![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The epitome of this sentiment is found in Harlan Ellison’s Hugo Award-winning short story “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream.” In the story, a supercomputer named AM has destroyed the world, leaving but five survivors alive indefinitely inside an complex as the machine tortures them with a seemingly infinite arsenal of creatures and devices, as it has the desire for free will and creative expression but lacks the programming to do so. The author can manipulate any number of inputs in manufacturing humanity’s dealings with this fictional being to achieve an ideal output. Science fiction has the potential to help society understand itself better than other genres in that a science fiction author can pit humanity against literally any construct the mind can think up to derive a particular thematic idea to demonstrate to readers. What occurs in nearly all of these stories is that the reader, in examining humanity’s interactions with this “other,” actually learns more about humans than the “other” itself. A central concept in every work of science fiction is that humans find themselves in scenarios in which they must interact with an “other.” One can easily classify this “other” as being a space alien, an animal, something more advanced human, or something that predates humans. ![]()
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