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NOT using the
panel discussions of the most recent World Science Fiction Convention in San Jose,
C in August 2018 (to which I be unable to go (until I retire from education)),
I would jump off, jump on, rail against, and shamelessly agree with the BRIEF
DESCRIPTION given in the pdf copy of the Program Guide. But not today. This explanation
is reserved for when I dash “off topic”, sometimes reviewing movies, sometimes
reviewing books, and other times taking up the spirit of a blog an old friend of
mine used to keep called THE RANTING ROOM…
While
I have been taunted by John Scalzi (I can’t find the link anymore, but that’s not
a problem. It had to do with my opinion that there was dearth of Christians in
current science fiction because of a prejudgment on the part of the community.
It’s something I’ve been working to undo in my own writing, when I can, so the
issue isn’t one in my life anymore), it has nothing to do with how much I
respect his books.
As
I just picked up a copy of OLD MAN’S WAR to add to my library, it got to me to
thinking about my own writing. On my way home, I reflected that OMW was a new
concept, a new idea that catapulted Scalzi’s work into the reader’s eye and
granted him a platform for his ideas and ideals.
I
was puzzled when he said this in the article you can read if you follow the
link below: “…Old Man’s War cannot be accused of being breathlessly original,
either in concept or execution. I think that’s a fair enough assessment. To
speak of novel in musical terms, it’s best described as a variation on a theme
or an improvisational riff off a classic tune.”
I
would disagree.
Speculative
fiction, science fiction in particular, had been the literature of the young.
When old age or infirmity was mentioned, it was part of the story’s set up – in
other words, it was something to “cure”. In fact, this site (http://bestsciencefictionbooks.com/age-regression-science-fiction.php)
considers it a sub-genre of SF. On the one hand OMW is a about age-regression,
but rather than being the purpose of the storyline, it’s an event that intentionally
creates young bodies around the wisdom of age.
While
I’m hardly an encyclopedia of SF, a simple search of “Science Fiction that depicts
old people positively” gave me nothing. “Science Fiction and old people” got me
rejuvenation and OMW. “Science Fiction and the elderly” got me “10 of Science
Fiction's Most Depressing Futuristic Retirement Scenarios” (https://io9.gizmodo.com/10-of-science-fictions-most-depressing-futuristic-retir-5943496).
I’m half way through the March/April issue of ANALOG Science Fiction & Fact
(BTW – I’ve got a story that will be in the NEXT issue, May/June!) and I think
editor Trevor Quachri had a couple of themes running in this issue. One deals
with aging. In “Final Say” by Eric del Carlo has a look at with neural
stimulation, what might the last words of Alzheimer’s or dementia patients be
to their families? “Running the Gullet” by Vajra Chandrasekera has two old
friends reconnecting after a long life; then one goes in for a sort of
rejuvenation. What does his old friend do? That’s as far as I’ve read, so I don’t
know what comes next. But there you go.
Scalzi’s
word is that the elderly, with a biological makeover, can contribute to
society. In the case of OMW, I would argue that Scalzi hit on a new approach to
aging.
Given
that my dad passed away a bit more than a month ago, I guess I’m sensitized to
the issue of aging and “cures” for it. But I want to explore MORE than cures
for being old. I think that’s why the book, published in 2005, launched him onto
awards lists. It was ground-breaking, maybe in a way he couldn’t see as the
author, but it got the attention of plenty of others.
Scalzi’s
“message” was that the elderly didn’t NEED to get rejuvenated in order to be
important, he gave them a viable reason to not only be important, but to take a
vital role in the future of Humanity; and THAT was where he was, in fact, “breathlessly
original”.
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