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<>_<>FANTASIES WHICH CAME TRUE<>_<>

 

Everett Colection Sci-fi is not just fantasy anymore. Thanks to rapidly-improving technology, yesterday's science fiction is today's science fact. Here are just some sci-fi stories that turned out to be true...

Nick Pope worked for the UK Ministry of Defense for 21 years and now works as a broadcaster and journalist specializing in subjects that include sci-fi and fringe science.

Rocket Ships

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Jules Verne made history with his 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon, one of the earliest examples of modern science fiction. Not only that, his futuristic predictions were surprisingly accurate, covering lunar modules, solar sails, and humans landing on the moon — over 100 years before that "one small step for a man" became a reality.

Satellites

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Sci-fi legend Arthur C. Clarke once said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Imagine then, if you will, a man who has to power to make his voice heard all over the world at once. Magic... or just communications satellites? A full decade before their development, Clarke wrote about communications satellites in Wireless World.

Submarines

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When Verne's book 20,000 Leagues under the Sea was published in 1870, submarine technology had been around for at least one hundred years. Subs were used with more or less (though mostly less) success during the Civil War, but inventors couldn't figure out how to use anything but manpower to get them going. Verne's Nautilus was inspired; in many ways it sounded like a modern ballistic missile submarine with an independent propulsion system. And that's not all Verne predicted: Captain Nemo's portable diving system foreshadowed scuba diving.

Waterbeds

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They may not be quite as glamorous as robots or death rays, but bizarrely, waterbeds were actually first described in Robert Heinlein's 1961 sci-fi novel Stranger in a Strange Land. He said in Expanded Universe that the idea was "an attempt to design the perfect hospital bed by one who had spent too damn much time in hospital beds." The first modern commercial waterbed wasn't created for another seven years.

Invisibility

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H. G. Wells' 1897 novella The Invisible Man was the first of many sci-fi stories to feature invisibility. In real life, we now have stealth aircraft — which are invisible to radar — and metamaterial cloaking, a substance that is able to bend parts of the light spectrum around itself and therefore remain invisible to the naked eye. Because of the military applications, the true extent of advances here is unknown and probably highly classified. Rumors persist that invisible tanks are possible in a literal sense and not just due to the so-called e-camouflage that has become public knowledge.

Flying Cars

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The flying car is another sci-fi staple. From James Bond to the Jetsons, it's cropped up all over the place. Now, however, the fantasy has become a reality. The Terrafugia Transition Roadable Aircraft is a due to be the first commercially available flying car — expected retail price: $279,000. From car to plane and back to car, all with the flip of a switch, this is the ultimate executive toy.

Aliens

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While the idea of "cosmic pluralism" has been around for centuries, aliens in the modern sense didn't crop up until the late 1800s. H.G. Wells' 1898 novel The War of the Worlds depicts a terrifying time, although, in the end, the invading Martians were wiped out by Earthly bacteria. Today, radio astronomers listen for signals from other civilisations and NASA plans missions to Mars or Europa. NASA even takes precautions to avoid the danger of extraterrestrial microbes reaching Earth, as astronauts and lunar samples were quarantined after the first moon missions.

Cell Phones And Bluetooth

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"Kirk to Enterprise; come in Enterprise" — wait a minute, isn't he talking into a Bluetooth device? Well, yes, he is! Star Trek communication devices operate much like some modern cellphones, though the fictional ones are able to do intergalactic roaming. Little did kids playing at being James T. Kirk realize that one day they'd be communicating just like him...

Ray Guns

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Heat, death and many other kinds of ray guns are sci-fi staples. An early example is the Heat-Ray used by the invading Martians War of the Worlds, but you can hardly pick up pulp sci-fi without coming across some kind of ray gun. Now, some military lasers are capable of knocking out missiles. Non-lethal sonic guns, such as the Long Range Acoustic Device, will be used by soldiers protecting the 2012 Olympic Games.

Robots

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Karel apek's 1920 play Rossum's Universal Robots introduced the world to the idea of automata, or artificial people, and coined the word "robot." In the play, the robots destroy humanity as we know it. This final detail has, thankfully, remained untrue, but it is undeniable that robots are a part of the modern world — from the Roomba that vacuums your carpet to the next generation of unmanned military aircraft such as BAE's Taranis. One of the most lifelike humanoid robots is dubbed ASIMO, in homage to author Isaac Asimov, who devised the Three Laws of Robotics.

Space Travel

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Space tourism is an excellent example of how science fiction is becoming science fact. It was featured in the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey as well as other, lesser-known stories; now, fee-paying passengers can travel to the International Space Station. An increasing number of private companies are taking bookings for sub-orbital and orbital spaceflights. In the longer term, hotels in space and even visits to the moon are planned.

Asteroid Apocalypse

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A few years ago, nobody worried about asteroids. Sure, maybe a big one wiped out the dinosaurs, but that was millions of years ago and Armageddon and Deep Impact are just sci-fi disaster movies, right? Perhaps not. NASA is now taking the threat from "Near Earth Objects" much more seriously these days, compiling data about potentially hazardous asteroids, or PHAs. Several observatories actually specialize in trying to track such objects. NASA's current count of space rocks capable of ending life as we know it is about 5,000.

Test Tube Babies and Genetic Engineering

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Aldous Huxley's classic 1932 sci-fi novel Brave New World spookily predicted, in many ways, the world in which we now live. Huxley hit the nail on the head when it comes to genetic engineering: test tube babies, cloning, genetic manipulation, and even designer children are all part of our modern society. But it goes deeper than that. Brave New World also features a throw-away consumerist society and a feel-good drug called soma - which has similarities to many modern anti-depressants.

Touchscreen Tablets

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iPads, e-readers, and touchscreen phones are found not only throughout science fiction but throughout our actual lives. In the late 1960s, members of the starship Enterprise used a PADD (personal access display device) to bring their computer with them. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the actual guide used in the books) sounds an awful lot like an iPad with truly universal wi-fi access. And remember Tom Cruise waving his arms around in Minority Report? Just another example of how science fiction anticipated today's most popular gadget.

Surveillance

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Though not written as a sci-fi story as such, many elements of George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 (published in 1949) seem strangely prophetic. In the post 9/11-era, Big Brother is really watching you. In 2009, there was roughly one closed circuit camera for every 14 Britons. Internet cookies and beacons make it possible for companies to store information about your online habits — often without your knowledge or consent. But if you'd rather not believe the truth, just listen to the nightly news. Government spin doctors -- another prediction from 1984 -- are hard at work ensuring you know that "war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength."

 

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