Arthur C. Clarke must have been one hell of a poker player

I have always enjoyed games of strategy and tactics. I suppose that’s why I like a good hand of poker. 

 Arthur C. Clarke must have enjoyed strategy and tactics as well. Two of his short stories, Hide and Seek and Superiority are both built around S&T.

Hide and Seek (1949) is about using what you have to get the job done. It concerns a spy trying to evade capture in an almost hopeless situation.  The lone fugitive is well aware of his enemies superior technology and is able to use this knowledge to his advantage. The enemy is continually frustrated and baffled by the weaker opponent’s  tactics until finally giving up and leaving.  As in poker, the guy with nothing in his hand is able to win by keeping his cards close to his vest and bluffing his way to victory. Incidentally, there is also a surprising twist at the end that kind of tweaks the nose of stuffed shirts everywhere.

This allegory not only reveals Clarke’s tactical ability, it reflects his preference for the underdog as well. Since this story was written shortly after the second world war, I suppose you can extrapolate the events to that of the British and Axis early in the conflict. Think Battle of Briton.

Superiority (1951) is a lesson in poor planning and execution; you could say it is the antonym of  Hide and Seek. To use the poker analogy again, its like a player with a full house throwing in his cards hoping  to draw a straight flush.

The narrator is on trial for losing a war he should have won. He explains to the court how every strategy was thwarted by defective technology. It sort of reminds me of some CIO getting his butt reamed by the board of directors for deploying too quickly.

This is a humorous tale reminiscent of William Tenn’s Liberation of Earth. The biggest laugh is at the end.

As I am sure you can tell, I’m an admirer of Clarke’s. Most famous for his Space Odyssey series, which is a truly fantastic work, he also wrote great short stories. Hide and Seek along with Superiority are just two of them.

I know one thing for certain, I wouldn’t have played Texas Holdem with this guy.

Murray Leinster: Visionary, Prophet, Futurist

Murray Leinster’s 1946 short story A Logic Named Joe may have seemed quixotic at the time. However, it truly is amazing how closely it reflects the world today.

I first read this story in a collection put together by Issac Asimov in the mid-eighties, titled The Best Science Fiction Firsts. At the time the public internet didn’t exist. So, Asimov listed it as the first Scifi story to mention PC’s. If only Issac had lived to see just how accurate Leinster described not only computers, but the web, data centers, and a singularity type situation. 

In fifteen short pages the author tells the tell of a maintenance man  trying to track down a PC that has somehow become self-aware, and is causing a great deal of havoc, not only across the web, but in his personal life as well. The language is rather dated, understandably so, since it was written nearly seventy years ago. However, the story is well worth the read if you can get your hands on a copy.

Nebula Awards

A couple of weeks ago I was looking at the Nebula award nominees on io9. Most of these I hadn’t read. So, wanting to get some idea of what is considered good work by the powers that be of science fiction I picked a couple to go over. One is science fiction, the other fantasy.

2313 is a novel by Kim Stanley Robinson. It’s a good read. The plot drags a bit. He goes into a lot of detail, maybe too much. It presents a rather dark view of the future I don’t really care for. Overall, the story line is based on plausible science, which makes it hard science fiction. Robinson is a damn good writer. My issue is his strict adherence to known physics. If he would only consider doing more with hypothetical faster than light travel, exploration and the like, I would buy everything he writes.  I don’t regret spending the money. So, if KSR is your kind of Scifi writer the 10 bucks for the Kindle version is reasonable.

Ironskin by Tina Connolly. Fantasy is not my cup of tea. So, I’m probably not the best judge. However, there is good characterization, good plot building, overall good writing. Like I said though, just not what I like to read. 13 bucks for the Kindle download.

It will be interesting to see who wins in May.

Spielberg as Star Trek Director

Now that J.J.Abrams has committed to Star Wars over at Disney, it seems Paramount is left swinging in the wind with Star Trek. The suits at Paramount know that Abrams can’t put the effort into the project that is necessary to please fans of the first two movies, and assigning the task to underlings isn’t the same as doing it yourself. The solution: Reboot again. This time find someone with a passion for science fiction.

Abrams is perfect for the Star Wars directors chair. His style is more suited to the epic myth story than Scifi. Although Star Wars is considered science fiction by most, the reality is that Lucas intended it to be more like the Gilgamesh or King Arthur tales. He was greatly influence by Joseph Campbell and states that Star Wars was to be a “blend of mythology and technology” from the beginning. I think J.J.Abrams will make the best Star Wars ever.

Now for Star Trek. Think about it a few moments. Who is the best Scifi director of all time?  Who has the real passion and understands science fiction better than anyone else? Name   three of your favorite Scifi films, and I bet at least one was directed by Steven Spielberg. I know he has tons of money and many irons in the fire. However, Spielberg chooses his projects based on emotion. What could be more emotional than having the greatest Scifi director work on the greatest Scifi story. Sounds like a match made in heaven to me.

50’s SciFi Movies you never get enough of

Why do Adults read Science Fiction?

Most people think of anyone over fifteen that reads scifi as being some anti-social freak that spends his days dressed like Darth Vader, playing video games in his parents basement, and masturbating to internet porn in his spare time. Well…..that is true in some cases. However, most adults that read science fiction do so for the same reasons they read Thoreau, Hemingway, and Mark Twain. Because it allows you to go places, and do things that would otherwise be impossible.

The first time I read Walden it was like I was strolling along the shore having a conversation with my buddy Henry. In For Whom the Bell Tolls, I was fighting for a cause I believed in. When Captain Bixby shouted orders to the crew in Life on the Mississippi, I heard the men’s shoes hammer on the deck as they hurried to their stations. It’s the same thing with science fiction. A good writer can use his imagination to carry you to unexplored worlds. He can make you hear and feel the vibration of warp engines or sense the excitement of first contact.

Science fiction is just like any other genre, there is good and there is bad. Good scifi lets you use your imagination the same as good fiction of any sort. So, the next time someone gives you that “funny” look when you mention your latest read, just know they are probably an illiterate poser.

You’ll have to excuse me now. I need to have my Star Trek uniform dry cleaned and my Spock ears sharpened. Live long and …..whatever.