Entertainment (Recreation)
Recreation has always played a great part in society, since it is basically the only way to perform self-stress-relief and have fun at the same time. But when we at last take the great step to outer space in future space settlement, the time-honored traditional Olympic Games quite possibly will never be the same as it was on Earth, and possibly neither will the NFL. But in space, we will have to be able to conduct stress-relieving activities that distract our minds from the worries of the day. Some old recreational activities performed on Earth may very well be able to be performed up in space as well, such as high-jumping (controlled gravitational environment), reading (we will have libraries), and also water sports such as surfing and swimming. But perhaps there are some new games that we can invent and have fun in playing.
Just about everybody knows the story of Harry Potter. The most popular game in Harry Potter is Quidditch, where players play on flying brooms a game that is a sort of cross between soccer, football, polo and basketball. While it is obviously impossible to do that on Earth right now because of the gravitational pull and the inability of us humans to fly in any way, we can, however, be able to do it in a 0g environment. We can also have the Olympics with us, and people would take a whole new view on high-jumping in a 0g environment as well. We can still perform many of the same small activities that we do on Earth in space, such as reading, playing cards, jogging, and etc. Especially since our environment will have a stimulated environment with an artificial gravitational pull; it is possible for life to continue in almost the same way in which it flourished on Earth.
Also, we are still able to use water in outer space to create an artificial aquatic environment. The water wouldn't fly up and float around as it would in a 0g environment, because we have our artificial gravity environment, and we could also have tidal waves for surfing created by the same forces that control the tidal waves on Earth--the forces of the sun and the moon. On the other hand, while scuba diving probably may not be the most enjoyable aquatic form of recreation in outer space, it is still possible to have fun.
There will be strict time limits for the time of an individual to be out in a 0g area. 0g is known to dematerialize bones, as well as creating irregular blood flow. The muscles will weaken, and digestion will be interrupted. Therefore, 0g is note very good for our bodies, leading us to the limitation of recreation time. Kids, especially adolescents will have more limited time than adults. The people who have been at recreation are required to take medications to supply their needs.
People can also take part in recreation by reading. Conveniently, literature is also important if we want to preserve the history of our relatively short time on Earth for future generations to learn. Historians can be called in to write books about important landmarks in the history of man, such as the Asians crossing the land bridge into North America, or the origins of early humans. Books can be compiled the same way it is done on Earth; that is, from paper made from trees. There will be one big library to service the whole community so that people can come in, borrow books, read them, and return them. In short, Destino Magnus's library system will function the same way as many library systems currently do on Earth. The books will be like the Spindesk TS from the Communication section, except smaller. It will look like a PDA from the 20th and 21st century, a handheld device that could be used for reading. The book is electronic, and the user could flip pages using their fingers, by pressing buttons on the bottom of the device. The device itself can actually connect to the Spindesk TS, for electronic saving. The letters will appear larger on the Spindesk TS, but the user could not copy or screenshot the text, due to copyright reasons, and will only by allowed when the device comes with a payment. The device is called the PSC-Book [Portable Spindesk Compatible-Book]. Its GPS device will be activated when it is lost, or stolen.
As you can see, recreation does indeed play a great part in human society. In outer space, not being able to perform some kind of recreation would indefinitely affect our mental health from lack of stress relief. It would also impact our physical health if no sports could be played in our space settlement. Recreation is the future's way out of insanity.
|