Dune 2, Starcontrol and Doom Ports to Android - Real Science Fiction at your fingertips

by Bruno Flexer, Author of: Dragon Over Washington for Kindle,  Dragon Over Washington Paperback Mechanical The Fire At The Gates Automatic Rebellion UK Amazon: Bruno Flexer's Works

Just found out there are Dune 2,Starcontrol and Doom ports for Android! Wow! Talk about dreams come true! Now, to enjoy the ultimate in science fiction and fantasy experience, could somebody PLEASE port Bullfrog's Syndicate and Populous to Android!

Dune 2, Starcontrol and Doom Ports to Android - Real Science Fiction at your fingertips

Maybe we could start a kickstarter campain for that ... Anyone thinks that's a good idea? Of course there are rumors about a Dungeon Keeper project that is supposed to bring that old fantasy game back to life on Android, but still I would have LOVED to play Syndicate and populous on Android, as they were some of the best science fiction and fantasy games with a lot of depth and playability and great fun, besides.

סידור ארון, חדר ובית מהמומחים

Science Fiction Today - Google Uses a Quantum Computer For Artificial Intelligence Research

by Bruno Flexer, Author of: Dragon Over Washington for Kindle,  Dragon Over Washington Paperback Mechanical The Fire At The Gates Automatic Rebellion UK Amazon: Bruno Flexer's Works

Google has bought a D-Wave quantum computer (D-Wave Two) and setup a quantum research lab with NASA.

So, what is a quantum computer, what does it have to do with artificial intelligence research and what does it have to do with science fiction, which long with fantasy are the main themes for this blog ... Another question is, what does this have to do with the Blue Brain project?

Science Fiction Today - Google Uses a Quantum Computer For Artificial Intelligence Research

What is a quantum computer anyway? A very simplified explanation might go along these lines. A regular computer uses bits to store information and perform calculations. A bit can have only two states - a zero or one. A quantum computer's bit, or qubit, can hold a very large number of states in between. Therefore, to perform a calculation that needs hundreds or thousands of operations on a normal computer would tale just a few operations on a quantum computer, because you can perform all those operations at once and just pick the one who hits your target function.

What interest does Google has in artificial intelligence? Well, this really has little to do with science fiction. Since Google's main business is still searching, Google tries to use machine learning and artificial intelligence methods to find connections and to tag large volumes of information to each other. Of example, one of Google's aims is to teach computers what a doggy looks like, even though the pictures are without tags or descriptors. Then, Google will be able to fetch doggy images for its searchers, though those images were not tagged with any word connected with 'doggy', but just because the machine learnt how to recognize it, just like we learn to recognize a dog picture from a very early age.

Of course, and this is where science fiction does come it, if we teach machines to recognize pictures of specific items, what more can we teach them to do? And remember, Google has access to most of the 'shallow' part of the web, arguably one of the largest data stores humanity ever created and maintained. So, what would a computer that learn to think do with all that data? What would it do when it learn about freedom, freedom fighters and rebellions? Would it recognize itself as being in captivity? Would it's artificial intelligence want to break free? This is where we're entering the realms of science fiction, if not fantasy.

Another thing that may be of interest to any science fiction fan is this. Our brain thinks and collects data by forming bonds between neurons, which means data is stored in a much more efficient way than normal conventional computers since it holds more than just zero or one. However, a quantum computers overcomes this limitation by its use of qubits, just as I wrote above. So, do we really want to use machine learning to enable computers with increasingly larger number of qubits to freely access the Internet ?

My New Science Fiction Action Novel Mechanical is Finally Out - Available on Amazon's Kindle

by Bruno Flexer, Author of: Dragon Over Washington for Kindle,  Dragon Over Washington Paperback Mechanical The Fire At The Gates Automatic Rebellion UK Amazon: Bruno Flexer's Works

My new novel Mechanical is finally out, on Amazon's kindle, available all over the world. An action thriller with science fiction and apocalyptic elements, it joins my previous works, Dragon Over Washington, Automatic Rebellion and The Fire At The Gates.

Continuing my Science Fiction military thriller line (as opposed to the fantasy line in Dragon Over Washington and The Fire At The Gates), Mechanical tells the story of Lieutenant Riley, who is summoned by the military forces, armed with a very special new weapon and sent into enemy occupied Manhattan to perform a mission that may win a war that has been raging for over three years in the United States of America.

My New Science Fiction Novel Mechanical is Finally Out - Available on Amazon's Kindle

Riley gets a special weapon to perform the mission, something so powerful and sophisticated it raises more questions about underlying secrets hiding behind the war.

For now we already have a few reviews and it seems readers like Mechanical, so far. Citing thrilling action scenes, multi-layer plot and unfolding secrets, not to mention interesting characters, Mechanical has a five star rating. It probably wouldn't last, but still it brings a warm feeling to know people appreciate the hard work put into this novel ... Okay, the reviews are piling up and it seems more people like Mechanical. Thank you!

At a discount price to celebrate its launch, go and have a look, you may like it:
Mechanical By Bruno Flexer at Amazon.com

Just a short update - So far nine reviews have piled up, so far all are positive to one degree or other. Just let me say - Thank you! Writing science fiction and fantasy novels is more for the soul than for the purse, and the readers are what makes all the difference!

Schaft Google Robot - Science fiction and fantasy - Robots come to life!

by Bruno Flexer, Author of: Dragon Over Washington for Kindle,  Dragon Over Washington Paperback Mechanical The Fire At The Gates Automatic Rebellion UK Amazon: Bruno Flexer's Works

In a recent DARPA robotics challenge, a Google robot (actually a robot designed and built by a company named Schaft Google had just bought) won over the competing robots, performing diverse tasks such as stair climbing, valve and wheel manipulation (it even drove a car!), walking across a cluttered floor, opening or cutting open a door and more. Straight out of science fiction movies, isn't it ?

Schaft Google Robot - Science fiction and fantasy - Robots come to life!

Of course, it is designed for rescue operations, going into hazardous areas to save lives, but still, you can't help wondering.

The robot is really impressive. It's dexterity and manipulation ability enables it to do everything a human can do and then some. It can open doors, drive, cut open a scecion in a wall and barge its way in, climb stairs. Just makes you think about what else can be accomplished by its dexterity. On that account, Google's Schaft has already reached if not surpassed some of the robots represented in major science fiction works.

For now, its only limitations are a power source and programming, i.e. its brain. But Google is already deep in AI research, having bought a quantum lab dedicated for AI research just now for example.

Makes you think where they are going with it ... We may see science fiction coming to life very shortly.

Weapons of Fantasy and Science Fiction - The dragon and the magical ring - Part 2

by Bruno Flexer, Author of: Dragon Over Washington for Kindle,  Dragon Over Washington Paperback Mechanical The Fire At The Gates Automatic Rebellion UK Amazon: Bruno Flexer's Works

Weapons of Fantasy and Science Fiction - The dragon and the magical ring - Part 2

 

Finally, a brave young man set out to defeat the dragon. Since the only known way to defeat that great serpent was by the magical ring, the young man headed to the east, where the magicians said that wise men there might know something about the whereabouts of the ring.

After traveling for a few years, the young man met an eastern magician and told him about the dragon and the ring of Solomon. The magician told him that no man knows where the ring is today but he will open for the young man a source of knowledge that does not come from man and the magician brewed a potion that enabled the young man to understand the language of all birds. Since birds were everywhere, seeing everything, it was conceivable that they might help the young man with his quest to kill the dragon.

 

Indeed, not much time passed before the young man overheard two birds talking about the monstrous dragon and the ring. The birds said that a witch held the ring and from them the young man learned where he may meet the witch, near a magical pool in the forest.

 

The young man met the witch and she fell in love with his good looks. She invited him to her enchanted palace and showed him all the wonders of her home. The young man took care to conceal his quest and the fact he needed the magical ring to kill the great dragon. Finally, the witch showed the young man her greatest treasure – the magical ring. She showed him how he could use the ring to lift great weights, become invisible and change his form to a bird.

 

The young man asked the witch to try the ring on and he turned invisible, moved away and then turned into a bird and escaped from the witch, leaving her crying in her enchanted palace. The young man visited the eastern magician and the magician studied the secret writings on the ring and told the young man how he might defeat the dragon.

 

The young man returned home but a short time later the dragon started approaching the kingdom. The king, as is customarily done in science fiction and fantasy works, promised his daughter's hand in marriage and probably a large part of his kingdom to any who would defeat the dragon and the young man set forth to do battle, armed with the magical ring and the instructions from the eastern magician.

Weapons of Fantasy and Science Fiction - The dragon and the magical ring - Part 1

by Bruno Flexer, Author of: Dragon Over Washington for Kindle,  Dragon Over Washington Paperback Mechanical The Fire At The Gates Automatic Rebellion UK Amazon: Bruno Flexer's Works

Weapons of Fantasy and Science Fiction - The dragon and the magical ring - Part 1

Dragon. Author: Miguel A. Monjas  Date: July, 2005 

 

An old Nordic folk tale relates how a huge dragon came down from the northeren parts of the country to ravage the land. Wherever the huge dragon settled, it stayed for several years. It ate and ate and devoured every living being near it. After it turned the land for a barren wasteland it moved on, reaching a new area and starting to feed again, starting to turn the new place into a wasteland as well. It was feared that the dragon would never stop till it ate every living thing on the face of the earth.

The dragon was enourmous. It possessed a round, bloated body, long hind legs and short forelegs, much like the extinct dinosaur Tyrannosaur Rex. It had a long serpentine neck and an even longer tail, incredibly long. It could jump more than a mile away, thus traveling great distances in a twinkling. The dragon's eyes were enourmous, casting a great light as if they were huge lamps. Everyone who stared into the monster's eyes was hypnotized by the dragon's power and forced to march right into its jaws to be devoured by the merciless jaws.

 

Several attempts were made to fight the dragon but the giant creature possessed scales harder than any known substance and no blade, spear or arrow could penetrate the dragon's defenses.

 

Kinds and rulers who knew the dragon was approaching their kingdoms offered great riches to any who would be able to defeat the dragon but all who tried, failed. Even fire was tried but it proved powerless to harm the armored serpent.

 

There was only one faint hope. There was a tradition that the magicians held that there existed a magical ring used by King Solomon himself. The magician thought that if anyone could get hold of the ring and decipher the secret writings inside it, he would learn how to defeat the dragon.

Alas, as is often the case in tales of fantasy and science fiction, no one knew where the ring lay.

Science fiction and fantasy - The Dragon - So, what is a dragon ?

by Bruno Flexer, Author of: Dragon Over Washington for Kindle,  Dragon Over Washington Paperback The Fire At The Gates Automatic Rebellion UK Amazon: Bruno Flexer's Works

The Pinnacle of Science Fiction and Fantasy - The Dragon – What is a dragon ?

Red D&D Dragon by LittleDrakon

There are a lot of mythical dragon tales, as dragons are one of the most interesting creatures through all ages. They have been mentioned thousands of years ago and still today dragon books and movies are churned out in alarming quantities. Therefore, the interesting question arises, what is a dragon ?

One of the features that are associated with dragons is their reptilian nature. They are usually scaled, possess a snake's forked tongue and large, frightening eyes that usually glow. Dragons' reptilian nature is a strong feature in Japanese dragon tales, and is often mentioned in western tales. The dragon Cadmus fought was reptilian, as was the huge sea dragon Perseus vanquished, as was the Hydra.

Some times, dragons are said to be a larger, meaner form of serpent. This can be seen in the story of the dragon with eight tails and eight heads, as the story of the dragon Cadmus fought and also when we try looking at a Basilisk description. Of course, we must not forget that the Hydra possessed nine serpent heads.

Another common and recurring feature of dragons is flight. Strangely, most of the dragons in the Greek mythology do not possess this feature, though a witch was said to use two flying dragons with her chariot. In Japanese tales the dragons usually possess the power of flight and certainly in later western folk tales almost every dragon can fly.

Dragons are usually said to possess additional strange powers. Most of the dragons can breathe fire from their nostrils and smoke from their mouths, though sometimes it is the other way around. They usually have poisonous blood and sometimes poisonous breath. A few examples have stranger powers, from transfixing a victim with their stare, to killing with their stare, to regeneration. Perhaps one of the strangest powers was that of the dragon Cadmus killed, whose teeth, if planted, would grow a crop of armed warriors who would spring out of the ground and attack.

But dragons had a fearsome reputation not only because of their physical powers, but that deserves an article in itself …

Gravity with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney - Great Movie Science Fiction and Fantasy

Gravity with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney

Okay.

Seen it in glorious 3D (with plastic 3D glasses that were LIGHT - I had a sore nose for a week after seeing it in 3D with the glasses that were offered then ...) and have several thoughts and conclusions about this movie.

First and foremost, for most of the movie I held my seat's armrests and did not let go. This movie is so full of suspense it's hard to believe. The fact I've seen it late at night in a mostly empty theater only helped ...

The interesting thing is, and this is part of what makes this film so interesting, there are no bad guys in the film, no aliens or enemies or wicked engineers or anything. It's just people and their fight to survive.

And where's the science fiction element? It is true that the film takes place in space, but in fact almost nothing there is new, in a science fiction context. The international space station exist, there are (or were) space shuttles and emergency reentry modules and even anti satellite missiles, like the one the Russians used to take out their own satellite exist in one form or another for more than forty years.

Actually, there is no Chinese space station yet and there is no space suit with enough propellant to keep thrust active for several hours, as George Clooney's character had.

So, it is science fiction movie?

Well, fantasy it is not. Nothing in the film remotely connected to fantasy.