Science Fiction

The first thing that comes to mind is cowboys and aliens, like V, but Sci Fi has a tradition of addressing the moral and ethical dilemmas of the day without raising the hackles of readers.

I am a great fan of Frank Herbert’s Dune series. Frank wrote six books through the late sixties and early seventies. The books span a timeframe of several thousand years, following the unintended consequences of genetic and religious manipulation of a widely scattered human society. His scathing look at the callous use of religion to foment unrest was particularly prescient in light of the Jihad that emerged long after his death.

His son Brian and a co-author expanded the series to document the back story about the battle between robots and humans, the Butlerian Jihad, the political framework of the Imperium, and the ultimate consequences of the events in the original series.

Many contemporary topics enter the story. The Ixians press the boundaries of humanity with cyborg technology. Ray Kurzweil argues that we are less than a generation away from facing this dilemma in reality. Herbert’s Tlielaxu push the limits of cloning with their gholas, genetically modified food and body parts on demand. Again, we are on the precipice of these issues.  Religious manipulation of the public discourse fills the headlines every day.

Science Fiction becomes a forum for discussing these issues by taking the topics out of the headlines and putting them in an alien context. By stripping away the current hot-button language and knee-jerk reactions, authors can explore the consequences of these dilemmas minus the preconceived conclusions that cloud people's thinking.

Consider one example: Philip K. Dick wrote The Minority Report, a short story about the ability to predict when a crime would be committed and prevent it. We can all agree that preventing crime is a worthy goal, but we are less in accord over potential criminals be detained to prevent crimes. Long sentences for major crimes are as much about prevention as punishment. Sex offenders are being detained after serving their sentences because they are likely to offend again.

But do we have the right to imprison someone who was GOING to be a sex offender, before they’ve hurt anybody at all? We can’t predict who will commit a crime, but what if we could? Do we have the moral authority to act on that knowledge? What if we’re wrong? How would we know?

THOSE are the kinds of questions good science fiction delves into, Star Wars notwithstanding.