A
common stereotype, reinforced by the tech-
no razzle-dazzle of science fiction cinema
and special effects, is that science fiction is
predominately about the future of technology
and science. But this vision of science fiction is
way too narrow. Although informed and inspired
to varying degrees by modern science and the
possibilities of future technologies, science fic-
tion draws from both physical sciences, as well
as social, psychological, and humanistic thought,
and is not just about the future of physical sci-
ence and technology. It is about the future of
everything.
The name “science fiction” was popularly coined
by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 in his pulp magazine
Science Wonder Stories. Gernsback, inspired
by the writings of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne,
envisioned a new literary genre that was not
only entertaining, but also educational. As he
attempted to profusely demonstrate in his futur-
ist-techno novel Ralph 124C 41+: A Romance of
the Year 2660 (1911/1925), Gernsback believed
the educational purpose of science fiction was to
teach about the future possibilities and wonders
of science and technology (Clute and Nicholls,
1995). But, before Gernsback created the name
and clearly afterwards, numerous authors we
would identify as “science fiction” writers—the
encyclopedic Wells being one noteworthy exam-
ple—have explored all dimensions of the future in
great depth and detail.
As one excellent opening illustration, “A Rose for
Ecclesiastes” (1963) by Roger Zelazny strongly
challenges the popular stereotype of science
fiction as simply technological extrapolation into
the future. Zelazny’s story is included in volume
40 HF |
April 2019
one of the anthology The Science Fiction Hall
of Fame (Silverberg, 1970), a collection of tales
voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America
as the best science fiction stories ever written, up
through 1965. There is some future technology
in the story—the biotechnological creation of a
rose on the inhospitable surface of Mars—but the
narrative’s primary focus is psychological, cultur-
al, and religious. The central character is a poet,
a linguist, and a classical scholar, rather than a
mad scientist or inventor of a new technology. A
literary genius, he is assigned to Mars to study
the language and culture of its indigenous popu-
lation and ancient enigmatic civilization.
In the story, our poet and linguist—an emotionally
cold, arrogant, and lofty individual—is seduced
by a beautiful Martian woman named Braxa, who
arouses and entices him through dance, and
whom he eventually impregnates. In his romance
and sexual intimacy with Braxa, he is unknowing-
ly drawn into an ancient Martian prophecy con-
cerning the renewal of their race. He provides the
seed for a new beginning. are neither passive nor nihilists. While his cold
and arrogant heart has been melted by Braxa, to
whom he gives the rose as a symbol of his love,
he turns into a pawn in the Martian scheme. By
the story’s end, we can ask: Who is “Ecclesiastes”
(the poet or the Martians?) How many different
meanings can be given to the word “rose”? And to
whom has the rose really been given?
In studying the ancient Martian texts, the poet
has come to believe that the Martians have given
up on life, and have resigned themselves to a phi-
losophy of “nothing new under the sun,” as exem-
plified in the book of Ecclesiastes from the Bible.
But he has been fooled by the Martians, misun-
derstanding them and their culture. The Martians Instead of focusing on the future of technology,
“A Rose for Ecclesiastes” delves into the meaning
and purpose of life, religious prophecy and fate,
love and the weaknesses of the human heart,
and the meeting of different cultures from differ-
ent worlds. It is a mystical and humanistic tale,
a character study and a story in anthropological
science fiction. And these varied qualities are not
unique to this tale within the universe of science
fiction. As stated above, we need to significantly
broaden the narrow and stereotypical vision of
the domain of science fiction as simply techno-
logical extrapolation, for much of science fiction
goes way beyond such limited confines.
To restate, science fiction is about the future of
everything. Of course, it delves into future tech-
nologies and space travel, but it also explores the
future of society, culture, and cities; the future of
the human mind, and of crime, madness, and war;
and the future of love, sex, and gender. Frequently
there are religious and spiritual themes involved.
For example, in Wells’ The War of the Worlds
and Stapledon’s cosmic epic Star Maker, science
fiction confronts or collides with the issue of God.
Moreover, science fiction can be highly philosoph-
ical, stretching the far reaches of human mental-
ity and consciousness, and speculating on the
universe, existence, and good and evil. Science
HF | Human Futures 41