T.R. Brown's Blog: Reflections author blog, page 4

How many kinds of Sci-Fi are there?

As a genre science fiction covers a huge amount of ground. From stories of present day mad scientists to as far into the future as a writers imagination can carry us. From histories that might have been to worlds we all hope never will come to pass. The genres limits are only those of a storytellers ability to make his imagination scientifically plausible. Can every possible sub-genre be classified? Probably not, but hitting the high points can be fun and might introduce some fans to stories they haven't already read.
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Religion in Sci-fi and Fantasy

It has been considered a rule of etiquette never to discuss politics and religion in general company for over one hundred years. Considering the potential those subjects have for starting arguments it is easy to see why. It's generally difficult to even write on religion except to an audience of coreligionists without giving someone offense. If a work intended only for coreligionists finds it's way into the hands of someone of another religion offense is almost inevitable. In science fiction and fantasy though this does not seem to be the case, most of the time. What makes these genre immune to generating conflict on such a sensitive subject?
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Why didn't time travelers kill Hitler?

The idea of time travel is a favorite in science fiction. The idea of being able to witness history first hand or see how the future will turn out fires the imagination. Unless the writer tailors the mechanics of visiting the past to forbid it a question inevitably arises, why not go undo some of histories greatest tragedies? Why not kill Hitler before his rise to power?
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What Rights Would You Give a Machine?

If futurists are to be believed, we are nearing a momentous event. The creation of an artificial intelligence that is truly our equal. This has, naturally, been speculated about in science fiction for decades. Many of the earliest stories featured our electronic creations turning against us. Others featured them serving us, like the creations of the Sorcerers Apprentice, a bit too efficiently. More recently films like Her depict them as another sort of person. The question becomes, how shall we treat these creations? Considering our reliance on technology, a better question might be, how will they treat us?
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What is Sci-Fi?

A question was posed on twitter, as to whether sci-fi was actually a genre or simply a type of setting in which other stories adventures, romances, etc. were told? A similar question is often asked as to what the difference is, if any, between science fiction and fantasy? Are they separate entities or two facets of a single entertainment type? As we live more and more in a world in technological flux what was science fiction yesterday is general fiction now. So what is sci-fi? Is it a separate genre, a type of setting, another sort of fantasy, or something else?
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What is the measure of intelligence?

Sapient. Sentient. Conscious. Intelligent. Self aware. All terms used in Science Fiction to try to describe one thing, a non human possessing an intellectual capacity equivalent to that of humans. In stories involving alien life, especially golden age sci-fi first contact stories, they are used to determine whether a newly encountered alien species qualifies as people or just a new kind of animal.
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The living future

It's arguable that Frankenstein was the first work of science fiction ever published. It's themes of playing God and creating life have certainly been part of the genre since then. It's only been in recent years though that the advancement of biotechnology has reached the point that the kind of organic technology Mary Shelly proposed has become even remotely plausible. Her work has become so influential on our views of manipulating biology that we use her title as a modifier to describe genetically modified creatures. Fish modified to glow in the dark were called frankenfish by some.
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Reflections Background Africa

Africa can best be defined as a continent in recovery. It is recovering from numerous wars that plagued it's people for decades at the beginning of the twenty first century. It is also recovering from the AIDS epidemic that ran rampant during the same period.
Curiously, for all the trouble that the Caliphate has been for America it could be said that it has helped Africa. Fear that the Caliphate, and it's forerunners, territorial ambitions might turn southward helped prompt adversarial factions to set aside their differences, at least temporarily. It has also prompted many to shelter under the umbrella of Chinese influence. This includes nations that are Islamic but have no desire to be politically absorbed by more militant co-coreligionists.
Islam has also been the focus of a central African movement that some have termed a Muslim protestant reformation. A small group of sects that can all be characterized as rejecting spreading their religion by violence, save as a last resort. They are quite enthusiastic in spreading their beliefs both in person and online however. Some of these sects are also much more liberal in their treatment of women but not all. Sadly their treatment of neos ranges from no different than the Caliphate to regarding them as exceptionally clever beasts.

Warning Danger Ahead

The cautionary tale has probably been part of human storytelling for as long as we have told stories. They are often enduring stories as well, especially when they are told to the young. Many of them contain an element of the fantastic. The story of Little Red Riding Hood serves to caution children against talking to strangers using a talking wolf, likely because it was less disturbing than the idea that there were people who might do what the wolf did or worse. The tale of the Billy Goats Gruff served to warn against highwaymen who like the mythic troll might hide under a bridge.
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Can a computer feel?

“I'm afraid I can't do that Dave.”

The line from 2001: a Space Odyssey is iconic in science fiction. Will a machine, even one with true artificial intelligence feel fear though? Will an A.I. no matter how intelligent have any feelings at all? Fiction is of course replete with examples of machines that feel as well as think. The aforementioned Hal, the well known droids from Star Wars, more recently the agents from the Matrix and the “Leading lady” from Her all exhibit a human range of emotions. The android Data from
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