A n t i q u e & S c i e n c e F i c t i o n
Since I was young I’ve always been drawn to old things – I would spend hours in antique and junk shops, at yard sales, at old houses, searching for fallen shacks or pumps houses in the woods by my house. I can’t exactly put my finger on why I’m so captivated by old things, but there is something deeply sad or melancholy about abandoned objects and places. I feel like the things around us bear witness to our lives, they existed with us, we use them and rely on them. It feels too bad that they are cast aside and forgotten, uncared for – along with the history and memories they are imbued with.
The short-story we read, Cardboard Box, by Hanmura Ryo I think expresses similar sentiments, and I was particularly interested in it . The story is written from the perspective of a cardboard box. The box explains its life-cycle and it seems what desires most is to be used, to serve its purpose. Perhaps this is why I also find antiques and old things so sad – they have potential and purpose but it is unfulfilled.
I am unsure exactly how old places and objects really relate to science fiction. We debated whether or not Cardboard Box was really a work of science fiction or something else. But I feel like abandoned places and things have a lot to say and can evoke science fiction elements. For example, I went on a hike recently, here in California, to Knapp’s Castle. Once a grand home, it is now a ruin. It was a rainy, foggy day. The weather combined with the mysteriousness of the site felt very other worldly. Below are some pictures:
Usually you are able to see the other mountains and valleys all around you in this spot, but it was all blocked by fog. I call this “being inside of a milk-bottle.” The setting and the history of the ruins evoked the feelings of displacement, wonder, questioning, imagining that I find to be very SF in nature. I have really enjoyed thinking about and finding SF in the world around me and I think for me that is often in these abandoned locations and objects.