Movie Review: "Interstellar"

Last night, my fiancée & I watched "Interstellar". Admittedly, I pick space movies to watch a lot, so she wasn't too thrilled at first about watching it. However, we both really liked it & spurred conversation today about black holes, the nature of space-time, higher dimensions, relativity, space travel, and cosmic consciousness.

I found myself kind of internally criticizing some of the movie's more scientifically far-fetched scenarios, but it's just sci-fi & entertainment, after all. Despite the fictional nature of the story, it was full of questions & possibilities for real science.

Space.com:

The Science of 'Interstellar': Black Holes, Wormholes and Space Travel

"Interstellar" actually helped spur scientific research, through the process of creating accurate visual effects to simulate approaching a black hole. Interestingly enough, simulating black holes with computer graphics was the topic of my last blog post.

Besides the scientifically-inspired attempts at accuracy, the visuals in the movie had a transcendental effect similar to those of "2001: A Space Odyssey".

The interstellar craft approaching the black hole, "Gargantua".

The story takes place in an unspecified time in the near-future, when the population of Earth is facing a blight that is destroying crops. In a time of global famine and planetary depletion, NASA makes finding another world to inhabit a top priority.

The main character, Cooper, is a pilot who is recruited to travel through a known "wormhole" in space-time near Saturn. The wormhole leads to another galaxy, and appears to have been created by an advance collection of intelligent beings. Astronauts had been previously sent through the inter-dimensional tunnel to find inhabitable worlds in this new galaxy, and Cooper was chosen to join a crew to follow up on these missing scouts.

Cooper leaves both his daughter "Murph" & his son Tom behind, sacrificing his relationship with them to save them and the rest of the species. The familial connection between Cooper & his daughter is the driving force of the movie. Due to relativistic effects of traveling near the speed of light & entering powerful gravity wells around distant stars, there is a experienced time differential. Cooper ages at a rate much slower than his daughter, and also enter hibernation for periods of his journey. They can communicate through some kind of quantum data feed I believe, that allows the ship to receive messages, but they cannot send any back to Earth.

The film explores many of the effects that physical and cosmic forces would have on various modes of space exploration. The strange effects of the theory of relativity are fundamental elements of the story & visual effects.

Although the exotic physics concepts were enough to make "Interstellar" interesting, it then went into an almost metaphysical level. Without giving too much away, the movie shifted into a mind-blowing vision of higher-dimensional space, where time is no longer seen as a linear. It appeared as an almost spacial quality, where all space & time can be seen as an interconnected terrain that can be navigated like our familiar 3D experience.

The ability to enter this dimension, where all space & time exist, leads to a narrative loop that the main characters find themselves in. It turns out that humanity's destiny may be an existence as multi-dimensional energy beings. Cooper's encounter with this mode of reality ends up being the reason he gets there in the first place- leading to a circular causality that is reminiscent of the "grandfather paradox" in time travel.

"Interstellar" was a long film, (especially with Comcast's bullshit commercials, throughout an OnDemand movie) but it was well-worth watching. Yeah, some of it was pretty ridiculous, but it was really thought-provoking and visually stunning. Especially if you are interested in space travel, physics, cosmology, the idea of higher dimensions... or just enjoy a beautiful, mind-bending film, I definitely recommend this movie.

Official Monkey Buddha Rating: 8.5

Movie Review: "Gravity"

This weekend, I went to see the movie "Gravity" in 3D.

I saw the trailer for the movie & read the rave reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. I love anything related to outer space, so I definitely wanted to see it. I'm glad that I did, because it was an awesome movie that's as close as most of us will ever get to the experience of being an astronaut. Basically, the story follows Bullock's character, as she is separated from the space shuttle and must keep finding her way to temporary safety while in space.

From the very beginning, the cinematography is amazing. The movie opens with a beautiful vista of our home planet, Earth, that fills the movie screen. A white speck comes into view orbiting the planet, that slowly pans into the space shuttle on which the astronauts, played by Sandra Bullock & George Clooney, are working. This beautifully gradual zoom is the first scene in a movie full of awesome camera work, effects, & editing, The scenes alternately go between the wide, empty vacuousness of outer space, & the up-close, personal situations of the astronauts. There are points where you even get a 1st person view from Sandra Bullock's perspective, such as looking out from inside her helmet as she's taking it off. However, all these viewpoints flow together seamlessly into a very suspenseful virtual ride in Earth's orbit.

The movie does an excellent job at making the viewer feel the crushing isolation that one must feel in the vast emptiness of space. It also shows how physically vulnerable we human beings are out there, without the help of our technology and intelligence.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson has famously criticized some of the scientific inaccuracies in Gravity. However, he also said there was a lot that was right with the movie & that he enjoyed it. I'm pretty well-informed about science, so there were a few pretty big errors that I saw during the movie. For instance, the distance between the different country's space stations are probably much farther apart then they are portrayed. Also, there's simply no way any human being could endure the craziness & physical punishment that Sandra Bullock's character had to go through. Despite my inevitable criticisms, these pale in comparison to the experience of being in space that "Gravity" simulates.

I've posted here before about mankind's destiny to travel among the stars. This movie reveals how pathetically little we've truly adapted to life in space. We have barely transitioned to surviving just outside our atmosphere. We literally have light-years to go before we are ready for extensive space travel, even within our own galaxy.

There are also deep themes of rebirth & transformation throughout the film, such as scenes of Bullock in a fetal position inside a womb-like space capsule. She also emerges from water in a baptismal scene where she can be said to be re-born. Like the classic "2001: A Space Odyssey," these scenes could also allude to the transformation of humanity, into a new being that exists beyond the confines of our current world.

"Gravity" was an awe-inspiring movie that helps put our feeble, yet miraculous, lives into a much wider perspective. I recommend it for anyone who loves science, astronauts, or just a great thrill ride through the deadly darkness of outer space.

Official Monkey Buddha Rating: 8.0

FTL

I'm keeping the space theme going, from my last 3 posts- about Interstellar, Black Hole Simulations, and the Andromeda Galaxy. Space travel is one of the most important topics facing humanity. How fast we can travel off-planet and sustain ourselves, in space colonies or inhabiting other worlds, will determine if our species survives any potential cataclysm that might affect us on Earth.

On r/space I watched this short film called "FTL" about an astronaut who leaves our planet, to pilot the first craft to travel faster than the speed of light (FTL travel). His mission is to travel to an already-colonized Mars to drop off a communications satellite, presumably using some sort of gravitational warp drive to make the trip in a fraction of the time. Unfortunately, this technological achievement is recognized by some form of higher intelligence, which pulls the ship & it's pilot to an awe-inspiring first contact.

It had some of the same themes as the movie Interstellar, which I just watched the other night. It addresses the question of the limits people will go to make new discoveries- including giving up their families & personal relationships as a sacrifice for the common good of the human race. It also explores the possibilities of what might happen when we meet with beings of higher intelligence.

This was very well done for a short film on a limited budget, and carries the emotional weight of experiences that humans will very likely face as we travel to the stars.

The Future of Fusion

A conception of a compact fusion power plant,
developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology -Alexander Creely

As we start a new year (& here in the United States a new Presidential administration), it is a good time to look forward and plan how we are going to advance as a civilization.

For Christmas I received the game No Man's Sky Beyond, which I think is awesome, & is based on interstellar space travel and futuristic technology.

This game, & also imagining the future of my son Paul Giuseppe have got me thinking a lot recently about what we as a human species should be striving to achieve.

As I've said here many times before, I think space travel is one of the most important priorities of humanity. Traveling & living off-planet is crucial to our long-term survival as a species, and we need to take it much more seriously.

To be able to reach this goal of thriving in outer space, we need to first make advances in technology that will allow us to do so. One of the main obstacles to long-distance space travel is adequate power sources. 

I have been seeing a lot of articles and information lately about the development of nuclear fusion power. Breakthroughs in this field are going to revolutionize our lives, in ways we cannot currently imagine.

Here is a video explaining some of the basics behind fusion-generated energy: 

I was reading this encouraging article about American scientists developing fusion technology, which led me to write this post.

Science Magazine:
U.S. physicists Rally Around Ambitious Plan
to Build Fusion Power Plant

This is a video (slowed down) of just a couple seconds of a reaction inside a fusion reactor. The plasma torus is a thing of sublime beauty, and is the first glimpse at a future of unlimited energy.

Fusion power is one of those technologies that always seems to be "...just a few decades away". However, with enough money and dedication to the process, we can achieve anything we can put our collective minds to work to solve.

Visualizing the Speed of Light

The nature of light, including the speed at which it propagates through space, is something that's difficult for the human mind to understand fully.

Add relativity into the mix, and the properties of energy and light become downright mysterious.

This GIF by James O'Donoghue using NASA imagery, although showing the speed that light travels, really highlights the vast cosmic distances that exist beyond our human & planetary scales.

from Science GIFs via Gfycat

This visualization illustrates the difficulty that the human race is going to have with space travel by "conventional" means - by which I mean trying to accelerate through physical space to a percentage of light speed to reach other star systems.

I think the answer is the development of technology that has been imagined in Star Trek and described by Bob Lazar, who claim to have worked on reverse-engineering spacecraft at the S-4 facility near the once-secret, now-infamous Area 51 test site.

We need to create technology that is able to manipulate gravity in such a way that it can warp space-time, so that the traveler is warped to the destination faster than light would be able to travel through the same space. I think the ideas of Nassim Haramein are leading us in the direction of technology.

Whether it's eventually feasible remains to be seen, but it seems to be the only way to travel through interstellar space without taking generations of humans, or centuries of sending out AI-driven machines.

Perhaps another option is to become beings of pure light ourselves, so that relativistically time stops altogether. However, then our need to explore and physically experience things would be irrelevant anyway...

Traveling Among the Stars

In my last post, I linked to articles about the Hubble Telescope's view into the infinite expanse of cosmic space surrounding us.

After you really try to ponder the incomprehesible size of our own galaxy (not to mention the rest of the Universe), a fundamental question arises:

How can human beings, in our current physical incarnation, ever hope to travel over such impossibly vast distances?

People are dreamers & explorers by nature, so it's no suprise that humanity's brightest minds are at work on solving this seemingly insurmountable problem.

The most promising answer so far relies on some sort of "warp drive"  Such a propulsion system would warp space-time itself around a vehicle, to allow it to bypass the relativistic effects of traveling close to the speed of light.

Like many precursors to modern technology, this is a concept that has been explored in sci-fi, like the classic Star Trek warp drive. Another example is the excellent video game Mass Effect puts you in a future scenario where Earth has joined a galactic civilization, connected by "mass effect" technology that warps gravity- allowing faster-than-light (superluminal) speeds.

Interestingly, a warp drive is how Bob Lazar claimed alien UFO technology worked. Lazar was an engineer who came out with information about Area 51, where he said he worked on reverse-engineering alien craft.


Here are some articles on the advancement of humanity's attempts to develop interstellar space travel.

Huffington Post:
Warp Drive Like That On 'Star Trek' 

May Be Feasible After All, Physicists Say

Gizmodo:

This is NASA's New Concept Spaceship 

for Warp Drive Interstellar Travel

Another possibility would be creating space settlements for generations of humans to live within, as it travels between the stars. I've always been facinated by concept art for these kinds of space stations, such as this set of NASA images:

NASA Space Settlement Images

Silver Surfer: Sentinel of the Spaceways

On thisisnthappiness.com I saw this really cool series of Super Silhouettes, but one caught my eye- the awesome Silver Surfer, silently patrolling the Universe:

10 Superhero Posters 

by Marko Manev

If I had to pick, The Silver Surfer is probably the superhero whose powers I'd choose to have.  

As a cosmic being with abilities far beyond most humanoid characters, the experience would be one that's hard to even imagine... I'd just want to avoid dealing with Galactus.

For the record, my runner-up choices would be to have Green Lantern & obviously Superman's powers. However, I'll stick with my choice to wield The Power Cosmic.

From the Marvel Wiki :

The Power Cosmic: The Silver Surfer possesses the Power Cosmic which is the core from which his other abilities manifest from. This power was granted to him by Galactus, making Norrin one of the absolute strongest and most powerful beings in the Universe.

• Matter Control/Manipulation and Reconfiguration / Energy Emission and Absorption: The Surfer has complete control of the four fundamental forces of the universe, reaching nearly any effect he desires. As a result, the Surfer can rearrange matter to create other configurations and can even transmute elements. The Surfer can channel beams of energy through his hands with sufficient destructive force to destroy planets ^[20][21], and pierce stars. Additional abilities include erecting force fields, phasing through solid matter^[22], accelerating the evolution of lifeforms on a planet-wide scale ^[23], seeing the past by peeling back the layers of time, time travel ^[24], trans dimensional travel, manipulation and discharging of any form of energy or radiation, bestowing limited cosmic powers to others, reading minds ^[25], casting illusions ^[26], and influencing human emotion and sensation ^[22]. The Surfer also possesses the ability to suppress the powers of other mutants/beings making them temporarily or permanently out of use to them. He can heal living beings even if they are near-death^[22]. He cannot, however, raise the dead.

• God-like Strength: The Surfer possesses almost limitless superhuman strength, though the exact magnitude remains vague. He can lift (press) far in excess of 100 tons effortlessly and can also use the Power Cosmic to increase his strength to incalculable levels^[27].

• Invulnerability: The Silver Surfer's silvery "skin" was designed to easily withstand the rigors of deep-space travel, and thus far, it has proven to be virtually indestructible. In fact, his entire body was made highly resistant to injury and he is thus invulnerable to almost all types of physical harm. The Silver Surfer can easily withstand the crushing pressures of a black hole ^[28]. He is not bothered by the friction associated with atmospheric re-entry, and has withstood plunges into stars^[29] and even supernovas unharmed. He also routinely weathers the stresses associated with high-speed travel through space and hyperspace.

• God-like Stamina: The Surfer's highly enhanced musculature generates no fatigue toxins, nor body stress, or even sweat, granting him inexhaustible physical stamina, which allows him to fight other beings for prolonged periods of time before tiring, that is if he even gets tired.

• Hyperspace Travel: By exceeding over 99% of the speed of light (186,272 miles per second), the Silver Surfer can shift himself into hyperspace, a dimension in which velocity is not limited by the speed of light^[22].

• Cosmic Senses: The Silver Surfer has certain cosmic-energy enhanced perceptions which enable him through concentration to become aware of the patterns of energy anywhere in the world^[30]. These abilities allow him far-ranging vision (in space he can see people clearly over a light year away), the ability to see sub-atomic particles, superhuman hearing, the ability to detect fields, traces, and concentrations of pure forms of energy and discern their natures^[31].

• Cosmic Self-Sustenance: The Silver Surfer does not need to eat or breathe since he absorbs life-maintaining cosmic energy directly through his skin.

Here's a more lavishly detailed image of the "Sentinel of the Spaceways", by Joe Jusko:

"Civilization: Beyond Earth" Trailer

 I used to play the original "Civilization" game when I was a kid. You used strategy & resource allocation to build up cities and control areas of a map. It was very addicting & was a fun way to simulate the evolution of nation states.

A few years ago I bought my brother Civ IV for his birthday, since he also used to love the game when we were younger. Even though the core gameplay was similar, the graphics were light years better & the game was much more sophisticated, overall. He says he's spent many hours building nations & empires, so apparently it's just as engrossing as the original.

I recently saw a trailer for the latest installment of the series created by Sid Meier. This game moves off our home planet, among the stars.

Civilization: Beyond Earth

The trailer for the new Civilization is cinematic & doesn't show any of the gameplay. However, it is a thought-provoking look at man's destiny to leave the planetary womb of Earth, to find other inhabitable worlds throughout the infinite expanse of interstellar space.

I've posted here many times about the importance on space travel for the survival of the human species.

The Monkey Buddha Archives:

Space Travel

Besides the technological hurdles that must be overcome, we tend to forget the emotional dimension that will inevitably accompany humanity's migration off-planet. The trailer very effectively conveyed the deep emotional experience that will be felt by our descendants when this journey begins. It also shows the influence of ancient institutions, such as religion & politics, will have on the endeavor.

Ultimately, human beings must break out of this tiny speck in the Universe if we are to continue our genetic & memetic evolution. If we have a destiny, it is among the stars. The time to start reaching for them is now...

The Monkey Buddha:

Travel Among the Stars

Game Review: "Dead Space"

My old pal Phil recently let me borrow the game Dead Space & it seemed like a cool theme: a space-based 3rd person shooter.

We both grew up in the first video game generation, with my earliest childhood memories being simultaneous with the advent of the Atari 2600. I've been able to witness the state of the art progress from Asteroids to a highly-detailed, immersive virtual reality like Dead Space.

This particular game was new for me because I haven't played "survival horror" type games, & this one's a doozy. I don't really care for horror movies either- because usually they simply don't frighten me. Dead Space was by far a creepier & sometimes scarier experience than I've ever had watching a horror movie, though.

It actually blew me away how effectively the visuals & sound created a mood paranoid isolation that was almost overwhelming at times. The crazy thing's that it's not an abundance of common noise like gunfire or dialogue that's unnerving- it's the lack of constant noise that makes the creaks, scuttering of unseen creatures, & droning ambient sounds much more eerie. The most constant sound is the thuds of each step in your heavy suit, & your breathing- which becomes faster or more labored if you are running or hurt. When a zombie-like infected monster jumps out at you or appears from a hidden dark corner with a blood-curdling shriek, it was often startling enough to make me yell all kinds of profanities at the screen.

Even more intimidating are the parts where you enter zero-gravity or travel to the outside of the ship & there's no sound at all in the vacuum, beside your own breathing inside the suit. You can be walking & quickly turn to see a grotesque creature creeping up right behind you that you can't even hear coming.

This trailer below actually sums up the overall atmosphere of game perfectly, especially since the evil 'lullaby' can be sometimes heard in the distant background during the game:

Visually, the awe-inspiring graphics are at different times either stunning or horrific. At certain points it felt almost like I was there, taking in the serene view of outer space. Although there are alot of corridors & rooms because it's a ship, at certain points there are amazing vistas of cosmic scenery. When you are outside the ship or in front of large glass panels you can look out to see asteroid fields, planets, & stars. The great thing about many modern games is the ability to roam around the virtual world at will & check out the awesome artistic detail that goes into these game titles.


Basically, the story revolves around an infection that turns people into mutant space creatures of different kinds, called Necromorphs. This mass infection has something to do with a religious cult and a powerful alien artifact. The story is secondary to the unpredictable, yet inevitably sudden appearance of monsters continually trying to kill you. Although there are gigantic creatures you have to battle, the most disturbing are little infected babies with writhing tentacles growing out their backs.


To destroy the many creatures stalking you, you can use a number of different weapons, the main one being a plasma cutter that shears off limbs or heads. You also have the cool ability to use a type of telekinesis to move objects from a distance. Another attack option, if they're too close, is to just stomp on them until their body smashes apart. Even if you shoot of a limb or two, the Necromorphs will often continue to relentlessly crawl after you until you decimate them. Needless to say, it is a really gory game with blood & body parts splattering or floating around everywhere.

Spoiler Alert:

The game's dark, threatening mood puts you in constant survival mode & you're ready to blast anything that pops out at you. It turns out that the alien force is also psychically messing with your character's mind & perceptions, which adds a psychological twist to the story. I was reading about the development of the sequel "Dead Space 2" & there were actually complaints that this 1st game was TOO SCARY. This is coming from people who play games fighting off killer zombies and enemy hordes of all kinds.

I didn't expect this kind of terrifying intensity from a video game, so Dead Space is now definitely one I highly recommend... just not for the faint of heart.

• The Monkey Buddha's official rating: 8.5

The International Flag of Planet Earth

Today is Independence Day in the U.S.A., or the Fourth of July. It is the day we celebrate breaking away from British rule and becoming a sovereign nation.

There are a lot of American flags flying today, and the red, white, & blue flag is symbolic for our unity as a country. I saw this article about The International Flag of Planet Earth, and how it should be used a symbol to unite the whole of humanity living on this planet, once we expand outward into the solar system.

Inverse:
If Humans Go to Mars, We Need an Earth Flag 

I think it's very optimistic to think that humanity, with all its primitive tribal instincts, would be able to unite as a collective, instead of continuing to exist as competing factions. I would like to think that colonizing space would be a reason to join the people of this planet together, but even space travel will not be able to overcome the monkey mind that drives us to form different sub-groups.

Still, it is a good idea to create a symbol to represent the Earth as a singular political entity.It would at least represent the idea of the people of this world joined as one, even if it doesn't practically work out that way.

I definitely like the use of the Seed of Life configuration of circles. I created a game using the larger Flower of Life pattern called Da Vinci's Challenge, so I am familiar with the powerful visual impact of this symbol.

I have seen some variations on this flag design, & I prefer the "closed/flat" look, especially because the original looks asymmetrical to me:

Hopefully, the human race continues to progress and eventually travels into space to other worlds. Then, perhaps we will be able to minimize our differences to see the common goal we have been working towards since life began - to survive, thrive, & continue the process of life in new places.

Wanderers

 Recently, I have been dwelling on the topics of the cosmos and space travel. Perhaps it's because I'm currently playing Mass Effect 3, a video game that explores mankind's place in the galaxy. Even so, I've always been interested in the Universe and the future of humanity among the stars.

I saw this short film by Erik Wernquist (narrated by the late Carl Sagan), that is a inspiring depiction of human beings as we venture out into the solar system & beyond. From low gravity base jumping, to asteroid mining, to space station colonies, there is a lot of visionary material in this video that illustrates the possibilities for our migration through outer space.

I'd recommend clicking the link & watching it full screen.

Wanderers - a short film by Erik Wernquist from Erik Wernquist on Vimeo.

Interspecies Space Travel with Dolphins

I'm a sponge for visual novelty. I love seeing things that are new, strange, or thought-provoking. For some reason, this image I saw on Rude Mechanicals stuck out in it's awesomeness.

There have already been other animals in space, but the idea of a dolphin floating with humans in a water-filled spacesuit is an amazing concept.

It looks like the title is (surprise!) "Dolphins in Space" by Richard J. Bartrop.

If we are to become a spacefaring species, we will have to create ways to bring other life (plant, animal, & fungal) along for the journey. Humanity cannot exist in a vacuum, both literally & figuratively.

I just noticed that the dolphin's suit has mechanical arms, which it's using to grasp the cable/tether. Perhaps we will find similarly outlandish solutions to enable other creatures to help us in various ways, instead of just being along for the ride.  Then we can have a truly cooperative interspecies exploration of our Universe.

"Grandma" by Chase Stone

On Superpunch, I saw this amazing digital painting of a grandmother and child observing the home planet Earth from an orbiting space station. It evokes a very real & emotionally stirring vision of the human experience in the future.

"Grandma"

by Chase Stone

This weekend a bunch of my family is getting together at my parent's house for Easter dinner. My very extensive family are the most important connections in my life. It's deeply meaningful to see the strong bonds formed between grandparents, parents, children, and 'Uncle Dudes' like myself & my brothers.

Now that we have a new generation of nephews & nieces coming up, I've become even more aware of the limitless possibilities that the future holds for the human race. These infants & toddlers who already know their way around the iPhone's digital interface will be hopefully one day be commanding the starships that will begin to explore our area of the galaxy.

Sometimes I wonder how people living thousands of years from now & traveling to other stars will relate to planet Earth. Will it become a legendary place, that space colonists only see in pictures?

I guess it all depends on how fast travel can take place throughout space & how easily people can stay in contact among the stars. Maybe technology, like hyperspace or gravity warp drives, will be developed that will allow future space travelers to return to Earth relatively quickly. Perhaps traveling to Earth at least once in a lifetime will be like a spiritual pilgrimage to Jerusalem or Mecca in the current age.

What I love about this painting is the beautiful simplicity of the scene- yet it still conveys a vast, mind-expanding sense of space, time, & the wonder of Life.

Game Review: Mass Effect 3

I just finished Mass Effect 3, the final installment in what has become my one of my favorite video game series.

Here is my review for the first Mass Effect-

The Monkey Buddha Archives

Game Review: Mass Effect

I've also played Mass Effect 2, but didn't write a review for it. Most of the good things I had to say about the first game apply to the whole series. However, I've been so blown away by the Mass Effect games that I wanted to write my thoughts after finishing the trilogy.

This is a work of fiction that is on par with Star Wars, Star Trek, or any other great work of sci-fi. The virtual galaxy you can explore is full of unique planets, alien creatures, and ponderous questions which our entire species must face. I'll repeat them again, because I think they are so vital to consider:

• Is there other Life in the universe, sentient or otherwise?

• What happens when interplanetary species begin to contact each other?

• What is humanity's place in the cosmic order? What role does the individual play in this order?

• Is it possible for ANY form of intelligence, or even information, to survive the incomprehensibly vast cycles of cosmological time, on the scale of billions of years?

Mass Effect takes place in the future, after 2147 CE, when humanity has found alien devices & "Element Zero" in our solar system. These artifacts allow us to develop FTL (Faster Than Light) Travel. The subsequent discovery that Pluto's moon, Charon, is actually a "Mass Effect" Relay allows humanity to instantaneously travel to other Relays throughout the galaxy. A vibrant galactic civilization already exists, with a 45km-long space station, called The Citadel, acting as its capital. All advanced alien races are represented here, and after the events of the first two games, humanity has become a major force in galactic affairs.

Your character is Commander Shepard, and you can carry over your character's traits from previous games' save information. Humanity's high standing in the galaxy is, in part, due to the earlier actions of Shepard- most notably fending off an attack on The Citadel by a Reaper.

The Reapers are central to the Mass Effect series. Tens of thousands of these gigantic, conscious machine creatures come out of deep space every 50,000 years to "harvest" sentient organic life, for their genetic information. It is a mysterious cycle that has gone on for at least a billion years and was initiated by an "Intelligence" that's even older than the Reapers.

It turns out this seemingly destructive cycle is actually meant to preserve life, since any advanced biological species will eventually create synthetic Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) that inevitably wipes out all organic beings. The "Intelligence" sees this cyclical harvesting as a way to maintain order and allow new species to evolve. It is revealed that the Mass Effect Relays and the Citadel itself are actually part of an elaborate trap, developed by the Reapers to accelerate the harvesting process of sentient beings and make it more efficient.

In this game, the merciless Reapers have arrived, landing on the home planets of the advance species throughout the galaxy, including Earth. The game starts with an awesome sequence in Vancouver, Canada, where imposing Reapers, taller than skyscrapers, are completely annihilating the city. This is the threat you face from the very beginning, and gives a sense of enormity that such an existential threat would pose to us. In addition to the numerous & varied enemies throughout the game, you actually get to face down a few Reapers in different situations.

It is a rich story, that touches on many deep issues that the human race may one day have to consider. As literally out-of-this-world as this game is, I feel that it is a visionary & realistic depiction of what humanity may one day experience when we are able to travel among the stars...

The planets and alien races are fantastic, yet convincing. The number and uniqueness of the locations throughout the galaxy made it endlessly visually interesting. Although you can no longer land on & explore planets as side missions, I'm glad that the act of scanning planets for resources was made much less tedious than in ME2.

As far as the actual gameplay, there's a perfect balance of customization, role-playing elements, and intense combat. The RPG aspects of the game include dialog options, morality choices, and engaging characters. The combat is excellent, with the ability to use five weapons and a half-dozen powers. The weapon variety and the ability to freeze the action to switch weapons on the fly don't interfere with the intensity of the battles. 

I chose to be in an Adept class, so my character had biotic powers that were effective and fun to use, such as- • the ability to project a destructive warp field • launching a shockwave that throws enemies in the air • creating a mini black hole, a singularity, that holds enemies. The ability to also coordinate your teammates' powers with your own attacks makes the combat much more strategic.

Overall, I was engaged the whole time and couldn't wait to see what the next mission or story sequence would bring. Games like this are such monumental creations, and why I still play critically acclaimed titles such as this one. Even though I've played video games my whole life, I am still awestruck by the technical achievement as much as the game play. It's pretty common for me to just wander around an area, observing visual details and marveling at the artistry behind the level design.

One of the very few reasons I can't give it a 10 is because the game's ending left me unimpressed. I picked the ending where Shepard can take control of The Reapers, using technology developed by an ancient race. I thought there should have been a more cinematic finale, with more impact for the end of such an action-packed story.

Despite my slight disappointment with the ending, the rest of the game was so superb & awe-inspiring that it didn't diminish my overall view of a great game and a undeniably epic series.

• The Monkey Buddha's official rating: 9.75

Star Wars: Episode VII- Teaser Trailer

 Recently, I've been posting a lot about the cosmos & space travel. The Star Wars movies have been a major creative inspiration throughout my entire life, and one of the reasons why I'm so interested in space.

The Monkey Buddha Archives:

Star Wars

Today, the teaser trailer was released for "Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens". 

The short trailer has alot of iconic elements- the Millenium Falcon, X-wings flying in formation over water, the unforgettable sound of TIE fighters, personable droids, & mysterious Sith with a unique red lightsaber. It re-ignited the feeling of excitement & nostalgia I've had for the Star Wars saga since I was a child. 

I'm sure I'll be able to pick apart the upcoming movies & find plenty of flaws in them. However, the idea of new movies, that includes the original cast as older versions of their characters, is undeniably awesome for any Star Wars fan. 

The millions of hits that the trailer is getting in a single day proves that the Star Wars saga is as relevant as ever. Hopefully, the first movie of the new trilogy can live up to the hype & anticipation.

I'll be anxiously awaiting Episode VII when it's released in 2015.

Game Review: Mass Effect

 
Mass Effect is not just a deeply-engaging game...
It's not just a sci-fi masterpiece, either...

It is both those things... but most importantly, it's an eye-opening commentary on the fundamental questions of existence:

• Is there other Life in the universe, sentient or otherwise?
• What happens when interplanetary species begin to contact each other?
• What is humanity's place in the cosmic order?
• Is it possible for ANY form of intelligence, or information, to survive the incomprehensibly vast cycles of cosmological time, on the scale of billions of years?

I've always been a Star Wars fan & generally like science fiction stories. I believe they help map the future of humanity, while helping us understand our place in the larger scheme of things. Mass Effect deserves the many positive reviews it has received. It is an immersive exploration of these ideas, throughout the vast galaxy waiting for us once we become interstellar travelers.

Usually a game of this scope would take more than a month for me to play. Over the holidays I got to put in some marathon sessions, to finish it by the new year. I completed most of the side missions & explored alot of the game, so the total time was a little over 50 hours. Like many of the best video games, it was a better time investment as any engrossing book or TV series. The story raised issues & thoughts that will now be bouncing around in my brain permanently.

Mass Effect is a 3rd person role-playing (RPG) shooter. You create your own version of the main character, Commander Shepard, as a male or female. From the start, you want to pick a persona to guide the choices & interactions the character will make throughout the game. I decided to follow my own personality, as if it were really me in the role.

There is a morality 'scale' that gives you either 'Paragon' or 'Renegade' points, depending on how you react to situations. I decided to generally follow the Paragon path, since I'm not a negative person & I wanted to make decisions that felt natural. Although it is very cool to have this level of character interactivity, I unfortunately take forever to go through the dialog options. It's a bit of cheating, but I found myself looking up the consequences of different decisions online, so I could decide how I wanted the story to proceed. This greatly added to my overall time playing the game.

On a related note, the one complaint I have about the game is the very large amount of dialog. I was playing the game for a little bit over my brother's house while he was doing stuff. He'd walk through & it was early in the game, where you have to interact with alot of characters. He asked me "Is that all you do in this game is talk?!?" I know it is a role-playing game so it's kind of necessary, & I initiated non-essential conversations because there is alot of information in the story that can be learned. Luckily, as the game goes on there's more action & awesome battles to make up for the RPG parts...

The game takes place in the year 2183. Mankind has discovered ruins on Mars, from an ancient civilization. This lost race of beings, known as the Protheans, left ruins & technology all over the galaxy after their mysterious extinction 50,000 years ago. Other alien races have also found relics from the Protheans, that have led to their rapid technological advancement. Finding the remnants of this ancient culture has led to the discovery of faster-than-light travel by humans & other species, resulting in the formation of a galactic community. The center of galactic civilization is a massive space station, known as The Citadel:

Despite its hi-tech look, The Citadel is actually an ancient structure, also thought to have been originally built by the Protheans. Now, it is the home of millions of beings, from many different areas of the known galaxy.

Humanity is the most recent addition to the races on The Citadel & is still trying to prove itself as worthy of inclusion to the more elite aspects of galactic society, like membership on The Council. This is a ruling body that consists of members of several different races, overseeing galactic affairs.

Early on in the game, Commander Shepard's heroism results in the honor of being named the first human "Spectre"- an elite commando who is not bound by galactic military protocol. Shepard's mission is to track down another Spectre, named Saren, who has gone rogue and is conspiring with alien A.I. to overtake the galaxy.

Commander Shepard is given his own ship to carry out his quest- an advanced stealth frigate, The Normandy. This is the base of operations for Shepard & his crew. In the center of the ship, there is a Galaxy Map that is used to choose what star system The Normandy will visit, to carry out the latest missions.

You start out with an overview of the galaxy, then you can zoom in & out of the various levels: Galaxy <-> Star cluster <-> Star system <-> Planet.

This map gives you a good sense of the vastness of interstellar space. Here's video showing navigation between star systems:

In each system, there are several planets you can remotely scan for resources or artifacts. There is usually one planet in each star system that you can actually land on, to carry out a main mission or side quest.

These planets all have different environments, and makes you realize the potentially infinite diversity of worlds that exist throughout the cosmos. Some of the planets' environments are really stunning, where you can see large moons, unusual star formations, or falling meteors in the alien skies. These unique planetary maps really give you the sense of exploring extraterrestrial worlds.

You land on each planet inside a 6-wheeled rover, called the Mako. This vehicle has a cannon & missiles for combat, but most of the time you are driving over the strange landscapes of the worlds you are visiting. You can also get out of the Mako & go on foot with the 2 characters you pick for your squad. The map of each planet is fairly large, with plenty of area to explore for scattered hidden items. Driving over these large areas can get little tedious, despite the amazing environments. I started to wonder why Shepard & his team would be driving a relatively slow wheeled vehicle. Wouldn't they have anti-gravity technology, for some kind of flying scout ship??? This was my only other minor complaint about the game, but I still enjoyed exploring the many different planets in the Mako.

The game's 3rd person combat is very fun & action-packed. A great thing about this game is the effective system of upgrades to weapons and "biotic" powers- which allow you to do things like levitate enemies or create a 'singularity' that rips apart anything near it. Unlike some other games I've reviewed, you have alot of awesome abilities fairly early on. You pick 2 members from your team to join you for each mission, so you can combine teams with different combat or biotic power attributes.

As the game progresses, your character continues gaining even better gear & enhanced powers. I never felt like my character was lacking for proper enhancements. This makes the game much more fun, in my opinion, since you feel like you're properly leveled-up & ready to kick ass at all times.

There's also a major, mind-bending twist to the story that sets up the sequels.

*Some slight spoilers here-
As the story of the game continues, you find out that The Citadel & the Mass Relays allowing superluminal travel were NOT created by the Protheans. They merely found & utilized this technology, like the various races in the current galactic community.

The truth is that this network of space stations & relays, used by the galactic community, are actually a cosmic trap!

Every 50,000 years, a giant fleet of hybrid synthetic-organic sentient starships, called The Reapers, emerge out of the dark space at the edges of the galaxy. They destroy all advanced organic life, then retreat back into the void. Many millenia later, when another interstellar civilization develops, another activation signal is sent to them & the cycle of destruction begins again.

The Citadel is actually a giant portal that The Reapers use to pour through & immediately destroy the heart of galactic civilization! From there, they spread out & eradicate all intelligent life on the various star systems, taking centuries if needed. They turn organic beings into a genetic 'paste' that they incorporate into their own being, as a sort of evolution. The reasons for this cyclical genocide are still mysterious, but there is speculation that this grim process has been going on for millions of years, at least.

I look forward to playing the other Mass Effect games & experiencing more of this awe-inspiring series.

Mass Effect is a truly epic game, in the scope of it's storytelling & depth of game play. It is a sci-fi classic that serves as a virtual experience of mankind's destiny among the stars.

I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in space, sci-fi, or just an amazing story about the future of humanity.

• The Monkey Buddha's official rating: 9.25

Silver Surfer's Solitude

The Silver Surfer was always one of my favorite comic book characters. Besides his awesome cosmic powers, he has the ability to travel in hyperspace throughout the Universe.

I saw this incredible image of the Silver Surfer floating through interstellar space, & it kinda blew my mind. I never considered the extreme level of solitude that he would experience if he stopped to float in the directionless void.

It's hard to imagine the feeling of floating through space completely alone, not being anywhere within light years of another living being, or even another celestial body. I guess if you knew you could just use faster-than-light travel to get anywhere you want, it wouldn't be too scary. Still, there would have to be some sense of existential dread from the sheer magnitude of the situation.

Anyway, I thought it was a great image- although I don't know the source (despite searching for it). It's one of those pictures you can get completely lost in.  

Electric Dreams

 

My wife & I recently finished the series "Electric Dreams" based on the works of sci-fi author Philip K. Dick.

It was really enjoyable and interesting, and some of the episodes were really mind-bending. There were few where we jut looked at each other afterward & were like, "WTF???"

Some of the topics covered are virtual reality • the security state • space travel • life extension •  the nature of consciousness • aliens • corporate power • & artificial intelligence - just to name a few.

 

I would highly recommend this series to anyone who like science fiction, especially the work of Philip K. Dick. Some of the themes were exciting and inspiring, some were disturbing & downright frightening. The possibilities for both in our future are endless.

The stories were generally thought-provoking and engaging, and I hope they come out with another season at some point.

The First Space Simians

I saw a link to this gallery on BoingBoing:

National Geographic
"Space Monkey Pictures"

It's really strange to think that the first creatures to travel off-planet (that we know of) were actually monkeys that we strapped down into rockets.

Maybe I'm too empathetic, but all I think about when I see these photos is how they must feel like 'alien abductee' experiences. There are these scary beings, placing an innocent creature into machines that it doesn't understand- and forcing it into terror of the unknown.

In honor of these furry & unwitting cosmic pioneers, I almost named this blog "Space Monkey" or something crazy like that.

"Why are you frightened, little guy?!?
You're making history!!!..."

Size Comparison of Science Fiction Spacecraft

In my last post, I explored the unimaginably vast distances of outer space. The question facing us mere mortals is, "How do we travel across these seemingly impossible distances?"

In the past I've posted the awesome charts, made by DeviantART user DirkLoechel, that compare the size of fictional spacecraft from a wide number of sources- such as the popular movies Star Wars & Star Trek, and video games such as Starcraft & one of my favorite games, Mass Effect. 

On Gizmodo, I saw (what he claims to be) the last update to this awe-inspiring collection of fictional space vehicles. They include ships of mind-boggling size, up to 24,000 meters, or almost 15 miles long! The beauty of building in space is that there really is no size limitation due to gravity fields or restrictions on the area that a vessel can take up.

Size Comparison - Science Fiction Spaceships

by DirkLoechel

(click for larger image)