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A
straightforward, accessible explanation of the realities of human
biological diversity *Human
Diversity Richard Lewontin
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Computer
crime is a complex problem in perverse behaviour compounded by
the incredible complexity of the technology * Fighting
Computer Crime: A New Framework
for Protecting Information Donn B. Parker
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"...we've
been here for only about a million years, we, the first species
that has devised the means for its self-destruction." * Earth
Time David Suzuki
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Who says they don't write
space operas like they used to ?
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The
future just isn't what it used to be * Luminous
Greg Egan |
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Science
fiction is about imagining the present through the lens of a speculative
future *Foundation
(trilogy)
Isaac Asimov
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 *
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Rendezvous
with Rama Arthur
C Clarke |
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fiction/novels/science
fiction
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Science fiction
is about imagining the present through the lens of a speculative
future
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It's a given
that science fiction is really about the present. You need only
read pundits attempting to foresee the future of music, automobile
design or political trends to realise that a realistic prediction
of the next 12 months is virtually impossible, let alone the next
10, 100 or 1000 years. Science fiction is about imagining the
present through the lens of a speculative future.
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There is no better
place to start this look at classic science fiction novels than
Issac Asimov's Foundation trilogy. Published between 1951
and 1953, Asimov's original trilogy (discounting the 1980s sequels)
is an intriguing period piece that illustrates the pre-occupations
of America in the early 1950s, the marginal position of sci-fi
as a literary genre and the resolutely masculine outlook of its
author.
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Asimov, a Russian émigré
with bona-fide scientific credentials, published over 200 science
fiction and non-fiction books in his lifetime. The quality of
his writing barely changed from the outset of his career in the
1940s. It was a barely functional, overly descriptive prose that
often appeared to have completely escaped the clutches of an editor.
In this classic example from Foundation, the first book
of the trilogy, Asimov explains that his character has just had
lunch and wonders how long a day is on Trantor, the imperial centre
of the galactic empire.
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Foundation
Isaac Asimov HarperCollins 0 586010 80 7 [9780586010808] RRP $13.95
"Gaal was not certain whether the sun shone, or, for that matter,
whether it was day or night. He was ashamed to ask. All the planet
seemed to live beneath metal. The meal of which he had just partaken
had been labeled luncheon, but there were many planets which lived
a standard time-scale that took no account of the perhaps inconvenient
alteration of day and night. The rate of planetary turnings differed,
and he did not know that of Trantor…"
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Got that?
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The three books, Foundation,
Foundation And Empire and Second Foundation, chart
the fall and rise of a galaxy-wide civilisation. The plot is based
largely on a retelling of the fall of Rome but is riddled with
the politics of the Cold War.
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Asimov's Foundation
is a secular religion based on science and a high rationalism.
Its founder, Hari Seldon, is a mathematician whose 'psychohistory'
is a predictive methodology based on statistics. It's as if market
research were taken to its logical conclusion; canvas the opinion
of absolutely everyone and you can tell exactly what's going to
happen. All you need is a pocket calculator and some mysterious
computations. "Seldon removed his calculator pad from the pouch
at his belt its grey, glossy finish was slightly worn by use,
Seldon's nimble fingers, spotted now with age, played along the
hard plastic that rimmed it. Red symbols glowed out from the grey…"
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Foundation
and Empire Isaac Asimov HarperCollins 0 586013 55 5 [9780586013557]
RRP $13.95 Seldon has predicted that the Empire will fall. Only
rational science can save the multi-trillion population of the
galaxy from thousands of years of barbarism. The Foundation
will publish an encyclopedia that will record everything anyone
would need to know to guide them through the dark ages. "By
the time Trantor falls, it will be complete and copies will
exist in every major library in the galaxy," explains Asimov.
Obviously, to survive the coming anarchy, all citizens must
guard their library cards with their lives.
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Asimov's universe is
divided between the rationalist Foundation and the hysterical,
emotionally enslaved followers of The Mule - a psychic mutant
whose followers can no longer think for themselves. The parallels
between the US and the Soviet Union in the 1950s are glaring.
Seen through the eyes of an author who believes in the rationalism
of science, the "great man" theory of history and the ultimate
supremacy of technology, the books are a kind of endearing comic
opera.
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Gigantic
space craft fly vast distances through hyperspace to unload sacks
of mail at the other end. Buildings are so large that you can
see neither walls or roofs. Amazing but mundane inventions like
pocket calculators are mixed up with period genre details like
flying cars, atomic engines and planet sized cities. The characters
speak in a way no human ever has. It is, perhaps, an eerily accurate
version of an alternative future that has largely fallen out of
favour in the 1990s.
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Second Foundation
Isaac Asimov HarperCollins 0 586017 13 5 [9780586017135] RRP $13.95
Asimov's trilogy is a retrospective tour through the absurdities
and marvels of the distant future as seen from New York in 1950s.
It's ridiculous, provocative and a lot of fun.
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