A glistening stream of blood gently wept from the body's jagged holes. The crimson gore sparkled under rapid flash photography as it loosely clung to the wounds. So many wounds. Far too many for this to have been an accident. Under the forensic lights it appeared ethereal. The skin a dull shade of nothing and the hair a pale motif of sadness. The lights washed out any shadows, making the scene look like it had been drawn by an unskilled comic-book artist desperate to get to their next panel. …
Continue reading →
The Yamaguchi Foodstuffs Conglomerate emphatically denies causing tumours in vegetables. They did not "give a beansprout cancer". That would be irresponsible and against their 250 year commitment to responsible bio-agriculture development. Every culture has their own version of Grimm's "Der süße Brei". A cautionary tale of a magic porridge dispenser which, thanks to one woman's forgetfulness, engulfs the entire village with an endless supply of food. The Dutch warn their children about the d…
Continue reading →
(I *sure* this was the basis a short story I read - but I can't find it. So I'm (re)writing it. If you know of the original, please let me know…!) The speed of light is a universal constant. This "speed limit" is fundamental to everything we understand about physics. Information - when propagated via the electromagnetic spectrum - cannot travel faster than 0.3 Gigametres per second. There is no argument here. Every experiment conducted by our top scientists has confirmed it. There are no "warp …
Continue reading →
David Bowie invented the NFT in 1997. The "Bowie Bond" allowed you to directly invest in an artist's catalogue and receive royalty payments based on their sales. Here's how it worked: You pay money to the artist (Bowie) Artist uses that money to buy the rights to their back catalogue Every time one of the songs from that catalogue is sold, or played on the radio, the artist gets paid Investors receive a share of that payment It's a primitive "smart" contract. Money flows back to the…
Continue reading →
This is neither a serious proposal, nor an official proposal. This is just me thinking in public. Governments are a monopoly. There is only one institution which can grant you a passport - Her Majesty's Passport Office. That's not quite true, of course. You are free to seek citizenship in other countries. And some countries will sell you a passport. In business studies terms, other countries might be termed as "traditional competitors". Much like BBC1 competes with ITV in the TV environment. …
Continue reading →
