Part of the depth of science fiction... is
that it provokes within us states of “cosmic
consciousness,” of pondering the nature of the
universe and our place within it.
through the mental constraints of custom, “com-
mon sense,” and traditional modes of conscious-
ness. In his Science Fiction Hall of Fame story
“Universe” (Bova, 1973a) which was written a
decade earlier than “Surface Tension,” we find a
colony of humans living within a giant interstellar
space ship, totally unaware of the nature of their
confined existence. For almost all of them, the
spaceship is the entire universe; they cannot see
or travel outside of it, with all pathways running
through the ship curving around back on them-
selves. It is incomprehensible to them that there
is any space beyond the hemispherical space
of the ship. They have an ancient creation myth
that explains the origin and nature of their world
that, although it provides them with meaning and
purpose in their lives, locks them into a way of
thinking about their reality that they cannot move
beyond. They perceive their world as stable and
omnipresent, and have no sense whatsoever
that they actually are journeying through the vast
expanses of outer space. (Little more than five
hundred years ago neither did we). They do not
correctly understand their reality. A few mutant
humans, though, notably a two-headed one, in-
habiting the upper levels of the ship know better,
having discovered a viewing portal into outer
space and the long-forgotten control room for
the ship. “Universe” (1941) and its sequel, ironi-
cally titled “Common Sense” (1941), dramatically
explore the themes of the struggle for enlighten-
48 HF |
April 2019
ment, the nature and constraints of tradition and
origin stories, courage and fear in the face of the
unknown, the rejection of stable security and the
pursuit of change, and ultimately, human salva-
tion through the tenacious search for truth.
On the grandest of scales, however, no one sur-
passes Olaf Stapledon in taking the reader on
colossal visionary adventures that explore the po-
tential future evolution of human and alien minds
and societies, and cosmic transcendence. With
this Oxford philosopher and science fiction writer,
we ultimately go on a multi-billion year quest in
search of the meaning of the universe and the
existence of God. Probably no writer in the West
has created such an expansive and in-depth vi-
sion of the “cosmic” future of the everything.
Olaf Stapledon’s novels, Last and First Men
(1930) and Star Maker (1937), propel us on jour-
neys that progressively extend outward, covering
billions of years into the future and the entire
spatial expanse of the universe. In the former
novel we follow the hypothetical evolution of hu-
mankind through eighteen different species two
billion years into the future. In the later novel, we
journey out fifty billion years and watch as bio-
logical, stellar, and nebulae forms of intelligence
integrate into a cosmic civilization and cosmic
mind. Stapledon’s fundamental narrative within
these novels is the cosmic evolution of intelli-
gence and communal consciousness. We see
ourselves within the biggest picture imaginable to
the human mind.
In summary, science fiction stimulates holistic
future consciousness; we are immersed in the
future—we feel it and vicariously participate in
it along all the dimensions of the human mind.
Furthermore, contrary to popular stereotypes,
science fiction is about the future of everything,
facilitating an integrative understanding of fu-
ture human reality. In particular, science fiction
stretches our intellectual and imaginative capac-
ities, affording us the opportunity to experience
cosmic consciousness and explore our personal
connection with the universe and the totality of
existence. Science fiction touches our personal
center, but it is equally vast and deep—as vast
and deep as it gets.
* * * * *
Bibliography: This article is an edited excerpt from Thomas Lombardo’s Science Fiction: The Evolutionary Mythology of the
Future - Volume One: Prometheus to the Martians (2018). Science fiction novels cited with publication dates in this essay
are usually available with multiple publishers and editions; the reader is referred to online book sellars or local bookstores
for availability. Anthologies and non-fiction sources cited in the above text are referenced below.
Bova, B. (ed) (1973) The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Vol. IIA. New York: Avon Books.
Clute, J. and Nicholls, P. (1995) The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Lombardo, T. (2006) The Evolution of Future Consciousness: The Nature and Historical Development of the Human Capac-
ity to Think about the Future, Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
Lombardo, T. (2011) Wisdom, Consciousness, and the Future: Selected Essays. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris.
Lombardo, T. (2017) Future Consciousness: The Path to Purposeful Evolution, Winchester, UK: Changemakers Books.
Lombardo, T. (2018) Science Fiction: The Evolutionary Mythology of the Future - Volume One: Prometheus to the Martians,
Winchester, UK: Changemakers Books.
Silverberg, R. (ed) (1970) The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Vol. I, New York: Avon Books.