The journey began when I was returning from school. I was suddenly transferred into a spaceship. The aliens were looking at me. We dined, we sang karaoke, and then they gave me gifts and sent me back on my way.
Just kidding.
There is no way I was abducted by aliens. That was just a dream. Or was it?…
Anyway.
I don’t exactly remember what my first sci-fi book was. If I think really hard, maybe I’d remember, but I don’t have the will to do that. I don’t stress my brain for content.
Sci-fi gives people hope and new ideas.
I have read multiple sci-fi books, but the concepts are mostly summed up in the points below:
Humans uploading their consciousness to servers and embedding technology in the brain.
Interplanetary travel and humans colonising other planets.
Superintelligence such as AI and robots.
Virtual worlds.
There is also a lot of fascist sci-fi, where superintelligence arrives and enslaves humanity, or some corporation uses superintelligence to enslave humanity. I find this truly disappointing, as it feels against technological progress. The possibility of this happening is minuscule, but some authors love blackpilling and tech hating. I don’t find it to be in good faith.
I specifically like sci-fi books written in the 20th century. There wasn’t much modern technology at the time, but authors had absolutely bonkers imaginations. If an author says the same things now, it feels like they haven’t put in much effort, because those concepts are more tangible today. Someone writing about submarines in the 19th century is a genius, but someone writing about submarines in the 21st century is not. Do I think ideas have stagnated? Maybe. But is there more depth to sci-fi stories now? Yes. You see hints of politics, war, love, hate, and yearning in sci-fi books.
If you love sci-fi, you should definitely read older books. You will find a lot of ideas that are interesting and well framed. A lot of sci-fi today delves deeper into the politics and identity of the protagonist, which I sometimes find annoying. If I wanted to read about politics, I wouldn’t pick a sci-fi book. Please give me more space opera.
But again, like I said, there are more layers to sci-fi now. It has been some time since I found truly interesting ideas in a book. Can we go beyond machines and humans merging, AI, and interplanetary travel? Maybe we delve into phenomena that are not physical in nature. Maybe we investigate paranormal phenomena. Who knows what humanity will become?
I don’t find many Indian authors who write sci-fi, but I feel a new avenue could be the mixing of mythology and modern sci-fi. India has rich mythology. We need to make it global. We have so many incredible lores and stories that boggle the mind. Many authors are trying, but they haven’t been very successful. Our mythological sci-fi books rarely get noticed globally. I think literary overlords don’t like it when religion and modernity are mixed, or when someone tries to propagate or educate people about their culture. I also believe that most literary committees, which are also awards committees, don’t particularly like Asian literature. They have given some awards to Asians, but it often feels like an initiative to say, yes, we acknowledge your presence.
Anyway, like I was saying, we need more exposure. More Indians need to read fiction and fantasy books instead of only course books. It expands your consciousness. Back to sci-fi, there is a new genre in town called hopepunk. It is more like hopium for people, and people are loving it. There is so much chaos in the world, so when one reads hopepunk, they feel good. Feel-good vibes. Offbeat stories that restore your faith in humanity and the world. Multiple hopepunk books have been chosen for literary awards, not because they are hopepunk, but because they are written nicely and are easy to read and digest. Sci-fi hopepunk often features a robot and a human on a journey, a human and AI exploring the world, or a robot discovering humanity and emotions, and so on.
I love sci-fi because it makes me think. It gives me new ideas. It helps me make sense of society at large. It helps me love humans and appreciate all life, sentient and non-sentient alike. It makes me more empathetic towards everyone. It helps me introspect my sense of justice. It helps me understand the unsaid. Being a slightly introverted fellow, it makes me happy. I live through experiences that I would never have otherwise.
How can it help you? I don’t know. You might not like sci-fi at all. You do you. But I do think humans would be better off reading more fiction and fantasy books. It also helps with attention span.
Do I think robots should have rights? Umm.
Do I think AI should have rights? Umm.
What rights? Umm.
