The Mental States Required To Accept the Events of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Magical Realism.
...re, and more than a year for me. Computers think faster” (512). This is a perfect science fiction scenario: Justifying lapses in time by relating it to a computer’s superiority over the human mind. This idea would spark interest in any reader who would like to logically accept or debate the topic. I could see myself and my peers discussing the electronic and physical logic of the situation and developing our own conclusion as to whether the situation was rational. This is what it is all about, instigating interest in more technology and building on the technology that already exists. This is why technology is a common interest among science fiction readers. With this created technology comes the need for advanced vocabulary. Science fiction throws its readers into a world of new words and phrases that apply to this technology; Samuel Delany’s observation is that words and meanings can be extremely different in science fiction because of the context of the piece. As Varley’s work opens, the reader is quickly assaulted with words and phrases such as Medico, FPNA, Doppling, Holo-memory system, and the cube. While reading this essay one might say that some of the words look familiar, but one must also remember that just because the word is familiar does not justify a similarity in meanings between our world and that of the work. To a fan of science fiction, it is like a secret language that only “the worthy” can speak. Only those who have read the story can understand the conversation. It also brings a sense of the fantastic to the piece. What is better than creating a word only applicable in the story? With all of this in mind a common theme arises, technology. Love it or hate it, if you read science fiction it will be there in some way, shape, or form. As readers, we choose to embrace technology and let it drive us into the future towards an infinite number of possibilities. As our desires are eventually limited by the endless stream of technology, the craving for something that technology will never be able to give us is satisfied by fantasy. The boundaries are practically blown away with the introduction of fantasy. When Gaia lends her forces of earth, wind, water, and fire, when a deity or many deities rush in to assist at what seems to be a moment too late, or when someone is unable to control their own life because some unseen force, such as fate, guides them, then the lines of fantasy have been crossed. The desires of the mind, body and spirit are the powers that turn the events of the piece and bring an epic feel to the story. Readers relate to the characters as they embark upon a journey. This journey then fills the character with the necessary knowledge and abilities to overcome the opposing forces. In Wolfe’s “Golden City Far” two stories are immediately presented, one of William Wachter’s dream world and one of his everyday life. The dream world is a fantastic place where William escapes to in order to liven up his daily experiences. This reflects the idea that people need escape from life. In “Overdrawn at the Memory Bank” our character escaped through a form of virtual reality, here William actually constructs his dream world to keep the agony of life drowned out. The world that William creates is wonderful in many ways, all with respect to elements that create a desirable fantasy piece. The assistance of deities to the main character is present from the second dream onward. In the second dream William encounters a woman who, “was beautiful, and naked save for her hair; and her skin was as white as milk. In one hand, she held a shining yellow apple,” which is later identified as a form of knowledge (532). Wolfe takes this woman and draws in the ideas of mythology and religion by implying a relation between her and Aphrodite through the golden apple and also borrowing from the narrative of Genesis by mirroring the story of Eve offering Adam the forbidden fruit. Although the Biblical story of creation seems to be more widely accepted as truth, it still requires an open mind and a vivid imagination to understand all of the events that are said to take place whenever God created the universe. A reader or listener has to be able to set aside disbelief and accept that some all powerful god or being can make matter out of absence and then in turn create life out of this matter. Once the boundaries are set aside, these stories become addictive in respect to the idea that powers are not limited by technology. There is no end to what level someone’s abilities can be taken to next. Readers come back for more every time in expectance of a more supernatural being, a more godlike creature, or something not defined by sciences. One of these supernatural beings of the story is Shep, William’s dog who is able to talk to him. This dog is a prime example of an element of fantasy and why we read it. At this present time, communication with animals of any type is impossible and there is no evidence of technology solving this problem any time soon. In the story the solution was merely a kiss, a kiss from the beautiful woman who had offered William the apple earlier. A kiss solving the communication problem between man and beast seems absurd and far fetched to a reader who retains that disbelief. Again, this is what draws us into these stories, the fantastic, the supernatural, and the seemingly impossible subdued by effortless actions. Who would not want to be able to communicate with a dog, or any animal for that matter? How incredible would it be to be able to talk to a tree, a river, or even Gaia? These are all very possible things in fantasy and are usually key events in the progression of the story. There is also the use of fate as the force moving the main character in a direction that he, William, has no choice in. William develops into the hero, as the dream world and the real world merge into one place. In the beginning of the work William would never have been considered a hero or even brave, but his destiny was to rescue the girl and slay the evil monster. He had no choice in the matter. Even if he thought he was making a decision, destiny already made it for him and he was simply following the path that fate had laid out for him. To consider the idea that someone or something shapes our lives and decides our direction for us is unbelievable, but the concept is attractive. What if there was? If our lives are already mapped out, then why do the gods bother allowing people to live out predestined events? Who or what is this force that is powerful enough to have that form of control over all beings? Stories like this bring up these types of questions and these questions can be answered in the stories. It’s a cycle of mystery and realization. It grabs the reader by the mind and shakes them up, distorting reality while drawing them back in for more. With all of the unseen forces being discussed, one cannot overlook the amazement instigated by the use of elements and natural powers in fantasy. A character can draw life energy from Earth and all the living things on it, call upon the powers of water to move a river, or even use runic letters and incantations to empower an inanimate object such as a sword or other weapon. This is invigorating in a sense that even when a character seems to have reached his or her limit of power, something else works its way in to shatter that limit and give the character the edge needed to overthrow the opposing forces. This empowerment of the sword that William is given just before going into the darkness to rescue Sue relates to the idea of powers derived from runic letters. There is an awesome feeling whenever William receives the swords and realizes its power. The power filling the swords is clearly depicted in the statement, “A glow like the light from blazing wood wrapped the blade of the sword as he pronounced lygros.” William wields a blade glowing and beaming with light which embodies the opposite element of what William is going to fight. Where would any such happenings seem possible? It se...