 |
| In the Ekcolir Reality. The Asimov Replicoid is taken into the AR simulation. Original cover art by Hans Wessolowski. |
Models
In the context of virtual reality, "simulation" usually means computer simulation. Before the first electronic computers were available, engineers and scientists often made scaled models of physical systems. For example, wind tunnel tests of airfoil designs could be used to explore wing shapes that provide the most lift and least resistance. Eventually, digital electronic computers were powerful enough to computationally simulate the physical process of a solid body moving through a liquid or a gas.
 |
| The virtual reality age. |
For working engineers and scientists, a computer model of a part of physical reality is a tool, like a graduated cylinder for measuring volumes of liquid or a balance for measuring weight. However, back in the 1940s, people like Alan Turing began to imagine that in the future computers would become powerful enough to generate simulations of reality that people would not be able to distinguish from reality. In a "Turing Test", a digital computer is programmed to create sentences and simulate a human being participating in a conversation with a human test subject. The human test subject reads the text generated by the computer and tries to decide if they are conversing with another real person or a computer.
 |
| F-15 cockpit flight simulator (NASA) |
By the late 1980s, high-resolution color computer displays were being used as components of flight simulators. It did not take much imagination to foresee a future in which immersive virtual reality environments might allow a person to experience a "virtual" computer-simulated world.
 |
| Star Trek holodeck. |
 |
| Wearable computer display technology |
I'm particularly interested in the use of virtual reality for education. We are now in the era of "big data" and we need better tools for helping us navigate through our exponentially growing archives of accumulated knowledge.
 |
| In the Ekcolir Reality Original cover art by Lawrence Stevens |
Imagine that 2 billion years ago, an advanced artificial life form (the pek) first visited Earth. The pek were sophisticated users of nanotechnology. They impregnated Earth with zeptites, tiny devices that are composed of particles of sedronic matter. With time, humans evolved as composite beings, part biological and part zeptite endosymbiont.
One of the features of our zeptite endosymbionts is that they constantly monitor and record our thoughts. As told in the Exode Saga, R. Gohrlay and her tribe of positronic robots created replicoid technology. R. Gohrlay was never able to master sedron-based technology, but she was an expert in making use of hierions, particularly in the form of femtobots. A replicoid is a simulated human being, composed of femtobots and provided with a complete functioning mind that essentially duplicates the memories and thought processes of a person.
 |
| artificial life |
The Asimov Reality
The Asimov Reality was a "disposable Reality" in which the Rules of Intervention were relaxed as part of the Trysta Truce. Yōd suspects that there was an effort to "cover up" some of the events that took place in the Asimov Reality.
 |
| Sedronites |
Special thanks to Miranda Hedman (www.mirish.deviantart.com) for the DeviantArt stock photograph "Black Cat 9 - stock" that I used to create the blue "sedronite" who is in the image shown to the left.
Condaptriol
 |
| Condaptriol: future science in the Alastor Cluster |
Eternity
 |
| Original cover art by Philippe Bouchet. |
According to Yōd, it was Lili and Nivsaham who came up with the idea of equipping the Asimov Replicoid with Grean nanites and using him to unlock the AR simulation. Zeta believes that Many Sails also playing a role, making sure that the tryp'At Overseers don't block distribution of the information that Asimov's replicoid retrieves from the AR simulation.
Next: the Overseers of Earth
 |
| visit the Gallery of Book and Magazine Covers |
No comments:
Post a Comment