Bolaji Bankole: "Dear Bridget Smith: Temporal Flux"

Bridget Smith: Temporal Flux

Bolaji Bankole

            In just about all media, there are “classics” that are heralded to be the best, most amazing specimens of literary, artistic, or storytelling competency, and they share the trait of generally being pretty old. So, obviously, this trend extends into the world of science fiction and fantasy where one can see the beginnings of certain ideas and tropes that persist to the current day. Being able to see how certain SFF elements have been exhibited in the past in reference to how they are more commonly presented in more modern works is, in my opinion, the most interesting part of reading older SFF works, though their age and ideological distancing can also create some other, less desirable effects.

One of the most universal ideas in science fiction is that of the robot. The first real depiction of robots in an SFF story was in Karel Capek’s R.U.R., where they were essentially humans, just with a bit of something missing. While most modern ideas of robots have them as cold, mechanical beings, the robots in R.U.R. are made out of organic matter that has been “woven” together into a human form. Another classic work that took a similar spin on the idea of robots is Alfred Bester’s Fondly Fahrenheit, which has androids which can be more easily distinguished from humans, but still keep many human characteristics. This work could be seen as a kind of sign of the depictions of robots changing to become more like what we see today. While reading these two stories, I couldn’t help but think about Commander Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. This series of Star Trek was written well after those two stories, and realizing the influences that they may have had on the way that Data and his character interactions are portrayed in the show made the experience all the more enjoyable. The eventual insubordination of robots as they decide to follow their own wills, intentionally or not, is a trope which has its beginnings evinced in both R.U.R. and Fondly Fahrenheit, and it is a staple of almost every robot oriented science fiction story since them. It can be seen in works ranging from 2001: A Space Odyssey, to the aforementioned Star Trek, and even to the relatively new movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Being able to see the origins of such a pervasive idea in SF and how it has evolved over time is definitely a benefit of reading classic works in SF, however that same development of ideas can also be something that pulls me out of a story a bit. For instance, while it is not a core mechanic to the story, the relegation of all computing to the mothership in Tom Godwin’s The Cold Equations was something that irked me a bit. It may be because I tend to think about things in a more technical way, but the lack of some ideas that we have come accustomed to in the modern day can make a few older stories less enjoyable. The way that you interpret stories is heavily influenced by preconceived notions that you have gained from your environment, and over time, environmental factors can change drastically. Some SF stories can rely on dated ideas, have old and irrelevant morals, or make now nonsensical cultural references that can greatly diminish the enjoyment of a modern reader.

While ability to see how ideas in stories change over time and influence each other is something that can make some classics grab your attention, this same effect can also detract from your enjoyment of said stories. There are many elements that have to come together for a story to convey its entire meaning, and while some can stand the test of time, others suffer. However, being able to analyze the ways that SF tropes morph and develop from their inception to their modern implementations is what makes me interested in classic SF.