A COMMENTARY ON SCIENCE FICTION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Now, now, commodores and commdoras, worry not about the end of sci-fi. Science fiction isn’t about space and green men from Zargus X9, it is the study of things outside the mundane. ALthough you could say the same about fantasy, instead of using magic as a convenient [i]deus ex machina[/i], sci-fi uses technology. Sometimes, not even then. You ever read Harry Turtledove? He deals with possibilities, not futures. Ever read the Wild Cards mosaic novels? They too, deal with possibilities. Play Arcanum lately? There’s an innovative concept, mixing fantasy and technology together.
I read the other day in New Scientist that FTL travel may come around sooner than we think. Other failed prophecies aside, even if we DO venture out into space and meet other races, that doesn’t mean the end of sci-fi, maybe even revitalize it as we interact with different species. Even if we manage to explore this entire universe, there will always be others to capture our imaginations.
Personally, I don’t think that sci-fi will die out when our future gets here, just that it may simply evolve into a new form, and isn’t evolution what the universe is all about?