Category Archives: Themes

Green Hand book Review – The Corridors of Time by Poul Anderson

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Poul Anderson’s The Corridors of Time, originally published in 1965 (my copy is 1981) is a winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards and provides a phenomenally entertaining read within the Time-Travel sub genre . At a brief 186 pages this novella read swiftly while still managing to do a solid job of world building and immersing the reader. The plot revolves around a young man named Lockridge, who is wrongly convicted of murder but suddenly legally and financially backed by a mysterious figure named Storm Darroway who manages to successfully defend Lockridge. In exchange for her services, Storm takes Lockridge on as her apprentice in fighting a Time War between her faction and their rivals. Storm and Lockridge venture through several eras in history, and along the way we are introduced to several epic Novums. For instance, gravity belts that allow its users to glide effortlessly through the air, or Time Corridors that are just massive hallways (navigated usually by hover bikes) with doors for several periods of time – each equipped with its own room full of money and clothes appropriate for the period as well as a Diaglossa – a white orb that floats in the ear and suggests the proper language forms and customs. In addition to these novums I found some of the writing rather witty, such as the line “How easily one becomes a God” (Made Me chuckle 🙂

While all this makes for an entertaining read, I found that women were oversexualized and men were not accountable for their actions and it was honestly a bit uncomfortable. Whether with Storm, an adult woman, or Auri, a young teenager, women are constantly under the gaze of Lockridge and the author drills into these tensions throughout the book. Lines like “The battle ax men weren’t bad by nature – they were just overbearing. Like untrained boys” further paint a dated view on masculinity that propagates the “boys will be boys” motif. Personally, I don’t Love that.

All being said, I did have some qualms with the morals of the book but as a piece of entertainment this was a ball to read. If anyone’s curious about other time travel books I would Recommend “This is how you Lose the time War” by Amar El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone as better literature, but if fun is what you want this book will do the job – just be aware of the gender dynamics as you read.

Anderson, Poul. The Corridors of Time. 1981.

Parthenogenesis: Is It Possible?

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Joanna Russ’s short story “When it Changed” got me thinking: with the right science, would human parthenogenesis be possible? The answer is, maybe. This concept was explored in a paper by biologists Gabriel Jose de Carlia and Tiago Campos Pereira entitled “On human parthenogenesis,” which first appeared in the journal Medical Hypotheses (a publication which, to me, appears to propose ways to make biological science fiction phenomena into hard science–kinda cool). Carlia and Pereira address three barriers that must be overcome in order for human parthenogenesis to be realized: genomic imprinting, diploidy and heterozygosity, and zygotic behavior.

Source: “On human parthenogenesis”

Genomic imprinting refers to the “tagging” of paternal or maternal DNA that prevents a certain allele (i.e. a trait) from being expressed, meaning the allele from only one parent is expressed in the embryo. This process is crucial to human development. Carlos and Pereira suggest that deletion of several genes functionally comparable to those that allowed the creation of viable bi-maternal offspring in a mouse model could allow a human egg  to compensate for the absence of a paternally imprinted set of chromosomes, meaning it would be able to express proper alleles only using maternal DNA. Achieving diploidy and heterozygosity may be possible with the use of a bacterium, Carlia and Pereira hypothesize. The bacterium Wolbachia sp. can live symbiotically within a cell and is capable of inducing parthenogenesis in mites–parthenogenesis is advantageous to the bacterium, as it allows it to be transmitted to the host’s offspring (sounds wild, I know). Finally, the properly diploid, heterozygous gamete must be able to function as a zygote. In mice, the precise mutation of a proto-oncogene (a gene allowing for regular cell growth that, upon mutation, may induce cancer) can cause parthenogenetic activation, so it is proposed that the mutation of a similar gene in humans may do the same. In combination, these techniques would theoretically allow for viable human parthenogenetic offspring.

Putting these techniques into practice today would, of course, be considered unethical. However, the advent of “designer babies” and other uses of genetic engineering to ensure health and longevity suggest that genetic alteration for the purposes of parthenogenesis may not be an impossibility in the next hundred years, especially due to the so-called “male fertility crisis.” Who knows, maybe Beyoncé’s “Run the World (Girls)” was prophetic 🙂

Kraftwerk’s “Computer Love” and Online Dating

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I’ve recently been in a bit of a Kraftwerk phase, so I thought that it would be nice to write a blog post about one of my favorite songs of theirs, which happens to be an example of SF and “SFional” music predicting the future.

Cover art for Computer Love by Kraftwerk

Off of Kraftwerk’s 1981 album Computer World, “Computer Love” is a danceable yet melancholic song that oddly seemed to predict the future of dating with its lyrics:

Computer love, computer love
Computer love, computer love
Computer love, computer love

Another lonely night, another lonely night
Stare at the TV screen, stare at the TV screen
I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to do
I need a rendezvous, I need a rendezvous

Computer love
Computer love
Computer love
Computer love

I call this number, I call this number
For a data date, for a data date
I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to do
I need a rendezvous, I need a rendezvous

Computer love
Computer love
Computer love
Computer love

Unsurprisingly, with the social isolation that and resultant loneliness that were spurred by the pandemic, dating apps such as Tinder saw a massive spike in usage. I won’t assert an opinion on whether this is a good or bad thing, but I certainly find it interesting to think about, especially in conjunction with “Computer Love.”

If you haven’t listened to this song or other Kraftwerk songs, I would definitely recommend checking them out! Their live performances are especially fun to watch, as they truly adopt the robotic personas that embody the themes present in many of their songs. I hope you give this song and their others a listen!

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dating app article

The Influence of Science-Fiction on Radiohead’s Ok Computer

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To preface this blog, Radiohead has been a huge influence on one genre of music I listened to growing up. They led me to discover Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Queen, and David Bowie among other great musicians. Their 1997 album Ok Computer is widely considered one of the best albums of all time, 5x platinum in the UK and double platinum in the US. Foremost, the title “Ok computer” was inspired by the BBC TV version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in which the character of Zaphod Beeblebrox says the line “Ok Computer”. There are no explicit mentions of computers on the album. In a similar way that “science” is emphasized in “science-fiction”, “OK Computer” is ultimately less about technology than submission- The pursuit of happiness has become less of a goal and more of a process.  

Thematically, the album depicts a world in which consumerism, social alienation, emotional isolation, and political malaise are all on the rise. On a larger scale, the band was world-building the idea that technology and society were moving too fast for their own good. Radiohead used unconventional production techniques at the time including “natural reverberation through recording on a staircase and no audio separation.” Much like some of the literary works in science fiction, the album’s vision of the future didn’t feel like some far-off imagined apocalyptic dystopia, but ‌rather a natural extension of the present from which it arises.  Here are the first three songs that have science-fiction elements!

 

  1. Airbag

“In an interstellar burst, I am back to save the universe”

This song deals with topics of world war, fear-mongering, reincarnation, and space explosions. However, in a more literal sense, the song is about awareness of the precociousness of life following a moment of avoiding an accident. An airbag is a technology that saves lives, and the song is about a feeling of rebirth and being happy to just be alive. The first song in the album sets a precedence for the science-fiction delivery of serious topics in the rest of the album!

 

2. Paranoid Android

“From all the unborn chicken, Voices in my head, What’s that?, (I may be paranoid, but not an android)”

Much like the title of the album, this song is a direct reference to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The song references Marvin the Paranoid Android, a robot who is always depressed because the infinite possibilities within his mind are wasted on repetitive, trivial activities. The line, in particular, illustrates that one true escape is in one’s own mind, while at the same time the song deals with the distancing of humans from technology.

3. Subterranean Homesick Alien

“Up above aliens hover, Making home movies for the folks back home”

In this song, the singer has seen the future, and that future was aliens creating drone porn for their civilization back home. Personally, I’ve always thought this song was more or less a metaphor for feeling a bit alienated with one’s own life, own society, and place in the world. This person wishes they could view the world from a different, fresh perspective (alien). This song made me think of the alien scene in H.G Well’s “The Star”

Solar punk: a radically optimistic view of the future

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The relationship between humans and the land has changed so much, from the relationship we have cultivated over tens of thousands of years, to after settlers started colonizing the land, to now with industry and a system of capital leading to a disregard of the planet. 

Many young people have lost hope for the future of humans and of the planet. Science fiction is a window into our interpretations imaginations of the future, but much of science fiction is pessimistic and doesn’t often imagine a sound and ideal future. 

Radical hope is needed to create the change we need for the future. Solar punk brings back indigenous ways of living in balance with the land, while also acknowledging that technology is here to stay and can be used for good. 

Linked are some depictions of a solar punk imagined world. 

Discovering the Rainbow: Solarpunk embodies an optimism towards the future that our society needs | The Milwaukee Independent

Why “Solarpunk” Gives Me Hope for a More Sustainable Future - YES! Magazine

While researching more about solar punk, I came across a Chobani yogurt ad that beautifully depicted an optimistic solar punk future, a future where people living in harmony with the land while also striking a balance between us and nature. 

This was particularly interesting because I have dislike for any corporation that could be greenwashing and trying to appeal to an audience that cares about the Earth just to make more money. Despite my qualms, this ad, without the company references, was beautiful done and represents solar punk pretty accurately. 

The future that I want the children of the future to have, is one like solar punk, where balance is stuck. I will try to fight back against the pressing feelings of helplessness, and turn that frustration into doing what I can, as soon as I can, for the future. To be a good ancestor… 

 

The Matrix — trans narratives and use of allegory

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Recently I’ve been thinking back to The Matrix film — as some of you may know, it was written and directed by two trans sisters (Lana and Lilly Wachowski). I’ve linked below an interview with Lilly Wachowski where she discusses being closeted during the making of the film, as well as why she was drawn to science fiction and the power of the genre to imagine worlds beyond your current reality. One of my favorite quotes from this interview is when she speaks to the “seemingly impossible becoming possible.” This reminds me of Arthur C. Clark’s 3 Laws and venturing a little ways past the impossible 🙂

I’ve also linked an interesting review of the film by a writer I’ve been reading lately, Andrea Long Chu (an excerpt from her book “Females: a Concern”). She challenges this narrative quite strongly, stating that “Allegorically is the least interesting way to read anything.” Do you agree with this? I think at the time that this film was made, the writers were looking for a way to communicate their experience without having to delve into specifics. It’s interesting to think about science fiction as a vehicle to tell your story indirectly especially to such a mass audience such as the Matrix franchise. I’d be curious about science fiction that more outwardly engages with gender — I’m excited to reread Bloodchild by Octavia Butler, as I remember it reimagined reproductive rights in a nuanced way. Overall, I think The Matrix accomplishes a lot of alternate reality building, and it is in many ways is productive to recontextualize this narrative in terms of gender. Hope you all enjoy the video and article!

 

https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/what-the-matrix-can-teach-us-about-gender.html

 

Oneohtrix Point Never – Rifts

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0. Who is Daniel Lopatin? The composer of the soundtrack of what became everyone’s favorite Adam Sandler movie: Uncut Gems; a born-and-raised Masshole, like me(!); the director of The Weeknd’s 2021 Super Bowl halftime show; a wizard with a Roland Juno-60 synthesizer; an all-around great guy. 

1. Betrayed In The Octagon. Rifts evokes a narrative more than it could ever hope to present one. This is characteristic of any piece of music that’s almost entirely wordless. Musically speaking, however, it’s clearly indebted to the ambiance of soundtracks to SF films like Bladerunner, the synth work of new-age music of the 60s and 70s, and the experimental noise scene of New York City. That these influences range from music that was almost purely commercial to sounds that most people (myself included) have a hard time calling “music” is characteristic of the project as a whole, regardless of whether the influences in question are musical or literary.

2. Zones Without People. The titles of the songs on Rifts are full of references to technology (“Laser to Laser,” “Disconnecting Entirely,” “Computer Vision,”), the uncertain nature of time (“Months,” “Time Decanted,” “ Immanence”), and bastardized locations (“Terminator Lake,” “Behind The Bank,” “Melancholy Descriptions Of Simple 3D Environments”). Electronic music is already associated with notions of the future, technology, and the unreal. Add the fact that the album is already influenced by works of past science fiction, and there you have it: my yet-unshared theory that this album is about a(n) astronaut(s) traveling through/lost in space/time is clearly a great one. I win.

3. Russian Mind. I would also argue that this album is influenced by works of new wave SF and hard SF in the same way it’s influenced by new-age and noise. Starting with the former, we can see that Lopatin is interested in the mind and the surreal. Songs like “Grief and Repetition” and “Blue Drive” are as wandering and hypnotic as their titles suggest. It might not come as a surprise, then, that the only two countries referenced on the tracklist are the United States (“When I Get Back From New York”) and Russia (“KGB Nights”). Lopatin is the child of Russian-Jewish immigrants, and this is music inspired by the sounds and mindset of the 80s: it is, at times, very anxious and very lonely. 

4. Drawn And Quartered. Elements of hard sf are present as well. A title like “Lovergirls Precinct” feels like it could be ripped out of a pulp magazine, while one takes it a step further and references a real person: philosopher Emil Ciroan. Then there are songs like “Transmat Memories, “ “Sand Partina,” and “Hyperdawn,” which feel concerned with exploring the very specific discoveries of unnamed scientists and the brand new experiences of long-lost astronauts.

5. The Fall Into Time. Are our characters alone? “Learning to Control Myself” implies yes, while “A Pact Between Strangers” suggests otherwise. Are they lost in a Zone Without People or have they been Betrayed In The Octagon? My favorite song on this album answers none of these questions and poses at least three of its own: “I Know It’s Taking Pictures From Another Plane (Inside Your Sun).” If you’re not into electronic music, give this a shot. When I listen to it, I imagine the universe’s loneliest man sitting alone with his guitar at an abandoned bar on the moon of some unexplored planet. The contrast between the horror of the Lovecraftian title and the humanity of Lopatin’s voice is both grounding and disorienting, but altogether beautiful in its own way.

00. What is Rifts? One of the only albums I can comfortably call musical science fiction, and one of my favorite electronic albums of all time; the soundtrack to the greatest space epic never made; best heard when you’re on the edge of sleep in a dark room. Preferably alone.