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Science Fiction

Madeleine Yuna Voyles in "The Creator"
Video

Get an AI reality check on ‘The Creator’ — Hollywood’s latest robo-doomsday movie

by Alan Boyle on September 29, 2023September 29, 2023 at 9:23 am

Over the next 50 years, will humanity become too attached to the artificial-intelligence agents that dictate the course of our lives? Or is forming a deep attachment the only way… Read More

Dr. Evil, Mr. Bigglesworth and "Starter Villain" cat

‘Starter Villain’: Sci-fi supervillain tale aims a satirical laser at tech billionaires

by Alan Boyle on September 19, 2023September 19, 2023 at 6:32 pm

There’s nary a mention of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates in “Starter Villain,” but science-fiction author John Scalzi’s wickedly funny novel finds ways to skewer the tech billionaires who rule… Read More

Paul Allen estate donates thousands of rare music, film and sci-fi artifacts to Seattle’s MoPOP

by Kurt Schlosser on July 26, 2023July 26, 2023 at 7:54 am

Thousands of one-of-a-kind artifacts from Paul Allen’s collection, spanning decades of cultural relevance, are headed to Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture, the institution he helped found 23 years ago. The… Read More

"Critical Mass" book cover illustration showing space station beyond moon

Fictional plans for building a space station beyond the moon reflect Jeff Bezos’ vision

by Alan Boyle on March 7, 2023April 10, 2023 at 12:41 am

If Jeff Bezos needs a blueprint for building a space station beyond the moon with ore from an asteroid, he just might want to start with “Critical Mass,” a newly published sci-fi… Read More

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania / Quantum
Video

Get a reality check on quantum computing vs. ‘Quantumania’ in Marvel’s latest movie

by Alan Boyle on February 16, 2023March 7, 2023 at 10:27 am

Ant-Man may be getting small in Marvel’s latest superhero movie — but in the real world, quantum is getting big. Quantum information science is one of the top tech priorities… Read More

Illustration: City on Mars

Science fiction focuses on the far future of terraforming, with a tie-in to today’s cities

by Alan Boyle on January 31, 2023February 16, 2023 at 10:48 am

Billionaires such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos dream of making Mars more like Earth, or seeing millions of people living and working in space — but could such dreams… Read More

Illustration: Man with virtual world in hand
Video

Sci-fi author and scientist team up to write a novel about consciousness and quantum weirdness

by Alan Boyle on January 9, 2023January 30, 2023 at 7:00 pm

Do we each create our own reality? Could different observers create measurably different realities? It’s a fantastical line of thought that has sparked scientific inquiries as well — and now… Read More

Greg Bear portrait

Greg Bear, 1951-2022: Best-selling writer influenced sci-fi world, on and off the page

by Alan Boyle on November 20, 2022November 20, 2022 at 2:42 pm

Greg Bear, a Seattle science-fiction author who played a leading role in defining how global audiences saw future final frontiers, died Saturday of complications following heart surgery. Astrid Bear, the… Read More

Chloe Grace Moretz in "The Peripheral"
Video

Amazon’s ‘Peripheral’ brings cyberpunk prophet William Gibson’s vision up to date

by Alan Boyle on October 20, 2022January 9, 2023 at 3:31 pm

The future may not be evenly distributed, but there’s a dystopia-inducing concentration of it in “The Peripheral,” a science-fiction novel by cyberpunk pioneer William Gibson. Now the novel has been turned into a streaming-video… Read More

Octopus seen during Ocean Observatories Initiative's Vision '13 expedition
Video

What octopus intelligence can teach us about artificial intelligence — and aliens

by Alan Boyle on October 4, 2022October 19, 2022 at 10:18 pm

Are intelligent aliens living among us? A newly published novel just might lead you to think so — and in this case, the aliens aren’t visitors from another planet. Instead,… Read More

Zeva Z2 eVTOL in flight

‘It’s not just science fiction’: Zeva is taking its flying saucer concept to the next level

by Alan Boyle on September 9, 2022September 12, 2022 at 6:00 am

Eight months ago, Zeva Aero conducted a milestone flight test for an electric-powered flying saucer that would warm the heart of any sci-fi fan. Now the Tacoma, Wash.-based startup has… Read More

Jeff Bezos at Blue Origin and in "Star Trek Beyond"
Video

How the Star Trek saga blazed new trails for space exploration — with a hand from superfan Jeff Bezos

by Alan Boyle on July 5, 2022July 5, 2022 at 9:14 am

Over the course of five decades, advances in space science and exploration have changed the Star Trek saga — but it’s obvious that the sci-fi TV show has changed the… Read More

Sci-fi email illustration
Video

A ‘Gates tax’ on robots? ‘Email From the Future’ imagines a world without ultra-rich tech titans

by Alan Boyle on May 21, 2022July 3, 2022 at 12:37 am

Visions of Utopia go back to the year 1516, when Thomas More literally wrote the book on the subject — but is it an outdated idea to envision a world… Read More

Rock on(line)! Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture building digital ‘vault’ for 80,000 collection items

by Kurt Schlosser on March 29, 2022March 29, 2022 at 8:37 am

The Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle has more than 80,000 pieces in its permanent collection, comprised of such artifacts as musical instruments, photographs, posters, clothing items, TV and movie… Read More

Multigenerational starship
Video

‘Last Exit: Space’ highlights the questions and the quirkiness behind billionaire visions of leaving Earth

by Alan Boyle on March 10, 2022May 21, 2022 at 9:41 am

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wants to have millions of people living and working in space — that’s why he founded his Blue Origin space venture more than two decades ago.… Read More

Scene from "Moonfall"
Video

Bad moon falling: Geophysicist adds her own scientific spin to ‘Moonfall’ movie

by Alan Boyle on February 1, 2022February 1, 2022 at 4:36 pm

Even geophysicist Mika McKinnon, one of the science consultants for a $140 million disaster movie called “Moonfall,” admits that the moon-crashing tale is ridiculously exuberant. But what’s wrong with that? “A movie is… Read More

Honey mushrooms

Pacific Northwest forests provide the perfect breeding ground for a sci-fi tale about alien invasion

by Alan Boyle on January 18, 2022February 1, 2022 at 4:27 pm

If you’re going to write a novel about an alien fungus threatening the planet, there are few places more suited for the setting than the damp, dark forests surrounding Seattle.… Read More

Neal Stephenson

Neal Stephenson talks about his climate thriller — and why the metaverse didn’t match his vision

by Alan Boyle on November 7, 2021November 11, 2021 at 3:02 pm

This whole metaverse thing hasn’t turned out exactly the way Seattle novelist Neal Stephenson thought it would when he came up with the idea 30 years ago. Back then, Stephenson… Read More

Timothy Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson in "Dune"
Video

How the ‘Dune’ science-fiction saga parallels the real science of Oregon’s dunes

by Alan Boyle on October 21, 2021October 21, 2021 at 10:45 am

The deserts of Abu Dhabi and Jordan play starring roles in the blockbuster sci-fi movie “Dune,” which premieres this week in theaters and on HBO Max — but the origins… Read More

Inside the New Shepard crew capsule

Bezos vs. Branson vs. Musk: A reality check on the billionaire space race — and space station sci-fi

by Alan Boyle on July 27, 2021October 30, 2021 at 7:13 pm

The state of commercial space travel is changing so quickly that even science-fiction authors are struggling to keep up. That’s what Time magazine’s editor at large, Jeffrey Kluger, found out when… Read More

Octavia E. Butler
Video

NASA names Perseverance rover landing site on Mars after Seattle sci-fi pioneer Octavia E. Butler

by Alan Boyle on March 5, 2021March 6, 2021 at 3:13 pm

Fifteen years after her death, Seattle science-fiction author Octavia E. Butler has joined an exclusive pantheon of space luminaries memorialized on Mars. Today NASA announced that the Red Planet locale… Read More

Ted Chiang
Video

Science-fiction master Ted Chiang explores the rights and wrongs of AI

by Alan Boyle on November 8, 2020June 28, 2022 at 7:00 pm

What rights does a robot have? If our machines become intelligent in the science-fiction way, that’s likely to become a complicated question — and the humans who nurture those robots… Read More

GeekWire Calendar Picks: Susan Fowler talks about her book; the science of making alcohol; and more

by Nicole Tanner on February 14, 2020February 14, 2020 at 1:26 pm

— In 2017, news of sexual harassment problems at Uber made national headlines and investigations led to the ousting of the company’s leader. Since then, a spotlight has shone on… Read More

News Brief

Star Trek’s George Takei tweaks President Trump over Space Force’s trekky new seal

by Alan Boyle on January 24, 2020January 25, 2020 at 7:34 am

We don’t know whether Mr. Spock would have cocked an eyebrow over the Starfleet-like U.S. Space Force seal that was revealed by President Donald Trump today, but we’ve found out… Read More

Video

How the cloud helps lift ‘The Expanse’ and other science fiction epics out of this world

by Alan Boyle on December 27, 2019December 27, 2019 at 2:35 pm

It used to take a cast of thousands to create cinematic extravaganzas, but now the job can be done with a cast of dozens of artists and developers, plus thousands… Read More

Luke Skywalker on Tatooine
Video

Not so far, far away: How the Star Wars galaxy falls short of the real-life search for planets

by Alan Boyle on December 19, 2019December 20, 2019 at 1:22 pm

Over the past 42 years, filmgoers have seen exotic worlds come to life in a succession of Star Wars movies — a series that is now coming to a climax… Read More

Cas Anvar in New Shepard capsule
Video

Blue Origin video traces the virtuous circle between real-life spaceflight and ‘The Expanse’ on video

by Alan Boyle on December 5, 2019December 5, 2019 at 3:58 pm

If “The Expanse” ever decides to shoot episodes of the science-fiction series on a Blue Origin spaceship, Wes Chatham is ready to go. “I do think it’d be an excellent… Read More

Who’s the best Star Trek captain? Alexa agrees with Jeff Bezos when Picard drops in on Amazon HQ

by Alan Boyle on November 14, 2019November 14, 2019 at 10:40 pm

When the actor who plays the boss’ favorite Star Trek captain drops in at the office, it’s best to agree with the boss. Even though Amazon’s Alexa is just a… Read More

GeekWire Calendar Picks: Silicon Valley’s impact on America; National Day of Civic Hacking; and more

by Nicole Tanner on September 13, 2019September 12, 2019 at 9:30 pm

— Since Silicon Valley became home to the development of computer chips, tech has grown into something that’s seamlessly woven into just about everything we do. The history of that… Read More

GeekWire Calendar Picks: Women in leadership; science fiction convention; API conference; more

by Nicole Tanner on August 30, 2019August 29, 2019 at 9:15 pm

— Seattle online retailer Zulily is teaming up with women’s professional soccer team Seattle Reign FC for an event designed to encourage women leaders to thrive in all walks of… Read More

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