We seem to be on the edge of life itself, making it no better time than to think that like any other time when there's a prophetic series of events leading toward world destruction, our sexually charged sci-fi future is just as close as ever. I mean, for frak's sake, didn't we learn anything from Battlestar? (Other than, disappointingly, Starbuck is not gay.)

The rule seems to be that if the end is nigh, someone must have had sex with a cylon and we're reaping the consequences. Yes, the sex and tech conference Arse Elektronika 2009 Sex and Technology Festival starts tonight here in San Francisco, so it seems that we have all the symbolic signs we need. And, we might be wondering when we're going to start having future sex already and musing about how totally amazing it will certainly be. And we'll all be thinking the world is lame that we're not already having hot replicant sex-on-tap right now. The closest we can manage is a good line on cheap used Victoria's Secret mannequins (the kind with the wonderfully obscene nipples.)