SOCIAL SCIENCE FICTION
Isaac Asimov, one of the pioneers of social science fiction and said to be the creator of the term (cited by Bretnor, 1953), has claimed that social science fiction is the best and most appropriate form of fiction in the Atomic Age. Asimovs view has a point, as he lived in the times were technology exploded due to World War II and the Cold War. Interest in the sciences were high due to the rapid scientific discoveries of the early 1900s, and the devastating use of science and technology in World War II and the subsequent Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union. Asimov, a humanist and a rationalist, was a more stringent opponent of superstition and pseudoscience (cited by Levinson, 1982) in dealing with human affairs. His rationalist approach may not be everyones cup of tea, but he is well-respected among his peers. He was able to rationalize technologies like nuclear power for civil use, despite the potential of nuclear power to cause untold destruction. Social science fiction was an avenue to show people what can happen if they let emotions, and forgetting that they have a rational mind, run loose. The threat of war in both World War II and the Cold War was primarily fueled by emotions rather than rational thought. Science and Technology evolved very rapidly, but the fuel was a desire to defeat an enemy rather than to produce a good. Asimov often used social issues like oppression in his works. He had the idea that science and technology has a social price, like the oppression found in The Currents of Space, and The Stars, like Dust.
Exploration, with the chance of finding breakthroughs is a common theme in science fiction, and the focal point of Weinbaums A Martian Oddysey. The protagonist Jarvis, stuck in the Martian surface after a crash, meets an intelligent being which he named Tweel manages to communicate with it using logic and some learning of basic words. His long trek with Tweel over the Martian surface gave Jarvis more than he bargained for he knew the Martian flora and fauna present as there were past expeditions but he never saw them up close an near-immortal creature made of silica, a creature that feeds on the dreams and desires of organisms to lure prey, and the distinct barrel-like creatures that collect all kinds of refuse, reproduce by parthogenesis and sacrifice themselves to a massive mechanism. The stories he told to his colleagues made them think that Jarvis has gone crazy from his trek. But when he picked up a strange crystal that made his injuries and a wart in his hand go away instantly, he knows he found something very valuable, in addition to his friendship with Tweel, who he met by saving its life from a dream-beast. Tweel also repaid the favor when he was caught in the mind games of the dream-beast. The story showed a classic point exploring is the whole sum of the experiences a person has in a journey, and Jarvis was enlightened by this experience. He now knew that Mars has more things in store for them, and there could open new doors for mankind and perhaps the Martian civilization, which shared the view of the solar system as with humans evidenced by Tweels ecstatic reaction when Jarvis drew the solar system for it. Science fiction is used there to stoke the interests of exploration of people, to continue to strive for new discoveries that just might change human life. Its for people who need inspiration, like students.
Science fiction can also provide an off-center view of human life, or what people are living for in a different context and scenario. In Anthony Bouchers Q.U.R. , mankind has reached out to other planets such as Venus and Mars, there is what we call the Brotherhood of Man, and part of their history were two massive interplanetary War of Conquests which ended up good, in the case of Venus, or in the near destruction of the human race as what happened in the Second War of Conquest against Mars. There is extreme prejudice towards the Venusian aliens, as evidenced by the Venusian-baiting incident in the beginning, but not much on the Martians. Humans and Martians seem to work well together, but Dugg Quimby, one of the protagonists of the story, say that the Terrene Supremacy Doctrine is flawed and hated by humans and aliens and in his own words No one is looking at things straight. Everybody looks around the corners of their prejudices. In the setting of the story, there is what Quimby called a Robot epidemic, and the monopoly of robots produced by Robots Inc. or Robinc, according to Quimby, are too complicated for the simple tasks they were meant to do. Mans arrogance produced robots that were mainly images of himself rather than useful machines, hence the propensity for catastrophic failure. Prejudice is a sad and common fact of human life, and Science fiction can be an eye opener, again to inspire people to be more decisive and a willing participant on these social issues. The nameless protagonist gives the reader a first hand account on how the upstart Q.U.R. (Quimbys Usufruct Robots) aims to shake the existing conditions set by the Terrene Supremacy Doctrine and the monopoly by Robinc by producing no-nonsense usufruct robots.
When there are new technologies and discoveries by scientists and the academic institutions, how do the people react to it Do they embrace it with open arms, or oppose it vehemently How do the scientists feel when they do the things they do Do they do it for fame and fortune or do they want the Greater Good The story Greater Than Gods by C.L. Moore describes this scenario a scientist, Dr. William Cory is working on a genetic determination program to help parents decide a babys gender. However, he is also lovestruck from two women the fun, carefree Sallie or the stoic but caring Marta. He was writing a marriage proposal for only one of them, when a colleague told him about the possibility that a persons actions in life is predestined, but if a person unlocks the Plane of Probability he can change it, one that transgresses the will of the Gods.
Undecided, he suddenly found his future descendants standing before him Sue who came from a union with Sallie, and Billy, who came from a union with Marta. Both represented futures that were in a way a mirror on the personality of Dr. Cory. In Sues future, Corys work was unfinished and humanity grew to a maternalistic society with unprecedented peace and stability, but later led to the ruin of the human race. Sue represented his more kinder side, caring, loving and seeking happiness. In Billys future, the system was perfected and it made humanity an all-conquering civilization, but it was a society with no happiness, no love and worst of all devoid of soul. It was a representation of Dr. Corys ambition, pride, and desire for success, he wanted to be somebody and give good to the world. Both were polar opposites, and they were very attractive to him. He had to make a choice. The theme was that if people know their destiny, would they follow it blindly Or will people reject that notion and practice their free will Another question posed there are people willing to risk their ambition and personal desires for the greater good of people Science fiction can provide insights to how a person might react in this kind of situation.
A similar scenario happens in the seminal book The Skylark of Space by Edward E. Smith, where there is a quintessential battle between the honorable, honest Dr. Dick Seaton against the selfish, scheming Dr. Marc DuQuesne. Seatons discovery of the reactions of copper to the mysterious element X was a success, though it needed some help from DuQuesne to totally unlock it. But thats where the two men diverge paths Seaton wanted people to benefit from it, DuQuesne wanted the technology for himself to profit from it. The characters of the two men were polar opposites, yet they both have some quirks, especially DuQuesne, who does follow a code of honor helping Seaton and his cohorts get home. Science fiction can tell people that science and technology can fall in the hands of people of questionable morals and it is peoples responsibility to use these scientific discoveries primarily for the search of truth and knowledge, as well as the improvement of human lives.
Inspiration for the sciences takes many different forms. In the case of Hugo Gernsback, it was a copy of Mars as an Abode of Life by Percival Lowell to take Hugo Gernsback to inspire him to produce amazing stories from sciences and fantasy. Science fiction is there to inspire people to look towards the sciences. Gernsback already had an interest in electricity and electric mechanisms, and that childlike interest was carried on throughout his life, as he wrote stories and published his many different science fiction journals and magazines. He was also a man of many ideas, ranging from electricity, philosophy, radio, physics, television, even sex He was also an inventor, from words he introduced in his science fiction stories to different battery and wireless technologies, holding up to 80 patents to his name. Indeed, his mark to the science fiction world was there, but without the inspiration by science fiction in his life, Hugo Gernsback would not have influenced many other people to dabble in the sciences and science fiction.
Science fiction may be meant to portray what the future can bring to humanity, but its not always a sure-fire tool to predict what technologies and discoveries can pop up in the future. Hugo Gernsbacks work Ralph 124C41 proved that. Though it gave people some things to look forward to, like the Telephot (Videophone), Tele-theater (more akin to a Television) , Aeroflyer (transatlantic travel), and the Telautograph (like a fax machine), some are just too far-fetched to make things happen like the Vacation City (a city with antigravity), and the weather-controlling Meteoro-Towers. Science fiction makes for great imaginative works but at times, imagined things get out of hand when people expect these things to happen in the future. A lot of people who read these stories tend to believe that there is life on the planets Mars and Venus, like the ones mentioned in the stories Q.U.R. and A Martian Odyssey. But when science and technology finally did catch up to the imaginations of the science fiction writers, they found the sad truth there is no life on Mars nor Venus, no pyramids made of blocks of silica and glowing crystals that emit radiation that cures disease and pain. No intelligent life forms like Tweel and Guzub, nor any of the fantastic flora and fauna found in A Martian Odyssey. Science Fiction is not wholly meant for gullible very impressionistic people, there is still a hint of critical analysis involved. In addition, science fiction is not a source of scientific facts, though writers base their imaginative acts on scientific fact. In Ralph 124C41, space ships are powered by gyroscopes, or gyroscopic devices. Fantastic it may be, but gyroscopes are primarily tools for orientation. Gernsback failed predict the use of rocketry to propel man to space.
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