Thoughts on Sci-Fi and Fantasy
So, for the past few months I've been writing a sci-fi story called The Eiden Heresy. In that time I've had the opportunity to explore a genre I haven't and it's been very enriching. One thing I have noticed though, from a writing perspective, is that Sci-Fi tech and Fantasy magic operate very similarly. To the point they can merge into one at times. In some media magic operates as a form of physics and engineering, with Arcane and Full Metal Alchemist being a good example of that. So I'm going to expound on my thoughts here.
The primary thought I've had is that Fantasy and Sci-fi as settings, merely alter the aesthetics of what is essentially the same thing. The tech we see in Sci-FI, and the magic seen in Fantasy, are essentially the unrealistic solutions to unrealistic problems within a story. By which I mean in a more grounded work of fiction such as office place romance, problems are realistic. Missing a bus is a realistic and potentially disastrous problem, gets you in trouble at a job you need to pay rent after all. Whereas in Sci-fi and Fantasy, the potential solutions to these realistic problems are so numerous they don't register as issues. A good example is in the picture above, an actual problem in a Fantasy setting is the approaching horde of skeletons. A solution to that is to wave your hands and chant in forgotten tongues to throw some lightning. In a Sci-fi setting, the image below offers an example of a problem which might be faced. The need to genetically engineer to flora to survive on an alien world is solved by observing complex strings of data and constructing specific machines. Both are unrealistic solutions to the problems faced. One requires you know the lightning throwing spell, the other that materials for the tech are available. Functionally, magic and tech are both the solutions to problems found within a story they only differ in their aesthetic. There's a continuum along which we can place the futuristic tech in Star Trek, magical science as found in Arcane, and the magic of shows like Merlin.
The point of the tech we see in shows like Star Trek, is not necessarily to ask how it works. That can be fun and interesting to discuss obviously. However in my view the point of these problem solving devices is to make audiences go, "wow it'd be so cool to have that". These pieces of fiction allow us to wonder what it would be like to have these fantastic solutions to little problems. It also prompts us to consider how we tackle the larger ones. The horde of skeletons sent by the Lich King who is at war with a kingdom of light and the need to colonise a distant world because of the consequences of climate change. These are far bigger problems we can't consider in everyday life because those small problems hold us back from it. Then we ask, well what about fiction like that? Where there are unrealistic problems without unrealistic solutions.
Zombie movies, books, or games are a great example of this type of story. Characters have no means to tackle the number of undead, and need to just avoid them where possible. However because of this something interesting happens where conflict actually arises from realistic issues such as tense group dynamics, resource shortage, or illness rather than Zombies. A similar issue happens in Dystopic fiction occasionally (though living in the UK at the minute I am cautious to call a Dystopia unrealistic). In such fiction, you'll find that because these large authoritarian governments or capitalist hellscapes are basically impossible to challenge directly problems are more realistic. We have characters who need things like obtaining enough followers on twitch to feed themselves, avoiding zones where you're likely to be attacked by authorities, tension between characters living in a stressful circumstance. The place where Dystopian fiction typically differs is that characters will gradually work towards finding a solution or changing things after encountering potential allies. Not always, but usually in early books there would be very little direct confrontation in with the corporations or government which created this Dystopia. Not always though, there's plenty of variation and many examples like 1984 where direct confrontation never occurs.
On the opposite end of the spectrum we have unrealistic solutions to realistic problems. Here we tend to see the "rules" of tech and magic get very clearly defined as these works of fiction explore solutions we can't have to problems we do. Strangely we tend to start dealing with economic or sociological problems after a while, because all these new solutions have extensive knock on effects. Alternatively we get shows like Little Witch Academia in which the unrealistic solutions are less accessible than the realistic ones which are almost as effective. Which can explain why the magic or tech is not used widely as its only useful in dealing with unrealistic issues for which there are no realistic solutions. I'll admit the whole unrealistic solutions, realistic problems thing is a bit more widespread in anime.
With all this you might ask where my fiction falls into it. The Eiden Heresy is a Sci-fi novel set on an alien world with living energy beings called Eidolons. Humanity went there 2000 years ago, there was a war, and a pocket colony of humans still survives. Their government operates on a basis of prestige where the more famous and respected you are the more political power you wield. Which forces the King to hear you and listen to legal reforms you demand. They use semi-futuristic technology which was either rediscovered or reverse-engineered from the wreckages of their space ships. However those outside of affluent areas usually only possess technology equivalent to the 1910s. This is partially a means of the nobility maintaining control and because powering such technology requires an Eidolon be captured. So I'd say the interesting thing about that in regards to what I'm discussing is that some people have those unrealistic solutions while others don't. There's a disparity in this society which creates a lot of conflict between different characters. Many of whom have their issues with the powers that be.
Anyway this is all just my opinion as a writer and person who wrong constantly. I'd love to know what you all think.
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