The thing missing from sci-fi movies, the thing that's been bothering me the most in the back of my brain when I didn't even realize it, the thing I've been craning my neck to see in every episode of Star Trek, in every adaptation of Dune, in every repeated viewing of Starship Troopers, are brand names, everywhere, allwhere, upinya.

If you compare Now to Then, and compare Now to When, think about what there should be. I want to see corporate logo tattoos, babies named Tootsie Roll, and the Pepsi symbol (and yes children, I did say symbol; have enough faith that even my mistakes are choices that I, as The Writer, have made), I want to see the Pepsi symbol emblazoned on the moon. I want to see magnetic strips on the back of everything and I want to know what sweatshop produces the sleek two-color jumpsuits that we'll all be wearing in a few hundred years.