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Associated Press
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
A Look at the Value of Dystopian Fiction as Cautionary Lessons This Memorial Day
Final Blackout, by L. Ron Hubbard, is recognized as a forerunner of dystopian fiction, providing cautinary lessons for Memorial Day. 'Before dystopian fiction became a genre unto itself, 'Final Blackout' set the standard.'— A.G. Riddle, Author 'Atlantis Gene' LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, May 19, 2025 / / -- As we approach Memorial Day, we recognize the sacrifices many have made to guarantee our continued freedom as a country. It also provides a time to reflect and look at alternate futures that could have been if not for the dedication of our armed forces. L. Ron Hubbard penned ' Final Blackout ' as a three-part novel, which was published in the April - June 1940 issues of Astounding Science Fiction and became one of the most influential military science fiction works of the twentieth century. Science fiction is a very special genre of fiction. Its value is often as a cautionary tale, posing what-if questions with their potential outcomes. 'Final Blackout' is one such case and was considered by Robert A. Heinlein 'As perfect a piece of science fiction as has ever been written,' penned as it was well before any of the horrors of WWII ... yet predicting much of what transpired and even more of what could have come to pass.\ The novel's lasting appeal lies in its timeless themes of sacrifice, resilience, and the human spirit. Themes as relevant today as when first written 85 years ago. Hubbard served as a Lieutenant in the US Navy and, as a World War II veteran, was familiar with war and its oft-required ultimate sacrifice. And so, when 'Final Blackout' was republished as a novel in 1948‒after the completion of WWII‒ Hubbard added the following dedication, 'To the men and officers with whom I served in World War II, first phase, 1941-1945.' And in the 1948 newly written Preface, Hubbard opens with, 'When FINAL BLACKOUT was written there was still a Maginot Line, Dunkirk was just another French coastal town and the Battle of Britain, the Bulge, Saipan, Iwo, V2s, and Nagasaki were things unknown and far ahead in history.' [ Click here to read the Preface in full. ] Interestingly enough, science fiction thriller author A.G. Riddle ('Atlantis Gene') wrote, 'Before dystopian fiction became a genre unto itself, 'Final Blackout' set the standard. Hubbard's grim vision of a war-ravaged Europe remains as powerful and cautionary as when it first stunned readers decades ago.' Before becoming an international bestselling science fiction author, Craig Martelle ('Battleship Leviathan') spent over two decades as a US Marine, retiring as a Major. He wrote, 'Who has a soldier's best interest at heart? Who can protect them from the machinations of the political class? The Lieutenant is born into the role fighting through a dystopian world, taking unto himself the hardest task of all with the cold logic of military precision.' The Lieutenant, the central figure of Final Blackout, states as he meets with a delegation from the United States attempting to seize control of additional lands as the World War continues in a dystopian future, 'I am neither a politician nor a statesman; I am a soldier. I know nothing of the chicanery which goes by the name of diplomacy. But I learned long ago that there is only one way to rule, and that is for the good of all.' What makes Memorial Day so important is its recognition of duty, honor, courage, and sacrifice. 'Final Blackout' recognizes these principles while also making it clear what life would be like if we didn't have those individuals who made the right choice to protect their ideals and their country. Learn more about Lt. L. Ron Hubbard by visiting John Goodwin Galaxy Press +1 323-466-3310 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Instagram Facebook YouTube X Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Geek Girl Authority
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
MURDERBOT Recap: (S01E02) Eye Contact
Murderbot Season 1 Episode 2, 'Eye Contact,' offers some terrific scenes with Alexander Skarsgård and David Dastmalchian. They really go toe-to-toe in scenes as tense as they are hilarious. Skarsgård continues to be painfully relatable as our antisocial, sardonic SecUnit through which we view this world. 'Eye Contact' is a fun, action-packed episode — surprisingly so for its short 26 minutes. RELATED: Read our recap of the previous Murderbot episode, 'FreeCommerce' Murderbot, 'Eye Contact' We open with Gurathin (Dastmalchian) informing the group that the SecUnit is in stasis. He's killed all the security cameras in the area, too. Mensah (Noma Dumezweni) believes they must travel to one of the blanked-out areas on the maps to figure out what's going on. Again, why wasn't the creature that attacked Bharadwaj (Tamara Podemski) and Arada (Tattiawna Jones) categorized as 'hazardous fauna'? Well, Mensah means herself. After all, she's a terraforming expert. She can take samples and measurements and leave quickly. Pin-Lee (Sabrina Wu) asks about taking proper safety measures. Gurathin volunteers to accompany her, citing that he has weapons training. Mensah insists he must remain behind in the habitat for monitoring purposes. Arada suggests that Mensah take Murderbot. Gurathin vehemently opposes this. Ratthi (Akshay Khanna) realizes this is why Gurathin asked them to meet in the hopper — to get away from the SecUnit. Stupid F*cking Humans Mensah remarks that the SecUnit seems to be going through something. Gurathin reminds her that those bots are killing and maiming machines. He insists he'll see to Murderbot's liquidation personally when they return it to Port FreeCommerce. Bharadwaj boards the hopper, surprising the gang. She's healed quite miraculously thanks to her time in med bay. Bharadwaj volunteers to accompany Mensah to the survey site. RELATED: Alexander Skarsgård Goes Rogue in Murderbot Trailer Later, Murderbot (Skarsgård) realizes its clients are going exploring without it. 'Stupid f*cking humans,' it mutters to itself. True that. We are. Meanwhile, Mensah wonders aloud if this is stupid of them to do without the SecUnit. She also wonders if Bharadwaj should've stayed behind. Bharadwaj insists she feels better. She needs to get back out there. Murderbot watches them from stasis. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 2, 'Eye Contact.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+. Then, Gurathin calls our titular bot into the other room. Once it complies, Gurathin asks it to remove its helmet. Perhaps because this somewhat humanizes it. Gurathin orders it to sit. He observes that the SecUnit has an issue with eye contact. Murderbot forces itself to connect with him, as uncomfortable as it is. Listen, eye contact sucks. Hate it. 97 Percent Gurathin pivots, asking the SecUnit how its system is doing after the attack from that two-mouthed creature. Our titular bot remarks that its efficiency is at 97 percent and rising. Gurathin wonders what it's like to be a SecUnit. Murderbot reveals that it's always been a SecUnit — it doesn't know anything else. RELATED: David Dastmalchian Joins Apple TV+ Murderbot Adaptation Bored and unstimulated by the conversation with Gurathin, Murderbot checks in with Pin-Lee and Arada. The couple is too lovey-dovey for Murderbot, though. Gurathin asks the SecUnit if it knows why he advised Mensah not to take it along for the survey trip. 'Because I look at you, and I feel something's wrong,' Gurathin says. Uh-oh. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 2, 'Eye Contact.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+. Later, Mensah and Bharadwaj land the hopper at the survey site. Mensah urges Bharadwaj to stay aboard and keep watch in case they need to escape. Gurathin logged the creature's sound footprint, so if Bharadwaj hears one coming, she should let Mensah know. Threesomes and Interrogations Elsewhere, Pin-Lee admits that almost losing Arada scared the crap out of her. So, if Arada wants to have a threesome with Ratthi, Pin-Lee gives it the stamp of approval. However, it must remain above board. They'll have him sign a consent form. Meanwhile, Murderbot tries to escape Gurathin, but the latter lures it back in. Did you know that the Preservation Alliance doesn't have SecUnits? Murderbot must tip its figurative hat to Gurathin for his impressive interrogation techniques. RELATED: New TV Shows This Week (May 11 – 17) According to Gurathin, in the PA, they view AIs and constructs as people. He joined the PA six years ago after befriending Mensah. He adds that the Corporation Rim considers it property. It must do everything the PreservationAux team says — unless this endangers them. So, Gurathin orders it to make and maintain eye contact. Ouch. Murderbot slowly turns to face Gurathin. It's uncomfortable. You can feel it. Then, Bharadwaj asks Mensah for an update as the latter braves dangerous terrain to the survey site. A drone from the hopper monitors Mensah. No hostiles detected … yet. At the habitat, Gurathin continues to make Murderbot uncomfortable by mentioning that SecUnits aren't designed to be empathic. Comfort Units, on the other hand, are made for *whispers* sex . What Planet Are You From? Gurathin finds it curious that the SecUnit comforted Arada the day before. How would it know to do that? Our eponymous bot responds that it has a combat trauma module for just such a situation. RELATED: On Location: The Lighterman in Apple TV+'s Slow Horses Then, we learn that Murderbot learned quite a bit from watching Episode 537 of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon , its favorite show. 'What planet are you from?' 'Do you have children? Tell me their names.' It's dialogue plucked verbatim from this episode. Also, 537 episodes of a show? If this is the future, I'm in. Gurathin is a tough nut to crack. He doesn't fall for Murderbot's 'I must check the perimeter' bit. Worse, Gurathin tries to probe Murderbot's recent files. So, our SecUnit shows him something different. We see Arada, Pin-Lee and Ratthi sign a consent form before getting it on. Threesome time! A Ping Murderbot asks Gurathin if he's alright after watching his fellow expedition mates start having sex. Then, the SecUnit pivots, reassuring Gurathin that if there were a threat, it would be eliminated. However, their verbal sparring session is (mercifully, for Murderbot) cut short when our bit gets a ping from the hopper's sensors. RELATED: On Location: The Phoenicia Diner on Apple TV+'s Severance Mensah continues climbing a steep hill with her supplies during a storm. She contacts Bharadwaj, revealing that something in her equipment is glitching, making her sensors 'go crazy.' The SecUnit notes that Mensah is having another panic attack, but she's too stubborn to turn around. Mensah orders Bharadwaj to send a drone ahead to scan the area. Murderbot contacts Mensah, informing her that it detected a potential threat. It asks her to return to the hopper. Gurathin chimes in, revealing that the SecUnit is using satellite comms to conduct surveillance. Behind Mensah, we see the creature burst through the surface before diving beneath it again, like a giant sandworm. Mensah hears it growling. Murderbot contacts Bharadwaj, who reveals she's detecting a vibration identical to the attack the day before. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 2, 'Eye Contact.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+. Map Lacuna Suddenly, the two-mouthed creature emerges behind Mensah. She cowers before lying flat on the ground. Thankfully, it soars above her, heading toward the center of the map lacuna. It grounds to a halt beside others of its kind. These other creatures are either dead or asleep. RELATED: Apple TV+'s Neuromancer Series Uploads 3 New Cast Members The drone flies ahead of Mensah, but when it lowers into the atmosphere above the creatures, it explodes. A peculiar — and inexplicable — type of force field seemingly absorbs the drone debris as it scatters. What could make the drone explode like that? Murderbot informs Gurathin that Mensah is returning to the hopper. It asks for permission to patrol the perimeter, which Gurathin grants. Gurathin encourages Murderbot to recover its missing memories, the ones the Company wiped when it was refurbished. He offers to do it himself. 'No,' Murderbot replies. This takes Gurathin aback. 'I mean, I'll try,' the SecUnit adds. Aliens, Y'all Next, after Mensah and Bharadwaj return, Gurathin expresses his relief that they're back and unharmed. Later, the gang reunites to discuss their findings at the survey site — the one the Company didn't want them to explore. The consensus is that those creatures aren't connected under the surface. They're also not alive. So, confirmation that they are, indeed, corpses. RELATED: Severance Renewed for Season 3 by the Will of Kier (and Apple TV+) Gurathin surmises there's something beneath the surface that drew those creatures in and killed them. The discussion pivots to aliens. Like the ones on TV! Ratthi explains that alien synthetics could have glitched the survey satellites, causing those gaps or blanks in the maps. This could be old alien remnants from millions of years ago that shot their drone out of the sky. Does this mean they stop surveying? Or is the Company aware of the alien synthetics, marking them as invaluable and preventing anyone else from having a stake? Pin-Lee remarks that it's illegal to exploit something like this. MURDERBOT Season 1 Episode 2, 'Eye Contact.' Photo courtesy of Apple TV+. DeltFall Is DeltDead Mensah reveals there's another survey team on the other side of the planet, DeltFall survey. Should they ping them? Murderbot observes from afar as the gang tries to contact the other team. Mensah introduces herself and urges the team to respond. Unfortunately, the DeltFall team can't come to the phone right now … or ever. We see they're all dead in their hopper, including their SecUnit. Mensah assumes their comms are down, so she proposes they check in on the other team in person and bring Murderbot along. What could possibly go wrong? RELATED: Apple TV+ Sets Premiere Date for The Buccaneers Season 3 and Shares First Look Murderbot drops new episodes every Friday on Apple TV+. TED LASSO Season 4 Is Officially a Go at Apple TV+ Contact: [email protected] What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events. Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet. Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium. Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Brand New' coming to the Blue Cross Arena this summer
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – The pop punk band 'Brand New' will be making its way to the Blue Cross Arena this summer! In 2017, after releasing the album Science Fiction, Jesse Lacey, lead singer of Brand New, told the crowd that the band planned to break up. The group has now reunited for their first tour in seven years. Doors for the event are set to open at 6:30 p.m. on June 27 before the concert kicks off at 8:00 p.m. You can register for early access to tickets at this website here. Presale will run from April 2 at 12:00 p.m. until April 3 at 10:00 p.m. Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 4 at 10:00 a.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
WIRED
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- WIRED
Hikaru Utada Would Rather Play CERN Than Coachella
Mar 27, 2025 6:00 AM The Japanese singer-songwriter's new album goes deep on their 'fascination with science.' WIRED Japan took Hikaru Utada to visit the Large Hadron Collider to learn more. Japanese singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada at CERN in Switzerland. Photograph: TIMOTHÉE LAMBRECQ Schrödinger's cat, quantum entanglement—the songs on Hikaru Utada's latest album, Science Fiction , go deeper into the singer-songwriter's 'fascination with science' than they ever have before. Part greatest-hits collection, part reflection on interests they have cultivated for many years, it's a body of work that shows their breadth as an artist. It only seemed fitting, then, that WIRED Japan would invite Utada to Switzerland to visit CERN, one of the world's leading research centers for particle physics, an invitation they quickly accepted. 'CERN is a place I have dreamed of visiting for the past 10 years or so,' Utada says. 'To be honest, being able to go there and talk to the scientists and see the particle accelerator might be even better than performing on the main stage at Coachella [laughs]. I definitely wanted to go.' CERN is the world's largest particle physics laboratory, located on the border between Switzerland and France. Its iconic Large Hadron Collider (LHC)—a gigantic circular accelerator with a circumference of 27 kilometers—made its name in 2012 when it discovered the Higgs boson, the mysterious particle that continues to play a key role in experiments into the origins of the universe. The center's work is not limited to research about how the universe began and the behavior of subatomic particles; it can also lead to advances that have greater impacts on everyday life. For example, in 1989, Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist who was then working at CERN, developed a system to provide decentralized, real-time access to information within the organization. It became the foundation for the World Wide Web. Hikaru Utada explores ATLAS, a large general-purpose particle detector located 100 meters underground on the CERN main campus, which detects and measures particles accelerated and collided by the Large Hadron Collider. PHOTOGRAPH: TIMOTHÉE LAMBRECQ In recent years, the organization has also been proactively engaged in outreach efforts that fuse art and science. That's why University of Tokyo physicist Junichi Tanaka and Kazuki Kojima, a researcher at KEK (High Energy Accelerator Research Organization) are here. CERN asked the Japanese scientists to accompany Utada and WIRED on our CERN visit. Utada asked the two of them more questions than anyone else. While standing in front of ATLAS (the large general-purpose particle detector located 100 meters under the main CERN campus that detects and measures particles accelerated and collided by the LHC), the conversation around the topic of dark matter was a lively one. Utada: What are you most focused on pursuing at the moment? Kojima: There is a theory in particle physics called the Standard Model, but it can only explain about 5 percent of the mass and energy in the universe. In fact, it is thought that about 26 percent of the mass and energy in the universe is dark matter, and the remaining 70 percent is dark energy. Regardless of dark energy, we know that dark matter exists, but we don't know what it is, and we are currently searching to understand its true nature. Utada: Dark energy is … Kojima: We know almost nothing about it. Tanaka: You could say it's a name that was almost given at random. Utada: OK, so 'dark' here doesn't mean 'not lit,' but rather 'unknowable' or 'unknown.' Tanaka: We don't know anything about dark energy. It has that name because the universe is expanding. But dark matter can be explained by gravity, so we believe it exists. But it's hard to find it. We're trying to measure something when we don't know what it is, so we spend a great deal of time conducting experiments. Utada: It's like proving the existence of something by the absence of something else. Kojima: Yes, that's right. Utada: It's like trying to prove the existence of an invisible man. A room with capacity for 10 people is packed even though there are only nine people there. Or there were 10 people in the room, but traces of 11 people coming from it. Tanaka Yes, yes, that's the idea! Utada explores CERN. Photograph: TIMOTHÉE LAMBRECQ It's a matter of making an analogy to something else or replacing one relationship with another. Utada says they attach a special importance to this act. This means that they regularly transform what exists only in their own mind into clever metaphors by making full use of the knowledge and experience they have cultivated over time, and the words and symbols derived from their intuition. They then diligently carry out the task of communicating these to others. 'When I compared dark matter to an invisible man, I was really happy to hear Tanaka and Kojima say, 'Oh, that's right!'' Utada says. Another thing that made an impression on Utada was the pair's response to their question about what they'd want to convey to the general public who are not experts in science. 'Tanaka thought for a while and then said, 'I guess it would be that there is still so much we don't know.' I thought that was really wonderful,' Utada says. But it's even deeper than that. 'I think the 'knowledge of ignorance,' feeling truly excited by the fact that there are things we don't yet know or don't understand, is a very important perspective,' Utada says. 'Fear comes from ignorance, doesn't it? It is human instinct to fear the dark. It's because we don't know that we feel fear, discrimination, prejudice, violence, and more. So what is the opposite of that? I think it's curiosity and a spirit of inquiry.' The songs on Hikaru Utada's new album Science Fiction go deep into the singer-songwriter's 'fascination with science.' Photograph: TIMOTHÉE LAMBRECQ This story is an excerpt of a piece from WIRED Japan's Quantumpedia March issue . Special thanks to: Presence Switzerland (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs), embassy of Switzerland in Japan, Switzerland tourism, CERN, Geneva tourism, hotel president Wilson Junichi Tanaka (The University of Tokyo), Kazuki Kojima (KEK), Masato Aoki (KEK), Tomoyuki Saito (The University of Tokyo), Nozomu Kaji (Sony Music Labels, Inc.), Mina Okachi (Sony Music Labels, Inc.), Akihico Mori styling by Kyohei Ogawa, hair and makeup by Hisano Komine, project coordination by Erina Anscomb.
New York Times
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Chris Moore, Illustrator for Classic Sci-Fi Books, Dies at 77
Chris Moore, a British artist who conjured fantastical worlds with high-sheen covers for books by science-fiction masters like Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke and Alfred Bester, and who lent his artistry to albums by Rod Stewart and Fleetwood Mac, died on Feb. 7 at his home in Charmouth, on the southwestern coast of England. He was 77. His wife, Katie Moore, announced his death on his Facebook page. She did not cite a cause. Making his name with a crisp, airbrushed style that blended the detail of photo realism with leaps of imagination, Mr. Moore was a renowned figure in the science fiction world. But you would never hear that from him. 'Call him a master, or a titan in his sphere, and he simply won't have it,' Stephen Gallagher wrote in the introduction to the book 'Journeyman: The Art of Chris Moore,' a 2000 collaboration with the artist. 'The most you'll ever get out of him is a grudging admission of some quiet satisfaction when something in a picture comes right.' Despite his modesty, Mr. Moore provided memorable interstellar images for various editions of notable books by Mr. Dick — including his novel 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,' the basis of the 1982 film 'Blade Runner' — as well as works by Kurt Vonnegut, Isaac Asimov, Ursula K. Le Guin, H.G. Wells, Alastair Reynolds, J.G. Ballard, Stephen King and many others. While best known for his visual journeys through the cosmos, Mr. Moore produced a wide range of illustrations. He created the art for several album covers, including Fleetwood Mac's 'Penguin' (1973) and Mr. Stewart's 'The Vintage Years 1969-70' (1976), as well as contributing images to magazines like Omni and Asimov's Science Fiction. And he designed wallpaper tied to the Star Wars film 'The Empire Strikes Back' (1980). While he considered himself more a craftsman than an artist, Mr. Moore allowed that there was a certain magic involved in bringing far-off worlds to life. 'The process of creating these images was more of a journey of discovery than creation,' he said in a 2011 interview with the Red Moon Chronicle, a sci-fi and fantasy site. It was if he 'had almost 'found' the image,' he said, 'like it was a combination of some text you'd been given and a series of happy accidents that you had gone through to arrive at this window on the future.' Christopher Norton Moore was born on June 1, 1947, in Rotherham, England, in South Yorkshire. 'I realized from a very early age what I wanted to do, which was nothing to do with fine art as such,' he said in an interview published by Artist Partners, an agency that represented him. 'A commercial artist was my ambition from around 3 or 4 years old.' He studied graphic design at Maidstone College of Art in England before being accepted by the Royal College of Art in London, where he focused on illustration from 1969 to 1972. Mr. Moore produced his first book cover in 1972: a reprint of Lawrence Durrell's 1938 novel, 'The Black Book.' Working with Peter Bennett, the art director at Associated Book Publishers, he was soon illustrating covers for many publications. 'I was barely aware of science fiction' at that point, he said, adding, referring to the Stanley Kubrick film, 'I'd seen '2001,' and that was about all.' That would change when Mr. Moore made his mark with 'Extro,' a British edition of Mr. Bester's 'The Computer Connection' (1975). In addition to his wife, Mr. Moore is survived by his daughter, Georgia Whiting, and his sons, Harry, Robbie and William Moore. He exhibited his work for the first time in 1995, at the World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, where he realized that there was a market for his originals, which he began selling. Even so, Mr. Moore remained steadfast in avoiding lofty posturing as a fine artist. 'If someone wants a picture of a horse to illustrate their new range of lasagna,' he said in the Agency Partners interview, 'then I follow the brief and produce a picture of an Italian horse.'
