Andrew Salij: "Time's Children and Summer Dreams"

Time’s Children and Summer Dreams

By

Andrew Salij

Speculative fiction (sf) has generally been divided into two genres: fantasy and science fiction. Let’s examine their reasoning for the distinction between the two.  It can be tempting to say that one knows science fiction or fantasy when one sees it, but only the Supreme Court can get away with that kind of sloppy reasoning. One better explanation comes from the director of Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn, who notes, “the difference between fantasy and science fiction lies in the fact that fantasy takes place in a world in which the rules of everyday experience do not apply, and science fiction in the world of everyday experience extended” [1]. Fantasy is outside of the laws of our world, and science fiction is set in an extension of the world as we know it. This would be a great explanation if it were only not so limited. Where does one put Star Wars on this dichotomy? Is it science fiction because interstellar travel is an extension of humankind’s space technology or is it fantasy because of the mystical Force? I will build upon Gunn’s explanation because has some truth to it. Science fiction examines the possibilities created through man’s will and brain while fantasy examines the potential unlocked through supernatural power and the human spirit.

            In a work of science fiction, new creation is born in the crucible of human ingenuity. Humanity explores and tempers the unknown, making things that are possible. Similarly to Gunn’s definition, science fiction takes what is everyday experience, adds the possible technology, social systems, and environments as imagined by man, and tells a story using this new world. Key works of science fiction rely upon this idea. In Enders Game, for example, all of the human technology is advanced technology of that which already exists. Furthermore, Ender manipulates the world by using his intelligence to destroy the antagonistic buggers. Science fiction embraces the intellect and cries out that it can morph existence. Yet, this change need not be beneficial. Dystopian fiction proves a key example of how mankind can create horrors. Aldous Huxley’s science fiction classic Brave New World shows that a society made through social engineering can have nefarious ends. Just because science fiction brings to life the creations of human ingenuity does not mean that such creations aid humanity.  

            On the contrary, fantasy focuses on how the supernatural and the human spirit create situations outside the possibilities of the mundane world. The supernatural, which concerns that which cannot be explained, is inherently antithetical to human rationality. Therefore, it cannot be created or even adequately described by the human brain, putting it in stark contrast with the creations of science fiction. Rather, the supernatural influences the world through typically impossible means that are often called “magic.” A reader of fantasy must not try to explain the supernatural in fantasy and just simply believe it [2]. In reading fantasy, one embraces the impossible in order to escape to a new realm. The worlds of fantasy support the idea that human creation is limited. For example, the cities of elves (or other generally benevolent magical creatures) often provide a utopia that contrasts with the creations of humanity. Even when humanity is celebrated in fantasy, this typically only occurs in relation to a human’s soul and not their brain. The heroes of fantasy often develop strong spirits such as that of the enlightened Eragon of the Inheritance Series. The hero’s journey, which is often used in fantasy, even has a spiritual mastery of both the supernatural and human worlds as one of its central tenets [3]. Rationality can lead to greed and corruption, but one who values the fantastical can remain pure. Fantasy values the unknowable over the conquerable and the spirit over the mind, making it separate from science fiction.

            By appreciating this difference between fantasy and science fiction, we enable readers to consume the type of literature that benefits them. An engineer seeking inspiration should look to science fiction in order to find examples of what the human mind can create, but someone seeking spiritual growth should read something without the constraints of reality. Genre descriptions should not be purely mechanical (e.g., zombie stories contain zombies), for such categories fail to address the underlying reason why one is reading a work. In creating a divide between science fiction and fantasy, we allow readers to fulfill their literary needs and writers to create works that are suited towards helping them.