Theme: Does this RFID tag make me look inferior?

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. R.A. Lafferty, “Encased in Ancient Rind.” Arthur C. Clarke, “The Sentinel.” Murray Leinster. “First Contact.”
TV episodes, series. Star Trek. Star Trek: Next Generation. Babylon 5.
Ideas. Soviet-era science fiction. Political philosophy. World building. Queries about similarities and differences among species on Earth and other places around the universe. Reflections on the relative intelligence (and by extension significance) of species. Ponders the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe, and how it might compare to humans. What responsibilities do we have to other species? What responsibilities do they have to us? What is intelligence? What is reason? What is evolution and maturity? The Golden Rule as a guide for interspecies engagement. The Prime Directive. Alien abduction.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Dan says Hmmm. Bill says yes, but with a sprinkle of Whoa.

Correction. Bill refers to the septopods as a subclass of octopi, then in fact they would be another order of cephalopod. A momentary lapse of biologic.

Previous episode: Chris Neville, “The Forest of Zyl”
Next episode: Frank Robinson, “The Wreck of the Ship John B”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Theme: It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Murray Leinster, The Lonely Planet. Ursula K. LeGuin, “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow.” Stanislaw Lem, Solaris. Tom Godwin, “The Cold Equations.” Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game. Jack McDevitt. Robert Heinlein, “They.”
Films. The Happening.
TV episodes, series. That margarine commercial from the 70s. The Office.
Ideas. Colonial expansion on a planetary scale. Links between recorded history and species survival. Erase history, erase humanity and all life on Earth. Genetic code is a form of recorded history. Sentient planets and plants. Can civilization advance if it cannot record its history or accomplishments? Gaia Hypothesis. Animism.
What did we miss? James Tiptree, Jr., “The Last Flight of Dr. Ain.”
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. We gave it away early … a definite WTF tale.

Previous episode: Ann Warren Griffith, “Captive Audience”
Next episode: Arkady Strugotsky, “Wanderers and Travelers”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Theme: Paying your debt to Capitalism

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Ann Warren Griffith, “Zeritsky’s Law.” Henry Cuttner, “Nothing But Ginger Bread Left.” Arthur C. Clarke, “The Ultimate Melody.” Fritz Leiber, “The Girl With the Hungry Eyes.” Frederic Pohl, The Space Merchants. Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash. George Orwell, 1984.
Films. Blade Runner.
Music. Rush, “Subdivisions.”
TV episodes, series. Commercials. The Super Bowl.
Ideas. What if advertising were everywhere? Well … even MORE everywhere. What if it were a crime to ignore or block advertising? Do we live in a Capitalist surveillance society? We are conditioned to consume.
What did we miss? The Truman Show for its ad placement. They Live for its subliminal messages about consumption.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Bill wishes this was a WTF story, but alas. Dan says Hmmm.

Previous episode: Alexander Malec, “10:01 AM”
Next episode: Chris Neville, “The Forest of Zyl”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/