Is it just me or the number of hacks into public databases seem to be growing? Even more disturbing is that it’s not merely mom-and-pop businesses, but multi-national corporations; and it’s not just some local government office but the Social Security Administration, the FBI, and even the White House.
Article: Hackers stole Social Security Numbers from 21.5 Million, Gov’t Admits
As a member of Generation-X, I grew up at the dawn of the modern technological age–computers that took up an entire building floor to the first desktop to the first laptop; from the first mobile phone to the current smartphone; vinyl records to CDs to digital downloads; the VHS-Betamax ‘wars’ to DVD to Blu-Ray to streaming. The technological progress has been dizzying, especially for those of us who have lived through it from the very beginning.
But! Yes, there is always a “but.” I’m writing my fun, cyberpunk detective series, but there is always a serious foundation. My Liquid Cool series will be no different. Another theme I’ve always wanted to explore is what if rather than going down our current road of digital technology, we remained with analog technology.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately with both our best corporations (yes, Sony was hacked by the Chinese) and cyber-attacks on the White House itself (will we ever really know how serious the breach was?) To be honest, I have never been comfortable with how we’ve allowed ourselves and our world to be transformed by our digital technology. We’re like perpetual kids on Christmas morning with the presents. We think it’s all magic, but it’s not. Is true digital tech security really possible? Is all this digital interconnectivity making us far too vulnerable as a society? We don’t need nuclear weapons to cause an armageddon anymore. All there needs to be is properly placed EMP (electromagnetic pulse) bomb to take away the digital tech that we as humans have become far too dependent on.
Well, I already have one armageddon saga with my After Eden series (subtitle: The Genesis of World War III) so no need to add another with my new Liquid Cool series. But the serious issues can still be explored. That’s what good science fiction is for.
#Cyberpunk #ScienceFiction
Austin Dragon is the author of over 30 books in science fiction, fantasy, and classic horror. His works include the sci-fi detective LIQUID COOL series, the epic fantasy FABLED QUEST CHRONICLES, the international futuristic epic AFTER EDEN Series, the classic SLEEPY HOLLOW HORRORS, and new military sci-fi PLANET TAMERS series. He is a native New Yorker but has called Los Angeles, California home for more than twenty years. Words to describe him, in no particular order: U.S. Army, English teacher, one-time resident of Paris, ex-political junkie, movie buff, Fortune 500 corporate recruiter, renaissance man, futurist, and dreamer.
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