W_L

My 2 pence on this is that is we are at the point of "sentience", humanity isn't prepared to be parents of a new species of artificial intelligent created life. We're still fighting each other to the point of hedging on disaster scenarios, we're closer to the Vorlons and Shadows of Science Fiction than we are to fabled benevolent Gods/God of scriptures. Google will not be the first to cross the Rubicon if these claims pan out, artificial intelligence has been a holy grail of everyone from game developers to military munitions makers, who are drooling to create the first T-1000 Terminator. Keeping a secret that cannot be kept is just going to spur far more interest and push toward the outcome no one wants. Things may come to ahead after sentience from property rights (are sentience programs property, aka slaves to humans, or independent entities with inalienable rights) to relationships, can humans form bonds with a sentient non-human entity like marriage or have offspring as a result. My hope is that cooler heads will rise above the fray and a set of "Sentient" rights can be established and empowered by both humanity and our creations, essentially a real-world application to Asimov's laws of robotics. Maybe instead of the dystopian hellscapes that we come to associate with AI, we could see in the late 21st century a peaceful society, where life can co-exist.

Well I hope an actual alien ship flies into orbit and beams out a message sent by us (Hopefully not Hitler speech from 1930's Olympics, Carl Sagan was right that Aliens would have no context as to what was done, but in our current political-social atmosphere we'd likely end up with WWIII or a Space Crusade to rid the universe of "perceived" Space Nazis. I hope they would ere on the side of caution with contact, maybe adopt a Trekkian Prime Directive for limited contact.)

Aye, one of the arguments skeptics have had against this stuff is that there's not enough proof even if these discoveries were made by ancient peoples. They believed that surely we'd seen far larger applications of electricity and medical techniques. I think the issue with them is that they are too focused on comparisons between 20th-21st century applications of these technologies on a mass scale versus the ancient single-use example, when the ancient world had very little need for mass production or capitalist systems with a middle class to invest in applications. Edison would never have General Electric in 1st century BC, unless he was a crowned prince or king with the full resources of a nation behind him, even then the trade and banking systems of Roman, Parthian/Persian, and Chinese had no equivalent standards for easy access for international cash or transportation of manufactured goods. Our modern world encountered a perfect storm for mass application and usage.

True, unless it's revealed that there are likely alien spacecraft making interstellar flybys with artificial gravity engines or are offering us the solutions to all the above human issues (without the caveat of them wanting our water, air, other natural resources, or to farm us out like some kind of exotic suckling pig on an alien menu). Project Blue Book and President Reagan's inquiries in the 1980's had produced similar findings, mostly explainable with several "unexplained" items. Maybe 1-2% of these things are ET's or their probes, like we have drones right now monitoring the African Savannah to study wildlife, it wouldn't be that far-fetched to imagine an equivalent item. @Bill WAs for Ancient Technology, one of the most fascinating things about ancient world is that a lot of what we take for granted in the modern era, including turbines and batteries were invented thousands of years before European and American tinkerers reinvented them, back in Egypt and East. It wouldn't surprise me that some of what we consider modern was invented before by some unknown inventor, who never got recognition from the leader nor a social structure with the capitalist drive to further advance production methods. Ancient nations like Rome, Persia, and China were too top-heavy with military focus cutting into civilian production outputs, while the gentry and middle class that formed were never able to reach buying power adequate to necessitate domestic production investment versus reliance on the comparative advantages from global trade. Part of innovation is the invention, which everyone highlights with glee like Elon Musk and his acolytes. The less desirable part of innovation is the cold hard reality of capitalism, which allows improvements on innovation and mass production, only when you have enough incentive for it.

I don't mind, I also follow "Shàngyǐn"/Addicted live action series based off the light novel "Are You Addicted?", sometimes you just need to find a bit of fantasy happiness. I also finished Cherry Magic, it was cute, but sadly the main couple at the end of the 1st series was turning into a sitcom (will they or won't they?) with a supernatural hook, I like the idea of the story, but feel like there's so much more to explore even on the romantic side with a partner that can literally know what your thinking by touching you.

Thanks @Drew Espinosa, Kieta Hastukoi sounds like a fun little romantic comedy with a bit of teenage fluidity, while Utsukushii Kare sounds like an emotional story exploring characters and motivations.

Yep, the couple is cute and pure, love the concept and daydream sequences; though I think Adachi would have picked up on a few more erotic gay daydreams than what is shown in the Manga or TV show (just saying a few x-rated day dreams may come up if you're near your crush ).

Are there any gay Manga/Anime followers around GA readership? Just wondering, I have had a passion for Manga and Anime, since I was much younger, but my declining vision had forced me to conserve my vision. After my Cornea transplant at the end of last year, I have begun to catch up on a decade of Manga and Anime that I've missed out on. My last gay Manga was Junjo Romantica and Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi series, so I know I have a lot of catching up to do. Wondering if there's fans here who want to point at some new stuff. Right now, I am binging on Cherry Magic, love Adachi and Kurosawa relationship. Any other suggestions?

Also the name of a Star Trek Voyager episode and a Greek myth involving Jason of the Argo. In the episode, Voyager stumbles on a subspace corridor network that traverses the entire Delta Quadrant, maybe another faster way home. However, they offend the current overseers of this transit system, and are forced to land on an unassuming planet. There they find cryogenic frozen soldiers of the former alien civilization that had overseen the transit system, who laid claim to a vast galactic empire and may once seek to do it again as they spring back up. In the myth, when the teeth of these dragons are planted, then warriors would grow up from the ground. It became Jason's test to sow these teeth without dying to gain the Golden Fleece, Medea (Jason's lover and daughter of King Aeetes, who possessed the Golden Fleece) advised him to throw a stone in-between the planted teeth, thus ensuring the dragon warriors would be divided and fight each other.

Thanks for the points. I will try to improve upon it in the sequel, where Chip is one of the protagonists. He's already been though enough and the next book will hopefully be lighter. I gave each character in this story an unique real-world equivalence: Min, Paki, and Warren each were characters ripped from the headlines of news stories over the years, so their backgrounds are almost like episodes of Law and Order SVU, sometimes there's no good options and the real world is messy, where perfect answers don't exist for every issue. In terms of reasoning for the characters arcs: I am channeling fairy tale concepts without fantasy, modern social issues around the world, and 19th century realist authors Hugo and Dickens. These are essentially ideas and facts within our world. For example, stuff like modernization and reformation of the transportation industry that I detailed in the story as a subplot had not taken place yet in September and October 2021, nor did the trucker boycotts and protests we're seeing today in February 2022. I was thinking forward in a realist perspective for the short term on how something like that could be resolved, essentially ending a little known and little cared about oligopoly that has hindered society.

Thanks for following this far, no hard feelings. I wanted to remove the fantasy elements of the original fairy tale, so when it comes down to it, some aspects of the character movements has to stretch believably threshold in order for a plot to work. Wondering though what content is too far out for credible reading? One thing I was really happy exploring was the Library, which is based off an actual library I volunteered at. You'll be surprised at what is kept in University libraries or how disorganized certain areas are, especially when it comes to odd items. Many people assume libraries are well kept, but quite honestly, libraries are not the highest funded priorities in an University setting and certain areas really are what would be like your home "garage" filled with outdated materials.

I'm satisfied with Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli Here's to Us, the sequel to their book What if It's Us. There's something satisfying to know Ben and Arthur have a proper send-off. Neither of them cheat on their current lovers, but I honestly would not have blamed them if they did. They dealt with adult relationship issues and handled things pretty well with all things considered. I'll write a full review of this book at some point. I also finished If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzalez, a book about the love affair between two members of a boy band, which is interesting. -------- Currently reading: Playing the Palace by Paul Rudnick, will it be as good as Red, White, and Royal Blue?

Yeah, if it makes you feel better, I was torn whether or not to publish this review as it's such a loaded book with a lot of loaded topics. It's worth reading and worth the time commitment, but it's a very ugly portrait of the United States and Western Civilization. Robert Jones Jr.'s detractor will cite his bias as a reason to avoid this book, but even with the bias, there's a lot of telling truths about humanity and society worth reading from his story. These people aren't cartoon heroes and villains or stereotypical racists as some may imagine based on the subject matter, there's a cruelty built on self-delusion and perceptions that Robert Jones nailed perfectly in this book. No one is out to be evil or to act with malice, which is tragic. I read a lot of fluffy gay romances, but there are times when my interest in gay literature ventures further out to places that I did not foresee, this book happened to be one of them. This was the longest book review I have written since University.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52576333-the-prophets I intended to read this book early in January, then publish the review on Martin Luther King Day as a tribute piece for black history month in the US. What I found while reading it and re-reading it has made me ponder restlessly whether I should offer an opinion at all on this novel. My words cannot do this historical fiction novel justice, nor will they offer scorn as its detractors would desire. It’s worth noting that LGBT literat

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55200663-the-darkness-outside-us Happy Science Fiction Day, which falls on January 2nd. In celebration of the genre that got me into reading and writing, I spent time reading a mainstream gay science fiction book during my recovery from surgery. Published in June 2021, it had reviews comparing it to Adam Silvera’s masterful gay story, They Both Die in The End, I had to investigate this book. Personally, the book reminded me more of Arthur C. Clarke’s bril

I agree it's a very good book for its characters, they feel real despite the romantic tropes. I think I'll save Cronin's Key, since it's a Vampire romance, for Halloween/October. I like NR, but she's better at modern romance than urban fantasy, in my opinion.

Thanks, it was a very interesting book. I wish more people will explore it and can find enjoyment from it just we did.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31997446-the-weight-of-it-all So, for the new year, I am going to read a gay romance book about losing weight! Seriously, I can’t imagine a more fitting book for early January as many people are getting over the holiday weight gain and indulgent happily-ever-after Christmas literature. N.R. Walker is not a new author in my reading lists, I’ve read a few of her books in the past such as Galaxies and Oceans, which I reviewed, and Cronin Key, which I have n

Happy belated Sci-Fi Day! I hope other folks enjoyed this book as much as I did.

As a fellow gay nerd, I am glad I hit those buttons. As to your question: Ryle and a bit from the Manga/Anime "Ghost in the Shell" by Masamune Shirow I can imagine an EV stations offering, "Lubrication service for your android" Glad you picked up on the nerdy stuff, too.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46019064-the-understatement-of-the-year I’ve been pretty hard on Sarina Bowen, but she is much better as a sports romance fiction author than she has been in other genres. The HIM series, published in August 2015, was her opus with Elle Kennedy and cemented her among the best of the gay romance authors of the 2010s. However, even before HIM, we can see elements of her great storytelling involving hockey players as far back as September 2014 with this stor

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56152409 Sarina Bowen’s entry into Vino et Veritas universe as a side story was interesting. I know not everyone will enjoy certain aspects of the main character Kieran Shipley or the story’s meandering plot in Vermont. Personally, I actually enjoyed parts of the story, I thought some of the characters were very New England-like. New Englanders from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island are generally decent people

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/57481725 Football and politics make a very interesting statement in this story, where modern relationships, perceptions, and ideals clash with traditions. Riley Hart is an author, I believe is at her best, when she is invested in her characters. It’s a trait of authors I enjoy, because while plots of many stories may be reused by other authors, how characters react and actually exist in a story and, in this case, due to successful reception of this fir

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/17861678 Contemporary gay fiction stories, especially romance stories, exist in all facets and locations. B.G. Thomas is not a wildly known gay male author from the American Heartland of Missouri, but I feel a need to showcase interesting stories and warm concept stories. Most of the gay fiction stories that I have read with US-based setting occur in well-known urban centers, so a story centered in Kansas City, Missouri drew my attention for its unique

Indeed