1. …you have access to every Russian and American ICBM and still cannot exterminate the human race.
2. …you make a human into a cyborg and then show him where to find his control chip. You deserve to have him tear out the control chip and kill you.
3. …you make a cyborg with a control chip, and the control chip does not prevent him from ripping out the control chip. What was the control chip doing?
The consensus seems to be that Fringe is a less-inspired version of X-Files. What bothered me was the torture sequence. Allowing torture as a plot device robs interrogation sequences of any semblance of wit and intelligence. I’d much rather see a foxy cop trick a criminal into confessing than beat it out of him. (Also, torture is typically a disappointing way to make the hero morally conflicted). But enough about torture. I’d like to quote one review of Fringe…
“Hi, Vague Agent I don’t know from Adam. I’m Nina Sharp, Executive High Muckity-Muck. I’m just going to assume you’re in on the conspiracy. Oh, by the way, have you seen my absurdly high-tech prosthetic arm? Sorry if this is going too fast, but we only have an hour and a half to out-WTF Lost and The X-Files at the same time. Do try to keep up.”
Some of the mad science was pretty cool, but other aspects were patently ridiculous and goofy (talking to the dead, LSD-communing, etc.)
Defense Tech has an article on military exoskeletons. We haven’t reached the level of killer androids (yet), but strength-enhancement is interesting, too. (Also, if killer androids are in the works, exoskeletons will help programmers teach the androids how to move naturally, says one commenter).
Fans of trippy science-fiction novels everywhere can rejoice that Neuromancer is getting a movie. In other good news, the movie poster shown by i09.com looks pretty stylish and suggests that it won’t be a remake of Swordfish.
The bad news is that Hayden Christensen, the same “actor” that ruined Star Wars and Jumper, is starring as Case. Dare I say that John Travolta could do this better? Egads. How could we have come to the point where John Travolta is the lesser of two acting evils? Hayden [censored]ing Christensen.
If you’re looking for a low-stakes way to get a short story (up to 6000 words) published, This Mutant Life might be worth looking into. You can see its submission guidelines here. ”Stories which deal with the everyday lives of people with unusual abilities or physical characteristics are ideal, and there will be a definite [...] […]
One of the more frustrating things I see is when an author tries to give a character a guilty backstory but one he is utterly not responsible for. For example, the character’s powers might manifest by killing the town and/or pretty much everybody she knows. (Please see the TV Tropes Power Incontinence page for more examples). If [...] […]
Hello. If you haven’t seen my comic book’s five sample pages already, please check them out here and sign up for a chance to win a free signed copy when it comes out. Thanks! Having more interested readers will help me get published and I really appreciate your time. […]
Check out Fraggmented’s “Comic Book Insanity” category. Here are some choice excerpts. Then, while passing a volcano, Carol comments that Wonder Woman’s invisible plane obeys her every command “like magic!” To which WW responds, “The magic of science, Carol!” This is bitterly ironic, given that less than ten issues earlier Kanigher had explained that Wonde […]
If you’d like to suggest any, I’d appreciate that. Here are some of the questions we’ve previously answered. How long should I wait to introduce my main character? How can I do accents well? What are some common day-jobs for superheroes? How can I write a good opening? How can I do fight scenes? […]