The New Science Fiction
Mon., March 16, 09:00 AM
Since I was in my early teens, one of my favorite kind of books has been science fiction. Devotees of speculative fiction usually divide it into two types, fantasy and science. Science was always my favorite, dependent on some sort of understanding of the underlying “what if…” Yes, I admit that sometimes my understanding was very limited.
These stories often began with a problem that could be solved with the right science and usually was by the end of the story. Many years later I might discover that the science was flawed, but if the story was well written, it was still a good story. Sometimes the story leapfrogged what would actually happen, like Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward.
Bellamy presupposed that in 2000, when his protagonist awakens from a trance, all homes would have beautiful music available, brought in via telephone wires. I remember being amused when I read that; in 1888, when the book was published, telephone service had already begun to spread. Research into radio waves had barely begun, and widespread broadcast radio was still forty or fifty years in the future. So Bellamy knew nothing of a radio in every home, not to mention recordings on cylinder, disk, or tape. However, home entertainment delivered on wires — isn’t that a good description of cable television? It was certainly good science fiction!
Science fiction took a different turn when so many predictions had either come true or been proven false. The “Star Trek” series, all of them, were based not on explaining the science of most things, but simply accepting that they existed. It was great to imagine how a transporter or pocket communicator would affect the people. (The communicators are all over now, but none of the writers ever mentioned texting!) The stories are not so much about the science as about the sociology — that is, how does the existence of science affect the community, especially when it is first introduced. This style of fiction produced some very good “what if’s.”
I have decided, however, that there is a whole new genre, one that employs existing science but in a very fictional manner. We all know that DNA exists and that each individual has unique DNA. We also know that there are laboratory tests to identify DNA. Still, I am willing to bet that no one is using one of those CSI machines, where you can put a dab of DNA into a computer and it will, within seconds, bring up a photo of the owner. CODIS is not that good yet. Some programs use a fragment of fingerprint in the same manner — scan the fragment and the computer will bring up a picture of the person who left it. AFIS isn’t that good either.
My point is that, having been a science fiction fan for years, I can suspend my disbelief long enough to enjoy the story. Most of my favorite television shows at the moment are of this sort: all of the CSI shows, “NCIS,” “NUMB3RS,” and “Bones,” which I wrote about yesterday. Not only do I enjoy all of these; I also find myself watching and re-watching reruns. The new science fiction.
