Don't Need Pets

"For example, can I make even you understand how I know, beyond all question, why it is that the Malacandrians don't keep pets and, in general, don't feel about their 'lower animals' as we do about ours? Naturally it is the sort of thing they themselves could never have told me. One just sees why when one sees the three species together. Each of them is to the others both what a man is to us and what an animal is to us. They can talk to each other, they can co-operate, they have the same ethics; to that extent a sorn and a hross meet like two men. But then each finds the other different, funny, attractive as an animal is attractive. Some instinct starved in us, which we try to soothe by treating irrational creatures almost as if they were rational, is really satisfied in Malacandra. They don't need pets."
-C. S. Lewis from Out of the Silent Planet

I had intended to write about this passage for a course I am taking on animals and religion but after a meeting with one of my professors, I have been side-tracked toward something altogether more practical.

When I wrote much earlier that Earth Abides has been my first sci-fi book that was both true and misleading. It would have been better to say that it was the first book I read while aware of the whole weight of science fiction. But years before that I was having a C. S. Lewis kick having discovered the Chronicles of Narnia and then his religious texts and then his other works. So it was natural that I should come across his strange sci-fi trilogy. I have never quite made heads of tails of it. At the time, I read it in light of his religious works. And since I could not have been more than 11, I confess much of that was merely stored away to be reflected upon later. I have always had rather great faith that eventually I will understand. So I read something over my head and wait.

If I read the book now I would see it through the lens of science fiction and also through Lewis's relationship with Tolkein. I still not sure what to make of it. So I store it away and wait for understanding.

This passage has stuck with me. We need pets. The fulfill in us some deep, cosmic loneliness. We are the only beings like us, capable of complete language - at the very least we absolutely deny every other species the right to be in our class. And, because we deny them, we make it true. We teach apes sign language but refuse to try to learn theirs, to communicate to them as they would to each other.

We like to pretend that humans are a more recent occurrence than they are. On a terrestrial time scale, especially on a universal time scale, humanity is just the tiniest of dots at one end of the scale. But humans, the homo sapiens kind, have been kicking around this planet for almost 200,000 years. During that time, we spend a few thousand years sharing the earth with Neanderthals, and quite a few other cousins from the homo branch of the ape tree. Consider the "ancient world" that you know - temple, pyramids, the great wall of China. The time between the construction of those buildings and today is shorter than the time humans spent sharing this planet with other beings that were pretty darn close to ourselves. Since we shared certain amazing anatomy (their hyoid bone is just like ours) they were able to make the curious array of sounds we call talking.

It probably was not very exciting or fulfilling for either species to have the other around. Life was hard and people didn't have time to waste on existential loneliness - or fulfillment for that matter. Only very recently have we had the luxury of sitting around bemoaning that we have only our own species to wear thin with our constant prattle.

I have been considering writing a parallel universe style story to explore this little fixation of mine. In the other universe, one or more now-extinct species from the homo genus has survived to the modern day. Europe did not happen, at least not the way it is now. Humanity survived in Africa. I have not figured out the new world just yet. It would be rather difficult not to draw from Clan of the Cave Bear or the Thursday Next series.

A Word About Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi

The post-apocalyptic genre details the destruction of civilization or the planet, the end of life on earth, and/or the struggles of the human remnant to survive and recreate civilization. The cause of the destruction may be disease, invasion, nuclear holocaust, or a mundane disaster, such as the melting of the poles or dimming of the sun's power. This genre has ancient roots, present in Babylonion and Israelite myths. The threat of the end of times and millenialism has cycled through humanity constantly over our history.

Disease
The disease may be naturally occurring but is most often a manufactured weapon in biological warfare that has been spread by accident. A desperate race may ensue to contain and treat the diseased. The survivors may have natural immunity but frequently have acquired immunity from some government connection, possibly this connection is to the government which unleashed the disease. The survivors rebuild the population while fighting the disease and a second outbreak. Some survivors may interpret the disease as a religious punishment that spared only the just or faithful.

Invasion
Alien invasion may either decimate the population or destroy the habitability of the Earth. Survivors may fight back in war or attempt to escape the Earth in search of a new home planet. Invasion may also come from a supernatural source, such as zombies, or mutated humans who seek to supplant human culture, I am Legend. The Day of the Triffids is similar except that the invaders are an intelligent and lethal plant life that had been genetically engineered for economic purposes.

Nuclear holocaust was a popular element during the cold war era and the paranoia caused by the space race. This destruction is the result of either direct attack in a war or of misfired weapons. The survivors are understandably hostile and distrusting. Crude clans or governments form according to rule by fist. The threat of nuclear fallout or mutation haunts characters.

Classic Examples:
Earth Abides
Dr. Strangelove
Planet of the Apes
A Canticle for Leibowitz
The Book of Eli
The Road

Related Genres:
Utopia/Dystopia

A Word About Genre: Utopia/Dystopia

Utopia comes from a combination of two Greek words: οὐ is "not" and τόπος is "place". It was first used in Sr Thomas More's book of the same name to describe hypothetical ideal societie, often based upon Plato's ideal from The Republic (which I would only recommend if you want a study in fascism).

Dystopia describes the utopia gone wrong, usually in the form of a controlled state - actually quite like Plato's Republic. Or imagine what has become of Cuba - lack of freedoms, threat of violence/imprisonment/loss of income and nationwide poverty. To survive, many assume conformity is utopia/dystopia societies and individuals are stigmatized. Only the top eschalons exhibit individuality and freedom of thought.

Often these societies feature artificial or contrived religions that reinforce the state power. These religions or cultures focus on one's responsibility to the society over themselves and their families. The family unit is often disbanded and a threat to state loyalty.

The state often directly controls or manipulates the economy by deciding what should be produced and how much. In Brave New World, this is created by a control on population numbers and their desires. They are encouraged to value consumerism, to replace instead of repair, to constantly desire. In other works, such as in Asimov's short stories, computers control the world economy. In Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano, this perfect control over the economy leads to disatisfaction as the populace feels absurdly purposeless denied the ability to work.

Many of these works are set in the future after a world collapse which necessitated the creation of a planned, authoritarian state. Since these stories are set in the future, the control of the society is often enabled by advances in technology.

The hero may come from any social class but typically comes from the extremes in society, either the low/working class or the upper/power class. The hero is often a member and leader of a revolt movement, s/he will perhaps even sacrifice himself for this movement, or humanity itself.

Classic Examples:
Brave New World
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Soylent Green

Theme: Aliens

Aliens are almost synonymous with sci-fi . . . well, aliens and robots. Descriptions of aliens range wide: green creatures with enormous black eyes, bulbous heads and amphibious skin; insect like animals with claws, mandibles and wings; humanoid species, some even identical to terrestrial humans; fuzzy teddy bears; plungers; an intelligent shade of blue; etc. Some are benevolent such as Le Guinn's Hainish. Others are openly hostile as in War of the Worlds.

In these aliens, we are forced to determine what makes us human. First contact with aliens is often met with fear, hostility and xenophobia. Anthropology, culture and language become both barriers and bridges. The direction of first contact can go either way, a visitor to Earth or a terrestrial visitor to another planet. Visitors to Earth tend to force humans to examine themselves while terrestrial visitors are often oblique studies by presenting cultures which vary greatly from our own.

A third possibility is that neither of the two species is human. In the Hainish cycle, the universe is inhabited by a variety of species which evolved from humans to fit their environment. Their physical appearance, culture, history, sex and gender roles, sexual relationships, etc, may vary both from one another and from our own.

The other side of 'alien' is 'familiar.' We judge others by how they deviate from our status quo and by how they challenge our sense of identity.

An alien life form can cause this disruption without any communication between us and them (or those other ones). Alien life has a privilege that non-human terrestrial life does not - the assumption of sentience and of possible communication.

Latent within this theme are old tropes about exploration, the exotic, orientalism and conquest. There is the ever present threat of exploitation. In the Twilight Zone episodes "People Are Alike All Over", the protagonist finds himself an exhibit in a zoo. The title refers to the aliens who have imprisoned him and the recognition that people enjoy the chance to not only study the exotic but also to tame it, to render it innocuous, and to subjugate it. In science fiction, we continually reinact our past sins when one culture meets another.

A Word About Genre: Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a portmanteau (one of the greatest words ever!) of cybernetics and punk. The plots are based upon developed technologies, especially information technologies, artificial intelligence and hackers who manipulate the intended purposes or control of these technologies. The protagonists are frequently hackers, misfits, dissenters, criminals - essentially anti-heroes and cowboys. I find that it is easy to connect and love these heroes because they are typically flawed and damaged people.

Another classic element is dystopia, oppressive societies, fascist dictators, overly powerful corporations, etc. The world is generally in social decay. Often, the setting is Earth in the present and not too distance future. Societal critique is often present, linking this genre to social sci-fi. The prophesied futures tend to be on the paranoid side, our worst fears about where technology may lead us.

Classics Examples:
Neuromancer - William Gibson
The Matrix Series - Wochowski brothers
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (AKA Blade Runner) - Philip K. Dick

A Word About Genre: Social Sci-Fi

Social science fiction may sound at first as if it is a part of soft sci-fi since it's main concern, anthropology, is one of the soft sciences. However, the focus is on the group rather than individuals. This is usually developed through the exploration of hypothetical, alien societies. This is perhaps one of the earliest sub-genres in science fiction because it was possible prior to modern or even accurate science. Think of Gulliver's Travels. Obviously, this genre is closely related to the alternate reality/parallel universe genre since the development of a separate world facilitates the creation of a new society. However, one does not imply the other.

These invented societies are frequently critiques of existing social norms and their possible futures as well as suggest possible solutions. Morality and ethics often are central to these critiques. Taken to extremes, social science fiction crosses into the utopia/dystopia genre.

Consider The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein. The society on the moon has different mores concerning sex and marriage. The female to male ratio is very low. As a result, the society has introduced polyandry, the practice of a woman having multiple husbands, and group marriage, the practice of having shared spouses, both male and female, that often develops into line marriages which successively introduces new spouses so that the marriage does not end due to any one death. The family votes before a new husband or wife may join and the marriage is to the whole family. It also maintains economic stability by working from improvements made in the past and through multiple income earners. The continued line marriage also insures continual parental influence. This part of the novel is social critique. The romance and friendship of Manny and Wyoming is within the domain of soft science fiction.

Classic Examples:
Brave New World - Alduous Huxley
Nineteen Eighty-Four - Orsen Wells
Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula Le Guinn

Stephen Fry Quote

The American prison system is the reinvention of slavery.

A Word About Genre: Alternative Reality/Parallel Universe

The alternate reality, parallel universe is one of my favorite elements in science fiction. It turns our silly world on its head. Generally, the alternate reality has a stronger relationship to our reality than the parallel universe, it is much like ours but with small variations.* A parallel universe often has different laws in the hard sciences. For example, gravity may not be stable or travel at the speed of light may be possible.

The other world has a beautiful history as ancient as man. Many of our great myths are stories of events in another world, such as on Mount Olympus. Other worlds are found in favorite children's stories as in the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. In such a world, there are talking animals and trees. Another key difference is that time passes at a different rate. The Pevensie children live full, adult lives before returning to childhood, having missed little time during the reality that contains WW II. Similarly, when they return, they have not aged greatly but the world of Narnia has aged and changed greatly.

Authors and film makers tend to have great fun when surprising their readers and audience by the surprise twist that the plot takes place in another reality.

The magic of this genre is that anything in our world can be changed, for better or worse. We can live for a few hundred years, travel great distances, be able to move through time as we move through space. The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde offer a complex alternate reality in which time travel is possible, literary integrity is a crucial part of law and government, vampires and werewolves exist, dodo birds have been resurrected through cloning and so much more it makes my head spin. And all it takes is the gentle letting go of some law of reality and suspending it.

Of course, like all science fiction genres, alternate reality is not all fun and games. Parallel universes frequently threaten the universe of the main character's universe. And quite often his/her universe is quite like our own. An excellent and curious example is Isaac Assimov's The God's Themselves, which includes characters from both sides of an Electron Pump.

Do not be fooled by our "common sense" ideas about parallel universes. Quantum mechanics has widened our minds to the possibility. I must admit that quantum physics is exactly where I lost my firm on physics and resigned myself to Newtonian laws.

*One such variation is the alternate history sub-genre. I plan to get to this one later.

A Word About Genre: Soft Sci-Fi

If you have watched a few episodes of Bones, you know that Dr. Temperance Brennan dislikes, abhors and has little appreciation for the soft sciences, to put it mildly. These sciences are psychology, sociology, politics, are the focus of soft science fiction. The plots of soft sci-fi focus on character development or societal problems than on scientific elements. The first Star Trek is one of my favorite examples. The setting, modes of transport, presence of aliens, etc squarely place Star Trek in the sci-fi genre. But the plots revolve around the captain and the crew of the starship Enterprise, their loves, their losses, their conflicts.

Don't get distracted by the term "soft" as these books can be harsh and cruel indeed. For example, The Road by Cormac McCarthy could easily fit into this genre because the story focuses on the thoughts and feelings of the father with practically no detail explaining why the earth was destroyed and its food stocks decimated. However, the story is horrifying and down-right disturbing (so much so that I cannot force myself to finish it).

Included within this genre are the space opera (think Star Wars, especially episodes I-III) and science fantasy (Startling Stories, Weird Tales and other collections of pulp shorts). I might return to these later but suffice to say that soft science fiction and her sub-genres are the reason why science fiction and fantasy sit side by side in book stores.

Finally, soft science fiction is not necessarily bad science or vice versa, although some would have you believe that. Think of the hard-soft binary as a line. On the left side you have hard science based on modern, real hard sciences. On the left side you have soft sciences focusing on human relationships and problems. All science fiction exists between these two poles. If you go all one way you either end up with a scientific treatise lacking in plot or in a romance novel.*

*Please note, the romance I am describing is a literary form which engages the fantastic and the supernatural. Shakespeare's The Tempest is a romantic play which certainly lacks any modern notions of romance between the supposed lovers.

District 9

It would be difficult to evaluate this film without referring to apartheid in South Africa. The parallels between the alien "prawns" and the black South Africans are blatant. The location of District 9 where the prawns were kept was very recently a neighborhood from which its inhabitants were evicted. Humans become increasingly inhumane, revealing our darkest traits. Wilkus, the human protagonist, cares little about the rights of the prawns, not even their right to life. When he serves eviction notices, he does not care if the aliens can understand or comply if they do understand.

The aliens lack of hostility but are treated brutally. The are imprisoned, denied the right to work, to move. They are even denied the right to procreation with their egg/pods aborted when discovered. The humans claim that the prawns do not care about their offspring, despite evidence of the opposite in Christopher's care for his son.

The humans are drawn by their weapons technology, which only the alien species can use. Only those who wish to exploit the aliens will interact with them. Their only desire is to use the technology for destruction. There is little to no concern about the prawn's welfare.

Wilkus is poisoned when he tampers with vial of liquid which two aliens had been filling. This poison begins to mutate his DNA. As he transforms into a prawn, he discovers the humanity in both the aliens and himself. The prawns instinctivly flock to rescue him when he is in danger. At the end, he is identifiable only by his one blue eye.