The Future

The future is a difficult subject to think about, as it requires various actions in the present to get to the future you want the most. I myself view the future in separate categories so I don’t get overwhelmed; I divide it up into near future (like next week), moderate future (a couple months to a couple years), far future (life goals), and imagined future (like when we will get real hover boards). I don’t necessarily call them this or categorize all my goals by this, but these are the different categories I think about when contemplating about the future.

            Thinking about the near future is the easiest, as it just involved thinking about what projects are coming up, and what I want for dinner. It’s probably one of the most self-satisfying as well, as I can get gratification from these short goals quickly.

            Moderate future is probably the most difficult, as thinking about all the short term efforts needed to reach a longer term goal can be incredibly stressful. The rewards seem too far-off to matter or seem gratifying. The goals are close enough to require action, but are far enough that they seem out of reach.

            The far future is something that I don’t think of much. Life-goals and visions for overall success just seem like something not worth the time to contemplate. They are so far off that it is hard to think of any actions that can lead to them. The path to the far-off future seems like something that will emerge over time, with new roads opening up as you go. It’s not something you can actively plan for, but rather something find as you go and grow along the way.

            Imagining the overall future and the future world itself is a much different topic. When I think of the word “future”, I usually take it more as to what MY future will be like, as I can account for my plans and actions, but the world overall is something that has so many factors that it is hard to say what will happen. Technology will evolve of course, as we find ways for things to become more efficient and convenient. Socially, I think we will eventually become more accepting of the differences that divide people today, though there will be many fights and setbacks along the way, and people will probably find new differences to fight over.

            I think one of the major problems when contemplating the future is that most people think in the way that I do: thinking of their own problems and goals, and not contemplating the bigger picture. This is how we get issues like global warming and pollution; people avoid thinking down the line, and what will occur in the world around them. I think that is why we need leaders and a government that will think beyond themselves and work toward our goals in the imagined future, taking the world around them into account. Maybe the start of this is having everyone think about the far-off and imagined future more, and trying to work towards it. I don’t have the answer to this either, as I’m still preoccupied with next week’s dinner.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

If nothing else can be said about Douglas Adams’s book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it certainly sells better than the Encyclopedia Galactica. The Hitchhiker’s guide is pure comedy and satire, trading logic and sense for irony.

            One of the topics The Hitchhiker’s Guide likes to make fun of the most is politics and authority. The character that should have the most authority, the President of the Imperial Galactic Government, Zaphod Beeblebrox, is nothing more than a popular figurehead who does anything to capture people’s attention and keep them entertained by his antics. He takes the phrase “two-faced” to a new level, as he literally has two heads, as well as a third arm he had attached to help improve his ski-boxing. The position that should have the most power is simply a figurehead seat for the most popular diversion. This pokes fun at leaders themselves as well as alluding to government corruption both in the book and in the real world.

            Douglas Adams also likes to poke fun at the organization of authority and its projects. The first problem we encounter is when Arthur wakes up one morning to find a bulldozer crew ready to tear down his house to build a bypass that has nothing to do with him. The overseer of the project, Mr. Posser, ignores all of Arthur’s protests, saying he could have complained beforehand, when they put up the notice, which was hidden in a basement and locked up. While it is delivered in a satirical way, it does hit upon the issue of people in the minority being mistreated simply for the majority’s convenience. And in the end, it is all for nothing anyway, as the world is destroyed minutes after they bulldoze the house down. We can see similar issues still occurring today, such as the issue of the Dakota Access Pipeline, and how the protesters were mistreated and ignored.

            While Douglas Adams delivers everything in a satirical and comical way, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy hits upon some real issues in society; it does so in an absurd way, but the jokes would fall flat if the topics were not relevant in some way. While the absurdity of the situations and characters appeal to our more light-hearted humor, the issues at its heart and the way they are delivered appeal more to our dry and dark humor. By blowing the situations out of proportion, we can laugh at it and cope with the real situations better.

Literary Speculation

For this week I read The Aquatic Uncle by Italo Calvino. While remaining vague about specific characteristics and details, the story describes family drama in a family of creatures that recently evolved to be able to live on land, rather than in the water.

            The story follows the protagonist (I think his name is Qfwfq?), who has decided along with most of his family to live on land rather than in the water. The author implies that these creatures have decided to evolve, and that they change and adapt to their environment based on these decisions.

            One of the interesting parts of this story is that we never get a clear description of the main characters. This is made apparent at the end of the story, when the protagonist gives clear descriptions and names of creatures such as crocodiles and platypuses, but never defines what he himself is. I find this intriguing because the main character actually states that he never defined himself, never became ‘somebody’. This makes you speculate as to what kind of creature the protagonist actually is, if he is an actual creature that we know of today, or if he is an imaginary creature made by the author. Even the great uncle and the fiancée are described vaguely, having a few characteristics such as fins and fast paws, but never clearly defined as a specific animal. This vagueness leaves a great deal to the imagination, which helps make the story richer in a way.

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            Amidst the talk of evolution and the debate of the ways to survive, there is an element of almost absurd family drama. While the setting is unusual, the actual story could come out of a Spanish drama. ‘The great uncle whom everyone thought was absurd and had a backwards way of thinking ends up eloping with the nephew’s fiancée.’

I find it amusing how the author combines these elements, making the plot ridiculous while also speculating about early evolution. The story is very interesting, remaining vague enough that the audience is engaged and uses their imagination, while providing drama elements that supply interesting entertainment.

Diverse Position Science Fiction

For this week I read the short story I Live With You by Carol Emschwiller. The story is from the view of a woman/creature who shadows a woman and secretly lives with her and manipulates her life. We never really get to know much about the protagonist, except that no one really notices her(?) and that they firmly decide to never steal.

            The story seems to focus on how the protagonist enjoys manipulating and almost living vicariously through this woman. The protagonist does mention that it is female, and says that it is the same size and shape as the woman it shadows. However, other than that we can’t really even say that it is human, as it seems more like a ghost in several scenes where it talks about how it walks right up to people and no one notices. She decides to follow a woman that it relates to, someone she thinks is almost like her (except for the fact that she’s human?/can be seen).  She doesn’t mention ever following someone else like this before, instead mentioning how she secretly lived in public places, like a department store and a bookshop. This seems to imply that she was waiting for someone that fit, and that her ability to go unseen has strengthened over time. She at first tries to live like this woman, wearing her clothes and eating and watching the same things. However, after awhile, she begins to find this woman’s life boring, and decides to make her life more interesting by changing her clothes and forcefully introducing romance. Living vicariously through this woman no longer satisfies her when this woman’s life seems bland. When she finally starts to find this woman’s life more interesting, she gets bolder and starts to show herself more, even trying to take her place at the height of the romance, and speculating how she could replace this woman and take over her life. She abandons this mode of thought when the woman shows some spirit and displays how she will take a stand against the protagonist. The protagonist takes pride in how she has made the woman grow and start really living. Maybe in part this is because she feels like she is really living, that she vicariously has gained a life.

            In the end, she leaves this woman and her new life, not stealing her identity as she had earlier contemplated, reaffirming her one trait that she sticks to: she never steals. The protagonist can be viewed as something close to either a guardian angel or a haunting demon in the end, depending on how you look at it. She watches over this woman and manipulates her life, but in the end leaves once the woman gains the one thing the protagonist does not: a presence and a life. The morality of the situation is debatable, but in the end, one moral is clear: don’t steal.

Steampunk

Gail Carriger’s novel Soulless is an interesting tale that mixes fantasy and steampunk technology in 19^th century London. The series features vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and one who can cancel out supernatural powers, known as the soulless, Alexia Tarabotti. Mixed in with all the supernatural and fantasy elements are unique steampunk technological advancements, most notably a well-equipped parasol.

            The world presented in the series is set similarly to 19^th century Britain during Queen Victoria’s reign, with mentions to actual historical figures such as the Queen herself. The differences from our reality stem from the existence of a variety of supernatural creatures and their involvements in society, as well as the technology that has evolved around them. The presence of the supernatural, as well as a great deal of technology around them, seems to have derived from the presence of aether, an element unique to this world that seems to be almost a source of energy that exists in the air as well as inside human beings. It seems similar to how other authors have viewed magic, but Carriger approaches it in a more scientific manner. As the story is set around the time of the Industrial Revolution, when many scientific breakthroughs occurred, aether is just beginning to be viewed in a more experimental view, as both an energy source and the source of change for vampires and werewolves.

            While the first book doesn’t delve too deeply into aether and technology, instead focusing on the characters and establishing the world, the sequels delve deeper into its mysteries, and how the protagonist Alexia, who can turn supernaturals back to human with a touch, relates to this source. The contraptions created based off of aether evolve as the series continues, from flying dirigibles to communications devices similar to the telegraph. As science and technology have just begun to revolutionize, the readers follow the characters as they make new discoveries, trying to disperse its mystery and determine its true nature.

            The supernatural elements are also viewed in a similar way, as the characters try to approach it with logic and reasoning rather than viewing the supernatural as something magical and superstitious. This approach is interesting, as it approaches fantasy elements in a scientific view, combining elements from various genres in a way that hooks you into the story and makes you curious as to what the characters are going to find out as they go along their adventures.

            Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series is an interesting read that combines both fantasy and science fiction elements in a way that makes you just as interested in the character’s discoveries in their world as their adventures and problems themselves.

(As a side note, the novels also have a cool manga adaption)