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Researchers figured out how to communicate with people in REM sleep, getting sleepers to answer simple math questions, count flashing lights, and answer yes or no questions.

Before subjects fell asleep, they were told how to answer the questions: eye or facial muscle movements. Then, researchers used audio (words or beeps), visual (flashing lights), or tactile (light touches) cues to ask their questions.

The subjects were woken up after answering the questions and talked about their dreams. There were reports of hearing the narrator’s voice while at a party, seeing flashing overhead lights in a room, and feeling finger taps while fighting goblins.

The questions came through as both overlaid over the dream or came from a source within the dream. Anyone watching WandaVision—think about the agent’s voice coming through the radio.

Turning this into a story, let’s spin this technology further and have a researcher figure out how to insert themselves into the dream.

The story is about the researcher. Each day, they go into other people’s dreams as a form of therapy, helping them deal with PTSD, depression, or anxiety by addressing the trauma beneath.

We see the effects dropping into the dream world has on the researcher as they slowly become burnt out and lose the line between what’s real and what’s a dream. “Inception”, anyone?

The kicker is when a client comes in who uses the researcher to deal with post-war trauma. The researcher suffers their own trauma while helping the man deal with his, and they uncover that their ancestor was in an ancient war—the trauma has passed through the generations.

As the story unfolds, the researcher continues helping people with their own issues and, after work, goes into another dream state where they relive the events from long ago. Let’s call it the Maya battling the Spanish in the 1500s. Like “Assassins Creed,” in book form.

The researcher helps their ancestor end the war in favor of the natives, and they wake up in an entirely different timeline. Then, when they dream, they see their old self, helping people deal with their trauma.

A joint venture between Israel’s Institute of Technology and Aleph Farms created ribeye steak using 3D printing. They claim it’s the world’s first “slaughter free” streak.

For vegetarians for ethical reasons, instead of for dietary concerns, meat might be back on the menu.

The synthetic meat was grown by seeding bovine cells onto a substrate, where they proliferated until the result was indistinguishable from a real ribeye steak. It includes both muscle and fat found in the cut.

This isn’t the first time Aleph Farms grew bovine cells: they did it on the International Space Station in 2019.

This reminds me of “The Fifth Element,” a sci-fi movie classic. There is a scene where the alien visitor puts a small pill/token into a bowl, puts it into a microwave-looking device, presses a button, and out pops a whole chicken.

What if the movie showed the right idea but made it a touch too fast? In a futuristic story, let’s give every home a 3D printer and an ample supply of various types of meat cells: chicken, beef, pork, and fish.

In this world, the population of animals formerly used as meat sources would drastically reduce. Not because they’re slaughtered, but because as the tech became more widely used, the breeding requirements disappeared. Pigs, cows, and chickens are relegated to zoos.

There are zones where the elites can afford this technology, and outside these sequestered areas, the more impoverished populations still engage in small-scale farming.

The main character is a young girl who isn’t content with her life inside the zone and makes her way into the “wild,” where she discovers—and is horrified—with the killing of animals.

While there, she befriends another young girl and has a hard time squaring how someone who seems so normal can eat slaughtered animals. Over subsequent visits, she realizes that the people don’t kill animals because they want to, it’s because they have to if they want meat for their meals.

The world outside the zones is more community-focused and offers love and warmth not seen inside the zones. The girl from the zone is torn between her desire for community and disgust with their way of life.

Over time, the truth comes out that there is a deliberate attempt of the zone’s leaders to ostracize the more impoverished people by limiting their access to the synthetic meat. They claim to care about the animals but continue creating a stratified society where the less-fortunate are treated like beasts and driven to the fringe.

The friend from outside visits the zone and teaches the girl’s family about the true meaning of community. Throughout the first story, the community mindset infects the entire location until the new girl discovers the leaders still eat organic meat, and they kick her out of the sanctuary.

This creates the villain in the second story: the outside girl is determined to get back inside and bring everyone. They end up taking over the zone and distributing the technology into the surrounding area when they find vast reserves of the machines and cells required for synthetic meat.

Following books would be about the ever-larger forces trying to put a lid on the technological spread, and the series would culminate with everyone enjoying access to the technology.

At MIT, scientists won’t be surprised when they find out a field of spinach sent them an email. In fact, they were designed to do it.

The spinach leaves emit a signal using carbon nanotubes whenever they encounter nitroaromatics (explosives). Infrared cameras pick up this signal and send the email.

The plants have two types of nanotubes: one for infrared fluorescent emission and a reference signal that remains unchanged. As nitroaromatics are transported up the root and stem into the leaves, the emission intensity increases.

These results demonstrate the ability of living, wild-type plants to function as chemical monitors of groundwater and communication devices to external electronics at standoff distances.”

What if we turned the dial way up on this tech? Let’s use the coca plant and have them emit a signal whenever they come in contact with a human. The emails are sent to a drug lord using his own plants to identify trespassers on his operation. “Narcos” in a dystopian future.

One issue is the human chemical the plants detect. It could be pheromones, even though the existence of human pheromones is debated.

If the drug lord knows where his workers should be, anyone outside of that area would be a trespasser worthy of being shot.

The main character would be a Pablo Escobar type, known among the region’s poor as a Robin Hood-like character because of his local infrastructure investments but vilified by those in charge of the country.

One of his abilities is his bioengineering skills. Because of his plant-sensors, he’s able to elude capture, and authorities can’t figure out how he does it. Part of the story would be his ongoing research into better plant yields, improved highs from the extract, and eliminating overdoses. In fact, the “no-overdose” cocaine could be why he’s so powerful in the first place.

Each book in the series would have the drug lord dealing with a new enemy, such as a rival cartel or local businessman, with the state and national government serving as the overarching villain throughout the series.

GM, the largest carmaker by sales, has pledged to do away with the internal combustion engine by 2035. Put another way, gasoline is out, and electric is in.

GM’s four core brands are Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC. They are known for large pickup trucks, SUVs, and the Corvette.

The switch comes on the tail of news from governments worldwide about their plans to limit the sale of new gasoline-powered cars. The UK has targeted 2030 as the date for switching to all-electric, Japan 2035, and France 2040.

Turning this into a story: what if the world’s best getaway driver refuses to use anything but a gas-powered car in an all-electric vehicle future dystopia?

It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine all cars would be hooked up to internal computers in an electric-car future. As a safeguard against the driver losing control of his vehicle, the unnamed driver doesn’t want to risk using a car with a computer. His weapon of choice? A pre-computer sports car that runs on gas. In a nod to “Gone in Sixty Seconds,” let’s make it a 1967 Mustang Shelby GT500.

Part of the continuous struggles would be finding gasoline in an all-electric future—the gasoline infrastructure is crippled with the lack of new cars. Also, finding people who can repair this type of machine presents challenges. The driver can fix small things but struggles with finding the right parts. A montage scene could be the production of the correct materials and installation.

Each book in the series would have the driver hired by a new criminal or organization. The driver has a “Desperado”-vibe, a loner who blows into town then leaves when his job is done. There would be plenty of driving material for fans of “Fast and Furious,” complete with other team members who have computer expertise and can hack the cars of those chasing the criminals.

The battle of every book is the ultimate escape. In some of the stories, he could get away outright—these would be ones with criminals who have Robin Hood-style motives, criminals the reader ultimately roots for. In others, he cuts a deal to take down evil guys.

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