Technology!

Science Fiction is characterized by the presence of advanced technologies. Starting now, I’ll be writing a post every once in a while detailing specific technology trends in sci-fi, how modern tech applies to sci-fi past and present, and novels and stories that make good use of technology to tell a story.

Today, I’ll start by offering a little insight into how I think technologies should be used in sci-fi in order to effectively contribute to the work as a whole.

My first point has to do with world building. In distant future or alternate reality settings, Technology is extremely important in developing a setting. If technologies are not appropriately integrated into the setting, It fails to be a convincing part of the story as a whole. There are a lot of good examples of this, but I’ve settled on Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 as a prime example. In the novel, Bradbury describes an incredibly imaginative future, full of technologies that were very far fetched at the time of its writing. Bradbury does a fantastic job seamlessly integrating them together, so that the technologies that didn’t yet exist become the norm and fade into the setting, allowing a deeper story to take place.

My next point is more often related to near-future settings. The story should show us the possible consequences of the continued development of technologies that are becoming commonplace in the modern era. An example of where this is done well is in the British show Black Mirror, (now owned by Netflix, and also not appropriate for all ages. Sorry, young readers). The show often details scenarios where we see extreme consequences of the continued development of social media, dating apps, wearable/implantable technology, artificial intelligence, etc. Sci-fi that succeeds in doing this can inspire critical thought among the audience, and in turn steer the development of emerging tech.

Above all, and regardless of time period, or setting, Technology must be at least somewhat believable. If a technology isn’t at least tied down to our modern understanding of science, it will drift away into the Sea of Fantasy. Which is fine of course, I happen to love fantasy too, but it serves a different purpose in the great world of Fiction. Take Star Wars as an example. Many people lump the series in with sci-fi, due to the outer-space setting and the presence of laser weapons and robots, but there’s a huge amount of “tech” in star wars that simply can’t be related to anything with scientific backing (even discounting the Force). Star Wars, epic though it may be, floats away into Fantasy.

There are many more ways for technology to be used in sci-fi, but these are the ones that I think are most important to nail down before we explore tech any further. I’m really looking forward to discussing specific technologies that are trending in today’s science fiction, so keep your eyes open for the first post coming up.

Later

-Sal