Recurring Themes in Science Fiction

Tampa, FL



This blog was created for my expository writing class that the University of South Florida. This blog will contain five entries concerning the topic of reoccurring themes in science fiction. Here is a tentative list of the five blog entries.

1. Robots/A.I.
2. Space/Time Travel
3. Aliens/Invasions
4. Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic Scenarios
5. The seemingly everlasting presence of the human race


For [professionally written] information on science fiction and fantasy visit:

Locus Online; The Website of The Magazine of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Field at www.Locusmag.com

Nov 12, 2009

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A plague sweeps through America, killing three fourths of the population. No cure! World Wide Terror!
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Look In the sky! Is it a plane? NO! It’s a UFO!

~zip zap BOOM~

*explosion*

… and were all dead.

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As sick as it may sound, it seems, we are extremely entertained by the idea of worldwide destruction. Movies, books, and even on the news you can find a plethora of stories about the end of the world. To date, we have thought of it all; zombies, natural disasters, illness, meteors, aliens, nuclear or chemical war. Personally, if we are talking about science fiction, I prefer to read about zombies. Something about nuclear destruction and natural disasters seems too real for me. But I suppose that’s part of what people enjoy about apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic scenarios. They can ask themselves “What if this was to actually happen?” And we all do it- we as humans are a curious race. According to one of those online questionnaire survey quiz things I apparently have a 71% chance to survive a zombie apocalypse. Movies like The Last Man on Earth, The Day After Tomorrow, and just about any zombie movie you can find all depict there terrible and seemingly hopeless situations that man somehow manages to overcome. But is it really all just fiction? And if not, will man somehow miraculously survive just like a happy ending we expect from a Hollywood movie?

What if I were to say that several apocalyptic scenarios have already happened? Does anyone remember how dinosaurs became extinct? For millions of years dinosaurs roamed this planet. Then, some 65 million years ago, a huge meteor rock thing fell out of the sky. As the story goes, the meteor impacted the earth creating a 110 mile wide crater in the Yucatan, creating enough ask and debris to block out the sun. This subsequently killed the plants, thus killing the plant eating dinosaurs, thus killing the dinosaurs that eat the plant eaters. Unfortunately, no human was there to live and tell the story. So who knows what actually happened.

If we want to talk facts however, what about the bubonic plague? Or perhaps the Spanish flu? The bubonic plague, around the year 1350, killed 50-60 percent of Europe’s population, thus earning its name The Black Death. IT lingered around until the 1600’s until better medicine was invented. The Spanish flu came about in the early 1900s. In 1918 the disease infected a third of Earth's population. Doing the math, I figure that’s about 500 million people.

Still not recent enough to keep you interested? What if I were to tell you the world could end in just three years from now? This is perhaps the biggest hype since Y2k. According to several prophesies and the media, the worlds going to end- AGAIN! I do not want you to think I am mocking the idea that we might all die… I just don’t appreciate writing in a morbid tone. It doesn’t suit me :)

Most people today are familiar with the prophesy about 2012… I believe the actual end of the world date is said to be either October 28, 2012 or December 21, 2012. In fact their even making a movie about it. Fun times… The worlds about to end so let’s all go to the theater and eat popcorn…

What makes the prophecy about 2012 so intriguing, is that unlike most apocalyptic theories, this has a lot of supporting historical and scientific evidence. Different ancient cultures all around the world seem to have the same idea about this date in time- Something big and something bad something catastrophically destructive. The most popular of these prophesies comes from the Mayans and their long count calendar.

Now keep in mind the ancient astronaut theory from my last blog. The mains built great pyramids and found great knowledge in a short about of time. They were so knowledgeable in fact that they were able to scientifically predict the future using the sun moon and stars. Their calendar goes on for over two thousand years and then stops… on December 21st 2012, and at the end of their calendar destruction is depicted.

To date, Science even backs up their theories of worldwide destruction by saying there is some sort of mass in space… rather a rift or a cloud of some sort of energy that is slowly but surely heading in our direction. And when out earth eventually enters this cloud, something about the magnetic fields of out earth will go crazy and the earth poles will shift creating world wide chaos with hurricanes earthquakes tsunamis, drastic climate change, and even something about Japan being completely underwater.

My major problem with this theory is that yes chaos might be coming but who says it’s the end? Who is to that that the Mayans decided to stop their calendar because they thought they had done enough? Perhaps the Mayans were like…

Mayan Steve: Hey bob I’m getting hungry

Mayan Bob: I know Steve but we have to keep working on the long count calendar

Mayan Steve: Bob… don’t you think two thousand years into the future is long enough?

Mayan Bob: *sighs* I guess your right Steve... We can always finish later…

-they go get lunch-
...and then the Spanish kill all the Mayans before
they can continue the calendar

~cut scene~

All in all… I figure, if the world’s going to end then it’s going to end. If humans are meant to live through it, then they will do was they always have done – procreate and make some more people. Perhaps it may not be nearly as entertaining as Hollywood or science fiction novels like to depict, but until it does happen, I believe apocalyptic scenarios will always be a “must have” not only in science fiction but also in our media. It seems there will always be another prophesy…. There will always be another Y2k craze…. Well... unless the time actually comes I guess

In fear of this blog entry becoming more morbid,
This is me, signing out


PS. Below you will find a video of a documentary on 2012 as well as a trailer for the 2012 movie…


*note* this is only part one... there are two more parts that you can find on youtube :)


Nov 4, 2009

Aliens

Mankind has always looked to the heavens and pondered their own existence as well as the sheer mystery of our creation. As our technology advances we create things we have only dreamed of in science fiction. What is it that separates us from all of earth’s creatures? Unlike all other beings that dwell on this planet, some believe that we in fact the alien race. As we look to the sky, some are waiting for the giant insect “people” to come and devour and enslave our race. Then again, are these “aliens” peace-loving creatures who will save us from being war mongers or ourselves thus enlightening us to a new harmonious state of being? What if they have been here the whole time; visiting ancient societies, sharing their knowledge of the cosmos, building the pyramids? What if they are here with us now as our rulers and bosses and Teachers? We will explore these questions for the remainder of my blog. So hold tight and don’t let your imagination get the best of you.
A starship cruises through the galaxy faster than the speed of light, being pursued by the evil Gorganaughts, a.k.a the Gorgans. This lone starship is the last of its kind, and the Gorgan’s mission is to exterminate every race in its universe. The starship captain, whose name has been lost in the folds of time, knows his tiny ship won’t hold out forever at these mind boggling speeds, so he devises a plan of action. And he knows once the Gorgan ship gets a lock on his vessel, all will be dissipated in one photon ray! The captain has put to death two of his best crewmates, one a male and the other female. He has bottled their essence into a capsule and says a prayer to some symbolic deity you and I will never know. The time is at hand; the captain sees his goal ahead and readies his capsule. “But we’re too far to make our mark,” screams the more passionate crew members. But the captain, like stone, carries on. Suddenly Alarms sound and chaos erupts. The Gorgans have a lock! “We’re not close eno………” Words cut short by a photon explosion. The little ship, with the last of its kind, is now a ball of fire and evaporating particles. The Gorgans roar in laughter and speed away. But what’s this? Out of the debris, a self powered capsule, carrying the essence of a species, races towards the only living planet in this solar system. That planet will come to be known as Earth and that species to be known as humans.

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Maybe we’ve been here all along. It’s the insects who are the impostors. They are everywhere. Strategically placed around the earth so when the mother ship arrives with the giant race of Mantis like Man-devouring bugs, all the ants and bees will be in position for the attack. Perhaps this explains all the bees disappearing… How can Man mobilize a defense against such an onslaught? The bugs are everywhere, and now that their master race has come to earth all humans will be devoured.

Aliens have been thought of since as long as anyone can remember. It seems as time has gone on, the mental picture of what an alien is has changed as well. At first aliens were slimy bug eyed creatures. Aliens then became insect men or lizard people. Slowly, our concept of aliens has evolved so that an alien would look just like you or me because they now have the capability to disguise themselves…
Some believe aliens exists, some do not. Some believe in UFOs, some believe they are all lies. In my opinion the most fascinating of alien beliefs is the fact that they have visited earth before and the proof is all around us. The ancient astronaut theory holds that when man was in the Stone Age, they were not so ingenuitive. Aliens then came down from the skies. These primitive people could not truly understand what was happening, some believed them to be gods. These “gods” then shared the knowledge of everything with them. Giving them insight on how to build the pyramids of Egypt, gave insight on how to predict the future with the Mayan calendar, helped build stone hedge and the figures found at Easter island. Eventually these gods or aliens left. And all we have left as proof are the massive structures than man could not have possibly known how to create in that time. The same type buildings were being built all over the world during the same time; in Egypt, South America, and Mexico. The pyramid of Giza was built in 20 years…. This is still not even possible to do today with all our new technology…
I am not an alien enthusiast but I do not deny the idea that there might be something out there. I do not hold anything said about aliens to date as truth. I think the further you look into it the more questions you will think of… Either way the more I talk about aliens the more I will have to explain… IF you want to look into it your selves I found a history channel documentary that I found decently interesting. This is the first part of the documentary, the rest can be found via the related videos link once the video has ended.

this is me... signing out :)

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