[ExI] reconsidering the Orion's Arm timeline...

[Keith Henson]

On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 8:22 PM, John Grigg <possiblepaths2050 at gmail.com> wrote:
> I think the timeline of OA is in some ways far too dragged out and that it
> could be condensed down to two or even just one millennia.  I find the
> description of general progress and tech advancement within the c. 2100 -
> 2400 c.e. "interplanetary era" to be ridiculously slow. And I find it funny
> that the "nanotech era" of the "backyarders" comes roughly a dang half
> millennia from now! LOL
>
> http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html
>
> http://www.orionsarm.com/timeline.html
>
> Has anyone ever tried to create an alternate OA timeline along the lines of
> what I envision?

The future is collapsing into the present.

When AC Clarke wrote Against the Fall of Night he had the construction
of AIs (the Mad Mind, Vanamonde) billions of years into the future.
The reality is that he darn near lived long enough to see them.

The only thing that drags out future timelines is the distances
between stars, assuming there is not some way around the speed of
light.  Also assuming humans level the earth at all, something I kind
of doubt now.

My personal view of the future has changed repeatedly.  It could
change again I suppose.

Right now I don't think there will be any physical state humans left
by the end of this century.

This is my attempt on humans being seduced into cyberspace in a short story.

http://www.terasemjournals.org/GN0202/henson.html

(for those who have not read it already.)

Keith