2999

[mistersleepless]

(Originally written for the Millennium section of Fox News Online: "A snap shot of the future: A brief interview with a science fiction author each month on what they think the year 2999 might look like".)The worst thing about 2999 is that this interview will still be archived somewhere, and precisely a thousand years from now some curious kid will

Comments

How many people today can read Chaucer?

[jjjiii]

By 2999, will anyone still understand such an ancient dialect of English?

Re: How many people today can read Chaucer?

[mistersleepless]

When Chaucer stops being taught in schools, you might have a point.

Re: How many people today can read Chaucer?

[jjjiii]

Well, to put it another way, by 2999 they might not be able to read the media your words are encoded on, or (long shot here, assuming technology & civilization don't crash in the meantime) they may not be able to read the file format. Those issues might be more important than linguistic drift.

I mean, you're a fairly famous, published author, so chances are better than most that your words will be preserved, but 2999 is longer from now than Shakespeare is, and we have relatively little preserved from such a short time ago, though still quite a lot is known of that time.

The technology will certainly exist to preserve more of what's here now for future generations, but I think it depends more on the willingness of people to keep information alive.

Re: How many people today can read Chaucer?

[lots42]

Look at google. And other archives. People are archiving HEADERS for crying out loud. If that isn't a sign we're doomed to be ruled by geeks...

[padmaclynne]

you make me smile, on a regular basis, good sir.

[radiumx]

Death would be really fun. I'd imagine when you got bored, you could kill yourself over and over in various new creative ways, record the memories of death and have them beamed back to your new self. Whole death cults could commit suicide all at the same time, in live televised events, and distribute the perfectly recorded copies.

Whee!

death movies

[lucky_otter]

Also likely to happen is death movies, in which the actors actually die - and the experience is recorded for the enjoyment of the audience! This will also be done in live theatre, with the experiences of the actors broadcast directly to the audience as it happens. The play will be a combination of direct and second-hand experience. You may also be able to link in with the rest of the audience to have a panoramic view - both in the literal visual sense and also in the emotional sense.

I imagine it'd really suck to be flipping channels on some broadcast medium and stumble into an amplified death-ad - wham! instant death, pumped straight into your synapses. BUY OUR PRODUCT.

[grosely_clerx]

"-- thereby essentially bringing you back to life. Which would really piss you off."

That was the one redeeming feature of the horrible Schwarzenegger flick "The 6th Day" (I think that was the name) in which that happened, but the clone met the original before they died. The original insisted that the clone was him in order to bargain for his life, while the clone did the opposite for the same reasons.

"I didn't try to kill you -- that was this poor schmuck. Cap his ass."
"Shut up! Stop jeopardizing our future!"
"Gimme your coat - I'm cold, and you're gutshot and dying anyway."

[lots42]

We'll have instant fandoms. Software that writes fanfic for you. Spraycans so you can cover your bedroom surfaces with images of your favorite artist/comic book character/furry avatar. And you shake it to get a different image.

And Harry Potter 23. Phear.