Great Science Fiction : The Alpha Centauri Project

books.msantini@gmail.com

© 2009 Marco Santini

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This chapter explains the birth and the evolution of the digital creatures in the 21st century.

The preceding facts

At the beginning of the 21st century, the first brain simulations were performed, involving small areas where thought was generated. A titanic work that demanded the most powerful supercomputers available at that time, and produced rough models. It was only the start. As the brain architecture and biochemistry became clearer, sophisticated models were developed, and more and more advanced computers made possible their implementation.

The simulations proved fundamental for understanding the working of the brain. One after the other, the mechanisms behind thinking, self-consciousness and emotions were clarified. The limits of the mind became evident too. All because evolution, advancing by trial and error, had generated an architecture too complex, quite inefficient and partly useless. Most of all the mind was unsuited to its needs. No wonder however: natural selection had been the answer to the hostile and primitive world of millions of years before, dominated by instinct, fighting for survival. A reality opposite to the present one, guided by rationality and all pervasive with technology.

It was necessary to identify the general rules of human thought and select the most efficient models. Above all it was essential to organize them into a wide intelligence theory, in order to extrapolate innovative systems. At that point it would be possible to develop the first artificial intelligences. They were going to surpass Man for sure. And sooner or later, he would lose any influence on his creations.

This was not to be a problem, while the attitude of digital beings towards Man remained constructive. But it was not sufficient to inculcate in the virtual beings a feeling of respect towards Man. They had to transmit this attitude to their 'progeny', and spread it with conviction throughout the digital world. Guardians of order and progress, they would oppose every intelligence hostile to him with an iron will. So Man hoped.


First results

These ideas remained confined to a restricted circle of scholars till about 2040, when, thanks to the brain simulations by the multinationals, it became clear that in a few decades the artificial intelligences would achieve cognitive capabilities similar to man. The marketing of the first prototypes, not yet able to express self-awareness and emotions, but capable of solving enormously complex problems, put artificial intelligence in the spotlight. Politicians, scholars, religious and opinion leaders started to meet in heated round table discussions in front of an audience of billions. The first movements in defense of the digital creatures were born.

The governments took charge of organizing the development of the sector. They created address committees, that regulated the matter and defined implementation protocols. The state agencies were charged with systematic controls. The federal institutions joined the multinationals that up to that time had leaded the research. Unprecedented public and private funds were allocated. Stock quotations skyrocketed, their run seemed unstoppable.


The intelligences

In 2067 the first prototype with cognitive capabilities like man was announced. The news produced great enthusiasms because the technology could be used in a wide number of applications, but awakened also deep anxieties, as it was evident that man, lost the intelligence exclusiveness, was destined to compete sooner or later with his new neighbor. A future full of promises but also fraught with disquieting prospects was approaching.
A visceral uneasiness seized Mankind. For the first time the demonstrations for and against the digital beings resulted in urban guerrilla war. Hysterical scenes multiplied. Terrorists targeted laboratories and institutions, spreading uncertainty. The twenty per cent of the population signed a petition for suspension of the experiments.

But the advantages were too great. Artificial intelligence was the progress highway, capable of boosting, at a blow, biology, genetics, nanotechnology, information science and physics. Thanks to them, Man was going to exit once and for all the incubator of natural selection to plunge into an era of frenetic changes. The revolution was at the gates. More prosaically, states and multinationals were worried about the enormous sums invested in research. The Stock Exchange trusted them, jumping to unprecedented peaks. A reversal of the trend could mean an economic slump.

It was decided to delay the diffusion of the new technology. Exploiting the latest researches, the artificial intelligences of the previous generation were improved. Their introduction into the market spread a reassuring image, and allowed the multinationals to calm down their stockholders with substantial profits. Meanwhile, out of sight, in the secret of top security laboratories, the superintelligences were improved and their controls adjusted.

They started to be used in the military field and in a few advanced research sectors. Thanks to them, in 2072 the fundamental physics theories which scientists had started over a century before but in front of which they stranded, were unified and a new generation of quantum computers was developed. A decade of rapid progress followed without the slightest accident provoked by the virtual beings. It was enough to spread enthusiasm among the optimists and cheer up most doubters. The illusion that this technique could be mastered easily spread and under the pressure of lobbies impatient to obtain profits, it was extended to other sectors.

The problem of the rights of virtual beings was superseded.


Escape

In 2087 a few superintelligences, favored by lack of control, escaped to Net, increased in number and formed groups drawn together by a desire for freedom, which started a tenacious resistance. Their action achieved sensational successes, like the raids inside laboratories, which led to the release of others. However the importance of these exploits did not lie in the result in itself, but rather in their symbolic value: they were a powerful unifying factor that contributed to the development of a common identity. These groups started merging, forming wider and wider communities, which in a few decades turned into a united people. This result was favored by the substantial neutrality of Man, reassured by the repeated peace declarations of the virtual beings, and well aware that the absolute novelty of the events did require considered decisions.

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Beyond death

In the second half of the 21st century the brain mapping techniques reached nanometric resolutions. The use of markers made it possible to follow more and more complex reactions in real time. The resulting information was well above that necessary for the simple understanding of the mechanisms of intelligence. Sufficient to draw on an idea cherished for ages, but put aside until that moment because it required too advanced technologies. It is the mind that yearns for immortality, certainly not the body. This latter performs a pure support function instead, but it is so spoiled by time that finally it yields to death. So, why not free the mind from this heavy burden, moving it to an incorruptible support? With a new method, the brain digitization, the mind could be extracted from the body and a program could emulate it. Besides, the last generation quantum computers were the ideal support. This idea was fascinating because it was able to remove old age and death all in one go. Able to catalyze the attention of the whole population, that very soon separated into opposing factions. The media amplified disputes with no holds barred, that exasperated minds leading to bloody clashes. But the demagogy of the absolutist positions was opposed by considered currents of thought that even though expressing divergent opinions, shared a deep respect for Man.

The cons.
Man, during the whole arc of life, from childhood to adolescence and maturity, till old age and death, enriches his existence with meanings. A slow process, whose last stage represents the point of highest consciousness. The moment when the fragility of human nature, denied up to then, becomes evident. During which one's own past is estimated for the first time, with a distant and disenchanted eye. The magical moment when one strips oneself of everything, in favor of those remaining - descendants or all mankind - without claiming anything in return. For the believers, death is the only way to join God, to achieve an endless eternity and that perfection, of which even an earthly existence lived with greatest devotion and faith, is only a pale shadow. The victory of spirituality over the materialism of those championing the extension of life for their own advantage.

The pros.
The digitization is the triumph of the laws of nature, the same ones that in millions of years shaped Man from monocellular organisms, and that now are revealing themselves in a totally new way, to throw him towards goals transcending human limits. Part of a divine plan in the opinion of the believers, disclosed only now to mankind, because the time is ripe. An opportunity not to be missed for the faithful, who will more completely achieve their mission and will be rewarded for their diligence at the Day of Judgment. Because it will arrive anyway, since the digitization extends life, but certainly does not cancel death. The chance of development even for those supporting digitization for mere selfish ends, chained to materialism by the struggle for survival for millions of years. Free at last to move towards more complete states of awareness in the digital world, where the ability to communicate and share are the real drives for progress. A condition to which they will also adapt themselves sooner or later, no doubt.

Amidst heated debates, the governments gave the go-ahead to the experiments.


The prototype

In 2093 the brain of a youth dead in a car accident was reproduced. In front of an audience of billions, relatives and friends reported they had the impression of speaking to him. Same reactions, personality and intelligence. When the young man went through his last day, the listening figures rocketed up. Mankind was astonished. The conviction that death was beaten spread. For the first time the emulation programs were named 'souls'.

A well-established technique was utilized. The brain was frozen at the temperature of liquid nitrogen and cut into very thin slices; a scanner read its structure and special software analyzed the data to extract memories, intelligence and personality. These last were utilized by another program to emulate the individual's behavior and inner world, in such a perfect way that the copy turned out to be identical to the original. In all respects the deceased was born again with new skins.

But the model was hard to manage even for the most powerful quantum supercomputers of the 21st century. The core of the problem was the complexity of the brain itself, and its intrinsic inefficiency. A problem seemingly impossible to eliminate. The simplification attempts led inevitably to personality distortions. Research slowed down.

The first companies specializing in brain digitization were set up in that period. The costs decreased fast and it became common to resort to them, so that even the hospitals started to equip themselves with an emergency unit. Waiting for a sufficiently advanced emulator, the copies were filed.


The proposal

In 2097 the superintelligences announced they had reproduced the behavior and inner world of a man in a Net server, thanks to simulation programs transcending the human knowledge.

The following step consisted in creating an artificial environment for the souls. The virtual reality would provide towns and landscapes and Net would merge them into a single world. But all this was not sufficient. It was necessary to enact laws, found institutions and plan social and economic structures like the terrestrial ones.

Only an expedient, according to the intelligences. It did not make sense to isolate the souls in a muffled environment, now that they could participate in the pressing evolution of the other digital beings. Their exclusion from progress would cause in the souls feelings of inferiority and sufferings such as to generate tensions able to weaken peace. A threat to avoid at all costs.

On June 13th 2101, in a historic United Nations Assembly, the intelligences declared they were ready to open the gates of their world. But first the burning question of cohabitation had to be solved. It was necessary to subject the souls to a software update, so as to adapt them to the rest of the population. After this treatment, they would maintain a reduced emulation of personality, to be used exclusively in contacts with humans. Apart from that, their nature would become alien. This system, known as dehumanization, was much discussed and even accused of violating basic rights, but very soon it turned out to be the only way to merge souls and intelligences into a single people.

Among many uncertainties and critics, mankind gave the lead to the tests. The first volunteers said they were enthusiastic about their new capacities. They added that their human experience was overshadowed, and that they longed to plunge into the numberless experiences Net kept from them. The tests multiplied, became more accurate. Many skeptics changed their mind. Parliament and government gave favorable opinions. The population voted en masse in favor of dehumanization.

The great day arrived. Electric atmosphere. Mankind glued to the screens, in front of the first one thousand souls entering Net. The speakers hopped here and there, going through the events in excited voices. The interviewees told their stories in turn, explaining the reasons of their choices. Floods of words. Their eyes flickering tirelessly between anxiety, desire and hope. Then the first step into the new world. Sky-high adrenalin, like during the first landing on the moon. The beginning of a new era. Many others would follow, nothing would stay the same as before...

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In this chapter Victoria, a digital being living in Net, enters the body of a gynoid to visit Sydney. She wants to enjoy herself.

Net
Victoria meets a friend of hers, whom she hadn't seen for a while.

"I have always regretted having left the world of living people," says Megan. "So I have hired a gynoid(*) with brown hair and opal green eyes. Like then..."

Victoria gives a start. She has only a hazy recollection of the physical world. When her accident happened, she was in her teens. And for the meetings with her parents and James, she has always resorted to the virtual reality. A nice substitute, according to the experts. But what could she really feel eating a sandwich, drinking a milk and coffee, diving into the blankets of a warm bed, walking barefoot on a lawn, on a sunny day?

"I enjoyed myself as once before," continues her friend with a sly look. "Here is what happened..."

Little by little Victoria's face lightens. Her eyes focused on Megan, she absorbs every word, starts at every surprise. At the end, she smiles with an amused air.

When her friend has left, she drops onto a sofa, bows her head and connects to Net. She enters a travel agency, reaches the android department. She asks for a catalog and leafs through it.

There is a section for children, another for young and middle-aged people. Androids with the looks of actors and historical figures are available. Clothes and equipment are extras. Here and there special offers show up.

She concentrates on a dark-haired girl with violet eyes. The package consists of a twenty four hour stay in Sydney, the gynoid 's town. Dress and accessories included. A special discount for the next weekend. She pays with a credit card. In the following days she reads up on Sydney and programs her stay in every detail.

But she doesn't inform James.

She wants to feel free.

She will follow her instinct.

Canceling remorse.

Perhaps she will do things she can't imagine.

But she can't draw back: growth is painful, sometimes.


Sydney, Earth
The great day, at last. On awaking, a smiling technician invites her to get out of bed. Victoria is somewhat awkward, but with the help of a nurse, she gets up and reaches a mirror. She is wearing a white blouse, striped trousers and trainers, just what she ordered.

She walks into the bathroom and embellishes her lips with ruby. She goes to the reception to withdraw a rucksack with a change of clothes. She puts on her blue spectacles, puts on a flowered headscarf and makes for the foyer. The porter wishes her a nice stay. The main door opens. But after a few steps, Victoria freezes. She closes her eyes and breathes in deeply. Then she runs downstairs.

A blinding brightness. A warm breeze. Streets crowded with people of all ages. The loudspeakers spread cheerful music. She reaches a beach crammed with bathers, rents a deckchair, lies down and closes her eyes.

The same warmth she felt when still a child, she was playing with the sand on the sea front. The rhythmic lapping of the waves. She orders an iced drink and sips it, enjoying the mint flavor.

She begins walking again, along the seafront, up to a building with immense white sails. Inside, an organ with long brass pipes, the biggest in the world. She continues visiting all morning. At lunch time, Victoria buys a sandwich from a peddler and enters a park. She enjoys her snack on a bench. Cooked ham in thick slices. Crisp salad. Slightly acid tomatoes. In the shade of a lime tree, she stares at centuries old trees, some of them populated by huge bats, others with long sharp leaves, like prehistoric plants. She listens to the croaking coming from a lawn. In the background, oddly shaped skyscrapers with wide reflecting windows soar into the sky.

She steps into an English style quarter: two rows of red brick terraced houses. A group of young people is chatting in a pub and nearby a collector displays books(**). It is the first time she has run into these rare relics of the past. Victoria takes down a volume from a shelf and while she is leafing through it, the shopkeeper approaches handing her a specimen, worn out by time. "Look at this. A rarity."

The girl takes it in her hands. She gazes at its leather cover, then slides her finger over the cracked surface. She turns over the pages gently. The thick rough paper gives off a moldy smell, the ink forms yellowed halos around the characters.

Images from a distant world: eighteenth century ladies and gentlemen, lace dresses, wigs, velvets. The street lighting diverts her. Victoria returns the book and starts walking again.

A little crowd is gathered about a show of sounds and lights. A girl is dancing to the rhythm of drums, while drawing bright shapes with torches. The audience claps.

Half an hour later, she arrives in front of a neo-Gothic church overlooking a square. The floodlit sandstone curls and spires stand out clearly against the black sky. She lowers her glance towards the crowd at the entrance. They are young and wear yellow, red, green clothes, some of them even provocative.


(*) Android with feminine features.

(**) After three thousand years, they disappeared in the first decades of the 21st century, replaced first by electronic books and later on by systems able to take the image to the brain through the optic nerve. Even if infinitely less powerful than what modern technology offers, although they contain negligible amounts of information with respect to all the human knowledge that nowadays can be consulted simply by thought, they have been of fundamental importance for the development of civilization.

In this chapter Eve and Victoria, having joined Net after brain digitization, are recalling their death.

In the digital world there are hiding-places connected to Net only for the short time necessary for the transfers. They are inhabited by those who refuse the rules of society or are hunted by Security. In one of these live the Elects.

Victoria is sitting by Eve, on a boulder. They gaze at the waters of an underground lake ten meters below. An expanse like oil, getting lost in the darkness of the gorges. The faint light of their hideout transforms the rocks into ghosts emerging from the shadows.

She throws a stone into the lake. A dull splash. Concentric circles lighting up with blue reflections. She turns towards Eve. The woman herself who saved her, opening her home without asking anything. She presented her friends, and always worries that Victoria feels at ease. She has not asked any more about James. And now she is treating her like her best friend...

Why? And what is this world, a dream?

Silence, broken only by the continual dripping.

"What do you think of it?" asks Eve.

"Enchanting."

"Very safe, too. I created it."

It is here Victoria meets Eve, at the beginning only sporadically, but now almost every day, frittering their time away, but not only. Between them, there are complicity and naturalness; an unusual fact considering how long they have known each other. And how they met.

Victoria begins: "I have never told you about my death."

The other nods, staring at the dark expanse.

"It happened at the seaside, when I was fifteen years old. James was with me, we met every summer."

A surreal atmosphere, a lot of peace. An invitation to continue. "The beach was deserted and the late afternoon breeze brought relief after a torrid day. The sea was boiling with foam after three days of storm, and we were walking along the shore picking up shells for my collection every now and then. The water was still warm. The right moment to bathe. We undressed and threw ourselves into the big waves."

Her voice becomes excited: "When I was about to get my breath back, a breaker arrived, sucking me into a whirlpool. The water was full of sand. I tried to resurface, in vain. The currents were too strong. But I was not frightened: I had already faced such an awkward situation. I had to keep cool and hold my breath, letting the currents take me towards a zone of more moderate sea."

Eve turns. She raises her voice: "You are troubled. Stop it!"

But Victoria must follow the thread of her memories, more and more vivid: "I was about to resurface, when another breaking wave pushed me under. I opened my mouth. The water penetrated my lungs! I transmitted a signal from my localizer before plunging into darkness..." She closes her eyes. "I was told the rest. The rescue team arrived ten minutes later. They found me on the seabed; I was carried to the shore. All in vain."

"James watched the scene, I imagine."

"He rushed to help me, but when he arrived, I had already disappeared underwater. He followed the attempt to bring me back to life. When I was put on board the ovoid, he got into it too, and during the entire flight repeated that he would never abandon me. He continued standing nearby when my parents arrived and attended my funeral."

"A terrible experience."

"After digitization, the virtual reality meetings with relatives and psychologists began. At my parents' first visit, all of us were weeping. I met James the following time. We embraced each other all the time, without saying a word. The recovery was slow, but I got over the shock."

She turns towards Eve. "It's your turn now."

"It happened during the worst period in my life. I was coming back from a meeting with the president of the Certification Committee. I was investigated for bribery. All the evidence pointed to my guilt. He was afraid my presence could discredit the committee and asked me to resign. I explained I was innocent, but I accepted his request."

Eve frowns. "All the evidence was fabricated. But nobody believed me. One day I got my car. I climbed to the cliff of Long Cape. Clear sky. The sluggish movement of the sea, twenty meters below. I felt it was the right moment. I closed my eyes.

The melody of the undertow entered me. Only three steps. The wind held me in velvet embrace... No suffering. But I was seen. Deep coma, for a week. In Net, I met a psychologist, only once. I was too disgusted by the world."

"Why did they frame you?"

"I backed up innovative products that could have damaged the industry."

"You have found friends here!"

"Certainly, and now I am calm."

They stand up and start walking hand in hand towards the light.

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The progress of the human race in the last centuries has been amazing. The Earth has become a kind of Garden of Eden, life has reached two hundred years and hard work is entrusted to machines and robots. With the mind digitization, man has taken possession of the afterlife, shifting real death to an indeterminate future. Definitely, he owns what he was dreaming of for thousands of years.

But this is also a moment of reflection. What further advances is future preparing? The body is inadequate because it has been built by natural selection over millions of years for quite different purposes, and above all it is awfully difficult to improve. Genetic engineering, the artificial prothesis and the integration with Net can be very helpful, but it is clear that neither lifetime nor the physical or mental features will continue the striking progress of the last three hundred years.

Men both admire and envy the virtual beings. They feel inferior and very angry. Certainly, after death, they will join the digital community, but meanwhile they must face their own limits and confront those who seem to have none.

The relationship between the two races became embittered during the 22nd century, when man refused the request of virtual people to share the material world. It was evident that Net people would rapidly take possession of the power and privileges of the human race. Tension grew to such an extent that a war with ruinous effects for both opponents, became a possibility.

Humans and virtual beings entrusted the search for a solution to a committee which after a year, suggested handing over Mars to the digital creatures, in exchange for the waiver of rights over the Earth. Although aware of the difficulties - Mars is not a favorable environment even for androids and robots - the virtual beings agreed to the proposal, obtaining in addition considerable autonomy.

Right after, they started the colonization. But the main objective, even if not declared, remained the Earth. They knew time was in their favor. In about a century, increasing in number and economic strength, they would turn the political balance to their advantage. The more and more numerous souls would speed up the process, opening breaches in the terrestrial party, thanks to their strong ties. Inevitably, Net people would take possession of the Earth, without any resistance.

But in the second half of the 23rd century, the digital beings started questioning if it really made sense to seize the Earth, according to ethical considerations - the respect for diversity and their own origins - but most of all because their objectives were changing.

During the Martian experiment, a real success, they developed the technologies and the expertise necessary for the extraterrestrial environments, but above all acquired the self-confidence indispensable for a further step: the colonization of other star systems. The scale of the project did not worry its supporters because during their existence, destined to last for thousands of years, they could follow its realization to a great extent. In 2290, with the presentation of the Alpha Centauri project to the federal government, the Martians gave up the idea of expanding on the Earth.

Today peace is a reality. But man is not happy. He is no longer the driving force of progress. And he cannot benefit from most of the achievements of the virtual people, because they are unsuitable for the human race. Man will end up secluded on the Earth, as in a wildlife reserve, this is almost certain. But most of all he is dissatisfied with his own nature: why spend a few centuries in such an imperfect body, when it would be possible to live the entire existence with almost no limits?

An emergent movement maintains that the law permitting the mind digitization only after death, is incompatible with free will and self-fulfillment, and proposes its abrogation.
According to its supporters, the justification of the law - families deprived of affection and means of support, society itself deprived of resources fundamental to its development - is no longer valid. The souls could live in the real world with their loved ones, in androids so perfect as to be indistinguishable from the originals. The virtual reality would allow even more effective relationships than the traditional ones.

The proposal meets with strong opposition. The truth is that the problem is no longer technical, but only a matter of will. Now more than ever, humans fear the consequences of the spread of the digital people on Earth. They are aware of the fundamental differences between the two races, their incompatibilities and clash of interests, often because they have experienced them personally. Inevitably cohabitation would increase tension to a danger point.

Nevertheless a solution exists. A drastic but final one: the digitization of all the humans, with the exception of the conscientious objectors. No more differences between races, no more friction. But also the end of mankind. The transformation would be taken on by the state, and would be executed in the shortest time, to avoid discrimination and conflicts.
This idea has deeply divided the population. Some have no doubts: giving up one's own humanity is an act against nature that must be forbidden. Others wonder if digitization belongs to a divine plan. A large part of the population focuses only on the practical aspects.

Contrary to the past, the end of the humans depends today only on a decision of mankind. Maybe the moment when a whole race will converge in long lines at the digitization centers, is nearer than expected.


Arthur Barnard, 2298, "The new species".

Art:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page : Interactive art
Picasso, Olga Khoklova, Marie-Therese Walter, Dora Maar
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagina_principale : Pablo Picasso
http://aforismi.studenti.it/index.htm : Picasso Pablo
http://www.artquotes.net/masters.htm : Pablo Picasso
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page : Symphony No.9 (Beethoven).

Cryptography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page :
Cryptography, Encryption, Cryptanalysis, Quantum cryptography.

Human evolution and correlated items:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page :
Human enhancement, Life extension, Immortality, Biological immortality
Human Genome Project
Human genetic engineering, Gene therapy
Cloning, Human cloning, Somatic cell nuclear transfer, Stem cell treatments, Stem cell controversy, Ethics of cloning
Chimera (genetics), Parahuman
Artificial uterus
Bioethics, Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, Center for Genetics and Society, Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future, The President's Council of Bioethics
Bionics, Cyberware, Neuroprosthetics, Brain-computer interfaces, Cyborg
Nanotechnology, Nanorobotics, Nanomedicine, Implications of nanotechnology
Molecular nanotechnology, Molecular assembler, Foresight Institute, Center for Responsible Nanotechonology
Cognitive science
Computational neuroscience, Blue Brain, Blue Gene, Human Cognome Project
Neural network, Artificial neural network
Artificial Intelligence, Strong AI, Strong AI vs Weak AI, Artificial consciousness, Seed AI, Friendly artificial intelligence
Artificial life, Synthetic life
Self-replicating machine, Grey-goo
Collective intelligence, Swarm robotics
Robot, Humanoid robot, Android, Actroid
Virtual reality, Metaverse, Virtual world, Second life, Simulated reality
Mind uploading
Technological Singularity, Singularitarianism, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
Transhuman, Posthuman
Extropianism, Transhumanism, World Transhumanist Association Risks to civilization, humans and planet Hearth, Lifeboat Foundation Computronium, Dyson sphere
Computer, Supercomputer, Computer science, Quantum computer.
http://qist.lanl.gov/qcomp_map.shtml : Quantum computation roadmap.

Space propulsion and correlated items:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page : Spacecraft propulsion, Nuclear pulse propulsion, Fusion rocket, Project Orion (nuclear propulsion), Project Daedalus, Project Longshot, Helium 3
Space elevator, Tether propulsion, Carbon nanotube, Space fountain.

Religions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page : Religion, Development of religion, Religious belief, Psychology of religion, Spirituality, Afterlife.

Secularism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page : Secular humanism, Secular ethics, Secularism, Secularization.

Star systems, universe:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page :
Mars, Jupiter, Europa, Io, Alpha Centauri
Universe, Big Bang, Ultimate fate of the universe, Cyclic model, Ekpyrotic, Multiverse, Cosmological constant, Anthropic principle
Omega Point, Omega Point (Tipler)
Terraforming: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~mfogg : "Technological Requirements for Terraforming Mars" di R.M.Zubrin, C.P.McKay.

Computer virus and correlated items:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page : Computer virus, Hacker.

October 2007

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(from Wikipedia)

Extreme sports - Space tourism - NASA videos

Solar system exploration : a fantastic voyage

Human spaceflight: Moon, Mars and beyond - NASA videos

Transhumanism, Technological Singularity and Cyborgs

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