Ordinarily, one would suggest Africa focus first on fixing foundational issues like reliable power supply or access to portable water before dreaming of space travel. However, multi-tasking is a thing so its possible to allocate appropriate amounts of energy and time across essential and inspiring tasks. There is also the fact that the Occupy Mars project demands not just an external journey towards the stars but also an internal journey towards awakening hitherto dormant chambers of the soul. In other words, a certain 'mutation' of the DNA of the human soul (if I may) is essential for man becoming a multiplanetary species.

The SSN hopes to embark on an expedition to Mali at the soonest possible time to confer with the elders of the Dogon people of there as hinted in previous issues. This planned expedition which is expected to be comprised of Africanfuturist technologists, anthropologists, astronomers, social media managers, content creators and engineers is expected to produce interesting findings as to how these people were able to observe star systems light years away from the earth before the invention of the modern telescope (see previous issues for details). One of the most interesting possibilities of this meeting is how the Dogon might be able to impact on the idea of wormholes and circumventing Newton's laws of motion in space travel. Indeed the entire trip is all in line with Africanfuturism seeking to accelerate to its next logical phase of evolution (i.e. the crucial phase of reacting to science fiction made real rather than science fiction storytelling via Afrocentric works in that genre).

As those following the SSN already know, this newsletter is already morphing into Sankofa Social Media (SSM) in well measured degrees that will be greatly accelerated by the time the first fleet of Starships sail off to Mars. We have also disclosed that SSN has begun to present rather copious toasts to a zero-crater touchdown on the first try when the starships land on Mars. ..to a zero-crater touchdown ladies and gentlemen…*

The rather resilient Nigerian brew being deliberately used for these toasts to the Mars landing shall be named in due course. There will be more also about the Sankofa Social Media which the SSN will transform into as we go along. Fasten your seat belt for an acceleration of Truth Overflow around about the time SSM emerges from SSN.

For those not familiar with the term, Africanfuturism was coined by Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okoroafor as a sub-category of science fiction as we duly acknowledged in the inaugural issue; in reaction to a world where the science fiction genre has always been dominated by western visualizations of the future. Alas science fiction is now becoming reality! The true Africanfuturist should feel challenged to expand the focus of creative output accordingly. Our takeoff with new issues at midnight on Fridays can therefore also be seen as a metaphor for the darkness before the dawn of never before seen Africanfuturist ingenuity in science and tech. 

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As we look into space, does space also peer back like the proverbial abyss? Is man a reflection of the universe? For example the Igbo concept of “Chi” invokes a person’s companion spirit operating close behind the visible scene of things. 

The last issue of SSN being our inaugural copy also touched on a certain cosmic kinship between Afrofuturism and Africanfuturism. We’re trying to dig into that a lil bit more in this issue by first explaining that Afrofuturism is on blacks outside of Africa (as led by black Americans) while the latter term is on blacks on the continent. In the realm of entertainment, the world has already seen the kind of magic that comes from creative collaborations between the likes of Davido and Chris Brown (among so many other examples of this kind). However, there is now a “vergence in the force” (if one might borrow a term from Star Wars). We could attempt a definition here by explaining a vergence in the force as a realignment of energy fields that permits transformative possibilities that would not exist otherwise. For Africanfuturists & their Afrofuturist diaspora cousins, this implies a phenomenal convergence of tech and cultural forces

Back to the Dogon people of Mali and their mysteriously acquired knowledge about the Sirius star system located 8.6 million light years from earth. As we noted earlier, these bad niggers acquired this knowledge in astronomy before the invention of the modern telescope. So my dawgs can y’all tell me by what means of celestial observation they achieved such detailed knowledge about Sirius? The SSN will travel to Mali to confer with the Dogon elders in person. Stay tuned. We will do a very deep dive into ancient Dogon wisdom & how it could inform a new wave of tech breakthroughs. 

As mentioned in the first issue, the SSN shall expand into a new social media platform called Sankofa Social Media (SSM) as we approach the historical date of Starships first straight flight to Mars.

What kind of Africanfuturist are you? The dreamer, the builder, or the cultural storyteller? Whatever your inclination, SSN is your weekly portal to exploring these questions and uncovering the possibilities that lie ahead. Our journey isn’t just about observation; it’s about participation.

Subscribe to SSN and become part of a growing community that dares to imagine and create a future where Africa plays a much more prominent role in innovation, culture, and interstellar ambition.