Questions tagged [near-future]
For questions concerning the immediate future, where technology is assumed to have advanced slightly while still recognizable to modern humans. Questions utilizing this tag should focus on a particular technology and may be about a technology itself (how would this work) or the impact of a given technology on a particular topic (Society, Warfare, Economics, etc)
496 questions
-2
votes
4
answers
181
views
Best way for floating jellyfish to be deactivated?
The buoyfish is a very common type of animal. It is basically a jellyfish but it flies. Inside there is a hydrogen reservoir filled by bacteria making the gas. The buoyfish has air bladders to use as ...
- 2,938
17
votes
8
answers
3k
views
How could I justify a fast apocalypse?
Most apocalypse scenarios involve a slow, sad death for humanity. Even the faster ones take a few weeks to start genociding everyone. This question aims to find a way to change that. Basically, I want ...
- 1,358
1
vote
2
answers
252
views
Could sound be used to levitate or destroy objects in combat
I am working on a near future world where mages are really just people with a very good understanding of math and science, which they use to achieve feats that seem impossible to most of the ...
-4
votes
2
answers
138
views
What would be the implications for society if AI completely took over artistic expression? [closed]
This is probably a confusing question but its the premise behind a short story I'm trying to write.
Basically in this world, humanity has developed specialized AI to such an extent that it can produce ...
- 720
6
votes
1
answer
728
views
What would be the optimal amount of pulses per second for pulsed laser rifles?
Setting is near-future and the military starts using pulsed laser rifles and machine guns so they don't need to worry about the logistics of carrying ammunition from one side of the globe to another ...
- 491
2
votes
3
answers
391
views
Would ETC be useful for precision small arms in the near future?
I'm still working on that campaign from my other question about bio weapons and I've started working on coming up with weapons.
Brief summary: Its 2065, the world is in a state of constant proxy wars ...
- 720
6
votes
10
answers
1k
views
Ideas for an alternative to nuclear weapons as a deterrent? [duplicate]
I posted a question a couple days ago about the use of bio-weapons as an alternative to nuclear weapons as a deterrent for a D&D campaign I'm working on.
I got some really good answers explaining ...
- 720
5
votes
6
answers
2k
views
The use of Bio-weapons as a deterrent?
I'm working on a heavily customized D&D campaign set in the near future, in this universe nuclear material is heavily regulated to the point that only a couple nations are influential enough to ...
- 720
2
votes
3
answers
456
views
What are the potential advantages/disadvantages of a hyper maneuverable aircraft that operates similar to Armored Core's mechs?
I'm attempting to writing in a near-future war setting where some new weapon designs are being tested, in an attempt to breakthrough the enemies military strategies by "thinking out of the box&...
- 491
0
votes
2
answers
131
views
Future City-Sized Graduate Sorting Process [closed]
My story is set in the future where more pressure is set on learning, and schools grow to the size of cities (and for all intents and purposes they are). Each mega campus has everything a city would ...
-1
votes
3
answers
666
views
How realistic is a communist hardboiled detective? [closed]
Not sure if this is the right place for this question, but it seemed the best option.
I had an idea for a short story about a (neo-noir) hardboiled detective in a near future European communist ...
- 125
1
vote
0
answers
247
views
How would cybernetic implants be integrated into the human body to work in a plausibly or semi plausible way? [closed]
I am interested in writing a sci-fi cyberpunk story set in circa 2030 CE.
Background
In my story, a company specializes in "cybernetic surgery", adding cybernetic implants to humans, like ...
- 59
6
votes
9
answers
2k
views
How do (near future) people travel between floating islands?
In the near future, the surface of the Earth becomes magically unlivable. However, luckily for people, there are now magically floating islands in the skies (typically 5000-8000 feet above the surface)...
- 4,868
2
votes
3
answers
667
views
Could cocoa trees evolve dioecy?
In real life, cocoa trees are famous for being hermaphroditic angiosperms from the Rosid class that are extremely bad at reproducing (they can be considered the giant panda of the plant world!). Also, ...
- 5,462
4
votes
5
answers
715
views
Artificially lighting a large underground city
I'm trying to think of a somewhat plausible way to create artificial "sunlight" in a very large underground city. To summarise some key points:
The cavern containing this city is ...
- 41