Beyond the Aquila Rift

This short blew my mind. The animation, to start, was phenomenal. It was hard to believe that the characters weren't actually real people, and they were in fact animated. After researching the short some more, I found out that the actors who voice each character do in fact look like the animations. The photos posted with this are of Henry Douthwaite, the voice actor of Thom. I wanted to show a side-by-side comparison of the actor in real life versus animation because it is actually mind-boggling to me how accurate it is. British author, Alastair Reynolds, wrote Beyond the Aquila Rift. The short was published by Gollancz and edited by Jonathan Strahan and William Schafer. The technology in the film was insanely advanced and reminded me of the technology used by Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Being set in space, I saw similarities between the short and Guardians of the Galaxy. The way they were able to use technology mid-air was fascinating. When Thom, Suzy, and Ray went to sleep in the liquid oxygen, it was vastly similar to what happened in a show called The 100. In that show, Earth was apocalyptic and presumed to be unliveable. Later in the series, the characters are in search of a new planet that was liveable for humans. They went to sleep in liquid oxygen and traveled lightyears en route to a new home. Beyond the Aquila Rift is essentially futuristic, however, I don't believe it will happen in the way that the short displayed. It is almost too exaggerated. The future will definitely consist of needing to travel lightyears where you'll have to sleep in liquid oxygen, but I do not think everyone will end up trapped in a simulation where your life is a constant loop. Thinking about this is unsettling. The short foresees a future so overstated that it is hard to believe. I really enjoyed this short because of how unexpected it was. The short was truly insane and I genuinely wish I could watch a full-length movie about it.