6 sci-fi promises that haven't happened yet

The last few years have seen plenty of future tech landing in our eager palms. It turns out that science fiction shows like Star Trek predicted several popular gadgets. We're even getting close to high-end medical technology like cryogenic freezing and flesh-repairing nanobots. It wasn't too long ago that smartphones seemed like something out of tech fantasy, but now NASA is even making long-term plans that could launch us straight into the lap of Martians.

For all that gadgets and technology meander forever forward, science fiction still has made some outstanding promises that science fact hasn't made good on yet. These are things we've seen in science fiction movies and books since we were old enough to quote Darth Vader telling Luke, "I am your father." We don't have them yet — and we want them.

1. Replicators When Jean-Luc Picard walks up to the wall and says "Tea, Earl Gray, hot," the device that summons his drink is called a replicator. In the world of Star Trek, replicators worked by rearranging subatomic particles into the appropriate molecules to form the desired object.

The replicator is an awesome idea that we just don't have yet. We are getting surprisingly close, though. 3D printers already exist, and they've become sophisticated enough to create blood vessels. A company called Origo even makes 3D printers for kids, which just goes to show how prevalent the technology is becoming. While 3D printers clearly aren't replicators as known by Picard, the ability to order up spontaneous objects on the fly is drawing nearer.

2. Holographic messages When Princess Leia needed the help of an old friend, she embedded a holographic message in her faithful droid and sent it off into the galaxy. R2-D2 finally tracked down old Ben Kenobi and played the message, informing the Jedi that he was Leia's only hope. While you could argue that a voice message (or video chat) might have been more efficient, the holograph just has more style.

Again, as with replicators, we're getting close. Holograms have replaced traditional attendants at the Orly airport. These holograms aren't quite affordable for consumer use, though, so we'll have to wait a while before we see a holographic pop-up on our desks. Heck, even YouTube is offering 3D editing tools.

Holographic messages aren't impossible, given current technology; this issue is more about why anyone would choose that delivery. It seems more likely now that Leia would just drop Kenobi a note on Facebook and list "got captured, don't like it" on her Timeline.

3. Personal flight Whether you're talking about a jet pack, a Legion flight ring, or some other method of getting airborne, personal flight has been a favorite of sci-fi authors for years. It speaks to that part of us that looks to the skies and yearns to fly with the birds, unhampered by clunky planes or inelegant helicopters. We'd be just as happy with a flying bike or hovercraft at this point, but neither has appeared.

Okay, jet packs are out there already for purchase. Glenn Martin is offering a commercial jet pack for about $100,000, but that jet pack has seen limited use so far — and who knows what kind of licensing might be required? Prototypes and very expensive options exist, but we're still a long way from being able to step out our front door and soar into the sky.

4. Time travel Have you ever dreamed of jumping in the TARDIS and taking a merry romp through time and space with the Doctor? Science fiction has encouraged our love affair with time travel for as long as we can remember. After all, who wouldn't want to see A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court or get the chance to wear Marty McFly's Nikes from Back to the Future? Sadly, not only have we not achieved time travel, but some scientists claim it's impossible. We're still holding out hope, though, because we'd really like to see a dinosaur in person.

5. Faster-than-light travel Faster-than-light (FTL) travel is what's supposed to bring us to alien planets and boldly forward to places no one has gone before. Breaking the known laws of relativity, speed, mass, and physics is the technology that lets Han Solo leap between star systems in a matter of seconds. Clearly, we're not going that fast yet, as you're probably well aware while chilling out in rush hour traffic. FTL travel just isn't a reality yet.

Exciting news has cropped up about it, though. Researchers at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland think they've got an eye on neutrinos going faster than light. Einstein might be gnashing his teeth in disbelief, but thousands of sci-fi fans looking forward to warp speed are jumping from their chairs in excitement.

6. Mega-cities As science fiction and Japanese animation tell us, we will eventually find ourselves living in sprawling metropolises known as mega-cities or arcologies. (That's from ecology and architecture.) These massive cityscapes will replace vast swaths of the countryside as human growth and industrial expansion replace rivers, countrysides, and eventually even continents. If you're fortunate to look outside and see a forest or a mountain, then you know we're not living in vast arcology quite yet. 

Architectural feats like Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia and China's megalopolis hint to that growing expansion, though. The jury's still out on whether this level of urbanization is a good thing, but this is yet another prediction from sci-fi that hasn't quite materialized yet.

The future's bright
We've already got cyborg bugs, robot bees, and magnetic brain control. You can definitely say that the future is now, and it seems like the future is bright. We just need a few more advances so that we can grasp our favorite sci-fi toys like FTL travel, personal flight, and time travel. At least, that's what we're telling ourselves. In the meantime, we'll keep an eye on the science fiction and dream about an awesome tomorrow.

[Image credit: Doctor Who, Star Trek: Bloodlines, The Rocketeer, Star Wars]

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