Age of the Geek

Fifty years of progress
     Fifty years ago last week, a new television series hit the airwaves. In the episode, a routine medical check-up turns deadly when the characters are attacked by a shape shifting monster looking to feed off the salt content of their bodies.
     It wasn't the greatest science fiction story ever told. In fact, being the sixth episode produced, it wasn't even the proper pilot to the series. But, for better or worse, that episode marked the beginning of a culture defining franchise.
     On September 8, 1966, "Star Trek" was introduced to American audiences. (Canadians got to see the show two days earlier.)
     It's mind-blowing to think about how far we've come since then.
     Video communications? Skype lets people across the globe talk face-to-face. Microsoft is even working on a real-time translation program to work with Skype so that even the language barrier will no longer hinder communication.
     And while we don't have replicators yet, 3D printing is a solid first step. The technology behind 3D printing is growing by leaps and bounds, creating everything from pizza to industrial parts to medical implants. Don't be surprised to see the organ donor box on your drivers license be rendered obsolete within the next decade as we develop the technology to create replacement organs out of the patients own cells.
     Then, of course, there's the smart phone. Probably the pinnacle of science fiction turned into science fact.
     In 1966 the idea of a computer that you could talk to was pure fantasy. A fantastical notion up there with faster than light spaceships and instantaneous transporters. Yet today, many of us carry such a device in our pockets. With the press of a button we can ask our all-knowing computers virtually anything, from complicated math problems to details of historical events to who the governor of Maryland is and how to get in touch with their office.
     And yet, in spite of all the technological advancements inspired by Star Trek, we've yet to achieve the most important realization of the future that Gene Roddenberry envisioned. The post-prejudice society.
     "Star Trek" showed us a civilization that had grown out of its petty biases. One where prejudices on race, religion, and gender were regrettable flaws of a by-gone era.
     It's shameful, in a way. Turning the handheld computer from television prop to reality took decades of technological advancement in hardware and software, a worldwide infrastructure of cables, towers, and satellites, and the collective effort of millions to catalog data in a place it could be found and accessed. The amount of work it's taken to bring us to a place where I can ask a plastic and metal box the address of the nearest Italian food restaurant is staggering.
     Meanwhile, all it would take to realize Star Trek's idealized vision of society is for all of us to collectively agree to stop being terrible to each other. We know what to do. We've had the instruction manual for five decades. We just need to get everybody on the same page.
     So what's the problem? What's taking so long? Why don't people get it already?
     How can people put the miracle of technology that is the smart phone in their pocket, and take that phone to a Donald Trump rally to record the cheering as he advocates for the United States to commit war crimes?
     We've come a long way in 50 years, there's no doubt about that, but we've got so much farther to go.
     Fifty years ago, Gene Roddenberry envisioned a better world than the one he lived in. One he saw as the inevitable goal as humanity progressed through the ages. History suggests we'll get there eventually, but progress never happens fast enough for the progressives. It's easy to get discouraged.
     The good news is that we never stop moving forward. We'll get there, but it's going to take all of us, living our lives as though the world is as we want it to be.
 
     Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and promises to build a Dyson sphere, make the Romulans pay for it, and make Vulcan great again!