I’ve tried to trace the roots of my love for science fiction. Some credit is certainly owed to Star Wars. The summer between second and third grade, I must have watched Empire Strikes Back fifty times. At night, I would lay in the grass in my front yard and imagine starships rocketing between galaxies. Some kids were wishing on shooting stars, I was imagining ragtag bands of rebels and wondering which stars held the stories I loved so dearly. Some credit is owed to The Matrix, too. It was the first R-rated movie I was allowed to watch, and only because my mom loved Trinity so much.
I didn’t start reading sci-fi novels until I was grown, having preferred literary fiction throughout high school and my young adult years, but when I read my first Heinlein book, I rediscovered the wonder of childhood. I’m fascinated by science fiction from the 1950s and 60s – how these authors keenly predicted so many technological advances like cell phones and artificial intelligence, but missed the mark in hilarious, seemingly obvious ways. Really, Robert, we’re going to deliver handwritten letters via hovercraft? 😂 What I love most, though, is the captivating ways sci-fi teaches us about our society, the way we think, and what it means to be a human on an ever-changing planet hurtling through space and time.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was the second Heinlein book I read. I was reminded of the sentient supercomputer, Mike, when I read an article about ChatGPT writing poetry. Mike oversees a colony of ex-prisoners and their descendants on Luna, Earth’s moon. The Lunar citizens live and farm underground and their wheat exports sustain Earth’s population, but Mike calculates Luna will deplete its resources and devolve into cannibalism if exports continue. The story explores the anatomy of a revolution along with themes technology, free will, and libertarianism.
Mike, being slightly chaotic, enjoys playing pranks… especially pranks in which he issues multibillion dollar paychecks to janitors. I could use a generous computer with a sense of humor in my corner, TANSTAAFL be damned!
Drop me a line, share a sci-fi book or movie that’s left a mark on you. 👇
marlena writes 