Sound Off: Did Science Fiction Just Become Fantasy?

It's been a long while since I've written a Sound Off article, but I have these thoughts boiling just under the surface really need to be voiced.  So pardon my rant.  In advance.  As you know I don't do political commentary on this blog.  Ever.  But this is going to come pretty darn close. 

You've probably read my frequent laments on shutting down our shuttle program, laying off thousands of NASA employees and tossing decades of space savvy know-how to the four winds. What country would be so stupid as to give up their advances in the final frontier? Why would we do this when we have no system to replace the shuttle?  And why retire the shuttle fleet when we currently have American astronauts serving on the ISS (International Space Station) that we presume would like to see their families and homes again someday.

These questions have been pooh-poohed by those in power who sought to kill the shuttle. "Simple solution," they said. "Our astronauts will just hitch rides to and from the ISS with our friends the Russians on one of their Progress spacefreighters until we have a new manned space program back in place, in ohhh, maybe four or five years.  Or maybe a decade if we run into problems re-inventing the wheel.  Or maybe never, if our economy continues this meltdown.  But *shrug* no one really cares about the space program anyway.

Don't we?  Shouldn't we?

Maybe you haven't heard the latest news?

Not a surprise, since most American news networks seem determined to bury it, because...you know...we wouldn't want to make anyone in power look bad for the devastating decisions they've made about our future.

That Russian Progress spacefreighter we were counting on? Yeah. Well, it had an accident. Surprised? Yeah, me too. Surprised and wondering why the news gave more coverage to Somebodyorother's wedding than something as monumental as a catastrophic failure of a spacecraft system we're really counting on. Fortunately, this flight wasn't manned, but Russia wants some time to investigate and re-evaluate after the mishap. Can't really blame them, can we? The USA certainly did the same after the accidents we suffered.

Meanwhile in the meager bits of news we're getting about this situation, the public is being assured the astronauts aboard the ISS have *plenty* of supplies to last them until the next flight which is now delayed until October.  The flight which, incidently, is in question of being launched at all.

I wonder what our astronauts are thinking right now as they look down on the beautiful blue world that is Earth.  Do they wonder if they're going to make it back home again?

I can tell you what I'm thinking from my perspective here, safe and sound on the good, green Earth.  I'm thinking Science Fiction may have just become Fantasy, because I don't have high hopes that after disassembling our current space program that we'll ever get it back as a nation. Gone are those wondrous, heady days of the 1960's when we first met the challenges of space travel, and the 1970's - 2000's when we as a nation, gained cutting-edge knowledge, and expanded our sciences, technologies, and medicines through our space program. And we dared to dream positive dreams about a brave new future. 

We can still dream.  But like the proverbial castle in the air, we've now burned down the foundation we'd made so much progress in building beneath it.

What about commercial space flight? Well, that's the key word, isn't it?  Commercial. While I applaud pioneers like SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, I don't see space flight as something that's going to be profit-generating for several generations. I also think they're going to be subjected to the same political whims and budget cuts NASA has suffered. I fear once the novelty wears off, most commercial endeavors are going to go the way of the buffalo. I hope I'm wrong, but that's not what my gut tells me.

Now it's your turn to sound off.  What do you think?

Sound Off: Writers are a Breed Apart

One of my fellow Golden Heart finalists pointed something out that I'd never really given much thought to before.  She commented how writers seem to be a different breed than those who are enthusiasts of most other endeavors and explained the rivalry she experienced in one of her other non-writing pursuits.

I realized she was right, based on my own experience.  In the art, music, sports, equestrian activities,  military, business and even education arenas, I've encountered fierce--and sometimes cutting competition--to be the one in that #1 slot.  Although competition does exist among writers, for the most part it's such a difficult, frustrating, lonely and lengthy struggle toward publication, that I think we do tend to band together to offer support, advice and encouragement, rather than practice one-upmanship.

Although close friendships often form between peers in other arenas, it's often in spite of the competition, not because of the common pursuit.

When writing peers final in the big contests, we seem to rally with congratulations and attagirls (or attaboys) instead of sulking in jealous resentment.  There are even entire loops devoted to writers cheering each other on.

So why are those of us who chase the paper dream (or electronic dream) so welcoming and encouraging to our peers? 

I think it's because in our industry, we recognize there's always room at the top for more successful writers, more authors, more books.  Because we are consumers as well as producers of our product, we know there can never be such as thing as too many books or authors.  The next big blockbuster is a victory for us all.

That's my take.  What do you think?

Sound Off: Is Science Fiction (& SFR) Dead?

Recently, io9 posed an interesting question. Is Science Fiction defunct because many believe we're approaching Singularity?

Read the article here.

I don't agree with this theory. Science Fiction (and SFR) is about imagination and possibility. It's about a great story, unique ideas, powerful world-building and compelling characters. Why would people stop reading SF/SFR just because the future may not look exactly like the author paints in their imaginary futuristic world? Are 1984 and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY any less classic works because the date has come and gone and the world didn't look anything like the predictions? Did people stop reading these books at the point history caught up to the story? Of course not. The elements of vision and imagination still apply, even if history took a drastically different course than the fiction version.

I've been on a "put the science back in science fiction romance" campaign for quite some time now. Maybe I need to start a "save the fiction in science fiction romance" campaign too. :)