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PRI radio producer Steve Paulson has interviewed a lot of SF and SFF writers, and he has noticed a trend recently: SF and SFF writers ditching tropes like "warp drives" and "transporters" to tackle harder (yet much more probable) science problems. [Can Cli-Fi be far behind?] These authors include some of the biggest in the ''cheesy'' (according to SF maven John Clute) genre — from Andy Weir (THE MARTIAN) to veteran Neal Stephenson.
According to Stephenson, "If we want a better future, maybe we need better stories."
Read and listen to Steve's article for NPR here.
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TRANSCRIPT FROM NPR archives:
Movie screens were thundering with futuristic stories in 2015, from the final installment of The Hunger Games to The Martian.
Both films started as books — The Martian originally self-published — but it's The Martian that taps into an intriguing trend toward realism.
Space travel has been a sci-fi staple for more than a century, and now some of the biggest names in the genre are trying to imagine what it would actually take to send humans to another planet.
The Martian
Paperback, 387 pages |
purchase
purchase
The Martian is a white-knuckle thriller, so you might not see the story as a series of science and math puzzles. But that's precisely why novelist Andy Weir first dreamed up the book that inspired the movie.
"I'm a space dork. I'm a big fan of manned and unmanned space flight," he says. "And I was sitting around at home, imagining, 'How could we do a manned Mars mission?' Not for the purposes of telling a story, but just, how could we do it, just as a thought experiment."
So Weir tried to work out the science of how an astronaut stranded on Mars could get enough oxygen and water and food to survive. His book is what's known as hard science fiction — a story based on existing or plausible science. And the thing about science fiction that separates it from just about every other kind of fiction is that some of these imaginary stories actually become real.
"It is very well-documented that people who work for NASA have been inspired by science fiction," says Calla Cofield, a reporter for Space.com who covers the space industry. "And there's always a back-and-forth, you know, between science fiction and reality. All of this is about dreaming about what's going on off the surface of the Earth."
One of the best-known writers of hard science fiction is Kim Stanley Robinson. He wrote an acclaimed series of Mars novels in the 1990s, and he's just come out with a new book called Aurora. Unlike Weir's near-future story, Robinson's novel is set 500 years from now. It's about a space voyage to Tau Ceti, which Robinson believes could be the nearest habitable star system outside our own.
"I guess my working principle was, 'What would it really be like?' So no hyperspace. No warp drive. No magical thing that isn't going to really happen to get us there," Robinson says.
Aurora
Hardcover, 466 pages |
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Over the years, the idea of a space voyage to Tau Ceti has attracted some of the biggest names in science fiction, from Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein to Ursula K. Le Guin. Robinson figures it would take about 200 years to get there. That means the journey would span several generations.
"What becomes interesting is to think about the people born on the starship who didn't make the choice to be there. And for two or three generations, you're born on the ship, you die on the ship. You're just in between the stars. So it turned into a bit of a prison novel, like you spend your whole life in a Motel 6."
But suppose you had to go out into space to survive, because the Earth's ecosystem suddenly crashed? That's the premise of a new book by another science fiction heavyweight, Neal Stephenson. In his novel Seveneves, a flotilla of ships is launched into space. The book goes into considerable scientific detail about how the ships would be powered and what genetic material they'd have to bring along so humans could actually live in space.
"All science fiction and fantasy is to some extent an exercise in world-building," Stephenson says. Seveneves comes at a time when there've been no human space missions for decades — at least not beyond the International Space Station. He believes we've largely lost the will to pursue the really big projects of previous generations, like the massive government initiatives that sent people to the moon and built the interstate highway system. He says the tech industry didn't help matters when it became so lucrative and attractive to young people with technical savvy.
Seveneves
Hardcover, 867 pages |
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"For the last few decades, the kinds of really smart geeks who in the '50s and '60s would've been building rockets or something have been moving to Silicon Valley and creating startups to make little apps," he says. There's an underlying problem, he adds: We often have trouble imagining what a positive future would look like. And here's where science fiction comes in. If we want a better future, maybe we need better stories. What we don't need, he says, are more dystopian stories of civilization in ruins.
"It's just tired. They take the stuff that we have now — the buildings, the cities, the vehicles — and they kind of throw dirt on them and beat them up and break the windows. And then that's the future in which these things are all set."
By contrast, the science fiction writers who've tried to imagine plausible scenarios for getting to another planet tend to be hopeful about the future. And their stories have inspired some of the billionaire entrepreneurs who are now looking to the skies. SpaceX founder Elon Musk has cited sci-fi writers Asimov and Heinlein as sources of inspiration.
There is a danger, though, says Kim Stanley Robinson: a fantasy that if humans could just start over on another planet, we could escape all the problems we have here on Earth.
"This idea of a utopia happening on another planet is a story space you go into. So, in that sense, on Mars we can do things right, and it will serve as an illustration or an example for people back on Earth. I mean, I love Mars and I'm interested in Mars. But we don't need to go anywhere, because this planet is our one and only home."
And no matter how much we dream, it's where we're actually going to live.
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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
For the next several minutes, we take you to a galaxy far, far away. Space travel has long been a staple of science-fiction. And now some of the biggest names in the genre are trying to imagine what it would actually take to send humans to another planet. One movie back in the theaters now, "The Martian," is drawn from a self-published sci-fi book that taps into this trend towards realism. Wisconsin Public Radio's Steve Paulson has the story.
STEVE PAULSON, BYLINE: The blockbuster movie "The Martian" is a white-knuckle thriller, so you might not see story as a series of science and math puzzles. But that's precisely why novelist Andy Weir first dreamed up the book that inspired the movie.
ANDY WEIR: I'm a space dork. I'm a big fan of manned and unmanned spaceflight. And I was sitting around at home imagining how can we do a manned Mars mission? Not for the purposes of telling a story, but just how could we do it, just a thought experiment.
PAULSON: So Weir tried to work out the science of how an astronaut stranded on Mars could get enough oxygen and water and food to survive. His book is what's known as hard science fiction - a story based on existing or plausible science. And the thing about science fiction that separates it from just about every other kind of fiction is that some of these imaginary stories actually become real.
CALLA COFIELD: It is very well documented that people who work for NASA have been inspired by science fiction.
PAULSON: Calla Cofield is a reporter for space.com, who covers the space industry.
COFIELD: And there's always, you know, a back and forth between science fiction and reality. All of this is about dreaming about what's going on off the surface of the Earth.
PAULSON: One of the best-known writers of hard science fiction is Kim Stanley Robinson. He wrote an acclaimed series of Mars novels in the 1990s, and he's just come out with a new book called of "Aurora." Unlike Andy Weir's near-future story, his novel is set 500 years from now. It's about a space voyage to Tau Ceti, which Robinson believes could be the nearest habitable star system outside our own.
KIM STANLEY ROBINSON: I guess my working principle was what would it really be like? So no hyperspace, no warp drive, no magical thing that isn't going to really happen to get us there.
PAULSON: Over the years, the idea of a space voyage to Tau Ceti has attracted some of the biggest names in science fiction, from Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein to Ursula Le Guin. Robinson figures it would take about 200 years to get there. That means the journey would span several generations.
ROBINSON: What becomes interesting is to think about the people born on this starship who didn't make the choice to be there. And for two or three generations, you're born on the ship, you die on the ship. You're just in between the stars, so it turned into a bit of a prison novel, like you spend your whole life in a Motel 6.
PAULSON: But suppose you had to go out into space to survive because the Earth's ecosystem suddenly crashed? That's the premise of a new book by another science fiction heavyweight, Neal Stephenson. In his novel "Seveneves," a flotilla of ships is launched into space. Stephenson's novel comes at a time when there have been no human space missions for decades - at least not beyond the International Space Station. He believes we've largely lost the will to pursue the really big projects of previous generations, like the massive government initiatives that sent people to the moon and built the interstate highway system. He says the tech industry didn't help matters when it became so lucrative and attractive to young people with technical savvy.
NEAL STEPHENSON: And so for the last few decades, the kinds of really smart geeks, who, in the '50s and '60s would've been building rockets or something, have been, you know, moving to Silicon Valley and creating startups to make little apps.
PAULSON: Stephenson says there's an underlying problem. We often have trouble imagining what a positive future would look like. And here's where science fiction comes in. If we want a better future, maybe we need better stories. What we don't need, he says, are more dystopian stories of civilization in ruins.
STEPHENSON: It's just tired. They take the stuff that we have now - the buildings, the cities, the vehicles - and they kind of throw dirt on them and beat them up and break the windows. And then that's the future in which these things are all set.
PAULSON: By contrast, the science fiction writers who've tried to imagine plausible scenarios for getting to another planet tend to be hopeful about the future. There is a danger though, says Kim Stanley Robinson. A fantasy that if humans could just start over on another planet, we could escape all the problems we have here on Earth.
ROBINSON: So the idea of a utopia happening on another planet is a story space that you go into. Some in that sense, on Mars we can do things right, and it will serve as an illustration or an example for people back on Earth. I mean, I love Mars, and I'm interested in Mars. But we don't need to go anywhere because this planet is our one-and-only home.
PAULSON: And no matter how much we dream, it's where we're actually going to have to live. For NPR News, I'm Steve Paulson.
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and
and
Meet Steve Paulson...
We’ve heard your office looks like it was decorated by the Collyer
Brothers, the famous book hoarders. Do you have a book fetish?
No! I have a library. It’s true, I can get obsessive about books – and yes, my stacks of books are somewhat disorganized. My co-workers like to twit me about fire hazards, but where do you think all those TTBOOK interviews come from?
How did you get into public broadcasting?
After high school, I did a six-month internship with the National Zoo, studying the rare golden lion tamarin. Once I got to college, I assumed I would major in biology. Instead, I fell in love with Dostoevsky and Camus and majored in European literature. I also edited my college newspaper, which was the only activity that seemed to have any possible connection to a future job. I got a master’s degree in journalism, made my way into public radio and have been here ever since.
What makes a great interview?
The best interviews go slightly off script, which means they get beyond the questions I've prepared, and they also take the interviewee into slightly uncharted territory. The constant challenge, especially with well-known people who've done lots of interviews, is to take the interview somewhere new, where the conversation feels fresh and unrehearsed. It helps when the guest is emotionally open, intellectually adventurous and passionate about what she or he does. A sense of humor is a definite plus. Some of my favorite interviews have been with people who carry a (small) chip on their shoulder, like Maurice Sendak or Sherman Alexie. A touch of angst-driven obsessiveness can do wonders for an interview.
You''ve interviewed everyone! Nobel prize winners, scientists, novelists, politicians, artists, musicians. Who's the most famous person you've ever interviewed?
Probably Barack Obama. I interviewed him a few weeks before he launched his presidential campaign. At that point, he'd already been getting a huge amount of public attention and people always talked about his charisma. Actually, what struck me most during our interview was that he seemed pretty grounded and accessible. For the most part, he avoided the "politician speak" that we usually hear from someone in his position. Of course, he would probably do a very different interview now.
You recently published a collection of your interviews on science and religion -- "Atoms and Eden." Why are you so interested in bringing science and religion into dialogue with each other?
Atoms and Eden is a collection of 20 interviews, most of which originally ran as cover stories in Salon. http://dir.salon.com/topics/atoms_and_eden/
Sorting out the relationship between science and religion is one of the great intellectual dramas of our time. Unfortunately, most of the public discussion about science & religion is incredibly shallow. It tends to get stuck on hot button controversies like evolution vs. creationism, and it rarely gets to the deeper questions that are fascinating: Is it just a crazy, cosmic stroke of luck that we're here at all? Or do human beings have some larger, mysterious purpose? There are no simple answers here. Ultimately, these are really questions about how we construct meaning in our lives.
Do you consider yourself a spiritual seeker?
Yes, though not in any conventional sense. I don't go to church or have any regular spiritual practice. But the big existential questions have always gnawed at me - there's a reason I was obsessed with Dostoevsky in college! - and I'm still trying to sort them out. I might add that I come from an unconventional family. My parents spent some time at Findhorn, the famous spiritual community in Scotland, and they later founded an eco-spiritual community in Wisconsin. They consider me the family skeptic, but we share many interests, and we often talk about trying to create "sacred space" in our lives.
If you could interview 5 people, living or dead, who would you choose and why?
Well, if we limit the historical scope a bit, here are a few people I'd love to interview: some of the founders of modern physics, including Einstein, Wolfgang Pauli and David Bohm, because they were fascinated by the philosophical implications of their science. Muhammad Ali, circa 1980, as his boxing career was winding down and he was perhaps ready to reflect on his extraordinary life. Some jazz legends, including Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. I just love their music.
You watch a discussion on mindfulness with Steve, neuroscientist Richard Davidson and jazz pianist Ben Sidran in this video.
No! I have a library. It’s true, I can get obsessive about books – and yes, my stacks of books are somewhat disorganized. My co-workers like to twit me about fire hazards, but where do you think all those TTBOOK interviews come from?
How did you get into public broadcasting?
After high school, I did a six-month internship with the National Zoo, studying the rare golden lion tamarin. Once I got to college, I assumed I would major in biology. Instead, I fell in love with Dostoevsky and Camus and majored in European literature. I also edited my college newspaper, which was the only activity that seemed to have any possible connection to a future job. I got a master’s degree in journalism, made my way into public radio and have been here ever since.
What makes a great interview?
The best interviews go slightly off script, which means they get beyond the questions I've prepared, and they also take the interviewee into slightly uncharted territory. The constant challenge, especially with well-known people who've done lots of interviews, is to take the interview somewhere new, where the conversation feels fresh and unrehearsed. It helps when the guest is emotionally open, intellectually adventurous and passionate about what she or he does. A sense of humor is a definite plus. Some of my favorite interviews have been with people who carry a (small) chip on their shoulder, like Maurice Sendak or Sherman Alexie. A touch of angst-driven obsessiveness can do wonders for an interview.
You''ve interviewed everyone! Nobel prize winners, scientists, novelists, politicians, artists, musicians. Who's the most famous person you've ever interviewed?
Probably Barack Obama. I interviewed him a few weeks before he launched his presidential campaign. At that point, he'd already been getting a huge amount of public attention and people always talked about his charisma. Actually, what struck me most during our interview was that he seemed pretty grounded and accessible. For the most part, he avoided the "politician speak" that we usually hear from someone in his position. Of course, he would probably do a very different interview now.
You recently published a collection of your interviews on science and religion -- "Atoms and Eden." Why are you so interested in bringing science and religion into dialogue with each other?
Atoms and Eden is a collection of 20 interviews, most of which originally ran as cover stories in Salon. http://dir.salon.com/topics/atoms_and_eden/
Sorting out the relationship between science and religion is one of the great intellectual dramas of our time. Unfortunately, most of the public discussion about science & religion is incredibly shallow. It tends to get stuck on hot button controversies like evolution vs. creationism, and it rarely gets to the deeper questions that are fascinating: Is it just a crazy, cosmic stroke of luck that we're here at all? Or do human beings have some larger, mysterious purpose? There are no simple answers here. Ultimately, these are really questions about how we construct meaning in our lives.
Do you consider yourself a spiritual seeker?
Yes, though not in any conventional sense. I don't go to church or have any regular spiritual practice. But the big existential questions have always gnawed at me - there's a reason I was obsessed with Dostoevsky in college! - and I'm still trying to sort them out. I might add that I come from an unconventional family. My parents spent some time at Findhorn, the famous spiritual community in Scotland, and they later founded an eco-spiritual community in Wisconsin. They consider me the family skeptic, but we share many interests, and we often talk about trying to create "sacred space" in our lives.
If you could interview 5 people, living or dead, who would you choose and why?
Well, if we limit the historical scope a bit, here are a few people I'd love to interview: some of the founders of modern physics, including Einstein, Wolfgang Pauli and David Bohm, because they were fascinated by the philosophical implications of their science. Muhammad Ali, circa 1980, as his boxing career was winding down and he was perhaps ready to reflect on his extraordinary life. Some jazz legends, including Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett. I just love their music.
You watch a discussion on mindfulness with Steve, neuroscientist Richard Davidson and jazz pianist Ben Sidran in this video.
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