Tired of the same humdrum views on the Earth? Want to get away from the crowds and pesky neighbors? Is outer space an exotic enough getaway spot for you?
Someday soon you might be able to have an adventure like the pioneers settling the Wild West. Only you would be taming the wilds of a whole new planet.
Ready to move to space and colonize a planet? Astronomers think they have found a planet that could support life. It is in the “just right” zone for sustaining liquid water. It is not so far from its sun that the water would be ice, but far enough away that the water isn’t evaporated.
And on the plus side the planet is only about 20 light years away, so it is practically on the same block as our solar system if you are judging distances on a cosmic scale.
The planet, called Gliese 581d, is one of six planets orbiting a red dwarf star. It is about seven times the mass of Earth, so there will be plenty of room for homesteads.
The good news is that at least one of its sister planets is another likely candidate for life. The bad news is that some scientists are skeptical about the planet even existing.
If the astronomers who discovered the system are right, the carbon dioxide based atmosphere of the planet would be able to sustain liquid water. The planet might also have a captured rotation in which half the planet always faces the sun and the other half always faces away.
This means that there would be an eternal daylight side and an eternal nighttime side. So if you are night person, you would have it made there.
Are we there yet?
Oh, yeah. The journey there with current technology is merely a few hundred thousand years. Guess I shouldn’t give the landlord my notice just yet…
I awoke this morning to the distinct sound of a door creaking. Seeing my husband still dreaming beside me, I was instantly alert. “What was that?” I asked myself.
Maybe it was one of the cats. Maybe my dream was seeping over into reality. Or maybe, just maybe it was something sneaking around in the house while we were sleeping.
Ever since I read “House Taken Over” by Cortazar, I have been creeped out about things being in the house with me. The story is about a brother and sister who live in their family home. They have to lock off parts of the house because something, I repeat, something keeps taking over the rooms.
Haven’t heard of Julio Cortazar? That’s a shame. He is a famous Latin American sci fi and fantasy writer. Blow-Up and Other Stories is a collection of his short stories that have been translated into English. “House Taken Over” is in this.
These sci fi/fantasy stories aren’t as widely known in the English speaking world, but that should be remedied. His stories are wonderful and very original.
They have always reminded me of The Twilight Zone. In fact, some of the stories could easily be scripts for episodes of the show. (You can read more about Cortazar’s similarity to The Twilight Zone if you click this spot.)
Some of the other stories in the book are about a man who vomits bunnies and a girl who goes to stay at a house where a tiger roams free.
Cortazar and his stories have piqued your interest now haven’t they? Just read the book. Then you can find out about the bunnies.
P.S. Netflix has The Twilight Zone available for instant streaming now. There has been a Twilight Zone marathon running at my house. Maybe that’s what attracted the things that were sneaking around this morning.
This is me over there to the left, a convention going, badge carrying sci fi geek. And proud of it because science fiction and fantasy are simply fantastic.
Why do I love science fiction? I’ll give you 7 reasons to love science fiction.
Reason #1 - Who doesn’t want to escape reality?
Science fiction is a pleasant distraction from the mundane duties of work, the stress of the daily grind, and the slavery of choring over never ending piles of dishes and laundry.
Science fiction and fantasy take you to places that are far, far away from here and the problems of now. Oh, how I long to be able to hop into the Tardis and go on a grand adventure instead of paying bills right now.
Flying cars, superpowers, awesome gadgets, and the like. Yes, I want sci fi devices of my very own. My accoutrement is lacking in nifty little gizmos. It would be so much easier if my car would fold up and double as a purse. Plus parking lots could be converted into more Taco Bells.
Reason #3 – The lessons it teaches
Speculative fiction presents problems or possibilities in society. It can teach us about who we are, what we shouldn’t be, and changes that we need to make.
Think The Twilight Zone. The show dealt with issues that were relevant to the people of that time. Weapons capable of destroying the earth, space travel, and new technology were all themes of the episodes. The show helped people to understand the ramifications of issues.
Sci fi can teach us about ourselves and help us to become better.
Dragon Con Sci Fi Convention
Reason #4 – The costumes
Jeans are boring. Cloaks and masks look much niftier. How much would it rock to be able to wear those to the mall and not be thought a fool?
That’s part of the reason why sci fi conventions are so much fun. You can dress up in whatever outrageous costume you want and the other conventioneers will applaud you. It is like Halloween for adults.
Reason #5 – The characters are epic
The characters in sci fi are much more epic that real life people. Imagine having Han Solo as your best friend or R2 as a pet. What if Yoda were your mentor?
Many of the characters in science fiction are much better role models than most of the people who make the headlines today. We can aspire to be somebody greater than who we are because of the characters in sci fi.
Reason #6 – The lines and quotes are unforgettable
“Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.”
“E.T. phone home.”
“I see dead people.”
“Luke, I am your father.”
“I’ll be back.”
“Live long and prosper.”
“Danger, Will Robinson!”
These and many others are sci fi quotes we all know and love. They have been repeated time and again in everyday conversations. Whenever you hear them it evokes the emotions of the movie. It’s like the good feeling you get when you hear your favorite song.
The lines in the great sci fi and fantasy movies become something that unites people. Everyone knows what you are talking about when you say them. They are common links that span many different types of people.
(Check out hilarious sci fi movie quotes in graph form here)
Reason #7 – Sci fi stretches the imagination
Many of the devices we use today were inspired by science fiction. These inventions were created because someone saw something cool in a show or movie and decided to make it real. How many older sci fi movies have video communicators like video phones of modern day?
Science fiction and fantasy spark creativity. You have to broaden your imagination to watch or read it. Then you start thinking about new possibilities and other worlds.
Sci fi helps us to see beyond what we previously thought is real and feasible. With science fiction we can climb out of the box of reality and let our imaginations free.
Margaret Atwood sums up the need for Science Fiction superbly:
“We want wisdom. We want hope. We want to be good. Therefore we sometimes tell ourselves warning stories that deal with the darker side of some of our other wants. Literature is an uttering, or outering, of the human imagination. It lets the shadowy forms of thought and feeling — heaven, hell, monsters, angels and all — out into the light, where we can take a good look at them and perhaps come to a better understanding of who we are and what we want, and what the limits to those wants may be. Understanding the imagination is no longer a pastime, but a necessity; because increasingly, if we can imagine it, we'll be able to do it.”
From "Why We Need Science Fiction" in The Guardian
And all of these reasons are why science fiction is out of this world. I’m a sci fi fan. Join me and together we can make reality a much better place…
