Let’s take a step back on this Friday afternoon to discuss Mike.Sierra.Echo and Mesh – are they ‘hard science fiction?’ Why does it matter? What’s ‘hard sci-fi,’ anyway? Who cares about the answers to these questions.
Let’s answer the last question first, I stumbled upon TVTropes’ Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness page and they call out the big question there: “Speculative Fiction fanatics are always raving about how “hard” the science is in various stories—but it’s not like you can rub a story with a piece of quartz and see if it leaves a scratch on the plot. So what is “hardness” in SF? Why do some people want it? And how do we put a number to it?”
But Why Hard Scifi?
Interestingly, they never get around to answering the ‘why do some people want it?’ question. But, never mind. I like Linda Nagata’s answer: “it’s about the implications of science, technology, and engineering and how all of it affects people.”
Bingo. We had 22 years between the first gas-powered car in 1886 and the first mass-produced car by Ford in 1908. These days, we’re lucky if we have 22 hours or 22 days to cope with some new disruptive technology. Hard science fiction is our way of considering the implications of upcoming disruptions so that we have the opportunity to choose our response.
Now, back to the ‘Scifi Hardness Scale.’ This scale is interesting because it takes in all forms of ‘scifi,’ from ‘Star Wars,’ to ‘Real Life.’ We’re living in the 21st century with smart phones and robot vacuums, so we’re living in a scifi future every single day of the week! The question though, is how ‘hard’ is YOUR science fiction Jackson??
My Stories on the ‘Scifi Hardness Scale’
I didn’t think about it before now – but having read through the Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness, I found the find the ‘Speculative Science’ class of scifi, which is described as follows: “Speculative Science: Stories in which there is no “big lie”—the science of the tale is (or was) genuine speculative science or engineering, and the goal of the author to make as few errors with respect to known fact as possible. The first two books in Robert L. Forward‘s Rocheworld series and Robert A. Heinlein‘s The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress fall in this class.”
Further, one could argue that I’m falling closer to ‘Futurology’ since I’m extrapolating from current technology rather than inventing major new technologies or discoveries. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Martian is a brilliant example of ‘Futurology’ and yet, it focuses purely on the scientific challenge of returning Mark Watney to Earth in safety. Watney experiences a 21st-century version of a ‘survival character arc,’ but there isn’t much else to the story. Nor should there have been. It’s a great ride.
By constrast, Mike.Sierra.Echo and Mesh are focusing on something else with their protagonists. Like, ‘what are you learning from all this?’ Roman and Mike are both kids caught up in amazing circumstances, but they exist to learn and grow – they’re more than the camera through which we watch the movie. I learned my craft from people like Brad Bird and Robert Zemeckis, so I’m always looking to figure out what I want to say about life in my stories.
Yes, I Write Hard Scifi
But, still. My stories are ‘hard scifi.’ There, I said it! That feels good. Having spent years in envy of authors who could weave fantastic absurdities into emotional realities, I want my big stories – Mike.Sierra.Echo and Mesh – to give readers warm fuzzies along with cold, refreshing facts. We live in an exciting universe and I can’t wait to see what we discover!
I hope this discussion helps you understand what ‘hard scifi’ is and where my novels fall on that scale. ‘Hard scifi’ isn’t hard to read or hard to understand. If anything, it can be used like the wedge that cuts through years of ignorance, arrogance, and stubborn selfishness. Now, more than ever, we need to be ready to meet whatever comes next.
