SCIENCE REPORTER, MARCH 2011 8

GRIFFIN, a scientist, believed thatif a person’s refractive index waschanged to exactly that of air and

his body did not absorb or reflect light, thenhe would be invisible. Griffin successfullycarried out this procedure on himself andbecame invisible. Unfortunately, he couldnot make himself visible again, andbecame mentally unstable as a result. Well,Griffin is not a real-life character, as youwould have guessed by now. He is the heroof a famous science fiction novelpublished in 1897—The Invisible Man byH.G. Wells.

Imagination is more important thanknowledge, said Albert Einstein. Most of usare perhaps not aware of the many worldstotally different from our own that exist inthe sub-conscious minds of manyimaginative people with prophetic visionwhom we recognize as science fictionwriters.

Often science fiction writers havebeen known to possess the predictivetalent to foresee the future. Jules Verne (8February 1828–24 March 1905), thecelebrated French novelist, had such aprophetic vision and predicted well inadvance man’s landing on the moon.Science fiction writers often describeworlds that are quite different from our ownthough retaining some elements of the onein which we live. But there remains a strong

AmazingWorld of ScienceFiction

ARVIND MISHRA

An early attemptat science fiction was H.G. Wells’s The

Invisible Man

Cover S

tory

SCIENCE REPORTER, MARCH 20119

Whether it is predicting the human landingon the Moon or diving into the deep

recesses of the oceans, or for that mattereven robots and clones, science fiction

writers have always had the ability to peerinto the future and hazard guesses, often

with astounding precision.possibility that the imagined world of thestory might some day come into existenceor be discovered.

The pace at which technology isaltering our way of life it is very muchpossible that we are going to have a worldquite different from the one inhabited byus. The wonder worlds of science fictiondiffer from our everyday world in a waythat importantly involves science and/ortechnology in their set up.

Isaac Asimov (2 January 1920–6 April1992), science fiction writer of worldrenown, characterizes the genre in thesewords: “Science fiction story must be setagainst a society significantly different fromour own… usually, but not necessarily,because of some change in the level ofscience and technology… or it is not ascience fiction story.” He has also this crispand concise definition of science fiction:“Science fiction is that branch of literaturethat deals with human responses to

changes in the level of science andtechnology.”

According to Robert A. Heinlein (7 July1907–8 May 1988), another celebratedscience fiction writer of his time, sciencefiction is “realist ic speculation aboutpossible future events, based solidly onadequate knowledge of the real world,past and present, and on a thoroughunderstanding of the nature andsignificance of the scientific method.” Anystory that defies the methodology ofscience is not a science fiction story.

Methodology of science as we knowinvolves steps l ike sprouting of newcuriosit ies in mind, formulation of ahypothesis and then various tests to verifyits validity and reaching the conclusionaccordingly. Science fiction must respectthe methodology of science and shouldnot be illogical and irrational insofar as thecontents and themes of stories areconcerned.

There seems to be an agreementamong the majority of science fictioncritics that the first true science fiction novelwas Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (30 August1797–1 February 1851). She employed ascientif ic methodology/rationale topersuade the audience that her story tookplace in the realm of the possible. Thismagnum opus novel of the author dealtwith the possibility that science could evencreate a monster that can destroy itsprogenitor, that is, science itself andpossibly mankind.

There is a striking resemblance of theghost Frankenstein with our own mythicalcharacter Bhasmasur who tries to kill LordShiva even after being blessed by him. ButMary Shelley did not wish her story to be amyth only and made the main characterof the novel a scientist and his scientificefforts a focal point of the reader’sattention.

Science Fiction Vs FantasyFantasy is usually defined as a work thattakes place in a nonexistent and unrealworld, such as a fairyland, or concernsincredible and unreal characters whilescience fantasy employs physical andscientific principles not yet discovered andnot contrary to present knowledge. Worksof fantasy to which we are very familiarare Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lord

of the Rings and the Harry Potter series.Here authors may enjoy all the liberty

to use even far-fetched assumptions likeunicorns, multi legged creatures, talkinganimals and many forms of monsters andghosts (like Frankenstein!) in their themesof choice. But in science fantasy/fiction

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is thought to be the firsttrue science fiction novel

Cover Story

SCIENCE REPORTER, MARCH 2011 10

there must be some possibility that thedescribed characters or events couldpossibly happen. Miriam Allen de Ford (21August 1888–22 February 1975) perhapsexplains the difference more lucidly:“‘Science fiction deals with improbablepossibi l i t ies, fantasy with plausibleimpossibilities.” It is a common practiceamongst science fiction writers to notcontradict known scientific facts while theauthor of fantasy does not feel any suchrestraints.

Is there any difference in the terms‘science fiction’ and ‘science fantasy’?Fiction is a Latin word which means ‘ toinvent’ while fantasy is a Greek wordmeaning ‘ to imagine’. Both are in factlumped together in general understandingof science fiction and have often beenaddressed as ‘surrealistic fiction’ which issimply put as super realistic fiction. Inscience fiction, science and technologyis depicted without any distortions of thefacts while in science fantasy even wildimaginations are acceptable like timetravel, anti gravity, faster than light (FTL)travels etc. According to Jayant Narlikar,noted Indian science fiction writer, manyfantasy elements like journey faster thanlight could make the science story a badone despite its good style and form.

Prophetic VisionScience fiction is known for the ability of itspractitioners, that is, the science fictionwriters to predict future events. Jules Verneenvisioned a submarine run on electricbatteries and a rocket to the moonlaunched from Cape Canaveral, morethan a century ago which in turn inspiredthe making of the first nuclear submarine,the Nauti lus, and the Apollo spaceprogrammes. Novels of H.G. Wells (21September 1866–13 August 1946) led tothe advent of battle tanks, air forces andatomic bombs. Likewise, Arthur C. Clarke’s(16 December 1917–19 March 2008)fictional idea made the geosynchronoussatellites a reality, which ultimately led totoday’s satellite television.

Owing to this capacity of visualizingthe future, science fiction writers used tobe world-famous, and even consultantswith heads of state in many developedcountries. Greg Bear (20 August 1951), acelebrated contemporary Americanscience fiction writer, advises the FBI onmany issues of crucial strategicimportance.

A Brief HistoryEdgar Allan Poe (19 January 1809–7October 1849) is often credited along withJules Verne and H.G. Wells as being oneof the founders of modern science fiction.Poe’s story The Balloon Hoax was an instanthit and perhaps inspired many later storieswritten on man’s victory over the moon.But the majority opinion supportsFrankenstein (1818) by Mary WollstonecraftShelly as being the first modern work ofscience fiction.

But the author who started writingscience fiction the way we know it today isundoubtedly Jules Verne. His most famousnovels are From the Earth to the Moon

(1873) and Journey to the Centre of the

Earth (1864). Later Wells’s The War of the

A scene from the movie A Journey tothe Centre of the Earth based on thenovel by H.G. Wells (above)

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells attracted widereadership‘Astounding Stories’, one of the early magazines thatpublished science fiction stories of renowned writers

Sciencefiction—anartist’simagination!

A scene from the movieStarship Troopers basedon the novel of the samename by Robert Heinlein

Cover Story

10

SCIENCE REPORTER, MARCH 201111

Worlds (1898) and The Time Machine: An

Invention (1895) attracted wide readership.The Time Machine talked of time travel farinto the future being possible. Theprotagonist – the time traveler – returnsand describes how evolution has madehuman beings split up into two races ofgullible Eloise and the disgusting Morlocks.

In 1926, science fiction magazineAmazing Stories appeared and the editorwas the journalist and publisher HugoGernsback (16 August 1884–19 August1967), who labeled those stories under“scientification”. The year 1937 witnessedanother great editor of science fiction,John W. Campbell Jr. (8 June 1910-11 July1971) who started publication ofAstounding Science Fiction and publishedstories of such writers as Isaac Asimov,Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert A. Heinlein.

It was during this time that sciencefiction began to gain status as serious

fiction. Campbell encouraged his authorsto write in a realistic way about the possibleeffects of technology on people andsociety. He wanted them to be criticalabout science and write about what couldhappen if something went wrong. Thequality of the stories improved andAstounding Stories became more realisticrather than imaginative. In between, duringthe period 1926-1950, science fiction waspublished mostly in American and Britishmagazines.

In the years that followed, sciencefiction became a subculture with authors,editors, and fans. Some more magazineswere started notably Galaxy (1950) andThe Magazine of Fantasy and Science

Fiction (1949). When nuclear bombs weredropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshimaexactly in a manner that science fictionwriters had predicted, the genre got morepromotion and found many new readers.

All time Great

SF Movies!

OutbreakStrange DaysTwelve MonkeysWater WorldIndependence DaySolarisMars Attacks!ContactThe Fifth ElementGattacaMen in BlackStarship TroopersArmageddonDark CityThe Truman ShowThe Matrix (and its two sequels)Star WarsThe CellX Men and its sequelsA.I.: Artificial IntelligenceMinority ReportTerminator and its sequelsEternal Sunshine of the SpotlessMindChildren of MenTerminator SalvationsTransformerIndiana JonesThe Day After TomorrowCrystal ZoneDistrict 9Avatar

Some Indian SF Movies …

Vahan ke LogMr. IndiaKoi Mil GayaLove Story 2050Krish

Endhiran (Robot)

Science fiction began to be recognizedas serious l i terature as readers wereconvinced that this new branch ofliterature could really predict the future.

Hard vs. Soft Science FictionScience fiction is often categorized underhard and soft forms of science fictionwriting. The term hard science fiction isreserved for stories that are built on sciencewithout any deviation from known factsand where explanations are given in areliable way rather than in an imaginativemanner. Here technology plays a majorpart.

Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001:A Space Odyssey

William Gibson—Acelebrated cyberpunkauthor and his novelNeuromancer(inset)

Computers were new themes ins c i e n c e fiction resulting into

a hitherto unfamiliarway of literarywriting termed‘Cyberpunk’. There p re s e n t a t i v ework ofcyberpunk wasNeuromancer adebut novel byWilliam Gibson(17 March1948- ).

Cover Story

SCIENCE REPORTER, MARCH 2011 12

In soft science fiction, the stories arebuilt on human psychology and emotions.The new wave of science fiction writing isusually soft science fiction, whilecyberpunk, which evolved out of the newwave, is in something of a shadow landbetween hard and soft science fiction.Some critics say that most of the storieswritten by Arthur C. Clarke are hard sciencefiction while those by Isaac Asimov are softscience fiction involving social angles andhuman values.

The Golden AgeThe enormous growth of the genre leadto the Golden Age of science fiction whenmany big authors and novels appearedon the scene: A.E. Van Vogt (26 April 1912– 26 January 2000) with Slan (1940); IsaacAsimov with Foundation (1951); Robert A.Heinlein with Starship Troopers (1959) andStranger in a Strange Land (1961), andTheodore Sturgeon (26 February 1918-8May 1985) with More than Human (1953).

Artists’ imaginations (above)

A scene from the movie Avataar (left)

Isaac Asimov—one of the mostfamous science fiction writers—signing autographs (below left)

Brian Aldiss—A new waverepresentative (below)

SCIENCE REPORTER, MARCH 2011 12

Cover Story

SCIENCE REPORTER, MARCH 201113

Those First Indian SF Stories...

Perhaps the first true Hindi science fiction was a serial written during1884-88 by Ambika Dutt Vyas entitled “The Strange Tale” (Aaschary Vrittant),which was published in Peeyush Pravah, a magazine published from MadhyaPradesh. Influenced perhaps by the adventure stories of Jules Verne,Aaschary Vrittant presented a very interesting, captivating saga of one Mr.Gopinath, the protagonist who took the breathtaking adventurous journeyunderneath the earth. Though influenced by western stuff the story wasan original effort of science fiction writing in Hindi.

A notable Bengali science fiction was Jagadananada Roy’s ShukraBhraman (Travels to Venus), published in 1879. Another story that caughtthe attention of Indian science fiction fans was written by an icon in theIndian scientific world—J.C. Bose (30 November 1858–23 November 1937).He wrote “Absconded Tempest” (Palatak Toofan) in 1896, which narrates athrilling story of how a turbulent sea was calmed with as ordinary as a dropof oil. The story bears a strange semblance to the ‘chaos theory’ propoundedmuch later.

In Marathi, science fiction writing started late around 1910 with thepublication of a translation of Verne’s Men in the Moon serialized in a magazinenamed Kerala Kokil printed and published in Cochin. In yet anotherprominent Indian language, Tamil, the history of science fiction writingcould be traced back to 1959, of course a very late beginning, in the writingsof a great poet Mahakavi C. Subramania Bhartiya whose story entitled, KakkaiParliament (Parliament of the Crows) is said to have some science fictionelements.

Science fiction writing in many other Indian languages seems to havebeen initiated much later. In Malayalam for instance, science fiction writingappears to have been initiated in 1950, with the initiative taken by theKerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad—a most respected autonomous body devotedto science popularization in the country.

Similarly, Assamese language with its very laudable role and history inscience fiction writings stepped into the arena of science fiction writing inthe late 1930’s. In Kannada, science fiction writing began in the 1940’swith the advent of Dr. Sadanand Nayak with his famous love story employinga plot on heart transplant.

Philip K. Dick’s (16 December 1928–2March 1982) most famous title Do Android

Dream of Electric Sheep (1968) on whicha movie was made in 1982 named “BladeRunner” also appeared. In the 50s of thelast century, Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A

Space Odyssey (1968), Fredric Pohl andKurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan (1959)appeared and were considered to be thepart of the same Golden Age.

Sometime later, a ‘new wave’ inscience fiction writing appeared on thehorizon and focused on the psychologicalaspects rather than technology oriented“hard science fiction“. Importantingredients of the new wave were drugs,overpopulation, disasters, and sex. This newtrend was represented by famous sciencefiction authors like Brian Aldiss (18 August1925- ) and J.G. Ballard (15 November1930–19 April 2009).

With the advent of computers therewere new themes in science fictionresulting into a hitherto unfamiliar way ofliterary writing termed ‘Cyberpunk’. This wasacknowledged very soon as a subgenreof science fiction writ ing. Therepresentative work of cyberpunk wasNeuromancer a debut novel by WilliamGibson (17 March 1948- ). In cyberpunk,stories usually take place in the fantasticvirtual worlds created through Internet thatare still not affected by air pollution and

decay. Popular movies in the subgenre ofcyberpunk were “Blade Runner” (1982),“Videodrome” (1983) etc.

Popular Major ThemesMajor themes of science fiction thatcontinue to grab attention of audiencesworldwide include space travels (viz., “StarWars” and “Star Trek”), time travel (viz.,“Back to the Future”), psychological orbiological changes in man (viz., “TheIncredible Hulk”), supernatural characters(viz., Superman, Spiderman, Batman),alternate universe (viz., “Star Wars”) etc.Apocalyptic science fiction, whichincorporates end of world stories, alieninvasions, utopias and dystopias, alternatehistory/universe, are some other mostpopular themes.

Terms like Robots, Androids, Cyborgs,Clones, Cyberpunk/Virtual Reality, Pantropy,Genetic engineering, andnanotechnology etc are very familiar to

these themes. Cyberpunk is the fairly recentgenre of dystopic (opposite, utopian) near-future world where there is globalconnectivity and communication throughthe web, bio/techno enhancements, anda mood of alienation, resistance, often sexand graphic violence. Virtual reality,holographic simulations, art if icialintell igence also make frequentappearances in these themes.

Popular science fiction themes in Indiainclude space travels, environmentalimbalance, population explosion, materialtransfer, clones, memory transfer, planetarytravels, innovations in medicine etc. Sincescience fiction is imaginatively a very fertilefield science fiction writers are trying onmany themes of their choice.

Dr Arvind Mishra is Secretary, Indian Science FictionWriters’ Association, 16 Cotton Mill Colony,Chowkaghat, Varanasi–221001, U.P.; Email:drarvind3@gmail.com; Blog: http://indiascifiarvind.blogspot.com/

Often science fiction writers havebeen known to possess thepredictive talent to foresee thefuture. Jules Verne (8 February1828–24 March 1905), thecelebrated French novelist, hadsuch a prophetic vision andpredicted well in advance man’slanding on the moon.Science fiction is oftencategorized under hard and softforms of science fiction writing.The term hard science fiction isreserved for stories that arebuilt on science without anydeviation from known facts andwhere explanations are given ina reliable way rather than in animaginative manner.

SCIENCE REPORTER, MARCH 201113

Cover Story