The article I wrote for the October/November issue of Asimov’s is online. I interviewed theoretical physicist Michio Kaku and we talked about things that are almost possible.
There are a lot of things that pull folks to science fiction, but probably the biggest draw comes because it makes impossible things seem possible. Who wouldn’t want to travel to distant stars or back in time? Aren’t there times when being invisible would be handy? Given a choice, I’d teleport instead of mucking about with the average commute.
But the interesting thing about some of the best science fiction is that the science in it doesn’t stay fiction for long. Remember Jules Verne and the Nautilus or the communicators on Star Trek? These fictional devices are part of our everyday world because science doesn’t stand still. It makes you wonder which of today’s science fiction tropes are tomorrow’s reality.
You can read the entire article at Asimov’s Thought Experiments.
