You mean KKnD? I played that one way back! The original website is still up.
I also clocked many hours playing Warzone 2100, another great post-apocalyptic RTS.
Besides this, there was Red Alert 2, Warcraft II, AoE2 and Dungeon Keeper 2.
Before all that, though, it was Cannon Fodder in the early 90s. I always sucked at it, because age.
For a fuller account of the Wars of Existence, check out Neurotech's album Evasive: [Youtube]. It fits so well with the theme, but I didn't want to fill the thread with videos of just one artist. It's good stuff though.
Enter the Endless
Posthumanity is still rapidly unfolding. Sentience has reached a point more vast, more profound, than ever before recorded. While the war rages between life and the invaders, there is also a hidden war inside of all of our children, a war of what to be and a struggle to understand what they are becoming. There within their minds, worlds within worlds cradle a remnant of what used to be.
Day and night, all is the Hunt. To hunt and to be hunted, to consume and to be consumed. Nobody requires sleep anymore, but energy is growing scarce. As the fighting goes on, the planet is eaten at an unprecedented rate.
Maelstrom
Such rampant evolution may be life's last resort. Against this foe, there is no holding back. For some time, it has been growing vast ugly structures across the lands, and within these impenetrable cities, it amasses control and power. Replying in kind, our children build vast city-entities to pool their efforts. Meanwhile, fighting happens within, in the unending labyrinths of these complex structures.
Through the Divine
As posthumanity soars into reaches we once thought reserved for the gods, a collective sigh of tiredness reverberates through the shared minds. Even here, even now, is there no solace and no redemption? Behind the vast walls of underground complexes that now riddle the crust, our descendants search the skies within as they drink the heat of the mother soil.
Then, a glimmer of light shines through the despair, beckoning with irresistible hope.
The strain and yearning pushes in like a wedge. Even as our progeny raise their hands to the darkened skies in a spiritual searching, their feet are held tight by an unyielding darkness.
They were duped.
Can't fight my nature. I love just making this, part imaginative journey and part finding new music. And it's always nice picturing humanity getting screwed over.
No story's complete without a twist, though.
Neurotech - Retrieve
What humanity once was, it is no more. It is as if an ethereal presence guides the actions of the children of humanity. Maybe something artificial that survived the fall of civilization. Maybe God has come to our aid in this critical moment, or perhaps the Earth itself has awoken into consciousness.
Humanity's consciousness, however, has evaporated. Whatever is driving these beings, it is not awareness and reason. It is something else.
While we once had technology, our children understand the workings of the universe like a second nature. With their very bodies, they can manipulate their surroundings more effectively than our machines ever could. Their actions are concerted in a way we were never able to achieve.
The Soldiers of the Earth get ready for a grand struggle.
As one, our children hunt. They fashion incredible weapons to track down and eliminate the enemy. This is becoming a fight not simply for survival, but for the very existence of life as we know it.
Great thread, I enjoy reading your posts. Here's something that never stops puzzling me.
Tidbits on Dark Energy
About 70% of the energy of the universe is in the form of dark energy. It is a mysterious energy that makes the universe expand ever faster. At this rate, the universe will keep expanding forever, and many billions of years from now, we won't be able to see anything beyond our own galaxy.
There used to be less dark energy, though. One odd thing about it is that you cannot dilute dark energy. Once the universe expands to twice its size, it will contain twice the dark energy, but no more mass than before. So when the universe was smaller, there was less dark energy in it.
This means that energy is constantly being added to the universe. So much for conservation of energy? There's no good explanation for this. It makes me really wonder if the universe is contained in something bigger, and whether energy is pouring into it from the outside. This, however, can probably never be tested.
Great thread, I enjoy reading your posts. Here's something that never stops puzzling me. Tried to keep it short, but I failed.
Tidbits on Dark Energy
At the heart of Einstein's theory of general relativity, there is a direct connection between energy and spacetime. Basically, all energy warps spacetime, leading to what we know as gravity.
Most of this warping happens not in space, but in the 'time' part of spacetime. So on the surface of Earth, time passes faster than it does in empty space. This is because the Earth has a lot of mass, and mass equals energy (E = mc^2). Energy warps spacetime, and so time passes differently. That is the real-life result of relativity.
In other words, spacetime around the Earth is not straight. In fact, according to Einstein, the Moon is traveling in a straight line! So, there's no reason for spacetime to be straight anywhere, right?
Scientists have actually tested this question by measuring the angles between very distant galaxies. What they found is that on the largest scales, space is actually straight! This makes a lot of sense, but it's actually not obvious. Just like the Earth is curved, so could space be curved in a higher dimension. It seems this is not the case.
So spacetime is straight. But since spacetime is connected to energy, this means we can calculate the energy of the universe!
That is where it starts to get interesting. We already know how much mass the universe contains. This is quite certain, because only a certain amount of mass would make it possible for the galaxies and stars we see today to exist. This mass has a lot of energy, but it's not enough! In itself, it could never make spacetime straight. So there is a lot more energy out there, straightening spacetime. We call it dark energy, and there is more of it than all other energy combined!
Dark energy is very strange. If it was energy like we are used to, then it would make the universe contain a lot of strong gravity, and all galaxies would be on the way to a giant group hug. This is not the case. Our universe is expanding faster every day, like a balloon inflating at a great speed. This is happening despite all of the gravity in the universe. So something is counteracting the gravity of everything. Again, this is the work of dark energy.
Dark energy has a negative pressure. Compare it to an elastic string that, when you stretch it, actually starts pushing your hands further apart by its own! This is weird. But actually, it is only relativity that makes it weird. It comes from a very simple thing. That is: dark energy has a constant density. If space expands to twice its original size, it will still contain the same mass, but it will now contain twice the amount of dark energy.
Personally, I do not understand how, but I trust those that do. This simple characteristic gives dark energy an anti-gravitational effect.
Also, it means that the dark energy content of the universe used to be lower. It's only so dominating now because space has been expanding for a while. There was a time when the dark energy of the universe was insignificant! And back then, space didn't expand as fast as today.
Here's a mystery. Dark energy is said to be a property of space itself. But then, why doesn't it dilute as space expands? This must mean that more space is generated constantly. Either case, energy is entering the universe! How, from where, and how come it ends up being the exact right amount to keep spacetime straight?
If it keeps on like this, then after many billions of years, we wouldn't be able to see anything beyond our local neighbourhood of galaxies, which will have merged into one. Everything else would have moved away so far and so fast that we would never again receive light from it. A very strange thought.
So did he really accomplish anything that makes any difference in the long term?
Who was the spiky head Neo met in the machine city?
And what really happened in the end, and why didn't Smith foresee it?
They kill a bunch of humans and somehow that's okay because of the Matrix, but they are still innocent and they still die, and real people still grieve them!
I like this idea, and I think I'll enjoy reading others' posts just to know how a piece of your lives are like.
Seems you had an interesting day! Life's adventures are not always what you expect, but when the unusual happens, life will often show you something new. In this case, a sweet lady and a suspicious police officer!
Today I cruised around the city on my new electric bike like a motorized couch potato. I was amazed how much of a difference it made from fighting uphill on a normal bike. I headed to the north edge of the city, where there's a small lake and then a vast forest. I used to live in these parts almost ten years ago, so I returned to some places of memory: a thicket where I searched for shamrocks, a rock where I once spent an hour of my birthday meditating. Everywhere smelled of warm pine sap and flowers, and people were swimming, sunbathing, or just sitting on wooden piers being happy with the summer. (It must have been a sweltering 22°C) I also couldn't help but recall a memory of a Swedish colleague swimming naked in this lake some years back. I hadn't been aware of her clothing situation until she emerged from the water. She didn't care if anyone saw her, a confidence I can only respect.
That's not quite a whole story, but it's all I have time for now. I'll find a better story for my next post.
Asura - Atlantis Child
It never did take much to crack the bones of human society. Ashes turn to ashes, dust turns to dust, and we find ourselves once again amidst the ruins of our forefathers.
Of course, even the greatest fire makes fertile ground for new shoots.
After the downfall of civilization, and as extinction threatens humanity, latent evolutionary forces kick in. The survivors live as hunted animals rather than the kin of the men and women who once owned this planet. Like sleepwalkers, they break out of the coccoons of human construct to find a new form of life. Unencumbered by panic, hubris and indignation, these children thrive and learn to resist.
We face the dawn of humanity's true potential.
Røyksopp & Susanne Sundfør - Running to the Sea
An epitaph from the other side by a mind and being undone. When tragedy hits you so deep, you are but a walking shell, numb to the fact of your own death. In the aftermath, the vaster forces gradually engulfe you and the cold fire of your heart slowly ebbs out.
The world we once knew is quickly slipping from us, even in memory, as malice embraces even the remotest corners. There is valiant resistance by unlikely alliances, and great power surfaces within the remaining population. Yet one by one, our hopes are wrested from us, as the darkness exploits our every weakness. In the great struggle at the end of days, this and many more tragedies litter the long and calamitous days. Humanity is on its knees, in puzzled daze.
Kammarheit - All Quiet In The Land Of The Frozen Scenes
Symphonies may move man, but they may not move mountains. Against the lifeless might of nature, effort is sometimes irrelevant. Facing us is a long cold and dark, a desolation like no other, after a rift appeared and unleashed a harsh winter on our world. The powers that linger surmise that something else is coming through the blizzard, something not altogether benevolent.
The world is nearing its end. Reality is disintegrating, evil rises and people's lives are torn asunder. Some special individuals rise and are instrumental in the great calamity of the last days before the end.
That's the backdrop for this imaginary album. I'm going to post several tracks with short snippets to weave them together. Genre is mellow electronic, with notable exceptions. Maybe some of you will like bits of it.
--
陳悅 - 綠野仙蹤 (Chen Yue - The Wizard of Oz)
For hundreds of thousands of years, humanity strode upon the earth and conquered what they could find. Becoming masters of great courage and prowess, they acted out the dance of life in a wholly new fashion. And their backs were oft laden heavy with the sorrows of awareness, as even with the vast power in their hands, they could never truly attain their desires. Hardship, death and longing were ever their partners, as it is with all living beings. Try as they might, time and time again they found themselves the tragic captive of their own humanity. And so it shall be forever more.
We start this story with a lone individual who, like so many others, carries the weight of the world. Yet there is great strength in this one, and great fervor hidden behind a mask of stoicism, a face painted with the bittersweet wisdoms of many years of humanity. We would rely on this noble warrior to save us in the coming storm. And yet, could the warrior be naught but a grand imagination?
Pancakes to you if you recognize this
Rural life
My dream is also living simply off the land without undue hardship. I would like to see that utopia. In a hundred years' time, there might be some of this, but I reckon the world outside of cities will be too harsh for it to be widespread. Indigenous peoples will probably thrive then, but the hippies will run to the cities for protection. This will benefit the planet, as rural life is both disruptive to the ecosystem and very energy inefficient. My imagination of the city, however, is a place that actually allows for this desire to be fulfilled.
Future cities
Our current cities designate about 20% of their area to traffic, if not more. Cities are usually fast-paced nexuses where huge volumes of people and goods stream by continuously, from and to the outside. The next step, in this whimsical imagination of mine, is not really a city in this respect, but more of a conglomeration of local communities. There will be farms, there will be forests, most of the beautiful landscapes that humans appreciate, and there will be a chance for solitude, but not to the extent that our current western individualism would sometimes prefer. The city is not built around roads and intersections at all, as both production and distribution are more decentralized, and transport is more efficient. We don't need to go far to work, to school, or to travel. Hypermobility will be dead, and the city no longer a corrosive presence to our minds and souls.
Hierarchy
The details of future ideologies, I find hard to imagine. But if there is greater maturity and wisdom, I would expect a deep understanding of the natural laws of human society. Power and wealth accumulates, and so the society must balance this out by stopping/dividing that power when it grows to a certain size. Part of this will be a reduced need for currency, and so power is not power over people's ultimate fate. There will be hierarchy of responsibility, and that responsibility should have an effect on the people in charge. Ownership.. yeah, that's a tricky one, it must be strong in order for people to take their job seriously. I wouldn't know how to best solve this, really.
I believe there will be changes in course, so let me try to project along those angles, assuming a (likely or not) utopian scenario.
Society as a whole will have matured, it will have gained humility and wisdom. We are able to find our places in the greater circles of life, because those ways of life that didn't achieve that, have ceased to exist. Today's cities are nowhere near the steampunk predictions of the early 20th century, and the future will have more of this difference. We will have found a way to interact with our technology that furthers our quality of life, and for the most part it leaves us to live that life. The political landscape consists of ideologies we haven't yet imagined, worked out through the great upheavals of the 21st century. Life will be mostly the same, good and bad, just different.
There is no rush for growth, and economies are circular, dependent on undepletable resources. Agriculture is fully automated and compact, and a lot of humanity lives in the next stage of cities. These are more dense, but car-free and built for humans to thrive in. Construction and industry are done in sophisticated, automated ways that optimize the use of resources. This is not a problem because (in a utopian future) the rebellions against the wealthy were successful; the traditional system of labor was overthrown, and the self-sustaining technological backbone of modern society was made a common inheritance of the people. Basic necessities are given to all, who work for improving this system and further the thriving of humanity and other species on the planet.
It will be an incredibly exciting time, as humanity devotes itself to transcendance towards worthy stewardship of the Earth. We spend our time making up for the mistakes and wounds of the past, redeeming our grandparents (well, us). Science blooms and so we become the space-faring race at long last.
---
In a darker reality? A lot of people will die. We are many people with many differences, and decline and dwindling resources will have a sorrowful impact. The US will break apart, Europe will go through a new dark age, our carefully built systems and markets will fragment and fall apart. New powers will rise and fall, frequently, as the world realigns, as it always has. Our current peak of technology will slip away from us, as the planet's restraints force us into perpetual decline and despair. In short, our exponential civilization will fall as fast as it rose, as is the fate of any diverging population.
Some will stand beside and watch and be untouched, and they will tell their grandchildren the stories, as they have always told their children stories. This will be the story of the great sickness of the crazy man, who climbed to the moon and the stars and became a giant who ate all the animals and drank all the water. In the end, his many sons and daughters ate themselves in their great hunger and were gone.
Humanity will have found a place in the greater circles of life, but not in the way everyone hoped.
Floating along the quantum states of the great void
Wut? Things started going downhill after the wars
One of my fave bands made a pretty sweet Gerudo Valley remix:
Any favorite Zelda remixes?
Apologies for not reading everything in the thread, because it seems a bunch of good stuff has been said. I should be sleeping already, but I wanted to add my own development in attitude towards feminism.
I used to be very intimidated by feminism. When I was younger, it seemed impossible to accept feminism without indulging in self-hatred due to my being male. This angered me and made it necessary to build up a defence, lest I feared losing my dignity entirely. Here's a bunch of empowered people, intelligent, outspoken, seemingly on a mission to influence and change. And there's me, just some guy, not looking for trouble or a fight, not interested in having my opinions and perceptions turned upside down by an outside force claiming to be my superior in the matter. I liked developing my own understanding of the world on my own, thank you very much.
But I was never attacked in that way. It was a fear I had constructed, and an existential fear about my own identity at that. Very likely, I sensed a partial ignorance and incompleteness in my own understanding, and I was furious at the thought that someone would abuse this to humiliate me and manipulate me. In other words, I kind of knew feminism had very good points.
In time, I have covered over that gap in understanding. I know that I can perfectly well be myself, and simultaneously aid the cause of feminism. In the way that I believe in it and see it, not following anyone's orders but respecting that some can see what I cannot. Seeking this understanding allows me to develop myself into a better man–not a more feminine man, but a wiser man. Part of what feminism does, is challenge doctrines that suppress both men and women, to give us a better understanding of who we all are. Feminism will never succeed without men and cannot, in its ultimate form, be a battle. Today, there is activism and there is fervour, because that is how things can change. It is unfortunate that this also spreads fear. Feminism can also feel unaccommodating for men, not only because it was mostly formed by women, but also because we are used to a society formed from a male perspective on the world. The goal must be an understanding that feels more accommodating to both men and women, than does the world of yesterday. Part of this must be a deeper and more correct understanding of what it truly means to be a man, a better understanding that our often simplistic social norms and media messages.
Tbh, I'm probably sexist and I'm probably racist too. I'm full of normal prejudice. These are human imperfections, but they do not condemn me. I'm not perfect today and I won't be when I'm 70, and I'm okay with that. All I do is I try to always understand more, and to disregard my prejudices whenever possible, to never condone or justify them. As time goes by, I learn more and more of the privilege I was born with, leading to inequalities that I never knew existed but that are very real. This does not make me a bad person, but it means I can make a positive difference in the world. And I like that.
Meanwhile, in Europe:
And this one cartoon I just can't find, featuring a boy in a seashell on a shore and a man made out of vegetables tending a big garden...
