Bartender Mark Young, and bagpiper Grant MacLeod outside the World's Smallest Whisky Bar (Photo credit: Tom McCormick)

To mark the opening of a new office and brand home in central Edinburgh, award-winning independent bottler and cask whisky specialist Cask 88 wanted to give a boost to their visibility in their home city. To reinforce the message that the little things in life - like their small batch, single cask whiskies - are worthy of celebration, Cask 88 transformed one of Edinburgh’s 142 classical police boxes into a very wee whisky bar, the world’s smallest, to be exact.

On Prince's Street in central Edinburgh, and sitting alongside the brand home of another major whisky attraction, the bar was perfectly located to capture the attention of local people, and visitors to Edinburgh, throughout the busy festival month of August. The exterior of the box featured greetings in 20 international languages and a QR code allowing passers-by to book their slot in the world's smallest whisky bar.

Nearly 1,300 participated in a 10-minute, personalised, sustainable and immersive brand experience to sample a dram of Cask 88's single cask whiskies (free of charge) and over 350 tickets (half the available slots) were booked throughout the first weekend.

We also facilitated (probably) the world's smallest brand takeover, by welcoming a genuine innovator in the whisky industry to take over our bar for a day.  As a distillery founded with sustainable goals in mind, Nc’nean is an example of what
the future of distilling looks like. In addition to being Scotland’s first distillery verified net carbon zero, Nc’nean uses 100% organic Scottish barley and the distillery is powered by 100% renewable energy.

Media coverage highlights:
Edinburgh Live (2,804,794 monthly unique views) x2
Daily Record (Circulation 33,400,000) x2
Scottish Field (67,500 monthly unique views) x2
Bite Magazine (153 article views)
Robb Report (933,333 monthly unique views)
Belfast Live (37,000,000 monthly unique views)
Wales Online (10,888,000 monthly unique users)
Scottish Business Insider (140,534 monthly unique users)
The Scotsman (7,600,000 monthly unique users)
Scottish Sun (2,700,000 monthly unique views)
The Edinburgh Reporter (TBC)
Daily Motion (300,000,000 monthly unique users)
Daily Mirror NI (estimated 676,400 readers for print in NI, based on 3,382,000 for UK circulation print & digital)
TimeOut Mag London TikTok (104,200 followers)

The Success of the World's Smallest Whisky Bar Campaign in Numbers:

● Media coverage with an estimated reach of 432.6 million;
● e-Newsletter subscriber numbers up 37% from the previous month;
● Website visitor numbers up 50% from the previous month;
● Social media followers up by 14.5%;
● Facebook review rating rose from 4.2 stars up to 4.9 stars.

For our efforts, we were awarded a BOC 2022 ‘Brilliance Award’ in the category of PR/Marketing.

As whisky cask investment specialists Braeburn Whisky prepared to open new markets for cask investment in the United States, they made a splash by sponsoring events at New York Tartan Week 2022 - prefacing the opening of their first US office in New York city in 2023.

Braeburn’s sponsorship came at a crucial time: The New York City Tartan Week made its return in 2022 after two years of cancellation due to the pandemic. Included in the celebrations is the iconic New York City Tartan Day Parade, which brought together thousands of people from across NYC, the United States and Scotland to march through Manhattan on Saturday 9 April. The week-long series of events is a celebration of Scottish heritage and culture, in particular the impact that Scottish people have had on the United States. Karen Gillan was named Grand Marshal of the NYC Tartan Day Parade 2022, only the second woman to have been appointed this title in the history of the event.

With an operational heart in Scotland, and offices internationally, Braeburn Whisky are an example of the cross-cultural heritage that is the driving force behind NYC Tartan Week.

The Braeburn Whisky team, as sponsors of the annual New York City Tartan Day Parade, marched up 6th Avenue with the Hudson Horns. The brand achieved huge visibility in front of the attendees of the Sony Hall Post-Parade Party (Up to 1,000
guests) and the Caledonian Club Ceilidh (Up to 700 guests) - all attended by individuals with a connection to, or interest in, Scottish culture, heritage, and its produce.

Senior members of the Braeburn team attended Scottish business and cultural networking events across the city, building connections for Braeburn’s arrival in New York.

To capitalise on the sponsorship, and to make headlines outside of New York city, unique, illustrated bottles were gifted to 2022 Grand Marshal, Karen Gillan, twice Grand Marshal Brian Cox, and NYTW President Kyle Dawson.

Braeburn CEO Niall Brown was photographed gifting the bottle to Karen and Brian; Managing Director Mark Scanlan gifted NYTW President Kyle Dawson his bottle on stage at the Post Parade Party. Karen posted to her Instagram (7.6 million followers), and the gifting was covered by STV on their primetime news broadcast News at Six (500K viewers each evening) and the Mail Online (24.7 million monthly unique visitors).

Braeburn announced their support of the Parade at an intimate preview event for stakeholders and media in newly-opened Bross Deli in St James Quarter, in Edinburgh. Serving authentic Montreal bagels with New York style deli fillings offering a Scottish twist, Bross Deli offered the ideal setting for a celebration of cross-Atlantic ties in the style of NYC Tartan Week. This activity generated coverage in Braeburn's home market of Scotland, with articles appearing in Scottish Field and the Edinburgh Reporter.

For the past year, Anna McFarlane has been Research Assistant for the Science Fiction and the Medical Humanities research project at The University of Glasgow. The project is funded by the Wellcome Trust and headed by Dr Gavin Miller, who is Director of the Medical Humanities Research Centre in the School of Critical Studies at the University of Glasgow.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions, Anna. According to the website, the aim of the SF and Medical Humanities Research Project is to investigate 'the significance of science fiction for the medical humanities, and is intended to pathfind for a future, large-scale research project.' When you started on the project, you must've thought that SF held great significance for the medical humanities. Has the last year changed or strengthened your viewpoint?

The original application for the funding was by Dr Gavin Miller, who has had interests in science fiction and medicine, particularly psychology, for quite some time now. I only came on board as a research assistant after the bid had been successful, but I did think the possibilities were intriguing. My own PhD argued that the influence of psychological discourses (particularly gestalt psychology) had fundamentally influenced the way that cyberpunk ( a branch of science fiction) described consciousness and subjectivity in the age of the internet, so that was where I saw the most potential. As the project has developed I think the most interesting avenue for me has been the way that the nexus point between science fiction and the medical humanities highlights the increasing science-fictionalisation of our culture in fields as varied as bioethics, disability studies, and political philosophy.

Most people think of science fiction as a genre to categorise certain books, films, games, etc., but the project asserts that it 'gives us a style and substance for our visions of medical progress'. Could you tell us more about the 'technoscientific imaginary'?

Of course! When we talk about the 'technoscientific imaginary' we do so to draw attention to the ways in which technology and science (including medical technoscience) are embedded in cultural understandings. Scientific research is understood in terms of human 'progress', but in reality research is guided by the priorities of funding boards, the economy, and political aims. Scientific innovations are sometimes dependent on popular engagement too; if no one wants to use a certain tool, or have a new enhanced organism released into their environment, then this can have an impact on the direction of science and technology. All of these factors – public engagement, funding, economics, and politics – affect the future of science and in our project we've been exploring how science fiction has an impact on this technoscientific imaginary. Often we see that very good science fiction criticises and complicates the idea of 'progress' and urges us to perform science in a thoughtful and considered way, being mindful of unintended consequences or actively working to think about what kind of futures we want.

The project's activities have included a series of workshops, a concluding conference, a short story competition and a themed special issue of BMJ Medical Humanities. From the variety of speakers at the conference, it seems you've had a strong response from those working in both the humanities and the sciences. What is it like to host a conference with academics covering such a variety of disciplines? Have you seen any striking differences in their approach to the project?

The range of engagement has been great with contributions from medical doctors, historians, literary scholars, and sociologists among others, but despite this wide range of disciplines I think the project has shown us that disciplinary boundaries are secondary to our interactions with science, and particularly with medicine. While only some of our contributors are medical practitioners, all of us have experienced medical treatment and have seen how medicine is, perhaps more obviously than any other branch of science, dependent on the socio-economic milieu in which it exists. This shared experience hasn't resulted in consensus, but there are definitely strong common themes throughout the work we've seen in this area, and we're hoping to bring that out in an edited collection in the near future.

Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go' is undoubtedly a great novel, one of my personal favourites, set in a dystopian world where people are raised specifically to be organ donors. At the concluding conference, there was a whole panel dedicated to the novel, which also appeared in conversations throughout the day. Do you think there is something about Ishiguro's novel which makes it so appealing to study?

I think the novel offers many different things. When I first read it the style appealed to me, it reminded me of the type of novel I loved in my own schooldays, thick with characterisation and the small pleasures and resentments that build up over years of friendship. You can read it that way, from a nostalgic or realist perspective, and the movement of the story from the school setting to the organ donation narrative perhaps becomes a metaphor for the ways in which childhood ideals are crushed once school finishes and the children must conform to the 'real world'. But then there is the science-fictional reading of the story. The questions that the story raises can be frustrating, since a more seasoned science fiction writer might have spent an entire novel exploring the details of the system and explaining its workings, but these missing details render the text more enigmatic and I think that allows for the diversity of readings we saw at the conference.

A total of 634 short stories were entered for the short story writing competition. Did you see any emerging themes? Was there evidence of stories bring influenced by themes covered in workshops?

The theme of organ transplantation is certainly one that appears regularly throughout our submissions. The saving of one person with the flesh of another – flesh that ultimately becomes a part of the recipient – is certainly one that inspires. Another common theme is the character of the doctor. Is the doctor manipulative, abusing his patients' trust to perform experiments? Is the doctor being controlled by unseen forces to support an exploitative society? These are some of the anxieties that we see coming out in our stories, and you'll be able to read them for yourself very soon; the winning stories will be published in an anthology early next year.

Many times throughout the project, we saw examples of where science fiction has provided a misleading take on a health-related subject. How can SF authors best balance creativity with a commitment to supporting the medical humanities? Is it something you think authors should be consciously aware of when they write?

I don't think it's the job of the science fiction writer to produce an educational or factual account of the subject in question, whether medical or not. But what you do see is that science fiction has a lot of potential to extrapolate from the present, to show us a logical conclusion of our present actions and to highlight the potential misuse or unintended consequences when research (or any human activity) is pursued with an eye only to immediate expedience. I wouldn't presume to tell science fiction writers how they should be doing their craft, I can only say that it's these kinds of thoughtful stories that attract me and I think are shown to be the classics of the genre as time goes by.

The project was funded under Wellcome new Seed Awards Initiative, which 'help researchers develop compelling and innovative ideas that may go on to form part of larger grant applications.' The Wellcome Trust funds 'great ideas' to improve health and supports initiatives in the biomedical sciences, humanities, social science, public engagement and the creative industries. The current funding round for the new Seeds Awards Initiative is on the theme of sexuality and health. Do you have any advice to offer those in the humanities or creative industries looking to apply for funding from Wellcome Trust for their project?

Like any funding body the most important thing you can do is to show how your project will explore the unexplored, argue some innovative points, and create or contribute to new scholarly communities. Specific to the Wellcome Trust, I would just encourage anyone thinking of applying to look at the resources at the Wellcome's library in London which has an excellent collection of medical material and is a wonderful place to do research.

The SF and the Medical Humanities database continues to grow and you're still looking for entries. How long will the database be open for suggestions? And can you tell our readers a little more about how they can contribute to the project?

The idea of the database is to produce a resource for researchers who want to study science fiction in a medical humanities context. The database is searchable and readers can contribute by adding any science fiction text (film, novel, television series, or academic work) that is pertinent to the medical humanities. All you have to do is log in and you can start creating entries and tagging them with helpful keywords. I'm not sure how long the database will be open, but we're hoping that this project will lead on to future activities so hopefully it will be going strong for a while yet.

What's next for you?

My plan is to apply for future funding to continue working on science fiction and the medical humanities while finishing my first monograph; this deals with cyberpunk and psychology, themes that I explored in my PhD, but which I take further in the monograph to show the wider cultural and political impact of cyberpunk's construction of consciousness and artificial intelligence. As far as this project goes, there's still the short story collection and the edited collection to shepherd into publication, so I'll be kept busy whatever happens.

What science fiction have you read or watched recently that you think everyone should know about?

I'm a big fan of the television show Orphan Black (BBC America, currently available on Netflix) which deals with a number of medical issues, including cloning and scientific research funding, while ramping up the tension and showcasing a fantastic performance by its lead, Tatiana Maslany. In the literary world I loved Adam Roberts' most recent novel The Thing Itself which manages to do a science-fictional extrapolation of Emmanuel Kant's philosophy while paying homage to John Carpenter's The Thing. I would also recommend Adam Curtis's new documentary HyperNormalization (currently on the BBC iPlayer) which shows how science fiction influences reality much more than people might realise, a fascinating watch.

Listing Image: Fox Searchlight Pictures

References & Further Reading

• Science Fiction and the Medical Humanities website.
• Follow the project on Twitter.
• Follow Anna on Twitter.
• Wellcome Trust website.
• Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go, Faber and Faber (2005).

Some of world's most popular celebrities of the moment have built their success through documenting their lives on reality TV or social media. Offering your lifestyle unreservedly as a product for others to consume has become big business. As a result, social media influencers are powerful tools for companies who want their product or service to be associated with the most popular figures and most attractive lifestyles.

However, there are risks associated with being a public figure, even more so when your career is built around sharing such intimate details of your lifestyle - what you look like, what you own, where you live and work. Arguably the world's most influential social media user was very recently the target of a violent crime, one which was possibly assisted by her prolific sharing of personal information on line. This easy sharing of information, to gain attention and influence, is not reserved for celebrities, and the practice is becoming more widespread, potentially putting users at risk.

This social media culture has grown so rapidly, there has been limited time to assess the benefits and the risks. Through art, novels, films and TV, some have explored the implications of social media growth and the impact that could have on society and individuals. Dave Eggers' science fiction novel, The Circle, depicts a world in which sharing experiences and details on social media has become central to reputation and social participation. Members of this society freely offer vast amounts of information about their lives, which they see as their duty to society, resulting in levels of surveillance comparable to those described in Orwell's 1984. Like the hedonistic members of society in Huxley's Brave New World, the people in Eggers' novel contentedly maintain the system that keeps them subjugated.

The system is very appealing at face-value: one that appeals to our innate desire to communicate with our social group and gain their approval. Charles Horton Cooley's 1902 theory of the 'looking-glass self' suggests that we develop a sense of self based on the perceptions of the people we interact with, beginning at an early age and continuing throughout life. Social media allows us to present a carefully curated image of ourselves to the world, through what we create, what media we share and who we associate ourselves with, and to gain instant feedback from a much wider social group.

Increasing use of social media has recently been linked with a steep rise in narcissistic behaviour and desire for social approval. However, social media cannot be blamed entirely for triggering these traits in the population. For centuries, humans have created self portraits to share with peers, craving their approval. Social media and the smart phone have simply made this process a lot more accessible.

The feedback from peers on social media is driven by two factors that arguably make it extremely compelling and addictive: The fact that feedback is often available immediately; and that the value of the communication is so easily quantified, by the number of shares, likes, retweets, etc. Social media provides an outlet for exercising an inherent desire to seek social approval: the 'looking-glass' that is always available and provides instant gratification with its responses.

Eggers' novel offers a parody of this. In the society of The Circle, social approval is gained by participation on social media, quantified by the individual's 'Participation Rank.' Commonly referred to as 'Popularity rank' (The Circle, p 100), this figure determines rank and supposedly reflects contribution to society. That number is subject to rapid change, depending on the individual's level of participation on social media. As Mae's colleague stresses, this rank is 'as important' as work duties, an assertion which prompts great anxiety for Mae. This is presented as a solution to maintaining a healthy 'work-life balance', but it becomes toxic when the 'life' side of the scales requires as much, if not more, effort than work.

Very little of the participation that is praised so highly seems to be at all meaningful. The act of participating counts more than the quality of the contribution, and so conversation on The Circle's social media network spirals rapidly onwards, spurred on by connections made by its participants. (The Circle, p 103) This conversation feels a little like following a trail of links on the internet, offering endless possibilities, routes, but ultimately aimless without exercising sufficient self-discipline. The participants seem unable to focus on a single task, preferring a multi-tasking approach that appears fruitful, but in reality is likely to be highly unproductive. Research from Stanford University in 2009 found that 'heavy media multi taskers' were less capable of paying attention, control memory or switch efficiently between tasks than those who prefer to complete one task at a time. Those of us who regularly flit between tasks across various media, for example, texting or using social media while completing a task that requires sustained concentration, are harming are ability to stay focused.

The expectation for Mae to maintain communication across three screens while at work appears as a clear sign that The Circle doesn't expect their employees to ever concentrate fully on a single task. All workers at The Circle are subject to the whims of technology, plagued by constant distraction, gratified by instant and shallow communication, conditioned to share without consideration for privacy or security. When The Circle feels the need to silence dissenters, they make use of private information, previously so willingly offered by these members of society.

Mae is accused of deliberately avoiding participation, and cites her father's illness as the reason for her 'absence' (The Circle, p 182). The Circle's HR representatives imply her presence in the community, her existence, is dependent on her ability to document these experiences on social media. This social anxiety brings to mind a phrase added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013, FOMO or 'Fear of missing out' - a phrase and concept unique to modern life. However, that drive to be constantly conncected can leave us feeling that our lives are significantly less colourful and luxurious than the curated lives of celebrities and influencers.

Driven by a desire to please and be recognised by her work colleagues, Mae offers her full attention towards increasing her 'Participation rank'. Within a short space of time, with concerted effort, she is able to rise thousands of places in the ranks of society, to reach the top two thousand contributors. This implies that social mobility is encouraged in The Circle and accessible to those who are willing to put in the effort. With this rise in rank comes increased recognition from peers and rewards from the company. Mae can be said to have reached the circle of top influencers, whose success is quantified by their Participation rank.

Comparison can be made with the rise of beauty bloggers and Instagram stars, who, blessed with beauty, charisma and a friend with a camera, have succeeded in gaining large numbers of loyal followers. These entrepreneurial young people have overturned the traditional hierarchy of power in the beauty industry, a fact illustrated by Vogue's surprisingly vitriolic reaction against fashion bloggers and digital influencers early this year.

Kim Kardashian West, flashing her expensive jewellery in frequent social media posts, may have found it easier to gain social media attention because of her wealth and her relationship with another celebrity. However, it is her prolific use of social media, along with her willingness to share the private details of her life, which ensures she maintains social media popularity.

The Circle's motto 'Secrets are lies, Sharing is caring, Privacy is theft' provides a moral drive to this social media-based culture, by implying that communicating personal experiences is beneficial to the community as a whole. Not sharing experiences, enjoyable, emotional or otherwise, is considered selfish. Citizens in The Circle have a duty to share images, videos and personal accounts to ensure that others benefit from their experience. When going through a difficult time with health, or emotional issues, the experience should be shared to help someone dealing with the same problem. When experiencing an enjoyable, inspiring or rare event, that experience should be documented and shared, so that others who are not able to experience the same event can witness it through the account.

"When you deprive your friends... of experiences like I had, you're basically stealing from them. You're depriving them of something they have a right to. Knowledge is a basic human right. Equal access to all possible human experience is a basic human right." (The Circle, p 301)

Lifestyle bloggers and vloggers, by sharing their experiences on social media, are offering a similar service to their followers. They can provide support and understanding to followers who are going through a difficult, but comparable experience, or they can offer audiences a glimpse of an ideal lifestyle, a way of life to aspire to. With meticulous planning and editing, lifestyle bloggers invite audiences to share in their lifestyle and experiences for the duration of the blog/vlog. Especially in the case of idealised lifestyle blogs, myriad in their variety, the lifestyles depicted in these blogs rarely reflect the real lives of the subjects in the photos. Consumers do not want that illusion to be shattered, and the fairytale is made richer with detail and regular instalments.

Like the members of society in The Circle, social media stars seem to be turning upon themselves the same surveillance camera we've come to fear from the dystopian futures depicted in the likes of Orwell's 1984 and Huxley's Brave New World. The Kardashians in particular has turned public scrutiny of their life and fame into a multi-million dollar business, built on an attitude of sharing, and baring, all. Yet to gain the social approval, and subsequent fame and fortune, that comes with this lifestyle, the Kardashians have sacrificed their privacy and their security. Surely this should be a warning to us all.

A film adaptation of Eggers' novel is in production, with Emma Watson, Tom Hanks and Karen Gillan announced as holding leading roles, due for release next April.

Listing Image: The Daily Beast

References & Further Reading

• Eggers, The Circle, Mc Sweeney's (2013).
• Cooley, Human Nature and the Social Order, Scribner's (1902).
• Twitter user: @KimKardashian.
• Ophira, Nass and Wagner, 'Cognitive control in media multitaskers', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 106 No. 33, (August 25, 2009).
• University of Michigan, 'You're so vain: Study links social media use and narcissism', ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily (2013).

A train without wheels, which hovers above the track on a cushion of air, sounds like the stuff of science fiction. Such a train wouldn't have to contend with the force of friction, and this would result in travel that is extremely fast. The Shanghai Transrapid is the fastest commercial train in operation and works on this principle. Reaching a top speed of 430km/h (270mph), this maglev train connects Shanghai Pudong International Airport with the outskirts of central Pudong, raised on concrete pillars above Shanghai's existing infrastructure.

Credit: Shanghai Transrapid

The idea of a maglev train is not a new idea, and the first maglev patent was awarded in the early 1900s. The image of a levitating train with low friction became a staple of twentieth century science fiction, depicted as the method of travel for the future. The maglev train since featured in the works of Ray Bradbury, Arthur C Clarke and Robert Heinlein. A similarly levitating vehicle can be spotted in the 1976 science fiction film 'Logan's Run' and in the scenes of future San Francisco depicted in the first 'Star Trek' 1979 motion picture.

It seems such a high speed rail network would be an efficient method of intercity travel in the United States, but a reliance on other modes of transport and a lack of funding mean that maglev transport in the US is still but a dream. In 2013, SpaceX, Paypal and Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk released plans for a maglev train, which promises top speeds higher than that of the Chinese train. The design involves passengers and freight carried in pods, inside low pressure tubes on scaffolding above the landscape. He named this method of intercity travel the Hyperloop.

Credit: Elon Musk / SpaceX

The lower pressure inside the Hyperloop tube reduces the air resistance which limits the speed of other maglev trains. However, the Kantrowitz Limit puts limitations on the Hyperloop's speed, because if the diameter of the pod is too close to the cross-sectional diameter of the tube, the air won't have time to flow around the pod as it moves through the tube. Instead the pod will be forced to push the entire column of air in the system, resulting in enormous levels of friction between the air and the tube wall. Musk describes this effect as being like a syringe. The train will either be forced to go very slowly, or will need a tube of a huge diameter to travel through.

Musk's solution to this is to mount an electric compressor fan on the nose of the pod to transfer high pressure air from the front of the train to the rear. By reducing the air pressure in front of the train, air resistance is greatly reduced, allowing the train to travel faster.

Credit: Elon Musk / SpaceX

The pods are mounted on thin skis of Inconel, an alloy of nickel and steel that can withstand high pressure and heat. The air from the compressor is pumped out through holes in the skis, creating a smooth cushion for the pod to ride on.

Just like the Chinese train, the pods are propelled using a magnetic levitation system. The magnets are attached to the skis, with an electromagnetic pulse giving the pod thrust. As the train is hovering above the track and not running in contact with it, the friction is greatly reduced, allowing for very high speeds. The pods will be extremely lightweight, allowing the train to accelerate quickly. The train will be solar-powered, with an onboard battery to drive the compressor. Electric induction motors at the beginning and at intermediate points along the tube will accelerate, boost and decelerate the pods.

However, to make such designs a reality would be an expensive venture and Musk claims to be currently too busy with commercial space project SpaceX to consider leading the project himself. He decided to make his plans public and suggested others take up the challenge.

Rocket engineer Brogan BamBrogan recently announced that his company Hyperloop Technologies had succeeded in raising $8.5 million in venture capital. The company is building a test track 3km (1.9 miles) long in the Nevada Desert. BamBrogan promises a top speed of over 1,000km/h (620 mph), so passengers could travel between New York and Los Angeles in under an hour.

Credit: Serge Roux

When complete, the Hyperloop could carry passengers, cars and freight. It would be immune to the weather and resistant to earthquakes, and sustainably self-powering. People seated in the cabins of the Hyperloop would experience slightly more than the force of gravity, like in an aeroplane. This mode of transport is most efficient between cities closer than 1,000km miles. Beyond that, supersonic air travel would be a preferable mode of transport. For the shorter distances, the Hyperloop beats the ascending and descending time involved in taking the plane.

The Hyperloop is likely to be subject to extensive regulation to ensure it is safe and comfortable for commercial use. Ideally, departures could happen as often as every 30 seconds, offering a very quick and convenient service. However, as the train needs time to safely accelerate to over 600mph and back to stationary, there will need to be a suitable gap between departures to ensure passenger safety.

Concept rendering of a hyperloop track for Quay Valley, Credit: Hyperloop Transportation Technologies

Terrain and existing infrastructure may hinder the development of the build. A straight track is needed to reach maximum speed, but compromises may have to be made. It has been suggested that the line should be constructed alongside the current California motorway, to keep disputes over land rights to a minimum. With Hyperloop Technologies planning to begin testing by the end of the year, it seems that maglev trains could certainly be the future of transport in the US. The only limits to the success of the technology may now be down to regulation, reconciling the track with existing infrastructure, and the massive cost involved in building the Hyperloop.

Listing Image: Hyperloop Transportation Technologies

References & Further Reading

• Elon Musk, 'Hyperloop Alpha' (SpaceX.com, 2013)
• Logan's Run, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1976).
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Paramount Pictures (1979).

With figures for the highly-anticipated latest installment The Force Awakens smashing box office records, Star Wars seems to have brought Science Fiction to the mass market. Having overtaken previous record-holder Avatar, Star Wars has become the highest grossing film in US box office history, making over $700m in the US since its release in December 2015. Many media outlets have highlighted the fact that this figure exceeds the annual GDP of many small countries. Even slighter larger countries, such as the Central African Republic, with a population of more than 4.6 million, have a lower GDP than the latest film. This fact alone is a cause for concern, highlighting the vast economic gulf between the US and small economies across the globe, but this issue has been covered elsewhere and isn't the focus of this blog.

I've been keen to discover what has made Star Wars such a success, as other Space Opera fiction tends to be isolated to the bookshelves and DVD collections of the particularly nerdy (myself included). The Star Wars franchise undoubtedly benefits from a nostalgic audience willing to experience the next installment in a beloved series from their childhood, though this can't be the only key to its success. Ironically the answer may be that Star Wars actually bears little resemblance to Science Fiction.

Star Wars has often been described as a Western set in space and director George Lucas himself has cited his fondness for Westerns as an influence on the films. 'The Telegraph' recently explored Lucas' influences from classic films, and cited a surprising nod to Casablanca in the Mos Eisley spaceport scene. The storyline in the Star Wars trilogy is heavily character-driven and revolves mainly around intergalactic politics. Science fiction elements, such as the space setting, alien races, weapons and transports could be subsituted for less futuristic equivalents and the storyline would remain more or less unchanged. However, these elements add colour and vibrancy to the fictional world, a unique flavour that fans can emulate when they participate in cosplay, writing fanfiction or discussing the finer details of the Star Wars universe.

At heart, Star Wars is an adventure story that happens to be set in space. Perhaps this fact contributes to its enduring success in the mass market. Other series that apparently fit into a particular genre seem to follow the same formula. For example, George R R Martin's A Game of Thrones series has become an internationally popular phenonemon following the broadcast of the TV adapatation. Though set in a fantasy universe, Martin's series is driven mainly by political drama, with the fantasy elements having a limited impact on the storyline. Sexual politics and moral dilemmas are the central focus of the most dramatic storylines of the series, and this is what drives the most passionate audience debate. The White Walkers, and Daenerys' dragons come to mind as core fantasy elements, but these are still at the periphery of the main storyline and these magical creatures are as equally mythical to many characters in the story as they are to the reader. Essentially A Game of Thrones is a medieval political drama dressed up like a fantasy, as Star Wars is a Western adventure in Science Fiction's clothing.

Though there's still an opportunity for A Game of Thrones to change it's tune.

It's official - Martin disclosed in his LiveJournal blog last week that The Winds of Winter will not be published before the next series of Game of Thrones, meaning that the TV series will overtake the storyline of the novels for the first time. The announcement was made regretfully by Martin, though fans seem to have reacted in good faith. There's a good chance that the TV series will proceed very differently from the novels. With the next novel still being penned, and season six of the TV series due for release in April 2016, perhaps there's still time for the fantasy elements to come to the fore, whether in the novel, the TV series, or both. Considering how fans have invested so heavily in the characters' stories and motivations, I think it would be a shame for the series to end of a heavily fantastical note, rather than carry the character-driven story through to the end.

Having waited so long for the next installment to Martin's story, I can hardly believe it's due within the next year. There's one more thing these two cultural phenomena (Star Wars and A Game of Thrones) have in common: Their stories have been long in the making, giving time for the fans to make predictions, weave their own interpretations and side stories, and to get extremely excited for the next installment. Now that's how you capture the imagination of a mass audience.

Listing image: Lucasfilm Ltd.

References & Further Reading

• Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Lucasfilm Ltd (2015)
• Game Of Thrones TV series, HBO (2011 - 2015)
• Martin, A Song Of Fire And Ice series, Voyager Books (1996 - 2011)

Inspired by the work of Charles Darwin, Finnish symphonic metal group Nightwish's latest album, Endless Forms Most Beautiful is 'an equal tribute to science and the power of reason', exploring the theory of evolution and mankind's place in the universe. It includes a spoken word part performed by Richard Dawkins.

Endless Forms Most Beautiful is Nightwish's seventh album as a band, but is their first album with new members Floor Jansen and Troy Donockley. In addition to introducing the new line up, the band has displayed a drastic change in the thematic content of their music. While previous albums have focused heavily on fantasy themes and escapism, their new album is based around the theory of evolution and is influenced heavily by the ideas of scientific and rational thinkers. Among those who have provided inspiration for the album are Richard Dawkins, T H Huxley, Carl Sagan, Christopher Hitchens, Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau. Frontman, songwriter and keyboardist, Tuomas Holopainen, has compared Endless Forms Most Beautiful to album number six, Imaginaerum:

The previous album was a tribute to the power of imagination. Endless Forms Most Beautiful would be an equal tribute to science and the power of reason.

I would argue that Nightwish's back catalogue occasionally alludes to scientific concepts and themes, which really come to the foreground in this latest album. Though in this blog article I'd like to focus on Endless Forms Most Beautiful, those familiar with Nightwish's earlier work may recognise some themes and repeating motifs.

Holopainen has referred to evolution as a spiritual and poetic experience, with humbling effects. He has cited Darwin's On The Origin Of Species, which lay the foundations of the theory of evolution, as a powerful source of inspiration for the album. Considering the elegance and poetic quality of Darwin's prose, including the following quotation from which Holopainen took the name of the album, its easy to see how his writings could inspire art such as this:

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed ... into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

Charles Darwin, On The Origin Of Species

Further research into the subject area led Holopainen to become fascinated with what he calls the 'thought plays' of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. He sent a handwritten letter to Dawkins, asking him to narrate sections of the album. Dawkins agreed, and his contributions include the spoken word passages, including pieces of his own writings and Darwin's.

Most tracks on the album seem to contribute towards the overall theme, with the exception of 'Yours Is An Empty Hope.'

Shudder Before The Beautiful

Credit: Nightwish / Nuclear Blast Records

The opening track sets the tone appropriately for the rest of the album, conveying the idea that artistic inspiration, 'music of this awe', and spiritual awakening, 'epiphany', can come from understanding the world around us, the cosmos, and such theories as evolution. Such knowledge can help us understand our place in the world and can be the source of great art. The track seems to be strongly influenced by Carl Sagan, who commented that 'understanding is a kind of ecstasy'. The opening line of the album, 'The deepest solace lies in understanding' could easily be mistaken for a quote of Sagan's. Holopainen describes this experience as humbling, understandly so, as it explains that we're but one part of the complex and ongoing process of evolution.

'Awake, Oceanborn' appears to allude to our evolution from sea dwelling creatures. It's interesting to note that Nightwish's second album was titled Oceanborn and this is a repeated motif across their albums, including the song of the same name. Though at its release, Oceanborn appeared to be mainly influenced by fantasy and theatrical themes, in the context of Endless Forms Most Beautiful, it's possible to see these lyrics in a new light. It seems appropriate that the track 'Stargazers' from the Oceanborn album has had a revival in live shows since Floor's joining the band, as the lyrics are thematically similar to those on Endless Forms Most Beautiful:

A grand oasis in the vastness of gloom
(...)
Floating upon the quiet hydrogen lakes.

'Quiet hydrogen lakes' suggests an alternative biochemistry on this fantasy world, not unlike the hypothetical biochemistries offered by Issac Asimov. Hydrogen is the most common substance with a liquid range at temperatures below that of liquid methane is hydrogen, so hydrogen may be a possible common liquid on cold planets. Carl Sagan also speculated that alien life might be based on ammonia, hydrocarbons or hydrogen fluoride instead of water.

The track 'Stargazers' also refers to the 'theatre for the play of life,' and 'wanderers in cosmic caravan,' as if referring to travelling gypsy performers. This metaphor for life and the ongoing process of evolution as a theatre show or performance is a running theme throughout Endless Forms Most Beautiful. Here it's described as 'interstellar theatre play', upon which 'the nebulae curtain falls.' Reflecting the message of the track, the scientific lexicon provides beautiful new language that enhances metaphor and lends unique musicality to the poetry. Rarely seen outside of science text books, taxonomic names of organisms, the names of periods in Earth's history and astronomical terms bring a wealth of intertextuality and provide opportunities for a variety of new metaphors. This exemplifies how 'understanding' of scientific principles can bring awe, awakening, and artistic appreciation.

Weak Fantasy

Credit: Nightwish / Nuclear Blast Records

Holopainen has long cited the writings of Walt Whitman as an influence, and even teasingly refers to the American poet as 'Uncle Walt' (A reference to 1989 film, Dead Poet's Society). Whitman's ideas of transcendentalism are evident in 'Weak Fantasy', which focuses on the corrupting power of religion and politics. It's clear that Dawkins has influenced the album not just with his scientific writing, but with his anti-religious polemics, as this track takes on an aggressive anti-religious tone that could be compared with Dawkins' 'The God Delusion.' I can imagine Dawkins also referring to the idea of a supernatural creator as a 'weak fantasy,' or 'witchcraft filling [the] void.'

This fits with the narrative in the whole album in the sense that it charts the rise of man, his ambitions and the formation of religion, politics and hierarchy. It resonates with the final album track, 'The Greatest Show On Earth', which charts both the rise and inevitable demise of humankind, showing how miniscule our ambitions are against the endless march of evolution.

Élan

Credit: Nightwish / Nuclear Blast Records

The answer to the riddle before your eyes,
Is in dead leaves and fleeting skies

The more uplifting in what seems to be a duo of tracks inspired by Walt Whitman, Élan encourages us to 'take the path less travelled.' In the final track of the album, 'The Greatest Show On Earth', Dawkins reminds us of the overwhelming odds we've overcome just to be here: the odds of a planet like Earth being able to bear life, and the odds of our particular set of genes coming together to make us who we are. This spirit is imbued in the track, Élan, which is appropriate for a song named after the French word for 'liveliness' or 'exuberance'.The track encourages us appreicate life and to explore our uniqueness, with such activities as laughing 'at the orthodox' and writing 'lyrics for a song only you can understand.' Once again, understanding of science is central to improving our sense of well-being, as we can better appreciate life when we understand our place in it.

My Walden

Credit: Nightwish / Nuclear Blast Records

Despite a unfortunate spelling mistake, or typo, I was very surprised and excited to see a Welsh language spoken introduction to this track. Nightwish have a history of appropriating musical styles and languages of other cultures when it fits thematically with the track. As the track seems influenced by the writings of Henry David Thoreau, I can only assume that Wales represents the ideal 'Walden' in the eyes of the band. (How can I disagree?)

Thoreau's 'Walden' or 'Life In The Woods' is partly a social experiment, partly a reflection on simple living in natural surroundings. It had a strongly transcendentalist slant, aligned with the writings of Walt Whitman. The track seems to depict a utopian society in stark opposition to the one we see in 'Weak Fantasy'.

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary.
I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my next excursion.

Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Perhaps this song is partly autoboiographical, as a later track 'Edema Ruh' also seems to allude to the band members' personal experiences creating music and touring. Nightwish retreated to a remote lakeside college in the Karelia region of Finland to record the album. This experience of living simply and focusing on the task of creating this album could be compared with Thoreau's experience of living simply out in the woods. The album's themes also encourage us to 'suck out all the marrow of life', as Thoreau aimed to do. The album's lyrics suggest that learning about evolution, 'to front the essential facts of life,' is a spiritual and artistic experience. There are undoubtedly parallels to be drawn and this track perhaps indicates the band identified with Thoreau's experience while creating the album.

Endless Forms Most Beautiful

Credit: Nightwish / Nuclear Blast Records

This track seems to most obviously deal with the process of evolution, and takes the listener back along the evolutionary path. This 'ride' echoes the themepark references in the Imaginaerum album, which like many of the songs on the album, makes theatre out of the scientific process. Evidence of evolution left in the fossil record presents 'a tale from the past to tell.'

'Our floating pale blue ark' seems to be a direct reference to the 'Pale Blue Dot' photograph taken of Earth in 1990 by the Voyager 1 space probe, at a distance of 6 billion kilometres. Earth appears as a single blue pixel, a tiny dot in the vastness of space around it. Despite the apparent insignificance of Earth against the vastness of space, it is capable of not just supporting life, but supporting the grand and complex proccess of evolution that has produced 'endless forms most beautiful.' Reference to the 'Tiktaalik', which is an archetypal example of the evolutionary transition from fish to animals, reminds us that we are the product of this long process, and that humankind is not a species that stands alone, but one stage in a process that began eons ago and will continue long into the future.

Edema Ruh

Credit: Nightwish / Nuclear Blast Records

Before Élan was fully developed, this track was the band's stand out first single. It does serve as an appropriate introuduction to the theme of the album, as it continues an idea that begins in 'Walden', of the band as a group of travelling musicians who tell the tale of evolution. The Edema Ruh are a travelling group of entertainers from a series of fantasy novels, The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss. Theatrical metaphor also plays its part in this track, with references to 'the planetary curtain' and 'the theatre of the primal birth.'

Alpenglow

Credit: Nightwish / Nuclear Blast Records

The changes in tone in this track, from threatening and dramatic, to uplifting and reminiscent, seem to show a progression that's mirrored in the final track of the album, 'The Greatest Show On Earth.' So far, the album has been quite celebratory, recognising the remarkable fact of human existence and encouraging us to make the most of life. Now the focus seems to be shifting towards the future and the fact that human existence is fleeting and that evolution will eventually result in the end of humankind as a whole. The refrain 'We were here' returns in 'The Toolmaker' movement of 'The Greatest Show On Earth,' and appears to be a futile affirmation of humankind's achievements. It suggests that human activity is little more than graffitti in the face of the relentless and continuing course of Earth's history.

The Greatest Show On Earth

Credit: Nightwish / Nuclear Blast Records

In twenty four minutes, Nightwish take us from the formation of Earth around 4.54 billion years ago, through the evolution of life on Earth, the rise and fall of mankind, and beyond. With a combination of instrumental sections, Floor Jansen's vocals and Dawkins' spoken word parts, the human presence in the track waxes and wanes, representing the development of life and humankind on Earth.

'Four Point Six' deals with the formation of Earth before the beginnings of life. This period is commononly known as the 'Archaen' period, meaning 'ancient', though some count this as two separate eras, with 'Hadaen' coming just before 'Archaen'. The name 'Hadaen' is named after the Greek God of the Underworld, Hades, aptly named, as this period in Earth's history would have been quite hostile to life.

Evidence suggests that life on Earth started at least 3.5 billion years ago in the Archaen period. The second movement of this track, 'Life' derives beautiful metaphor from the processes that led to the formation of Earth and the environment in which life could develop. Earth was formed by accretion, which involves the growth of particles into a massive object, by attracting more matter with its gradually increasing gravitational pull.

The cosmic law of gravity
Pulled the newborns around a fire.

Such common scientific terms as 'stellar nursery' and 'The Goldilock's Zone' have a certain poetry in themselves, metaphors that can help understanding of astronomic concepts.

This celebratory track follows the development of chemistry on Earth until it's capable of hosting life, the preparation for 'the day to day new opening, for the greatest show on Earth.' As the Devonian period was that which saw the first instance of organisms diversifying rapidly to form a variety of new species, it is apt and concise to refer to humans as 'scions of the Devonian sea,' reminding us of our common origin shared with all life on Earth.

'The Toolmaker' marks the advent of mankind on Earth. Mankind's ambitions and curiousity are characterised as both something to admire and as something vain and destructive, driven by 'human lust to feel so exceptional.' Nightwish's dramatic symphonic rock style lends itself well to the tragic tone of the piece and later gives way to reminiscence. Carl Sagan's statement for humanity sounds rather pertinent in comparison with these lyrics.

Tracking the rise and fall of mankind, the latter part of this section reminds me strongly of H G Wells' The Time Machine, as Wells' protagonist travels far into the future to a point where mankind has evolved and diversified into two species: the gentle Eloi and the terrible Morlocks. Neither of these species have maintained the knowledge of their forebearers and civilisation has collapsed back into a new Dark Age. The Time Traveller inadvertently visits the abandoned British Museum thousands of years into the future. Nightwish seem to be referring to this very episode with the line:

Greet the last light of the library.

Throughout the album, references to man's 'time in the sun' describe the height of mankind's successes and endeavours. The sunset upon the library is representative of the inevitable end of humankind's search for knowledge. The refrain of 'We were here' returns in this track, a soulful and futile echo from the earlier 'Alpenglow'.

A hopeful monologue from Dawkins in 'The Understanding' reminds us of the remarkable chances of our existence, 'the lottery of birth,' reasserting our need to appreciate and make the most of our opportunity.

Appropriately the final section of this track, titled 'Sea-Worn Driftwood', includes no vocals, but some primal animals sounds and the wash of waves upon the shore. The Earth, and the evolution of life on Earth, will continue for long after humankind, and it appears Richard Dawkins will always be around to narrate the process.

Sagan (B side to Élan)

In a slight departure from the overall themes of Endless Forms Most Beautiful, this B-side is a tribute to American astronomer and author, Carl Sagan. There are repeated references to Carl Sagan's novel, Contact, in which a SETI scientist finds strong evidence of extraterrestrial life. The novel explores the relationship between science and religion, and as a clear agnostic, Sagan deals with the topic in an open-minded, enquiring manner. I hesitate to explain these references as I'd certainly include spoilers, so I encourage you to read Contact discover them for yourself. (For a diluted version of the story, I suggest watching the film adaptation, the script for which had much input from Sagan himself.)

Entering the unknown
Sending all the poets to the stars

The overwhelming theme of Endless Forms Most Beautiful suggests that we can gain a deeper appreciation of life, and gain artistic inspiration, from understanding science and our place in the natural world. With both astronomic and biological metaphors, the album aims to convey a sense of awe which is two-fold: first by witnessing the rare opportunity Earth has to host life in the vast emptiness of space, the 'pale blue dot', 'a pilgrim shining bright'; and also witnessing the insignificance of humankind in the vast scheme of evolution.

We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place, but who will in fact never see the light of day, outnumber the sand grains of Sahara. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people.
In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here. We privileged few, who won the lottery of birth against all odds, how dare we whine at our inevitable return to that prior state, from which the vast majority have never stirred?

Dawkins, Unweaving The Rainbow

Listing image: Nightwish / Nuclear Blast Records

References & Further Reading

• Nightwish, Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Nuclear Blast, 2015).
• Nightwish, Imaginaerum (Nuclear Blast, 2011).
• Nightwish, Oceanborn (Drakkar, 1998).
• Asimov, Extraterrestrial Civilizations (Crown, 1979).
• Darwin, On The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection (1859).
• Dawkins, The God Delusion (Bantam Books, 2006).
• Dawkins, The Greatest Show On Earth: The Evidence For Evolution (Transworld, 2009).
• Dawkins, Unweaving The Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder (Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1998).
• Rothfuss, The Kingkiller Chronicle (Penguin, 2007).
• Sagan, Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science (Random House, 1979).
• Sagan, Cosmos (Random House, 2002).
• Sagan, Contact (Simon & Schuster, 1985).
• Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (Random House, 1994).
• Thoreau, Walden; or, Life in the Woods (Ticknor and Fields, 1854)
• Wells, The Time Machine (William Heinemann, 1895)
• The Carl Sagan Portal.

Earlier this week, new Artistic Director Mark Adams announced the details of the programme for the 2015 Edinburgh International Film Festival. Now in its 69th edition, the festival will run from 17 - 28 June and boasts a number of World, European and UK premieres. There's a considerable Scottish presence in the programme, which opens with Robert Carlyle's Glasgow-based dark comedy, The Legend Of Barney Thomson, based on the novel by Douglas Lindsay, and closes with Scott Graham's family drama, Iona. For a taste of the programme as a whole, I recommend watching the EIFF 2015 Preview Reel, which includes some striking shots from the SF features on the festival programme.

I've sought out the festival films with a SF leaning, including science documentaries, though experience tells me that further exploration of the programme will undoubtedly uncover blog inspiration in unlikely places. From slick dystopian thrillers to almost art house, SF influenced films with a human story at heart, this year's programme has a varied offering for SF fans.

The film I'm most excited about seeing is the drama debut of acclaimed documentary maker Simon Pummell, Brand New-U, which seems to use its SF premise to explore relationships and themes of identity. The plotline seems similar to that of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, though with different technology at the characters' disposal.

Also set in a dystopian future, Narcopolis portrays a world in which drugs have been legalised. As synopses frequently point out that this has come 'at a cost', this film could come across as a didactic piece of anti-drugs propoganda. I'm hoping that the story delves deeper. Australian SF Infini has been lauded as a tense thriller, as its protagonists embark on a rescue mission to an off-world mining facility that has suffered a biological outbreak. The final dystopian SF film in the programme, Index Zero follows an immigrant couple as they struggle to stay alive, and together, in a Europe of the future. The title refers to a complex number used by the government to determine a human being's worth, and this focus on the struggle of individuals in the wake of humanitarian crisis reminds me a little of Children Of Men.

Infini (2015).
Credit: Storm Vision Entertainment

Low-budget American SF drama, Uncanny deals with the subject of artificial intelligence in a way that focuses on character and relationships, rather than relying on special effects, and has drawn comparisons with Alex Garland’s recent Ex Machina. Those with an interest in psychology or the history of psychology should look no further than Kyle Patrick Alvarez's dramatisation of The Stanford Prison Experiment

This year's EIFF programme includes two very different takes on the zombie film genre. Based on the video game series of the same name, Dead Rising: Watchtower promises plenty of old fashioned zombie gore and violence. Alternatively, Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in Maggie, in which he plays a Midwest farmer trying to protect his daughter, who has recently been infected by zombies, from the military who would put her in quarantine. This is a film described by EIFF as 'a zombie film with an art-film sensibility,' and it seems to be following in a recent trend of films and novels that attempt a new take on a recognisable creature/monster of fantasy or mythology. These films focus on making the threatening 'Other' more human, turning the table on the genre. Such examples include Swedish film and novel, Let The Right One In, 2014 film When Animals Dream (which I had the pleasure of seeing at Glasgow Film Festival in February), M Carey's novel The Girl With All The Gifts (of which we're promised a film adaptation in 2016, titled She Who Brings Gifts) and Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, which depicts a couple of centuries old vampires trying to live discretely in modern society. I intend to write more fully on this idea in the near future.

Maggie (2015).
Credit: Lionsgate

Speaking of vampires, Therapy For A Vampire appears to be a hilarious comedy-take on the genre of vampire movies and will be high on my list of must-see films. For classic vampire scares, 1970s adaptation of Stephen King's novel, Salem's Lot receives a theatrical re release to scare a whole new generation. If you're looking for a fix of young adult fantasy, The Circle, based on the Swedish dark fantasy novels, the Engelsfors trilogy, should suffice. In Docomuentaries, That Sugar Film does exactly as the title suggests, investigating the amount of sugar we unwittingly consume and the effects this has on our health. If you're looking for the incentive to avoid sugary food and drinks, this documentary should help you on your way....

Long before Peter Jackson, Ralph Bakshi attempted to bring The Lord Of The Rings to the big screen as faithfully as he could, in this animated adaptation of The Fellowship Of The Ring. The film combines hand-drawn animation and rotoscoping, in which animators trace over live action footage, frame by frame. The animation strand has a focus on the films of Ralph Bakshi and also includes fantasy feature Wizards, which depicts a post apocalyptic world where technology has been abandoned and magic has resurfaced in the world. The villainous dark wizard finds inspiration when he uncovers old Nazi propaganda footage, prompting a cautionary tale about the power of propaganda and the threat of a resurge of fascism.

The EIFF programme boasts more than just films, hosting a great variety of industry events and special events, including a special screening of Back To The Future alongside a live performance of the film's score. There are also opportunities for SF character-spotting in the programme's Special Events strand. In Person events include interviews with Ewan McGregor, or Obi Wan Kenobi (Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace) to SF fans, and Malcolm McDowell, who played Alex DeLarge in the screen adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel, A Clockwork Orange.

Bookings for EIFF are now open to the general public. Find out how to book tickets, and view the full programme listings online.

Listing Image: TSquared Films, Narcopolis (2014).

References & Further Reading

• Carey, The Girl With All The Gifts, Orbit Books (2014).
• Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Focus Features (2004).
• Children Of Men, Universal Pictures (2006).
• Ex Machina, DNA Films (2015).
• Let the Right One In, EFTI (2008).
• When Animals Dream, AlphaVille Pictures Copenhagen (2014).
• Only Lovers Left Alive, Recorded Picture Company (2013).
• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Lucasfilm (1999).
• A Clockwork Orange, Warner Bros (1971).

On the evening of the 7th May 2015, while the UK was in a frenzy about the general election, the unmanned Russian spacecraft Progress M 59 was plummeting back towards Earth. A malfunction had sent the craft into an uncontrollable spin, preventing it from docking as planned with the International Space Station (ISS). This sounds like quite a dramatic scenario, one which had visitors to comment sections across the internet asking why the whole planet wasn't in a panic. Presumably they were imagining a scene from a 1998 science fiction disaster movie.

Armageddon (1998).
Credit: Touchstone Pictures

The media coverage of Progress M 59's descent was appropriately understated. In the UK at least, David Cameron's return to Westminster was seemingly a greater threat to the survival of mankind than the out-of-control spacecraft returning to Earth. Small debris and meteors hit the Earth more often than you might expect, and spacecraft make controlled landings on a regular basis after trips to the ISS. Two thirds of the Earth's surface is covered by water, and only 3% of that land is heavily populated, so even an out-of-control spacecraft is unlikely to be a risk to Earth's population. As spacecraft reach the densest part of the Earth's atmosphere, they are subject to forces of friction that are likely to generate high temperatures and break the spacecraft apart. However, it's impossible to predict how an out-of-control spacecraft might break up on re-entry, and I was curious to know what exactly happened to the Progress M 59, why it malfunctioned and where it ended up.

Following the retirement of the Space Shuttle programme in 2011, NASA has been relying on Russian Soyuz rockets to supply the ISS. On board the Progress capsule were more than 3 tonnes of food, water, fuel and other supplies. The Progress M 59's launch from the top of a Soyuz 2.1a rocket appeared to go smoothly, but flight controllers later reported the spacecraft may have failed to pressurise its propulsion system. The cause of this is still unknown, but it would mean Progress would be unable to dock with the ISS. Soon after reaching orbit, the craft went into an uncontrolled spin and it became apparent that the Progress wouldn't be completing its mission.

Here's NASA astronaut Terry Virts of Expedition 43 on the International Space Station checking the remote control Canadarm2 on 26th April, 2015. The Canadarm 2 is used to grapple arriving spacecraft and moving them to their docking ports.
Credit: NASA

Progress M 59 returned to Earth under the pull of gravity, The Russian Space Agency reporting that the craft 'ceased to exist' over the Pacific on the evening of 7th May. The final time of re-entry was approximately 9.20pm CDT (02:20 UTC). Visual reports on the internet of a descending object helped to track the out-of-control spacecraft. A disintegrating spacecraft might look like a meteor, leaving a fiery streak across the sky. It may even be visible in daytime. However, man made objects appear considerably slower on re-entry than meteors. The 1998 disaster film 'Deep Impact' comes to mind, where the approaching meteor is seen approaching more slowly than would be realistic, probably for dramatic effect.

The spacecraft may have be seen breaking up as it entered the atmosphere, creating bursts of light trailing away from the main body of the craft. Such disintegration occurs when the craft reaches the densest part of the atmosphere at around 70-75 miles (112-120km) high. Gravity alone would cause the craft to accelerate uncontrollably and fall dangerously fast. However, the atmosphere contains air particles that rub against the craft, causing friction. This causes the craft to experience air resistance that slows it down to a safer speed. However, the friction also causes high temperatures of around 1,650 degrees celsius.

The motion of vehicle, and the placement and fullness of fuel tanks (that may or may not explode) can affect the way that a spacecraft breaks up on re-entry. It's not known whether any parts of the Progress survived the fall to Earth, but if they did, the fragments probably landed in the Pacific Ocean.

Under normal circumstances, the Progress would've made a controlled descent to Earth after delivering its cargo to the ISS. After undocking from the orbital laboratory of the ISS, a command would be sent telling the Progress to re-enter the atmosphere and disintegrate over the South Pacific area. Any surviving debris would be unlikely to pose a threat to populated areas.

The dramatisation of space debris falling to Earth with disastrous consequences is common is science fiction books and films. However, such catastrophic events as the meteor strikes in 'Deep Impact' (1998) and 'Armageddon' (1998) are extremely unlikely events. Cinematic meteors make impact without fail near heavily populated American cities. However, 'Deep Impact' has had praise for its portrayal of the meteor impact, with critics noting how the planet-threatening tsunami would be the most likely scenario. Small debris falls to Earth quite often and rarely poses a risk to life on Earth as it usually disintegrates upon entering Earth's atmosphere.

Deep Impact (1998).
Credit: Dreamworks Pictures

Manned spacecraft are well-designed to ensure they're capable of surviving re-entry. A blunt-body design can help the spacecraft avoid the effects of friction in the atmosphere. The blunt-shaped front surface of the vehicle creates a shock wave that precedes the spacecraft, keeping the heat at a distance from the craft. Spacecraft also have heat resistant surfaces. Discovery Channel's video 'Coming Home From Space' gives an insight into how the now-retired space shuttle re-entry procedure allowed them to return safely to Earth.

The failed mission is estimated to cost the Russian Space Agency 5 billion roubles (£62 million). The Progress was carrying vital supplies to sustain the crew of six currently on the ISS. Though expensive and potentially disruptive to research on the space station, the crew are not under any immediate risk due to the failure of the mission. On board the ISS are 2.5 tonnes of food, water, fuel and other supplies, and Progress 60 is planned to launch in early July to deliver supplies to the ISS.

For one reason in particular, I don't think the ISS crew will be too heart broken over the delay in supplies. It seems they received the ultimate in supplies from the NASA contracted (and spectacularly named) SpaceX Cargo Dragon in April. That delivery included a real coffee machine, named the ISSpresso.

ESA (European Space Agency) Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti enjoys her first drink from the new ISSpresso machine. The espresso device allows crews to make tea, coffee, broth or other hot beverages.
I've got a particular sensitivity to instant coffee - it makes me feel horribly nauseous - but I love the taste of coffee. Earlier this week, I got my act together to buy a cafetiere and some ground coffee, so on a small scale, I can comprehend the joy the ISS crew members must've felt when the ISSpresso made its arrival.
Credit: NASA

There's more - In addition to providing a psychological boost to crew members, the ISSpresso is expected to contribute to the study of fluid dynamics in microgravity. You don't believe me?

References & Further Reading

• Deep Impact, Dreamworks Pictures (1998).
• Armageddon, Touchstone Pictures (1998).

Listing Image: NASA

When reading fiction, the reader prepares to experience a product of the author's imagination, including characters, encounters and locations that do no exist. When reading fantasy and science fiction, we expect to be hood winked on a greater scale, suspending our disbelief in the face of worlds that operate under different rules, often with altered physics, chemistry and biology. We assume other works of fiction don't require quite the same suspension of disbelief, that the author wouldn't lie to us about the basic rules of their story's setting. In fiction that doesn't claim to be fantasy, we wouldn't expect to discover that an included case study report, and the purportedly respected journal it is taken from, are really works of fiction.

Published 1997, Ian McEwan's novel Enduring Love tells the story of a science journalist, Joe Rose, who is stalked by a religious loner, Jed Parry. Rose becomes determined to diagnose Parry's behaviour, and concludes that he suffers from a homoerotic manifestation of De Clérambault's Syndrome. The tale is a disturbing one and made all the more harrowing by its two appendices: a psychiatric case study from the British Review of Psychiatry and another letter from Parry. Apparently separate from the fiction of the novel, it seems the appendices to provide the connection to reality, evidence that what we thought to be fiction is in fact the dramatisation of someone's real experience.

De Clérambault's Syndrome is an classified disorder, described as a paranoid delusion with an amorous element. The sufferer, usually a single woman, has the belief that a stranger, or person of high social status or public figure, is in love with them. It is referred to as erotomania in contemporary classification systems. The disorder is named after the French psychiatrist, Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault, who published a comprehensive review paper, titled Les Psychoses Passionelles in 1921.

McEwan's case study, though thorough and authentic in its grasp of the psychiatric lexicon, is entirely fake. The British Review of Psychiatry does not exist and the last names of the paper's authors, Dr Robert Wenn and Dr Antonio Camia, are an anagram of Ian McEwan. He received many letters from reading asking whether he'd written the case study, but many reviewers and even some psychiatrists accepted the case report without question. Spurred on by the success of his deceit, McEwan even submitted the appendix to the British Journal of Psychiatry, under the name of one of his invented authors. The case study wasn't published, but was authentic in tone and content to fool experts in the field.

Speaking to The Guardian in 1999, McEwan admitted his deceit:

"I can confirm that Appendix I of Enduring Love is fictional, based on the novel that precedes it rather than the other way around," he admits, adding wistfully: "If the monograph had been published, it would have seemed that my novel was based on a genuine case, my characters would have acquired an extra sheen of plausibility and the division between the real and the invented world would have become seamless. The authority of the anagramatic Drs Wenn and Camia would have been enhanced as their names dissolved among the authentic citations in the bibliography."

McEwan enjoys blurring the lines between fact and fiction. He seems disappointed that his hoax wasn't assimilated into scientific literature, as if in doing so, it would've made the story more 'real'.

"Psychiatric case studies are like small novels," he muses. "To base a psychiatric theory on what one person says she or he discovered of another person is fantastically unscientific and owes much to a certain kind of literary interpolation. So why not go the whole way? Why not subject the characters in your novel to psychiatric study?"

Could McEwan be suggesting that his characters act as fully formed experiments on which he can conduct psychiatric study? This does suggest a brash confidence in the consistency of his character construction. However, humans can be very inconsistent, so the same could be said of basing a psychiatric theory on a single case study. At least an author may undergo a conscious effort to retain a character's consistency.

If we read Enduring Love with this in mind, it becomes a piece of speculative fiction, imposing a novum (De Clérambault’s syndrome) on a character and observing how the situation progresses and what impact it has on other people in the novel.

Not only did the appendix prove authentic enough to fool experts in the field, but Parry exhibits clear symptoms of De Clérambault's throughout the novel. De Clérambault’s most famous patient was a French woman who believed that King George V of England was in love with her, a case that is documented in the report in the end of Enduring Love. Since De Clérambault, other research has revealed that sufferers can be male, and that males are likely to be more intrusive and more dangerous. In choosing to invent a male case study, McEwan was perhaps aiming to invent a rare homosexual case, as if he believed this example would be of greater contribution to research into the condition.

Sufferers of de Clérambault’s syndrome often read signals that aren't there. The sufferer is under a delusion, in which they perceive actions, such as arrangement of objects, changes in routine, physical movements, as signals of affection, even when they have received no apparent encouragement. In a letter to Rose, Parry expresses his love and refers back to their first meeting, at a hot air ballooning accident in the opening chapter of the novel. Parry speaks of the beauty of nature surrounding him and shares his joy at discovering a 'message' Rose has left for him. In reality, Rose had brushed the hedge while rushing out of the house, but Parry believes that the leaves Rose had touched felt different than the others, signalling an intentional 'message'. Parry misinterprets Rose's throwaway actions as signals, such as the gentle touch that Rose makes on Parry’s shoulder when they both discover the body at the start of the film. He also finds meaningful patterns in Rose's routine, such as in the opening and closing of bedroom curtains.

The obsession can develop with little or no contact between the sufferer and the object of their affection, though this progresses with phone calls and letters, and the subject is usually understandably embarrassed by these advances. In the novel, Parry makes contact with Rose and announces his feelings, convinced that Rose will reciprocate. Rose, happily married and taken aback by the determination behind Parry's advances, turns him down and dismisses the situation as ridiculous. Rose is perplexed by Parry's irrational behaviour, though Parry is undeterred. Sufferers of De Clérambault's typically are unwavered by their subjects embarrassment and denial, as they believe it's a sign of them trying to hide their feelings.

However, Rose goes on to develop equally obsessive behaviour as a reaction to Parry's advances, behaviour that his wife finds disturbing. He begins research to find a scientific diagnosis to the problem. Joe is thrilled when he identifies Parry as a sufferer of De Clérambault’s syndrome, because he is no longer a mystery, a confusing emotional force. With the diagnosis, Parry can now be explained by a scientific narrative.

De Clérambault’s syndrome. The name was like a fanfare, a clear trumpet sound recalling me to my own obsessions. There was research to follow through now and I knew exactly where to start. A syndrome was a framework of prediction and it offered a kind of comfort.
-- Enduring Love, pg. 124

However, the mirror is turned on Rose's obsessive behaviour, and we wonder perhaps if the novel is really a case study of his character. With a knowledge of De Clérambault’s syndrome, we can predict Parry's behaviour, the amorous letters and phone calls, down to his later more drastic behaviours. Yet we get a greater insight into Rose's mind and his tribulations: how the situation affects his sense of self and impacts on his marriage. Rose's determination to define Parry's 'love' as a clinical disorder could be seen as distasteful, as an character flaw, or even a psychiatric problem. His wife is certainly repelled by his behaviour, as he cynically reduces romantic love to a biological process.

Parry's inventive case study, presented as though it were genuine, may have caused great uproar. However, the novel itself is a deeper and more interesting case study into the mind of an equally troubled character, that of protagonist Joe Rose.

References & Further Reading

• De Clérambault, 'Les Psychoses Passionelles', Oeuvre Psychiatrique (1921).
• McEwan, Enduring Love, Jonathan Cape (1997).
• 'Fooled You', The Guardian (1999).
• Enduring Love, Pathe Pictures (2004).

Listing image: Pathe Pictures

What's in a name? The naming of scientific principles and discoveries can be a challenging one. The need to convey concise information through a name must be balanced with the likelihood that the theory will change. Scientists draw their inspiration from a variety of sources, including literature.

At the break of the 19th century, John Dalton proposed the concept of atoms to explain why elements react in in ratios of small whole numbers. These atoms were supposedly the smallest unit of matter, and their name derived appropriately from the Greek word 'atomos', meaning indivisible. Though atoms are still the basis of chemical theory, we have since learned that atoms are not, in fact, the smallest units of matter, and that they are divisible. By the end of the century, J J Thomson had discovered electrons and shortly after that, protons and neutrons had joined the Standard Model. Far from involving a single indivisible unit of atom, there are now seventeen named particles in the Standard Model (though it's in fact a lot more complicated than that), with more expected to be discovered in the near future.

The naming of principles and discoveries in science is a delicate business, and a good name can work as an aide mémoire. Hadrons are more tentatively named than atoms, but their name still gives a clue to their nature, as it is derived from the Greek word 'hadros', meaning thick, or heavy. Hadrons are made up of two or three three smaller particles, quarks, and so are heavier than other sub-atomic particles.

New particles seem to acquire names with more caution than Dalton's bold naming of the atom. The names for individual quarks often make subtle allusion to their properties: Up and Down quarks make reference to the up and down components of isospin that they carry, and the names for Top and Bottom quarks are "logical partners for up and down quarks," according to physicist Harari, who coined them. (Top and Bottom quarks used to be referred to with the fanciful terms 'Truth' and 'Beauty'.) However, the Charm and Strange quarks seem to have been named with a touch of whimsy, as if physicists expected the discovery to be overturned in the near future.

I recently learned how quarks acquired the name 'quark' and was pleased to discover the word has a literary origin. Murray Gell-Mann, one of two physicists who independently proposed the quark model in 1964, initially had in mind just a sound by which to name his particle: 'kwork'. However, it wasn't until he came across this passage in James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake that he decided on a spelling:

Three quarks for Muster Mark!
Sure he has not got much of a bark
And sure any he has it's all beside the mark.
But O, Wreneagle Almighty, wouldn't un be a sky of a lark
To see that old buzzard whooping about for uns shirt in the dark
And he hunting round for uns speckled trousers around by Palmerstown Park?
-- James Joyce, Finnegan's Wake

This passage is part of a 13-line poem for the cuckholded King Mark. There follows a great number of allusions to birds; the word quark comes from the English verb quark, meaning to 'caw, or croak', and is similar to quawk, which means to 'screech like a bird.' Yet it's hard to see what convinced Gell-Mann that he had stumbled upon the right word for his particle. As the word is clearly intended to rhyme with 'Mark' and 'bark' in the passage, it did not even have the right spelling.

In his book The Quark and the Jaguar, Gell-Mann explains how he found an excuse to pronounce the word as 'kwork'. He noted that words in Finnegan's Wake typically have multiple meanings and draw from difference sources, often exhibiting a portmanteau quality. He then guessed that Joyce intended the word to have multiple meanings, perhaps suggesting an allusion to drinking, with "Three quarts for Mister Mark". This provided justification for the word quark to have a multitude of possible pronunciations, including 'kwork'. The illusive, ambiguous quality of the word in the text is perhaps appropriate for a particle that has remained undetected (behind the model of protons and neutrons) for so many years. The lack of clarity in meaning and pronunciation suggests a lack of certainty. How knows whether some new discovery will overturn the current model, or how long we'll have to wait?

Gell-Mann also noted that the number three was important considering the way that quarks are found in nature, as the particles come in six 'flavours' and three 'colours'. Depending on their flavour, quarks have fractional electric charge values of either 1/3 or 2/3 times the elementary charge. So it seems appropriate that Muster Mark's quarks come in three. With knowledge of the origins of the word in Joyce's classic, quarks are aptly named to provide aide mémoire.

It seems scientific inspiration can come from surprising sources. It's likely that literature inspires far more scientific developments, as such concrete examples of influence are probably rare. This prompts questions about what, and why, scientists read. Perhaps navigating Joyce's ambiguous, experimental style provides an experience akin to making sense of the baffling world of particle physics?

References & Further Reading

• Dalton, A New System of Chemical Philosophy, Manchester (1808).
• Joyce, Finnegan's Wake, Faber and Faber (1939).
• Gell-Mann, The Quark and the Jaguar, WH Freeman and Company (1994).

Listing image: CERN, Particle Detector on the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) at the Large Hadron Collider

Rab Florence’s Video Game Empty is a highly anticipated event at Glasgow Film Festival and a rare opportunity for video games to be appreciated on the big screen, highlighting their increasingly cinematic nature.

Occasionally as a student, my group of game-loving friends would occupy our residential hall's communal space, when it was particularly quiet, to make use of the projector screen. It was a great viewing space that made a change from watching films from laptop screens. However, no film came close to prompting the delirious ecstasy roused by a projected game of 'Worms World Party'. For those unfamiliar with the strategic video game, it allows the command of an invertebrate platoon armed to the teeth with an arsenal of weaponry (including exploding sheep, holy hand grenades, bazookas and donkeys made of concrete).

It was only last month that I revisited these experiences in the surprising context of Glasgow Film Festival, at which Rab’s Video Game Empty has started to make quite an impact. For the first time, the event was held at the Cineworld IMAX, presenting Rab’s chosen games on a whopping screen that's usually reserved for more cinematic works. Once again, watching the strangely serene image of a sunset in the world of 'Minecraft', I was part of the frenzied excitement that surrounds displaying video games on a big screen. I began to wonder what makes the experience so attractive; the venue appeared to be sold out, with hundreds seated in rapture, I realised it was clearly not an activity reserved for students.

Perhaps there’s a satisfaction gaining from seeing the result of your actions appearing in large in front of you, presented to a greater audience than it would in the comfort of your own home. It’s like a basic form of film making. The setting and the characters are in place, the player just needs to guide what’s on screen. Both creative and explorative, it gives the gamer the opportunity to manipulate what the audience sees and challenges them to create something entertaining. Unlike film making, the situation is live, and this presents another challenge.

I had already considered the cinematic quality of games, as Rab Florence and Chris Scullion had taken part in one of the ‘Behind the Scenes’ film industry discussions earlier in the festival. The pair discussed the influence of films on the gaming industry and what it means that games are becoming more ‘cinematic’. Citing Alfonso Cuarón’s Children of Men and the Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men as films that have had a particular impact on video games, they noted how certain tropes in video games have arisen that could be linked back to their film influences.

I must admit, I was a little disappointed to see Rab playing only from his selection of nostalgic Xbox 360 games, as some recent graphical behemoths like 'Dragon Age Inquisition' or 'Middle Earth: Shadow Of Mordor' would have been a treat to see on the big screen. With greater complexity of storyline, vast complex vistas to explore and technologies that make the scenes more realistic, the experience of video gaming is becoming more appealing visually. However, these aspects are also in tension with the cinematic experience, in more than one way.

Firstly, such complexity fleshes out a whole world to explore, giving many options and possibilities for the gamer. A film, in contrast, is very linear, and the director points the audience precisely where he chooses. A film directs our attention to certain events that are essential to the plot, whereas the video game encourages us to explore and to experience as much, or as little, as we like. Cut scenes in games allow for more directorial control at important points in the narrative, but it requires the game to wrest control from the player. This creates a stark difference between the cinematic points and the more open game play, and can be a little jarring.

Secondly, it seems that as video games become more like film, and more complex, they are being released incomplete and ironically, less like film. At its release last year, 'Assassin’s Creed Unity' displayed a significant number of glitches, including a failure to load some textures. In addition to providing a source of great amusement to some, it was also very frustrating to players who expected an immersive, cinematic environment. You wouldn’t expect such glaring visual errors while watching a film in the cinema. Such glitches break down the illusion of a realistic, fully-formed universe and prevent players from immersing themselves in the fantasy. Glitches can be fixed with patches after the release of the game, but the illusion is already broken. Game makers face a challenge in striking the balance between rigorous testing and getting the game out on its release date.

One great difference between games and films is the emotional connection. Some emotional connection is lost with the characters in video games, partly due to the ease in which a character can die and be almost immediately resurrected, with varying degrees of consequence. Character death in video games seems to incite annoyance, at most. However, we could induce a greater emotional, and arguably cinematic, connection with the characters in games by introducing greater risk into the game mechanics, and greater consequences.

Rab finished by noting that certain video games, such as 'Mass Effect' and 'Dragon Age' (BioWare are leading the field in video game diversity) allow the player to take on a variety of roles, allowing for a diversity often lacking in film. The 'Mass Effect' series allows human-alien relationships, whereas you can pursue a variety of human relationships in 'Dragon Age', unhindered by gender. Considering unrelenting criticism of the game industry (whether justified or not) that it is close-minded and prejudiced against minorities (including women), this was an uplifting note on which to end.

In another of the 'Behind the Scenes' discussions at Glasgow Film Festival 2015, I had the pleasure of hearing Oscar-winning sound designer Glenn Freemantle talk about his work, including what it’s like to design sound for a film set in the vacuum of space (Gravity).

References & Further Reading

• 'Assassin's Creed Unity' (Ubisoft Montreal, 2014).
• 'Dragon Age' game series (BioWare, 2009 - 2014).
• 'Mass Effect' game series (BioWare, 2007 - 2012).
• 'Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor' (Monolith Productions, 2014).
• 'Minecraft' (Markus "Notch" Persson & Mojang, 2009).
• 'Worms World Party' (Team17, 2001).

Listing image: Eoin Carey / Glasgow Film Festival, Rab's Video Game Empty

Glenn Freemantle won an Oscar in Sound Design for his work on Gravity. I had the pleasure of hearing him talk about his work at Glasgow Film Festival 2015, including what it's like to design sound for a film set in the vacuum of space.

Part of the fun in attending a film festival is joining the discussion that arises before, after and in between screenings. Festival-goers have a real appreciation for the entire process of filmmaking. What an even greater pleasure it is to have the makers of festival films join the conversation. Working as Festival Marketing Assistant for Glasgow Film over the past few months, I’ve had the pleasure of attending the series of 'Behind the Scenes' talks at the Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow (CCA). The festival is in part to blame (that’s not true – I’m entirely to blame) for my recent silence. Though anyone who’s worked a festival will understand how immersed you become in the programme, the promotion and then making the most of every minute while it’s running.

During this time, I saw many opportunities for topics I could expand into blogs. The 'Behind the Scenes' discussions with filmmakers prompted many of those moments. These discussions often highlighted interplay between the creative and technical, the constraints of physics or finance against the vision of the filmmaker.

Glenn Freemantle’s Sound Masterclass at Glasgow Film Festival 2015 (GFF15) was one such example. I count science-fiction film Gravity as one of my favourite films, and I recognise that this largely down to the use of sound. (I'll forgive the scientific inaccuracies in Gravity because these compromises place a greater focus on the story.) Sound Designer Glenn Freemantle won an Oscar for his work on Gravity and the discussion was high on my list of must-sees. Presented with designing the sound for a film set in the vacuum of space, how would one tackle this problem? Glenn’s answer is beautifully simple: have the audience experience the sound of the film through the vibrations in the astronaut’s space suits.

With no air particles to vibrate and carry sound, it wouldn’t be possible to hear anything beyond their space suits. The rapidly approaching tide of debris in orbit would be as silent as it is deadly. In the film, the approach of the debris is marked by dramatic orchestral punches, representing the increased tension rather than trying to accurately replicate the sound of the approaching debris. Even with the degree of destruction that's wreaked throughout the film, we only experience audibly that which has a direct impact on our protagonist's space suit.

Credit: Warner Bros

Arguably, sound does exist in space, though it’s not within the range of human hearing. NASA has shown, with recordings made over recent years, that sound in space exists as electromagnetic vibrations. Charged electromagnetic particles from Solar Wind, ionosphere and planetary magnetosphere vibrate in interstellar space. These vibrations can be recorded within the range of human hearing with the use of Plasma Wave antenna. The NASA Voyager, INJUN 1, ISEE 1 and HAWKEYE space probes have all used this specialised equipment to capture the sounds of this ionized gas vibrating. You can hear some of the recordings made by Voyager 1 here. When converted into a range of sound that we can hear, the result is quite eerie; NASA recommend the clips as appropriate Hallowe’en listening.

It seems the only realistic way to portray the astronauts’ experience of space is through the vibrations of their suits. Every little movement and impact is noticeable when there’s little else to hear. No wonder Dr. Ryan Stone is nauseous at the start of the film.

This technique is not just realistic. It also helps us to identify closely with the central character, because we can hear everything that she does, and very little else. As the vibrations she hears are so closely linked to her movements, we truly feel like we inhabit her skin, or at least, her spacesuit. This connection with the character continues even when the camera zooms out to take in some beautiful shots of surrounding space, though the result is a disorientating experience.

These choices make further sense in the context of a point that Glenn stressed throughout his talk: how the sound needs to be a vehicle for story and emotion. He noted how in different emotional states things can sound quite differently. The sound designer needs to be perceptive of these states to create the desired effect. (At this point, I was reminded of the use of sound in another GFF15 film When Animals Dream, in which the use of sound and music helps the viewer to connect closely with the central character. Such identification is a strange experience as the central character turns out to be a werewolf, typically ‘The Other’ in the horror genre; this subversion of expectation is very satisfying.)

Glenn noted how, rather than trying to realistically represent every action on screen with an appropriate sound, it's more effective to select sounds to highlight and using them as a way of tapping into the characters’ emotional states. He discussed the whining sound of radio contact in Gravity, which is used to emotionally manipulate the viewer, giving an audible reminder of hope and connection to Earth, like a lifeline. The removal of the sound of radio contact in the film is a sign of diminishing hope.

For a film set in a soundless vacuum, Gravity is a treat for the ears. This is undoubtedly the result of how Glenn taps into the characters’ emotional states. By hearing the sound of the film through Dr Ryan Stone’s spacesuit, we both form a close connection with that particular character and experience an accurate representation of what it’d sound like to be an astronaut in space. Gravity is guilty of some gaping scientific inaccuracies, though they are the interests of good storytelling. I’m willing to suspend disbelief that the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station are in the same orbit, even within floating distance of each other, to immerse myself in the story. Thankfully, when it comes to sound design in Gravity, good storytelling and accurate science are not in contradiction with each other, and the result is Oscar-winning.

References & Further Reading

• ‘Gravity’, Warner Bros Pictures (2013).

Listing image: Warner Bros Pictures

The aurora has long been a source of myth and legend, a mysterious light show in the heavens. There are still aspects behind this phenomenon that are a mystery and its infrequent appearances and its beauty still enchant and excite those lucky enough to see it. Trips are planned specially to view the aurora borealis, or the Northern lights and tracking magnetic activity to discover the best times to see it is a career for some and a hobby for many.

We are currently in the middle of a peak time to see the aurora. The prevalence of the aurora in our skies is largely dependent on magnetic solar activity. Large magnetic storms occur most frequently during the peak of the sun's eleven year cycle, and for three years following that peak. Last year (2013) was the peak, and so sighting the aurora will be more likely until about 2016. If you're keeping an eye out for the beautiful lights in the sky, the best time for viewing is around 11.30pm, magnetic midnight, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute. However, it is likely that you might see some activity any time between 9pm and 5am, as the lights are more visible at night. A clear sky with no clouds also gives the best chance of a sighting. The best times for year for spotting the aurora are at the beginning of Spring and the beginning of Autumn. It is not impossible to see the aurora in places close to the equator, but the likelihood of it being visible increases the closer you are to the poles. In the most northernmost area of Lapland, the aurora borealis is an almost constant phenomenon and appears roughly every three nights out of four.

It's unsurprising then that most of the myths about the aurora arise from cultures far North in the Northern hemisphere, or very far South in the Southern hemisphere.
The Finnish name for aurora is revontulet, which translates as 'fox fires', deriving from Finnish folklore that tells of fire foxes in Lapland that gives off sparks from their tails as the sweep across rock faces and snow in the mountains. In Greenland, the aurora is purportedly the souls of dead children competing on their way to the Otherworld. The Old Norse word for the aurora borealis is norðrljós, "northern lights". There are many wonderful myths supposedly believed by the Vikings as an explanation for the aurora borealis, from the belief that it was the Norse God Ullr putting on a show of lights to the suggestion that it was the Bifröst Bridge, which dead Vikings crossed on their way to Valhalla. Bulfinch's Mythology, written in 1855, claims that Norse mythology spoke of the aurora being Valkyries riding through the night sky.

'Ride of the Valkyries'.
Credit: John Charles Dollman

The Valkyrior are warlike virgins, mounted upon horses and armed with helmets and spears. /.../ When they ride forth on their errand, their armour sheds a strange flickering light, which flashes up over the northern skies, making what Men call the "aurora borealis", or "Northern Lights".
-- Thomas Bulfinch, 'Bulfinch's Mythology' (1855)

However, texts from the era rarely mention the Northern lights. It's possible that they're weren't sighted frequently, but an absence in literature doesn't necessarily mean they weren't observed and discussed.
In the Southern hemisphere, the aurora australis has been commonly associated with fire in the legends of the Aboriginal Australians. The phenomena is apparently the result of bush fires in the spirit world, or are the result of ghostly spirits lighting fires.

Explanations for the Northern lights have often involved deities or otherworldly spirits, apparently producing visible evidence for their existence. Though the myths seem fanciful, it seems they were not wrong in assuming that the lights were caused by forces external to Planet Earth. The aurora is in fact a product of solar activity exerting an influence on the Earth's atmosphere. The surface of the sun is an extremely toasty two million degrees, with radiation emitted constantly from its outer layer, known as the corona. Clouds of hot gas are ejected by the outer layer, in what is known as a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). It takes about 2 to 3 days for the gas cloud, or solar wind, to reach Earth, where it collides with the Earth's thermosphere. The solar wind consists of ions, charged particles, which are trapped by the Earth's magnetic field. Many particles travel towards the poles, where they are accelerated towards Earth. While they are in the Earth's upper atmosphere, the ions in the solar wind collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the atmosphere. This releases energy as photons, packets of coloured light that produce the aurora.

The aurora as seen from the International Space Station.
Credit: NASA

The oxygen and nitrogen atoms give off different coloured light as they gain and lose electrons in the course of the collisions. Their electrons gain energy, rising them into an excited state, by the collision with the solar wind. This excitation energy is subsequently lost as the electrons return to ground state, and emitted in the form of a photon. The energy difference between the excited state and ground state of the electron determines what frequency of light is emitted. Light emissions from oxygen atoms are either green or orange-red, depending on how much energy they have absorbed. Nitrogen atoms emit blue light is the atom is regaining an electron lost during the collisions, red if it is returning to ground state from an excited state.

So the colours produced during as aurora are determined by the elements involved. At high altitude, red oxygen emissions are most prevalent, followed by green oxygen emissions and nitrogen blue/red emissions. Green is the most common of all auroras. Pink is next common, caused by a mixture of light green and red emissions. This is followed by pure red, yellow (caused by a mixture of red and green) and lastly, blue.

Metaphorically speaking, the aurora is a sign of the Sun God's wrath, as he/she showers Earth with radiation from solar fires.

Before the eighteenth century, the cause of the aurora was a a mystery to those writing about it, prompting some strange and beautiful myths. However, the discovery of the electromagnetic activity behind the aurora did not dampen its popularity as a source of poetic inspiration. In fact, for the romantic poets, this explanation of the aurora fitted the metaphor of electricity representing a power to animate the mind, and prompt bursts of creative energy.

Coleridge's ballad 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' appears to allude to the aurora australis during a storm at night.

The upper air burst into life! / And a hundred fire-flags sheen, / To and fro, they were hurried about! / And to and fro, and in and out, / The wan stars danced between.
-- Coleridge, 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner', ll. 313-317

This celebratory light show occurs just before the dead crew are reanimated and resume their positions manning the ship. The military symbolism of 'fire-flags' and the stars prompted into creative activity dancing suggests that the electricity of the aurora has the power to galvanise and prompt a reawakening of the mind and creative activity. It is a natural source of power that could be confused with magic.

Aurora Borealis.
Credit: Frederic Edwin Church

Also from 'Lyrical Ballads', William Wordsworth's 'The Complaint of a Forsaken Indian Woman' depicts the aurora borealis through a vision experienced by an abandoned Indian woman.

In sleep I heard the northern gleams / The stars, they were among my dreams / In rustling conflict through the skies / I heard, I saw the flashes drive / And yet they are upon my eyes / And yet I am alive / Before I see another day / Oh let my body die away!
-- Wordsworth, 'The Complaint of a Forsaken Indian Woman, ll. 3-10.

Though primarily regarded as a visual phenomenon, Wordsworth introduces the aurora by describing the sound it produces, 'rustling conflict'. It seems to be describing the possible sounds of the charged particles colliding with atoms in the upper atmosphere.

It is generally believed, in some countries where the aurora is prevalent, that the aurora generates a crackling or rustling sound. The Lapps compare this to the cracks made by the joints of reindeer when they walk. Though accounts are variable, a recent study seems to confirm that the aurora is in fact accompanied by sound. They suggest that clapping noises can be heard about 70m (230 feet) off the ground during aurora activity. Similar geomagnetic activity has been seen to produce similar sounds, but it is not yet proven that these claps are directly related to the aurora borealis.

Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy of books features the aurora borealis, creating further mythology for this phenomenon. Whereas Coleridge likens the aurora to a collection of flags, Pullman describes

'streams and veils of light [hanging] like curtains'
-- Pullman, 'Northern Lights', p 15.

This foreshadows Lord Asriel's presentation of a photograph that shows a city in the sky, visible within the Northern Lights. Here the aurora is a veil concealing a window to another world. In this case, the other world visible in the treated photograph is Cittàgazze, a city in a parallel universe.

It wasn't long before she found herself entering the same kind of trance as when she consulted the alethiometer. Perhaps, she thought calmly, whatever moves the altheiometer's needle is making the aurora glow too. It might even be Dust itself. She thought that without noticing that she'd thought it, and she soon forgot it, and only remembered it much later.
And as she gazed, the image of a city seemed to form itself behind the veils and streams of translucent colour: towers and domes, honey-coloured temples and colonnades, broad boulevards and sunlit parkland. Looking at it gave her a sense of vertigo, as if she were looking not up but down, and across a gulf so wide that nothing could ever pass over it. It was a whole universe away.
-- Pullman, 'Northern Lights', p 111-112

As Lyra surmises, Dust must be the factor influencing the Northern Lights, her alethiometer, among other seemingly magical occurrences in her world. Dust is a fictional elementary particle that is of great importance in the trilogy. It is invisible to the human eye and is only visible with the use of special instruments, though it becomes more visible in the light of the aurora borealis. This invisible force has a huge effect on the world and the people who inhabit it. In this respect, it could be likened to electromagnetic activity, which has silent and invisible effects on the human body, as I mentioned in a recent article about ghosts.

Lyra's Alethiometer in 'The Golden Compass'.
Credit: New Line Cinema

Pullman's explanation of the aurora's ability to act as a window to another world sounds more like science fiction than complete fantasy, as he suggests the charged particles make the layers between universes thinner. He explains that millions of other universes exist, unaware of each other. Serafina Pekkala's demon explains to Fader Coram why a city is visible in the Northern Lights.

"There," he said, "I have just brushed ten million other worlds, and they knew nothing of it. We are as close as a heartbeat, but we can never touch or see or hear these other worlds except in the Northern Lights."
“And why there?” said Farder Coram.
"Because the charged particles in the Aurora have the property of making the matter of this world thin, so that we can see through it for a brief time. Witches have always know this, but we seldom speak of it."
-- Pullman, 'Northern Lights', p 114

Pullman's fantasy of the aurora as a gateway to other universes doesn't claim to explain the origins of the phenomenon, nor explain how they work. He makes use of current scientific understanding of how the aurora works and extrapolates this to propose they are a sign of greater forces at work in the universe, of multiple universes beyond our sight.

As opposed to stifling the imagination and poetic inspiration to be found in these beautiful phenomena, discovering the science behind how they work has prompted new fantasies about what they represent and how microscopic processes can have an effect that appears to be the product of fantasy.

References & Further Reading

• Bulfinch, 'Bulfinch's Mythology' (1855).
• Coleridge and Wordsworth, 'Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems' (1798).
• Pullman, 'Northern Lights', Scholastic UK (1995).
• 'The Golden Compass', New Line Cinema (2007).
• Cooper, 'A Dissertation Upon Northern Lights', Modern Language Notes 21.2 (1906): 44-46.
• Hall, 'Wordsworth And Emerson: Aurora Borealis And The Question Of Influence', Romanticism And Victorianism On The Net (2008).
• Jutström,"Northern Lights: Beliefs in Ancient Times", Norrsken History Website (2011).
• The Viking Answer Lady, 'The Aurora Borealis And The Vikings'.

Listing image: Rocklou / DeviantArt

Decellularisation methods could provide organs to relieve an over-subscribed waiting list for solid organ transplant and reduce the demand for immunosuppressive drugs.

(This is an abridged version of an article I wrote in March 2014 titled 'Playing Prometheus' - shorter, (hopefully) more artful, this version is better adapted to sharing.)

For those facing end-stage organ failure, the only option currently available is organ transplantation. Though more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of joining the organ donor register, there are currently just under 7,000 patients on the waiting list for a solid organ transplant and the need for organs still far exceeds the number of donor organs. Hundreds of patients die while waiting for a transplant, or are removed from the transplant waiting list as a result of deteriorating health. Huge numbers of people are still suffering due to a shortage of organs, and this is not the only complication.

When an organ is transplanted, the recipient’s body recognizes the cells as foreign and will try to attack it, thinking it a disease-causing pathogen. The new organ could be destroyed unless drugs are given to suppress the patient’s immune response. Yet these immunosuppressants can make the body vulnerable to opportunistic infections. Receiving a donated organ does not necessarily spell the end of a patient’s health complications.

Many films and novels have explored possible repercussions of organ donor shortages, including the depiction of dystopian worlds where ethically-dubious industries have emerged to profit from the situation. Science fiction has pursued possible solutions: some within the possibilities of current scientific development; some stretching the boundaries. These stories are peppered with elements of horror, audiences gaining reassurance that these practices will be possible far into the future.

They may come sooner than expected.

New solutions for organ transplantation, involving tissue engineering and even whole organ engineering, are being pursued, with amazing results. The growth of relatively simple tissues, including blood vessels, urinary bladders and trachea, has shown great development in recent years. However, these organs don’t require a large vascular network to be functional. Producing more complex organs, such as lungs, livers, kidneys and hearts brings a new set of challenges.

Vascular networks in human organs allow nutrient and gas exchange. They are understandably complex and difficult to reproduce from artificial materials. Decellularisation techniques are being employed to strip natural solid organs of their living cells. This leaves an intact structure with an accurate and functional vascular system. This structure is called the extra-cellular matrix (ECM) and acts as a scaffold on which new cells can be grown. It’s vital that the decellularisation process doesn’t destroy or damage this matrix, as it will give structural integrity and biological signals to the new organ.

The decellularisation process involves the destruction of living cells, by repeatedly freezing and thawing the organ, and exposing it to detergents. Detergents must be known not to affect the integrity of the protein in the extra-cellular matrix tissue. Before the next step, the organ is observed using imaging techniques to ensure the decellularised organ’s vascular structure remains intact.

The next step is recellularisation, involving the growth of new cells on the extra-cellular matrix. There are a variety of cell types under investigation as potential candidates for this process. The cells would need to be easily isolated, grown rapidly and cost-effectively, and easily prompted to differentiate to various cell types. Ideally, a sample of the patient’s own cells would be used, so that the organ would be less likely to be rejected by the body after transplantation, reducing the need for immunosuppressive drugs.

Some complications mean this decellularisation process is still a long way from having its successes translated to the clinic. Most importantly, an optimal source of donor organs needs to be found. So far, rat, pig and mouse organs have been experimented with. It appears we may soon see transplants of pig-human hybrid organs, as porcine acellular matrices are similar in size to human organs and provide a low risk of transmission of infectious agents.

The stripping of a real, functioning organ of its living cells to ‘reanimate’ for further use in another organism seems like an idea pulled straight from science fiction or horror. This could be compared with the attempts made by Victor Frankenstein to reanimate dead tissue in Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein. However, these amazing decellularisation methods are far from threatening. They have the potential to save lives, providing organs for those in need and reducing the need for immunosuppressive drugs.

Frankenstein’s creature is originally benevolent and peaceful, but is rejected for its appearance and driven to become the monster society believes it to be. The analogy could be applied to these decellularised organs; the process can save lives and improve others, though it is likely to be met with a certain degree of caution and even repulsion. The only hindrance to its success may be our inability to accept it. If we can overcome our fears and understand the great benefit of these techniques that might at first repulse or frighten us, then we are likely to see life-changing results.

References & Further Reading

• Shelley, "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus", Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor & Jones (1818).
• Arenas-Herrera et al, "Decellularization for whole organ bioengineering", Journal of Biomedical Materials (2013).
• Moran et al, "Whole-organ bioengineering: current tales of modern alchemy", Translation Research - Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine (2014).
• NHS Organ Donation Website.

Listing image: RMR Labs, Texas Heart Institute