Fitton's Top 10 Gizmos, Gimmicks, and Possibilities in Science Fiction

Open window (A) and fly kite (B). String (C) lifts small door (D) allowing moths (E) to escape and eat red flannel shirt (F). As weight of shirt becomes less, shoe (G) steps on switch (H) which heats electric iron (I) and burns hole in pants (J). Smoke (K) enters hole in tree (L), smoking out opossum (M) which jumps into basket (N), pulling rope (O) and lifting cage (P), allowing woodpecker (Q) to chew wood from pencil (R), exposing lead. Emergency knife (S) is always handy in case opossum or the woodpecker gets sick and can't work.
Ever wonder if Science Fiction relies too much on the glitz and pizzazz of far-out technologies? Do we read and watch sci-fi just to be transported into other worlds and realms? Maybe we are kids at heart, amazed by the wonder of it all. Are we struck by visions of new worlds or do we desire to be insulated from nature's harshness by exotic devices? Let's raise the curtain above a stage of gizmos, gimmicks, and possibilities in science fiction.

# 10
Ageless Beings

Boring (not Dick Clark) but just how boring would it get living perpetually on planet Earth or anywhere in the galaxy? You'd say: Been there. Done that. Yawn. Yawn.
Keeping perky in a life span depends on the individual's Moxie. A clever being might find an infinite arrays of possibilities, but still possess frailties. That's where plots gets interesting, but sorry- it goes on forever ...

Cybernetic Immortality
Star Trek: "Requiem for Methuselah"
Immortality News
Extra Terrestrial Migration - Gene Engineering
Twilight Zone: "Long Live Walter Jameson"

# 9
Aliens

Aliens are inherently human. Think about it. As much as writers strive to craft outer world societies and rework extraterrestrial facades, human qualities surface. Maybe other forms of intelligent life must possess certain societal standards and interactions in order to exist as successful intergalactic races. Or maybe they're so different we wouldn't have the slightest idea what they are all about.

Alien Encyclopedia / Alien Encounters
Alien Writings? (pdf)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Contact
Alien Classifications

# 8
Grandiose Power Sources

A battery to power your car or a city? How many futuristic societies would fold without massive power capacities? Think about the implications if the output of a nuclear power plant was crammed into the copper top battery. Don't start buying Duracell stock just yet. There are many possibilities for unlimited power generation.

Where is all the Anti-Matter?
Fuel cells 2000
Warp engines
Anti-Matter Brief

# 7
Cyborgs and Robots

The use or misuse of higher technologies against humanity crosses many themes. I was not convinced after first viewing The Terminator that Arnold isn't of cyborg nature. I sense the same fear I had when I was a kid and watched a black and white Boris Karloff as Frankenstein. On the flip side C-3P0 and R2D2 counter the Frankenstein /Schwarzenegger syndrome with a soft shoe comedy. After the end of Terminator I enjoy pushing the remote to the warm and fuzzy- The Six Million Dollar Man series, based on Cyborg by Martin Caidin.

The Ethics of of the Cyborg
Android World
Humanoid Robots
Waldo and Magic, Inc. by Robert A. Heinlein
Cyborg by Martin Caidin

# 6
Anti-Gravity-Artificial Gravity

Up, up and away. I've always wanted to float above the oceans and continents for a few hours and then stroll back into the spacecraft. Of course as money is sometimes no object, gravity is no problem. Put on the anti-grav boots or flip on the gravity switch. Better yet, I'd like to walk out in my front yard and use my anti-gravity pack to glide above the treetops. For sci-fi readers, the expectations are limitless.

Explanations
Rise and Fall of the Anti-Gravity Machine

# 5
Alternate Dimensions

In the adjacent village to my town is a hallway. A set of mirrors face each other midway down the hall. I feel as if I am gazing into many dimensions when I look into this reflective tunnel. I'm tempted to step inside and climb the images into other universes. All around you and me are unseen dimensions. Physicists tell us there may be a dozen or more. We could even exist within them. For a writer the endless possibilities of these dimensions are truly astonishing.

Higher dimensions

# 4
The Ray Gun

Come on, admit it. You'd love to have one of these for back yard target practice. With all the talk of Star Wars defense technology, the idea of packing all that power in a little weapon in quite extraordinary. That's why I love science fiction. It is possible and unbelievable at the same time.

Star Wars Weapons

# 3
Faster than Light Travel

STOP!
Einstein says you cannot go faster than the speed of light. Ouch ... Paying attention to the physics is a requirement for scientific credibility, but have no fear. We all have imagination. There are tempting articles suggesting the possibility of faster than light travel and just as many cynics. My imagination switch is always flipped in the ON mode.

FTL
CNN Story
Good Resource
Warp Drive Systems
Warp Drive Theory
The Wang Experiment

# 2
Time Travel

My childhood scientific reference point for time travel was Mr. Peabody's Way Back Machine. ( or WABAC) Au revoir to my credibility. Although # 2 on my list, time travel is my favorite platform for science fiction. I never questioned Peabody's meddling and how he somehow rearranged time in the proper way- never mind that historical figures were whacky. The great thing about being back in time is that you can alter the future-foul it up or straighten it out ...

A Scientist's View of Time Travel
Back to the Future
Time Travel
Time Travel Glossary

# 1
The Dyson Sphere

A Dyson Sphere is certainly the ultimate technological achievement of an advanced civilization. Check out the technical stuff for in depth studies. For great stories: The Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon, written in 1937. Ringworld by Larry Niven is a classic. Ringed or surrounding a star system, the sphere allows the civilization to expand its possibilities.

Ringworld
Star Maker
Dyson Sphere
Technical stuff
Dyson Sphere

Gizmos and Gimmicks and Possibilities in Fitton Science Fiction Books: