There could be industrial, residential, and commercial zones, all in one building! In the future, more zone types might be possible, or maybe even zones could coexist. Perhaps commercial in the bottom of the building, so as to be readily accessible from the street without the constant hum of elevators or other inter-level transportation through the residential levels, which would be next so as to have a peaceful environment in the middle of chaos, then industrial near the top to be nearest the transportation which would be at the top of the tower, along with government. This would be to allow non-used materials to be shipped away to other factories and production places that would use the materials, and allow workers, or possibly just maintenance and management to pass through easily and without bugging the residential levels again, which would be below the industrial levels. Agricultural might be there too, to provide farms and gardens with easy access to much needed supplies, and minimize the need for a larger area that would provide cargo transportation. And perhaps you could drag in a research zone here, maybe slide in a recreational zone there. And it would be smart to plop some security levels down every once in a while. You might as well add a military center, while you're at it. In the end, you could have a fully and independently functioning society in one skyscraper, albeit it massive.

But there could also be cities neatly and perfectly organized in massive zones. A city lined in perfectly square blocks. Zones in nine-to-sixteen-block sections. Buildings would be set up right next to each other looking very similar to each other and serving similar purposes to each other, all in their appropriate zones. It would be one of my dreams, seeing as how I have OCD, or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. It makes me want to put everything into a symmetrical and neat order and guard it jealously. Don't get me wrong, I like originality. But sometimes... Another idea is the crater-scrapers, an idea that in a catastrophe such as an asteroid impact, we would fill the craters with skyscrapers. That and other ideas promote eco-friendly and efficient buildings with inexpensive but durable and smart construction. But that's for another day, a future day. Thanks, Aidan.

The Awe Inducing And Ever Expanding Amazing Field Of Incredible... SCI-FI GAMES!!!

It is one of the largest fields of Sci-Fi, and one of the most successful. Sci-Fi gaming is massive. Millions of people all around the world play some form of sci-fi game. There are thousands of sci-fi games as well, in almost every category of gaming. Many sci-fi games center around space, but they don't have to. They can center around anything. Some zombie, some post-apocalyptic, some virus, some alien invasion, some paranormal, some social, some mental, some superhero, and some space western.

Many games popular. Games Halo, Mario, Pokémon, Sonic, Star Trek, Star Wars, Spore, or Dead or Alive all Sci-Fi games. If played listed game, have played some Sci-Fi game. Most people played game sometime. Fun, scary, just depends. Said before, say again, Sci-Fi not just space starships things like that. Apocalypse not just zombies death. Sci-Fi much more. Sci-Fi used just be science-related fictional situations stories mildly interesting, occasional cool, interesting. Now massive range. Unlike a lot of people who like Sci-Fi games, I am not passionate about them. Don't get me wrong, I love playing games, but I do other things as well. My favorite Sci-Fi games are several different Star Wars games, including all of the Star Wars LEGO games, the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed games, and several GameCube games.

Over the past few years, I've developed an interest in various games that span over all fields. At times, I am in total awe over how unique and significant each game can be. But in the end, every game is still a Sci-Fi game. Whether it be Halo or Pokémon, it doesn't matter. The fun is different, but the same. Like so many others out there, there is so much fun involved, so much that I like, that I find interesting. The field is still almost untouched, it dives deeper than almost any other field anywhere. I guess that I'll just have to keep diving deeper, and maybe I'll find something wonderfully amazing. Thanks, Aidan.

Apocalypse Scenarios

The apocalypse are a massive field of sci-fi that has been thoroughly explored and re-explored. There are thousands of movies, games, books, and TV shows based on the topic. By far the most popular topics of all are zombies and the "zombie apocalypse". Almost everyone knows about zombies and how they function and how to kill them. Another very popular popular topic is that of aliens and an alien invasion. Conspiracy theorists thrive on aliens. They search for videos and reported but not confirmed UFO sightings and spin theories about the aliens.

However, small apocalypses happen all time. Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, and disease outbreaks are all examples of them. If anyone has ever been in one, they know what I mean. For days, weeks, or even months, society in those regions fall apart. People no longer have civilized needs or wants. Their only goal is to survive.

There is a type of person called a prepper. They spend the majority of their lives prepping for any kind of doomsday situation, including the ones that are real so far. Many of them have fortified houses, and build up massive stocks of food, water, medicine, and ammo. Most of them are trained with guns, knives, and/or blunt weapons. They often have bug-out bags ready to grab and go. Many have some sort of emergency plan and an escape route from their house or town, or sometimes even their country.  They are prepared for any situation.

An apocalypse is fun to think about. But it wouldn't be fun at all to be in. However, it's extremely fun to play in a lot of different video games, "surviving" the apocalypse through a virtual world. It's fun to read about and write about. That's living the apocalypse through a mixture of someone else's imagination and your own. It's fun to watch, too. Watching the apocalypse through a director's eyes and actor's skills. But I think that it just might be smart to have a good plan and be ready just in case a real one happens. Thanks, Aidan.

The Death Star

When most people hear of the Death Star, they think of Princess Leia in captivity and the spectacular explosion that destroyed it. But the Death Star is scarier than you think. I mean, just look at the super laser. It blasts planets like a shotgun blasts clay pigeons. The Death Star is most likely way larger than you think. Picture a town that is almost 10 miles and a perfect circle. If someone builds a sphere around said town, that's still only 1/10 of the Death Star's size.

The living and working areas of the Death Star limited. Don't get me wrong, the Death Star walkable space is still massive. But most of the rest of the space is devoted to a massive generator the size of 5 New York's. Other generators size of 1/2 New York. There are probably about 100,000,000 stormtroopers stationed inside. The outer surface is coated in nearly impenetrable armor and thousands of massive turrets. Although in the movie there was a weakness, it would be unlikely that such a flaw would ever be made. Really, I don't think that there would intentionally be a path directly to main generator from the outside.

The size of the death star may be hard to grasp. Do you remember the area that the Millennium Falcon landed in and everyone ran around and rescued people and all? That space that everything occurred in was probably not even a mile. AND, it was only on a few levels. It would be like running around a house compared to the rest of a big city. The Death Star is amazingly scary, no matter how not scary it may have seemed when its weakness was found and it was destroyed. Thanks, Aidan.