Re: Escaping Planet of the Apes: was [MEDIA] Chicago Suntime's death

Paul Hughes (planetp@aci.net)
Wed, 02 Dec 1998 20:39:17 -0800

Michael Lorrey wrote:

>

> But back to the topic at hand. Since early interstellar voyages will tend to be very long duration and
> have limited cargo capacity, wouldn't it be smart to use astronauts who are a bit sociopathic to start
> with? Enduring the isolation will be a major qualification, I would guess...

Well, nanotechnology is an absolute prerequisite. I need it for the facilitation of creating whatever I want and recycling it, rendering moot the need for cargo space. Existence of nanotechnology portends the potential for uploading, therefore increasing tremendously the possible spaces of ones perceived environment. I could just as easily make the interstellar journey experiencing a tropical beach as any other radical imaginary virtual space. Besides, I don't plan on being alone, but instead look forward to as many other like-minded individuals coming along as possible. Finally, assuming Elizier and Vinge are correct about the time we reach a Singularity, I'll either be dead or fast on my way to inventing or playing with some kind of FTL drive or traversible wormhole technology, rendering long-duration space flights irrelevant as well.

Paul Hughes