Support NeoGAF

[Elder Legend]

Some of you probably think I am a tad crazy (and that's fine) but I've played the Mass Effect trilogy and I've cane to a conclusion that the Mass Effect fantasy is most likely the closest and realistic depiction of what the future holds for the human race (assuming we won't annihilate ourselves and the planet earth)

Fun Fact - Steven Hawking said that in order for the human race to thrive and survive we WILL be required to colonize on another planet.

Why do I think Mass Effect feels like the real deal?

Everything that is done in the game just makes too much logical sense. From humans entering a certain technological level of being able to explore space and other planets at ease and also meeting with both hostile and friendly civilizations and differences races of different universes. Or perhaps that Garrus and Liara are so well acted and written that I want to believe something like that exists

Obviously it won't be happening anywhere near our lifetime as something like that is probably at least a thousand years away if not more. One of the most interesting videos I've seen is this (mind u this was 8 years ago)



My favorite parts of this video is how he described what type of a civilization we are, and how a higher type of a civilization is much more advanced than the previous and Internet believe it or not is a big part of the current type of a civilization were in.

Or maybe I am just to obsessed with Sci Fi and want too see an alien or some of a confirmation of a different lifeform existing.

In my opinion - to truly think that we are alone is almost as stupid as believing that the Earth is flat. There is just no way. And either they will come for us, or we will come for them, sooner or later.

Either Gaf, no, I am not drunk, or high, but I am a tad obsessed with alien conspiracy theories

 

[MightySquirrel]

Yes - you're right.

 

[Clintizzle]

I like to think so. The politics in the game are also similar to what I'd imagine it would be like.

Edit- I might be biased. I've been playing a bunch of Mass Effect during this lockdown.

 

[Yoboman]

A realistic portrayal would be if half of humanity will think its a globalist conspiracy to get us off planet so somebody can steal our land and space travel isn't real and any images or video they see are doctored

 

[Alebrije]

Think Star Treck is the most representative what could happen if humanity manages to explore space and if there are other races in the universe...

 

[Armorian]

Expanse, minus alien tech.

 

[BusierDonkey]

No, Fallout is probably closer to where we'll end up than Mass Effect. Everything is already moving in that direction. The world slowly runs out of resources as populations balloon. Corporations become more and more powerful and start outright running the world's governments imposing batshit insane laws that only benefit them. Massive inflation leads to record unemployment and crime, then starvation leading to civil unrest. Governments try to put a stop to that. China takes advantage of this to invade North America for it's resources. The war machine that's been keeping perpetual wars going for a century gets a little ahead of themselves and loses control. As Our leadership and people become more retarded by the day, eventually everyone blows everyone else up and the world is just a shit show with no rules or laws. More people than resources resulting in tribalism. The only thing missing is mutants, though we may see that soon too.

 

[kingkaiser]

I hope we never meet any kind of extraterrestrial life, for E.T’s own sake.
Can you imagine how humanity would treat those poor bastards considering how we treat our own wildlife,
our nature and ourselves as a species? District 9 would look like a happy birthday party in comparison.

 

[justiceiro]

Yeah, you're nuts.

 

[Skifi28]

No, China is.

 

[Tommi84]

No, Fallout is probably closer to where we'll end up than Mass Effect.

Seeing that we are few years from manned mission to Mars, I'd like to think that your future, albeit quite realistic, is something we can still steer away from.

Please, be let your future not be true.

 

[Bryank75]

No, Fortnite is!

 

[Trogdor1123]

If you ignore all the super natural stuff I side on Warhammer 40k.

 

[Fbh]

Mass Effect seems a bit too reliant on alien tech and civilizations.
Humanity would also have to survive until we figure out some sort of warp tech like that because even if we were to achieve lightspeed travel, the universe is so ridiculousy big chances are we wouldn't encounter any alien cultures.

Things like this are also worth considering:


I agree with what someone was saying above, I picture it more like The Expanse minus alien tech.

Think Star Treck is the most representative what could happen if humanity manages to explore space and if there are other races in the universe...

But isn't Star Trek set in some utopian future where humanity has moved past war and everyone gets along peacefully?
I seriously doubt we'll ever get there

 

[T8SC]

 

[Captain Toad]

Yes, in the next 1 to 2 centuries, humans will be teleporting around the galaxy and having babies with all female aliens races.

 

[Bragr]

Think Star Treck is the most representative what could happen if humanity manages to explore space and if there are other races in the universe...

 

[Captain Toad]

That's basically the first contact war with the turians.

 

[BigBooper]

There's so little to go on, but no I don't think so. I don't think there will ever be a wholly united human government, at least not without some major breakthroughs to go along with it. If people had free energy, food, housing, and all needs supplied they might go for it.

 

[PhaseJump]

Think Star Treck is the most representative what could happen if humanity manages to explore space and if there are other races in the universe...

Food scarcity will keep us close to our planet. Future exploration will be done by AI & light sailing nanomachines we can launch and forget about for generations, until they come back home or transmit data. Data transmission speeds will keep us underwhelmed and blind to what's happening in space, unless we can find new FTL medium with a better understanding of quantum entanglement.

Star Trek bullshit won't happen unless we can convert matter to energy and back again, and if tech like that existed to provide for everybody, we would still be using it to kill each other by converting our enemies into food and resources.

 

[Duchess]

Is Mass Effect the most realistic depiction of the future of Human Race?​

HA HA HA!! They actually think the human race is going to survive the next 100 years?! That's funny

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Some of you probably think I am a tad crazy (and that's fine) but I've played the Mass Effect trilogy and I've cane to a conclusion that the Mass Effect fantasy is most likely the closest and realistic depiction of what the future holds for the human race (assuming we won't annihilate ourselves and the planet earth)

Fun Fact - Steven Hawking said that in order for the human race to thrive and survive we WILL be required to colonize on another planet.

Why do I think Mass Effect feels like the real deal?

Everything that is done in the game just makes too much logical sense. From humans entering a certain technological level of being able to explore space and other planets at ease and also meeting with both hostile and friendly civilizations and differences races of different universes. Or perhaps that Garrus and Liara are so well acted and written that I want to believe something like that exists

Obviously it won't be happening anywhere near our lifetime as something like that is probably at least a thousand years away if not more. One of the most interesting videos I've seen is this (mind u this was 8 years ago)



My favorite parts of this video is how he described what type of a civilization we are, and how a higher type of a civilization is much more advanced than the previous and Internet believe it or not is a big part of the current type of a civilization were in.

Or maybe I am just to obsessed with Sci Fi and want too see an alien or some of a confirmation of a different lifeform existing.

In my opinion - to truly think that we are alone is almost as stupid as believing that the Earth is flat. There is just no way. And either they will come for us, or we will come for them, sooner or later.

Either Gaf, no, I am not drunk, or high, but I am a tad obsessed with alien conspiracy theories

I love listening to this man speak.
Thanks for sharing OP.

 

[Sgt.Asher]

Nah it's the aliens franchise

 

[Javthusiast]

No, this is.

 

[Aesius]

Any Prothean-like technology and Mass Relays we find would just be hoarded/hidden from us by various world militaries, governments, and billionaires. The idea that humanity as a whole would benefit from that stuff is a pipe dream IMO. They view the masses as a burden at this point.

 

[zcaa0g]

I'm a glass half full person and I still think we are going to fuck ourselves up before we ever even have a chance to colonize another planet in a legitimate way. Mars won't be that legitimate way, so we are going to have to travel much further and everyone here will be gone before that happens. DOOMED!

 

[Danjin44]

I personally think 13 Sentinels is much closer.

 

[Ezquimacore]

Aliens are not real.

 

[Elder Legend]

I love listening to this man speak.
Thanks for sharing OP.

Dr Michio? Yeah his pretty dope. A very intelligent being.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

No, this is.

Count me in for Luxury Taco Bell. I'll be wearing my Prada Moo Moo, courtesy of Associate Bob.

 

[Buggy Loop]

I think Dead Space is pretty much a shoe in

 

[Hawking Radiation]

Dr Michio? Yeah his pretty dope. A very intelligent being.

Yeah there's some people that I can listen to all day.

Another is Professor Brian Cox. I re-watched Wonders of the Universe countless times on BBC.

I guess its the way these guys can dumb down complex physics to laymens terms so the viewer can easily understand. I've always got great respect and admiration for people like that and that extends to people in my workplace environment as well.

EDIT: Sorry I don't want to derail the thread.

 

[LordCBH]

I feel like humanity would be way more than war hungry if/when they encounter other species in the universe. But I agree otherwise.

 

[kanjobazooie]

These disgusting tentacle-headed things are considered attractive. How is that realistic?

 

[MadPanda]

Do you realize that your fun fact is not a fact but an opinion?

I don't think mass effect is even close to it. I don't think we'll colonize any planets ever.

 

[Beer Baelly]

Human race? Nah. Americans? Sir yes sir!

 

[bender]

It's not realistic at all. You skin tubes don't have much time left as a species so enjoy it while you can.

 

[TonyK]

I think the movie Elysium is closer to what could happen to us.

 

[GuinGuin]

Hell no. It's some silly ass played out alien bug BS. The Expanse before they find the wormhole is much more realistic.

 

[Guilhermegrg]

Not at all. Most likely a continuation of today's 1% controlling and having everything vs the rest trying to survive the incoming inevitable ecological collapse.

The rich and powerful will survive for longer, while the rest fight for scraps.

Maybe it will be possible to eventually reverse and recover some balance for the planet, but what kind of civilization will come out of it is anybody's guess.

It has become clear that this society, even in the face of a direct threat with clear guidelines on what to do in order to survive and overcome it, prefers to disregard everything due to being inconvenienced or just plain stupid.
So I have no hope for any significant change in regards to anything that might improve our chances in regards to global warming, reduced biodiversity, etc.

on people's minds "Last week/month/year was pretty much the same as this week/month/year so everything's ok". We have no vision or plan to tackle what is already happening under our noses, and the ones who do are silenced under the "profits above all else 1%".

We're the proverbial frog in the pan and we're partying all the way baby!!!

As said by others, a Fallout-like future is much more likely. There could be a Star Trek future - there was also a period of strife there - but for that we really need a revolution on our understanding of the universe.

It's clear there are huge gaps in our knowledge today, even if we have really good equations for a lot of stuff, but the underlying nature of it all , and the connection between small scales with quantum electrodynamics and the large scales with relativity are still up in the air.

Maybe it's possible that we find something about the universe that allows us to get that Star Trek / Mass Effect travel and future, but I highly doubt it.

Most likely the universe isn't made for that. And it's freaking huge. Beyond our comprehension huge. And it's freaking old. And it's expanding like crazy.

So it looks like that even in the most optimistic views, our descendants - if there are any at all, be it AI or an evolution of us - will never leave our own galaxy.

Another thing I have been thinking is that through everything that has been seen of the universe, and granted, we have only seen some portion of it, but with more and more detail, there is not one structure/signal that is or seems to be artificial. So for all of the universe's age, and to the scales and detail we can detect in our observable sphere of the universe, no civilization has or can do anything that even registers.

I think we will have a hard time accepting that nothing we do matters in the grand scale of things. Especially not in the span of our life times. And with today's TikTok/Facebook instant gratification obsessed society, I don't see anybody sacrificing anything for future generations.

It would require a painfully sober and mature population to survive and thrive and we don't have that.

So I see a more or less rapid decline, lots of dark ages, and something of us that might or might make it through the other side, but most likely will eventually wither and die. And the universe will be none the wiser.

Sorry for the rant...

 

[Romulus]

The point at which we're able to effectively colonize other planets will likely be just out of reach before a major collapse happens. I see modern civilization maintaining-slowly destabilizing over the next 30 years. Then really plummeting after that. And this is assuming none of the three dozen civilization ending scenarios don't occur, half of which are increasingly likely as we spiral out of control.

I mean mass water shortage seemed like scifi 25 years ago, but its already happening.

 

[Patrick S.]

We'll all be living under Sharia law and the Taliban will be our overlords.

 

[The Cockatrice]

No, this is.

We jest but this is actually very accurate. We already have police in UK for ppl who say bad shit on twitter/online. Im sure soon enough more countries will follow and more restrictions will apply on what you say. Plus with covid not chilling the fuck out, socializing will be a thing of the past.

 

[theclaw135]

I'll take some perps and some iso cubes with that water please.

 

[Sakura]

We may never be able to achieve interstellar travel, it just might not be possible.
There is also a good chance there are no other civilizations out in our galaxy. Life on other planets may exist, sure, but advanced spacefaring civilizations? Who also happen to exist on the galactic timeline at the same time we do? I'm not convinced.
Will we have a single unified Earth government? I don't think so either. This is a common thing in sci-fi stories, but it doesn't seem realistic.
Even if we did achieve interstellar travel, how many planets would actually have breathable air and other conditions required for us to colonise them? In sci-fi series (like Star Trek for example) humans and aliens all seem to conveniently breath the same atmosphere. In reality we would require specific amounts of oxygen at specific pressures and no gasses that are toxic to us.
Why would we even need to colonise other planets? Earth is projected to peak and then begin declining in population this century. If and when we can travel more freely through space, we may have less people on the planet than we do today. It might also make more sense to just build space colonies at lagrange points.
Etc

So no, I don't think Mass Effect or other stories like it are particularly realistic depictions of the future. They are more fantasy if anything.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Horny humans wanting to bang blue alien chicks?

Yeah, checks out, OP.

 

[Spaceman292]

No, Fallout is probably closer to where we'll end up than Mass Effect. Everything is already moving in that direction. The world slowly runs out of resources as populations balloon. Corporations become more and more powerful and start outright running the world's governments imposing batshit insane laws that only benefit them. Massive inflation leads to record unemployment and crime, then starvation leading to civil unrest. Governments try to put a stop to that. China takes advantage of this to invade North America for it's resources. The war machine that's been keeping perpetual wars going for a century gets a little ahead of themselves and loses control. As Our leadership and people become more retarded by the day, eventually everyone blows everyone else up and the world is just a shit show with no rules or laws. More people than resources resulting in tribalism. The only thing missing is mutants, though we may see that soon too.

This but with sex robots

 

[Bigfroth]

Wishful thinking, but probably not.

 

[Pejo]

The more that time goes on, I think it's Wall-E.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

No, this is.

This. We are heading towards a surveillance state complete with a morality code.