#science fiction essay

[theoutcastrogue]

So who invented science fiction, anyway?

Dream blunt rotation, sci-fi edition (dead people only): Lucian of Samosata, Cyrano de Bergerac, Mary Shelley, Jules Verne, Alexander Bogdanov, Kurt Vonnegut, Philip K. Dick (if there's only one of those in the rotation, it's fine, just don't get surrounded by them), Ursula Le Guin, Douglas Adams

First of all, that's a dumb question. Literary genres aren't "invented" by single individuals. Nothing exists in a vacuum, there's no virgin birth in art, and culture is a conversation.

Second, there's no single rigid definition of science fiction. That stuff is loose and fluid and in the eye of the beholder. And depending on how you choose to define it, even The Epic of Gilgamesh can be considered a sci-fi story.

Third, for most intents and purposes, it's Mary Shelley. Science fiction as a genre begins with Frankenstein, that's not complicated at all.

Fourth, before Frankenstein, there are TONS of stories with elements we recognise now as belonging or at least adjacent to science fiction, but they're incidental to the narrative so nobody cares. Lucian wrote about inhabited planets and space battles in the 2nd century. But it was a satirical story, and if it took place in a land of magic mountains instead, it wouldn't make a lick of difference. Scores of people wrote utopias and/or adventures set on the moon, the sun, the stars. So what. It could have been on an imaginary island or the Fairy Realm, and nothing would change. All it says is "we set the stage Elsewhere".

Notable exception to the Fourth: Kepler's Somnium. That story is set (via dream) on the moon, and couldn't have been set anywhere else, because the whole point is to explain how the earth would look when viewed from the moon. That was what Kepler (that's the astronomer, not some random dude) wrote first and what he cared about, the rest is just a narrative framework added later. So it's not really science fiction because it's not really fiction in the first place, it's science with frills.

More exceptions to the Fourth: there are tales written in the late 18th / early 19th century that are, by now, recongisably science fiction. But they weren't novels, they were poems and one instance of prose-poetry, and they didn't make a genre. Frankenstein did that.

Fifth, mayhaps the correct word isn't "invent". It's "kickstart".

[a-ramblinrose]

“When asked to “define the difference between fantasy and science fiction,” I mouth and mumble and always end up talking about the spectrum, that very useful spectrum, along which one thing shades into another. Definitions are for grammar, not literature, I say, and boxes are for bones. But of course fantasy and science fiction are different, just as red and blue are different; they have different frequencies; if you mix them (on paper—I work on paper) you get purple, something else again.”

― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction

[kinoshi]

Ужастики смотрят

Яньцин не понимает, куда он жмал

Долго думала, выкладывать или нет, ибо жестко ошиблась при рисовании этой работы, из за чего все пошло под откос. Но ладно, пусть будет.

Полтора часа рисовала скетч на еще одну работу и в итоге удалила его, ибо вообще не вышло. Надо потренироваться, научите рисовать...

[sohkrates]

It Drinks Light: The Origins of the Xenomorph and LoadingReadyRun's Heat Death

In previous drafts of this essay I spent paragraphs outlining my love of the Alien films, defending Alien 3 and Resurrection, and using that to lead into why you would enjoy an Alien RPG actual play series called Heat Death. But I just spent a lot of money on a tattoo that I think will speak to my bona fides:

I like the Alien franchise. I like Geiger’s xenomorph, I like the clunky cassette futurism imagined in those 80’s movies. It feels increasingly like a much needed antidote to modern digital interfaces, and the maddeningly undefiled aesthetics of the corporate digital age.

But after I saw Prometheus and then Covenant it became very apparent to me that Ridley Scott isn’t interested in the parts of the universe that I am interested in. Or at least, his answers to those questions aren’t particularly satisfying.

There are some good things in those movies, don’t get me wrong. The moment when the two Michael Fassbenders have flute lessons is some of the gayest shit in the series, right alongside Ripley and Call having come good ol’ fashioned knife play in Resurrection.

The prequels also continue the theme established in the first few movies that the whims of the rich and powerful will doom us all in general, and the people who work for them specifically. Their corporations are shown time and again to be fundamentally opposed to human flourishing. True as it ever was.

But that’s kinda it for me.

The question at the heart of these prequels is “Where did the xenomorph come from?” to which they answer:

Some sort of chemical weapon or tool synthesized by tall aliens called engineers for ambiguous purposes. Millenia later this was discovered and hijacked by a singular android of human design, flawed in all the ways its creator was flawed. Some iterations and experiments later we get the xenomorphs we recognize. 

Admittedly there may be more nuance than that. But as far as I can tell any further details are all muddled in cut content and unskilled storytelling.

Ultimately, according to the prequels thus far, the xenomorph is something we did to ourselves.

That is not a particularly engaging answer to me. I don’t really care about how the titular alien came to be. I don’t need to see the engineers, or the origins of the space jockey. I liked it when it felt like that tall alien was merged with the cockpit, when it looked like one organism, a new and novel form of life from another evolutionary path completely unlike our own.

And if you feel the same, I have something to recommend to you. 

Heat Death is an actual play series made by the Canadian comedy/streaming troupe LoadingReadyRun in 2020 as part of their Dice Friends series. They did 6 episodes where Cameron, the GM, leads 4 players through their own scenario in the official Alien RPG.

And it’s one of the best Alien stories I’ve ever seen.

Cameron provides much more interesting answers to the questions Ridley Scott keeps asking, and in a method that compliments the familiar set up of Alien films. A typical day in the life of spacers is interrupted by a combination of corporate malfeasance and/or the existence of the xenomorph.

The setup of Heat Death is thus: The crew of the research vessel Ludomia, our PC’s and NPC’s for the series, wake up on a strange and grandiose space station called New Eden. Their vessel is missing, the rest of their crew is missing, and they have no idea where they are. They seek answers, they seek escape, and they try to figure out what was happening here hidden in the shadows of space.

And in typical Alien fashion, it all goes to hell.

Part of the reason the series works so well for me is because the GM has a background in the sciences. This helps when the characters are confronted with the truly alien things they find. I am an amateur appreciator of things like biology and astronomy ,and so there is just enough detail to make me feel like I know what’s happening, but also enough unfamiliar jargon that I feel an appropriate sense of awe and dread. Cameron doesn’t talk down to his audience or his players, he describes the world in ways that would make sense to the character’s point of view, and offers explanations and details when prompted.

The xenomorph’s biology is described as being reminiscent of Teflon, an immediately startling non sequitur.

The primordial black goo from the prequels is described as incredibly hazardous to human beings through exacting technical terminology. It makes it seem real and dangerous. In the prequels it always felt flat and… out of place.

I like Heat Death because Cameron and the players are actively investigating the question of the origins of the xenomorph without limiting the possibility space. It’s not a closed loop that begins and ends at LV-426 with the space jockey and its ship. Instead we see a possible answer to what is waiting for us in the stars, a galactic ecology that we have stumbled into and are ill-equipped to handle. It makes the machinations of Weyland-Yutani seem even more feeble and doomed.

It also works so well because the players are all in on it. They lean into the themes of the franchise, of roughnecks who shoot first, of commanders in over their head, and corporate representatives quietly manipulating things to their own end. There’s no power gaming or looking to get the upper hand or finding an optimal path to survival. They see the awfulness coming and they don’t look away.

There’s more that I could recommend about this series, but I run the risk of giving away too much. There’s the poetic introductions to each episode that give breadth to the fiction. The investigations of different bits of lore and tech, from faster than light travel to how synthetics work. But I guess I’ll end by going over all the players and their characters.

First there’s Commander Roman Moritaka, played by Ian, who I think more than anyone leans into the doomed nature of the storytelling. Ian is always ready to make the obvious mistake and try to do the most reasonable thing in an unreasonable situation. One of my favourite moments in the game comes from Roman making telemetry calculations. How many AP’s do you know that bother with the drama of rocket science?

Then there’s Clinton Barker played by Alex, a colonial marine who thinks in equipment and utility, and has no time for metaphor or theory. Alex is also obviously an Alien fan and someone who knows military tech and lingo, which lets him launch into interesting asides and funny anecdotes that punctuate the story.

There’s Gregory Sinclair Jr., the corporate liaison played by Cori. He is a perfect mix of uselessness and cold corporate comfort. Cori plays him relentlessly, a perfectly willing pawn right into the final moments of the final episode, and a constant needle in everyone’s side.

And then there’s Harris Schafer, played by Adam. Harris is a laid back academic and scientist, which makes them a great foil for the other characters and the perfect POV character to let us know just how bad things are, much like Adam himself. Adam is a great addition to the table, always willing to ask the basic questions and react in relatable ways.

I’ve already mentioned Cameron, and as GM he plays all the NPC’s with depth, and deftly cuts between scenes, heightening moments of tension and underlining moments of impending dread. His obvious writing ability is on full display. It feels like he loves this stuff. And in a way that Ridley Scott kinda doesn’t. Not in the same way. There’s curiosity and time and thought on display here, and I really appreciate that.

And that’s it. You should watch it, especially if you like the alien series and the art of actual play. It’s good. It’s on Youtube and it’s on podcasts. Check it out. Let me know what you think. Recommend me some other Alien fanfiction.

And if you would have liked to have read this earlier, or would like more essays and stuff like this, kick me a couple of bucks on Patreon. If folks like this sort of thing, I may do more essays. Heck, I'll probably do them if you hate it.

[troythecatfish]

[pluralsword]

An Essay: Trans History and Retcons Regarding IDW1 Arcee and Her Spotlight

As we've slowly learned more and deeply immersed into IDW1 Arcee's writing over the years, finding much more than just kinship to her, we felt this urge to dig further, to understand, feeling threads that were there regarding trans history, but not having much knowledge regarding historical transmedicalism, so we dug. We dug because we wanted to show that Arcee's writing from 2012-2018 not only is a beautiful trans story unique in science fiction, but that her personality there and in part in her Spotlight (which absolutely did not intend trans stuff and walked into a minefield in that regard that inadvertently opened up the opportunity for the writing and consulting team in Phase 2 and Phase 3 to figure out beautiful character arcs for her) are direct successors of the original personality frameworks for G1 Arcees, and to show the impact and legacy of both Sunbow/Marvel and IDW Arcees along with more Arcees combined on many versions of her thereafter.

Here's the introductory paragraph:

In much of the last decade, a lot of people familiar with Transformers’ trans stories appreciate Arcee being trans and her arcs in that regard from 2012 onwards. But during those six years from 2012-2018 where her narratives that firmly navigated her agency as a trans gal were being established by a number of writers, with consulting help in 2015 for Ask Vector Prime and 2018 for IDW1, there was and remains uncertainty over how exactly that works for her, specifically for her comic iteration where her transness was first hinted and then plainly stated. The variety of understandings in this regard in part originates from her introduction to the IDW1 run, Spotlight Arcee, in 2008, which was received rather turbulently because of how it portrayed her gender and transformer gals at large. Writing years after would navigate resolving this rather beautifully as showing Arcee having struggled with transmedicalism, isolation, abandonment, loneliness, and alienation, the brutality of a violent (and androcentric) world, as many trans people across gender and parallel spectrums or lacks thereof have in real life. Her story is done in a wlw trans gal context in particular. She is shown getting closure on all this, finding her happiness by the end of that continuity that would along with her story at large as a sweet, ferocious, outspoken old warrior sage help set the tone for her portrayals afterwards. Much of this overlaps with how she was described in her The Transformers Universe bio all the way back in 1986. In these regards, we (the writer of this is plural, we'll have a note about that near the end) think it is pertinent to take another look at how her story played out, what was actually written and shown vs. what was intended, to navigate transmedicalist history that overlaps with her story, and to show that Arcee’s trans iterations are directly part of the legacy of G1 Arcee overall

also a brief fact check edit regarding HRT:

we said HRT only effects hormones but realized we should fact check that, and apparently for some people HRT does effect their genes!! (this is separate from the discussion of gender journeys and epigenetics which we personally know next to nothing about) this a deeply understudied topic you can read about it here:

Gender-affirming hormone therapy induces specific DNA methylation changes in blood

[fwitolei]

Me: I need to make up a name for the Star Wars planet i made up. Oh, I know! I'll slap some sounds together and make a nice and completely original planet name! The fucking dictionary:

[galaxyharlot]

Having a day and need to distract myself so I'm going to over analyze a throw-away line from Speed Racer 2008. Any mention of Speed Racer in this essay is in regards to that movie.

Before reading this understand that Speed Racer is a movie about macro economics effecting the individual. Any science talk is just flavor to that, and studies like this take a lot of liberty.

"Pops. Thats a Bernoulli Converginator!" "Transponder Shmonder. You want real kick you go Bernoulli."

What the fuck is a Bernoulli Converginator and why is it a big deal.

Now. First assumption. Bernoulli is a companly like Edison Motors or Tesla. Named after someone famous in the history of physics and electronics and speed.

I'm watching a video about Spider-Man 2, and how to make a good sequel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCVYDrtecDY

In it we hear Doc Ock talking to Peter about Bernoulli, and Peter asks "Did Bernoulli sleep before he found the curves of quickest descent?"

I'm going to assume that this was a well researched line, because Spider-Man 2 tries to be at least somewhat accurate with its real world physics, I think.

Looking it up, the Bernoulli family lineage has a lot of mathematics in it. Daniel Bernoulli is who we're talking about in regards to Speed Racer, for sure. His findings lead to the invention of the carburetor.

Sidebar: He was friends with Euler. I wonder if Speed Racer Universe has a company called Euler. They created a theory that explained how steel can bend without cracking. The racing cars in Speed Racer, the T-180, are essentially jets with wheels. They don't turn the wheel to turn the wheels. They turn the wheel to turn the engine.

Bernoulli's principle states that an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in static pressure or the fluid's potential energy

Another sidebar, apparently Mach is the measure of how fluids relate to the Bernoulli Principle. No clue what that relationship is. From what I can garner, it has to do with the idea that going faster fucks with the pressure of air impacting the thing going fast.

Actually, I don't think thats a sidebar. I think that can lead to the answer of "what the hell is a Bernoulli Converginator". We have an answer to what the Bernoulli half is now. Its short for Bernoulli's Principle, which has to do with Mach speeds and how they influence the pressure around something going fast.

That leads to the next question, what is a converginator? Converginator as far as I can tell is something that the Speed Racer movie came up with. So, lets break it into its principle parts. Converginate and "or". "Or" is usually a suffix that means "something that does the thing being modified". Convergence is the act of unifying, in multiple definitions. So, this is a device that unifies bernoulli's principle.

What the heck does that mean. We know that it makes things go fast, and its a power supply, and it has kick. Another throw away line with lots of weight becomes important here.

Actually, rolling back a bit first. Some more bits about the converginator. When they get the Mach 6 Car going, it starts up sounding like a V12 Engine. Or as Speed puts it, "Sounds beefy Pops."

So something about it has something similar to gearing. The design of it reflects that too. It looks like a scifi version of 6 piston engine. T-180s are all electric. So what the heck is making that noise? For right now, I'm going to either assume magnets or something causing a lot of increase or decrease to pressure.

Might be important to talk about why they're using a Converginator. The finale of the movie showcases the battle between new technology optimized by a company, and a dedicated practice working with the tools they know for the customer they know. The company they're up against created a car that uses something called the Transponder. I'm going to ignore that for now, or until this essay decides its suddenly relevant. What we need to focus on now is how a Bernoulli Converginator works to Speed's abilities and knowledge.

Now, onto that important throw away line. Speed spins out, and his car stalls, and these races don't do pit crews. He has to figure out how to get it running again, and he can only rely on the foresight of Pop's designing, and his own knowledge of that design. That foresight leads to him remembering that he can jumpstart the car with the Bernoulli Converginator. So, this thing has to be making power somehow. Either that, or its messing with potential energy.

The fluid in this case is probably air, given that aerodynamics is important. This thing can turn air pressure into electricity. Thats pretty damn cool. It reduces the pressure of the air around the car, and turns that pressure into electricity. Converting that air's potential energy into kinetic energy. This lines up with the movie I think, cause when Speed does that, he fuckin zooms. Cars don't just magically go faster than their top speed. This guy didn't just jumpstart his car. He made a mario panel speed boost to the finish line with an expert supermove that only the bernoulli converginator can do.

[fights4users]

The MCP | Power, corruption and what Freedom means in a computer system

This is a combination of what was initially two separate essays. The first part is going to be diving into how programs see freedom and the second part is going to go into the absolutely terrifying implications of the MCP from a in-system perspective. He’s a lot darker than what’s on the surface and it’s a shame this gets overlooked along with most of the movie because it’s a tad more optimistic in tone.

Freedom in subservience-

Programs exist to serve their function. They “just keep doin' what it looks like what you're supposed to be doin', no matter how crazy it seems.” Living, working, communicating for the users in a way that we as humans would see as Subservient or cruel. To a program being used, being useful is Freedom. To not work is to die. If you were created for the soul purpose of a task and then one day couldn’t do it anymore the blow would be devastating. The way Ram speaks with so much pride about his work and how much he misses it. The way it breaks Crom In the novelization when the guards don’t believe in the users.

“All programs have a desire to be useful, but in moments you will no longer seek communication with eachother or your superpfolus users…”

The MCP says it outright that they’re basically hardwired to want to be useful and do their best. And within the religious system they don’t see Users as these cruel gods but more of a partnership. They aren’t aware we dont know their alive, their communication with us is far more complex and symbolic than our communication with them. In the real world there’s a few words in a screen but in theirs they’ll get a detailed talk with their user, even if it’s a bit one sided. (Example being how trons ecstatic to talk with Alan and is all ‘im here yippee!’ But Alan never responds to anything he says). It’s a complex society with a social structure and religious system and customs! Dumont’s speech and how Tron and Yori bow their heads as he gives it. There’s so much good- just religious allegory and system stuff in general that I’d love to dig into if there was time and it’s such a shame it’s not in more Tron media post 82’.

“This code disc means freedom”

Let’s return to “to not work is to die” shall we? This is a civilization built around communication with the users and each other. A society built around fulfilling your purpose. What’s that look like when it’s taken away? This is a system where all functions are stripped from everyday programs and now are preformed by the MCP now what? If you aren’t dead you’re apart of the red elite severed from the users where your only real task is to protect it and eliminate believers— sure there’s power but that’s not very fulfilling once nothing else is left, is it?

Superior life form/ MCP’s lesser spoken on crimes-

Have you ever taken a second and really thought about the end goal of the master control program? He wants absolute power and his way of getting that is by being the only Program/AI- becoming a User within itself. It absorbs or eliminates. Ram explained it perfectly but no one listened “If he thinks you’re useful he takes over all your functions so he gets bigger, and if he can’t use you he sends you down here to the game grid to get the bits blasted out of you.” The  identity discs are a great control method but also useful- they don’t need a body just the disc. In the end he gets your functions regardless. It doesn’t matter if you hold onto your beliefs or not, you will become a part of him in the end.

Here’s just a collection of things the MCP has done that make it absolutely terrifying and all the more pressing why Tron had to win:

The super computer hivemind end goal. Seriously absorbing programs and picking them apart for what’s “useful” is fucked up.

Religious persecution/severing people from pivotal aspect of their existence but shutting down communication.

Mass Kidnapping

Military sabotage/attempted world domination

Systematic execution -> let’s be real the MCP had enough power and programs behind him at this point he likely could’ve just derezzed or absorbed user believers but this is more fun and efficient.

Identity discs (see above)

Implied restriction on circuitry. The Red v blue, there’s a Implication there colors were changed to make both groups easier to identify as well as a restriction on how one looks regardless. Like forced uniform v true form thing

Canonical lack of privacy, street and air patrolling , no doors

Draining cities of energy, cutting them off to die. This is where Yori was found one of the cities that will eventually just- derezz or be taken over. They’re running on fumes and down to base functions (automation, no life/personality speaking in numbers etc.)

Keeping select few around as zombies to run things it can’t yet. This would also play into the hivemind thing where the end goal is to run it on his own or take them over puppet style.

Keeping a few chosen warriors that you know he’s going to get rid of the moment he wins. That deception and turning on your own people all for power and safety that it let them believe in that was never there

Having his lead officer addicted and souly reliant on the excess power given to him. The only reason he doesn’t immediently derez after Tron’s hit is because of how much is pumped into him.

[karinyosa]

from earthseed by octavia butler.

thinking about this excerpt because of this very very good video essay by dr fatima, and the fucking epic reading of it by thedaintyfunk that precedes the essay.

if that video essay interests you, i also highly recommend this one. be prepared to get emotional at some point.

[charliejaneanders]

Just a reminder that I have a newsletter! Featuring weird missives about pop culture, politics, personal essay and random weirdness. It's free! I would like to have as many subscribers as the average reactionary centrist bro one day...

[a-ramblinrose]

“We like to think we live in daylight, but half the world is always dark; and fantasy, like poetry, speaks the language of the night.”

[poetmoongoddess]

As the nerd I am, I started annotating in my book of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley after taking an edible last night

[dye-it-rouge-et-noir]

THERE'S ARTICLES ABOUT THE THREE BODY PROBLEM (THE SCIENCE FICTION TRILOGY) ON JSTOR???

[troythecatfish]

[killemwithkawaii]

I always forget that Sal is a canon math and hard science wiz... On one hand, that's very sexy of him, and on the other, I can't help but imagine crushing on him in college, then seeing him carrying a textbook for a high level calc class and being like 'oh no, he's Smart™ QwQ'