Arjit Jaiswal: "The Improbable vs. The Impossible"

The Improbable vs. The Impossible

By

Arjit Jaiswal

            Although science fiction and fantasy both fall under the roof of speculative fiction, the exact divide between the two genres has always been hotly contested. Science fiction is commonly associated with advanced technology, while fantasy often has to do with elements of magic. However, it is not uncommon for stories to encompass elements from both of these genres, and once this occurs the line between the two becomes fuzzy. A fantasy story can include scientific elements, and a science fiction story can involve phenomena so loosely linked to science that it is close to magic. Instead, a more accurate division between the two genres can be found in the sources of the ideas of their respective stories.

            Science fiction, as Rod Serling puts it, is “the improbable made possible”. All science fiction stories in some form draw from the world as we know it today. “The worlds of science fiction,” Philip Martin says in his A Guide to Fantasy Literature, “are based on some extrapolated aspect of actual laws of the universe we live in.” This is a loaded statement in that not only must a science fiction world conceivably progress from the given world, but must also be careful to not contradict the laws of the universe we have established today. Examples of worlds derived from the present can be found in many popular science fiction stories—the airship world of E. M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops” can be extrapolated from humanity’s technological advancement and desire for automaticity, and the space frontier in Poul Anderson’s “Kyrie” can be explained by humanity’s curiosity relating to unexplored lands. Apart from the science fiction world, the content of the story itself cannot contradict our current understanding of natural law; stories like “Kyrie” are able to use this to their advantage by using a concept of natural law such as time dilation as the basis for the story.

            Fantasy, on the other hand, is described by Serling as “the impossible made probable”. The worlds of fantasy stories are especially intriguing because anything conceivable is possible and fair game to be used. Rather than extrapolate on the universe we live in today, fantasy is the exploration of the wildest imagination of our minds. “In fantasy,” Martin explains, “wonder and wishes overcome knowledge and explanation.” Irrationality, to an extent, is celebrated in fantasy. Not being shackled by the rules of the given world, fantasy allows the author to build a world to whatever length they wish; the entire world can be built from the ground up such as that of Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance series or a fantasy world can be immersed in the given world such as that of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. Not only that, but a fantasy story must not adhere to the laws of our given world. As Martin points out, “Magic as a force replaces the natural laws of science.” Rather than look towards science for explanation, fantasy looks towards belief to justify its happenings.

Science fiction settings must be extrapolated from the current truths about our universe, which while limiting the scope of the stories as compared to fantasy, allows for interesting sociological studies of the future. Tom Godwin’s “The Cold Equations” deals with the consequences of a future in which “the circumstances of the space frontier” leads to a moral dilemma and “The Machine Stops” describes a future in which humans are wholly dependent on technology. Fantasy, on the other hand, “is rooted in inner beliefs and values, in a sense of wonder,” as Martin put it. Through reading fantasy, the reader is able to learn about his own morals and beliefs, even if the story is completely fantastical. As Ursula Le Guin explained: “For fantasy is true, of course. It isn’t factual, but it is true.” Although the world may be completely different than ours, we are able to learn from fantasy through the experiences of the characters and later apply it to ourselves.

Although these distinctions are clearer than the simple “technology vs. magic” explanation for the difference between science fiction and fantasy, they should not serve as a deterrent to authors in mixing the two genres; should a writer’s story flow in a direction that mixes the two, so be it. Rather, the distinction should serve as a guide to readers in order to find stories that suit their interests, as while they both fall underneath the broad genre of speculative fiction, both do so in very different ways.