FAQ

Why narrative scenes?
Writing ideas down as explanations is quite fun. Reading them is eye-clawingly horrid. Expository essays on the future could bore a monotone, socially maladjusted PHD in physics to tears. Also, narrative scenes require more thought than a simple puking of details. Telling me about flying cars is boring, but creating a scene in which the characters interact with the flying car and experience flight is pretty cool.

Are these stories science fiction?
Yes and no. It is more or less science fiction, but I'm gunning for something a bit more focused.

Why not call it science fiction?
I love sci-fi in all of its various genres, but feel the true effort of sci-fi is to break down our current walls and introduce concepts that aren't always attainable. Especially in time frames in which we aren't going to make the advances necessary for certain marvels of human engineering and chemistry.

As a result, I prefer terms like 'futurisms' or 'future artifacts' and certainly 'narrative scenes' as I think we benefit more from focusing on hard scientific speculation, acting like archaeologists to try to peel the future back a layer at a time.

Some scenes are brilliant works of effort that miraculously identify a new dig site. Most of the scenes will be delicate brush strokes removing a few grains here and there, not unlike the sculptorist who claims to take a block of stone and carve away everything that doesn't belong in the piece. As a result, no effort is too small. Everything can help flesh out what might happen in the future. Even pieces you don't agree with are still valuable because they help you identify what might not happen in the future.

Should every scene be limited to hard science? How far can we go?
Every author should consider what is necessary to make the scene plausible. We should certainly consider every characteristic of the story. For example: Writing a scene that includes a spaceship with faster-than-light technology isn't too far fetched, though many scientists consider it to be physically impossible. How close in the future could we achieve FTL space flight? Star Trek has it happen in 2063. It is plausible we could make such a breakthrough by then, but that is far from the only breakthrough we need to survive in space. Consider:

Building ships: what technological advancements and how much money would be required?
Skeletal breakdown in zero gravity: some scientists don't believe we will ever be able to survive in space - so when do we discover artificial gravity?
Force fields: moving at speed through the debris in space is going to chew holes in your hull, what do we use for shields?

For something to be plausible, we have to consider the scenario from a holistic approach to science. It takes more than an active imagination to make something believable, you also have to apply logic and consider all of our needs to sustain whatever you are presenting.

What platform is used for Regarding Tomorrow?
Regarding Tomorrow is currently running on Drupal 7 with the Mayo theme.
Some of the key modules used for the site include: