Great Minds - Steven D. Bennett

Great Minds

By Steven D. Bennett

  • Release Date: 2017-11-08
  • Genre: Sci-Fi Short Stories

Description

A Twilight-Zone-esque story. Sebastian Sage--scientist, genius--is hard at work on the problem of global warming, on which he believes he has a solution. He is approached by a man representing a group called GREAT MINDS. Their belief, based on the diminishing intelligence of man due to social media, is that the problems humankind will face in the future will require a greater mind-force than will be available. They therefore propose to send the greatest minds of the present into the future; their method: cryogenics. Sage is mildly interested, but becomes more so when he learns that well-known scientist Niles DeMoss Yardley has agreed to take part in the undertaking. To Sage, Yardley is more of a populist than scientist, who has gained a large following and undeserved reputation based on simple-minded slogans. Though Sage would never admit it, Yardley is also his nemesis.
With the promise that he will be the future leader of the Great Minds and that his present work will continue after he is "gone," Sage mulls over his boyhood dream of seeing the future, as well as having Yardley being subservient to his intellect, as it always should have been. He finally agrees to the idea and the procedure begins. In a blink, he awakes forty years in the future, his mind being connected to the other Great Minds. He marvels at his ability to hear and communicate, though he is, of course, just a brain. But his excitement at tackling the current problems soon wanes as he finds that political correctness has also made the journey, and their mission has changed to one he should have anticipated.