Science Fiction As A Genre

I have always been fascinated by science fiction. More so than fiction set in normal settings. One aspect of this has always been related to my interest in technology and how stuff works. The futuristic aspects of technology in books as well as popular shows like Star Trek always worked well as far as my attention was concerned.

However, there seems to be an even more important factor - the flexibility that SciFi provides in creating settings. This ability to distort reality from any angle allows the author to bring out the central theme as clearly as possible. Readers of Nightfall by Sir Isaac Asimov will recognize this.


There is also a conundrum about SciFi. I have rarely come across a piece that I find acceptable. I am either quite enthused about what I read or quite disappointed. My first personal attempt at writing (as a young teenager) was also in the same genre; it turned out to be bad enough for me to not attempt again for over two decades. Now that I have begun to write again, I have thought about why SciFi elicits such extreme reactions from me. It seems that in exploiting the flexibility given, we can make good better, but we can also make bad worse.  Some thoughts on this below.

Area	Thumbs Up!	Thumbs Down!
Story	A good story line just like any good fiction	No story line. A story line confused with a technical paper. A story line which would not work in regular fiction.
Technology / Setting	Supports the story and provides a context for it	Is the story. Interferes with the storyline.
Philosophy / Point	Clearly articulated using the story. The context allows for it to come out clearly.	No philosophy or point at all. Preachy with the context providing an excuse.

Given that I would like to write some prose, and it will end up being SciFi, I hope the above thoughts will help me avoid staying away from writing for two more decades.

So, as somebody famously said, Engage...

Sins Of The Past

I have a friend, and he is better than me
I asked my mom, when I was a child
Why he could jump higher than me
And she said, he is not a friend to you
His Grandma had denied water to yours
But you relax my Son, you will get even

I have a friend, and he is better than me
I asked my Dad, why I need to get even
And my Dad had tears in his eyes
He asked if my forefathers were important
He asked if past sins deserved fixing
But don't strain yourself, you will get even

I have a friend, and he is better than me
I asked my teacher, why he scored better
The teacher was kind and looked down at me
He told me about the grave injustices of the past
Him scoring better was a reflection of that
But don't worry child, you will get even

I have a friend, and he is better than me
I thought about the past, and reflected on the present
I did get water, and there was no injustice
But I had to fight the past right here in the present
I didn't know what I would do or wanted
But, I was confident, I would get even

I have a friend, and he is better than me
He worked tirelessly and did the right thing
He stayed up nights and got into college
I waltzed in just holding a piece of paper
The job he wanted was given to me
It seemed to me, I did get even

The ghosts of my mom, my dad and the teacher
Showered flowers on me, and said in unison
You showed him, you did, and you got even
I smiled, I thought and I reflected on this
I have a friend, and he is STILL better then me
It's not about past sins, it's just about him and me