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"Modern science fiction is the only form of literature that consistently considers the nature of the changes that face us, the possible consequences, and the possible solutions."
- Isaac Asimov
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| Virtual Childrearing | ||
| Learn childcare the virtual way; maybe long distance childcare, too. |
Did you ever have the feeling that game design was in too few hands? Consider this possibility.
In this passage, Gaia and her friends are sharing a virtual reality space from widely separated locations. The narrator, her husband, is watching her in the real world, in their needle-gym.
| Naturally, I couldn't see or hear Gaia's companions --presumably other women
gatherers in the same simulated tribe she had been visiting since years before
we met. She stopped again, listening, then turned around. "It's your baby,
Flower. That's okay, I'll take care of him." She laughed. "I need the practice."
I watched her gently pick up an invisible child. Her body suit tugged and contracted, mimicking a wriggly weight in her arms. Awkwardly, Gala cooed at an infant who dwelled only in a world of software, and her mind. I crept away to take a shower, at once ashamed of spying and glad that I had. |
| Technovelgy from Natulife,
by David Brin. Published by Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1994 Additional resources -
|
In reading this, it's clear that Gaia can get practice in caring for this baby in a virtual environment. But is this virtual baby the avatar of a real child, whose virtual reality suit is now feeding back Gaia's care to him or her?
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Natulife
More Ideas
and Technology by David Brin
Tech news articles related to Natulife
Tech news articles related to works by David Brin
Virtual Childrearing-related
news articles:
- Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'?
| Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars? |
| 'They Erased My Memory' Says Ariana Grande |
| 'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks |
| Musk Proposes Sites For Martian Cities |
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Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
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'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
