TT: Alan Thinks About Themes
ALAN: I’ve been thinking…
JANE: Uh, oh!
ALAN: There’s an apocryphal story that after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, a reporter interviewed some SF authors and asked: What are you going to write about now that reality has caught up with you?
Exploration and Adventure!
JANE: Ah, the great fallacy rears its head once again. I wonder when folks will stop thinking that SF is about predicting the future?
ALAN: Or the fallacy that SF is all about exploring the moon, and other planets. There is no doubt that the idea has always had a large role to play in the genre, but it’s by no means the only thing that SF concerns itself with. I think there are several fundamental themes that SF returns to time and time again, themes that define the framework that we hang our genre stories on. I think it might be useful if we tried to pin them down. Are you game to give it a go?
JANE: This sounds like fun. It will be interesting to see which still seem vital and which (if any) have run their course.
ALAN: OK – let’s begin with the question raised by that apocryphal reporter. Stories that tell of a trip to another world and what we find there have been a staple of science fiction since long before there was any such thing as science fiction.
G. Wells wrote the story in 1901 (The First Men In The Moon) and Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote it again in 1912 (A Princess of Mars).
JANE: Let’s not forget Jules Verne! His novel From the Earth to the Moon was first published in 1865. The second part of the story Circling the Moon was first published in 1869. These make Wells and Burroughs absolute latecomers to the theme.
However, according to my research, there’s a story that has them beat.
ALAN: Really? Tell me more.
JANE: Apparently, Lucian of Samosata’s True History written in 1827 includes a voyage to the Moon. He was apparently writing in response to Antonius Diogenes’ (second century CE) The Wonders Beyond Thule, which features a report of a visit to the Moon.
However, as True History was satire, there is active debate as to whether it should be classified as SF or not. Diogenes’ piece seems to have been rooted more in Pythagorean mysticism than in any sort of science, so I only include it out of a desire to be complete.
ALAN: Goodness me – the theme has more of a history than I realised. I’m sure that must be because the idea of exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilizations, and boldly going where no man has gone before is a story that appeals to absolutely everybody on a really visceral level. After all, the original series of Star Trek told the story in almost every episode and, probably as a direct result, Star Trek was hugely popular!
JANE: Whoosh! (Sorry, finishing the quote from the opening of Star Trek. My brain always adds the sound effect when the Enterprise goes by. I don’t care that spaceships don’t make a sound in the void. It’s cool.)
But, momentarily being more serious… Original Star Trek worked for me in large part because it told stories of frontiers and exploration. Frontiers remain an integral element of the American mythos, long after the conclusion of the days of physical exploration.
(I’m speaking of the U.S. variant of “American.” Maybe our Canadians can answer if the idea of the frontier has a pull for them as well. I don’t know if we have any South or Central Americans reading this who can answer for the other Americas.)
I’m curious if that element works for you as an Old World transplant as well.
ALAN: I’m old and my palate is jaded but nevertheless the story of travelling to a new world and exploring it still gives me a tingle in my sense of wonder. I’m sure I’m not alone in that – it may be a very old story, but it is still being told today – Andy Weir’s excellent novel The Martian was recently made into an award-winning movie, and that’s by no means the only example of it in modern day SF.
JANE: Indeed not. I’m currently reading a proof of a near future novel – I will tell you what it is when it’s released – that deals with an attempt to establish an in-system colony. Part of what makes it such a good read is that it’s so firmly rooted in recognizable limitations, both scientific and social.
Two of my favorites in this theme are both by Heinlein: The Man Who Sold the Moon (1950) and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966). The first envisions lunar exploration as it might have been if driven by private ambition and dreams, rather than as government-backed ventures. The second focuses on what would happen after a colony was established and had a chance to build its own identity.
Do you have any favorite tales of space exploration? Don’t feel you need to stay in our solar system!
ALAN: Despite its scientific inaccuracy, I absolutely love Arthur C. Clarke’s The Sands of Mars. It was first published in 1951 and it has long been overtaken by events. We know a lot more about conditions on Mars today than we did back then. The story is a thrilling tale of colonising the red planet. Mars has been surveyed from orbit, but not yet fully explored on the ground… Among other ideas, the novel speculates about techniques for terraforming the planet – a surprisingly sophisticated idea for 1951!
I’m also very fond of Brian W. Aldiss’ Helliconia trilogy. The novels chronicle the rise and fall of civilisation on an Earth-like planet over more than a thousand years. A space station orbiting Helliconia transmits details of the drama back to Earth.
JANE: Shamefacedly, I will admit I haven’t read either of these. However, I think I may need to do so!
There’s no way we can list every good book about space exploration without inviting the dreaded TL/DR monster into our Tangent. Perhaps some of our readers will help fill in the gaps by commenting on their personal “don’t miss” titles of planetary exploration.
Even without listing more titles, I think it’s obvious that neither of us think that SF built around planetary exploration and colonization is in the least played out. However, it might be worth mentioning what is needed to make a new venture in that territory fresh and of good quality.
You first!
ALAN: Don’t pad the story with unnecessary events like meteorite collisions and avoid technical infodumps about spacecraft propulsion systems. I just read a trilogy which would have been amazingly good if the padding had been removed, and as a bonus it would only have been a single novel! In other words, stick to the straight storyline of planetary exploration.
JANE: I’ll add that attention needs to be paid to characterizations. The days when characters can be “the pilot,” “the captain,” “the astronomer,” etcetera are gone. Readers want to believe that real, three-dimensional humans with families, friends, even phobias, can achieve these goals.
Space travel is only one element among perennial SF themes. Would you like to suggest another?
ALAN: I know! Let’s talk about time travel last week.
