In recent times, the term “science fiction” has been nearly synonymous in popular culture with oppressive dystopias, apocalyptic end-times and struggles against technologically superior foes. From “The Hunger Games” and “1984” to “The Stand” and “The Last of Us,” our view of the future takes a turn for the grim when writers find the present wanting and imperfect.
Speculative fiction works as a mirror to our psyche: When things are looking up, there are often more optimistic views. When times are grim or uncertain, a certain pessimism works its way into our stories and media. Imagining a future means projecting out from the present, and when the present isn’t good (from the author’s point of view), well, the future can’t be much better.
However, to allow oneself to become embroiled in literary fatalism can have knock-on effects; we are what we read, after all. Even in times where things seem grim, and our stories follow suit, there are writers and books that refute, abjure, and offer alternatives to the downward spiral. Hope springs eternal, even in the face of nihilism. If you need a message that things won’t be so bad, an alternative worth working towards, or just the science fiction equivalent of a warm cup of cocoa to raise your spirits, try these books on for size, and imagine a better future for us all.
Saving the World with the Power of Friendship (And Science): “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir
A planet-threatening crisis. An extraterrestrial threat to all life on Earth. A desperate mission to the far-flung stars. And a man who hasn’t a clue what’s going on, or who he even is, really. Weir’s third novel finds Dr. Ryland Grace aboard an interplanetary starship called the Hail Mary (I’m kicking myself for not catching the “Hail Mary, full of Grace” pun until embarrassingly recently), with a real inconvenient case of amnesia, no crewmates left alive, and a destination lightyears away from home. He must discover why he was sent to Tau Ceti, figure out how to save Earth, and make an unexpected friend along the way.
The inspiration for this blog, “Project Hail Mary” (and its movie adaptation) has proven inoculative in its optimism. In a field of dreary, oppressive science fiction, a story that, while perilous and fraught at times, assures us that by working together, truly connecting with others, and using the tools and knowledge we have at our disposal, we can move mountains. In a world where anti-intellectualism is disconcertingly prevalent, this is a warming notion to hold close to your chest.
The Future is There if We Can Grasp It: “Ministry for the Future” by Kim Stanley Robinson
Optimism does not mean an irrational rejection of what is bad in the world. For some things, even an optimistic outlook has to reckon with inevitable, irreversible changes. Such is the way in the subgenre of climate fiction; Climate change has moved the needle enough that to not reckon with the impact of the current trends is to depart from realism. Just so with “Ministry for the Future.”
Established as an expansion of the Paris Agreement, the Ministry for the Future is an international effort to guide mass decarbonization and the slowing and reversal of polar ice melt. Head of the Ministry Mary Murphy, struggling to convince the banks to back a carbon recapture reward program, finds herself seeking more direct courses to her goals. Preparing to start off-books projects to accelerate the program, she is shocked to find such a subversive program already exists within and without her purview. Meanwhile, Frank May, traumatized by mass death from the climate disaster, struggles with his demons and the ones he holds responsible. A political thriller featuring ecoterrorism, intrigue and making manifest the looming specter of climate change may not sound optimistic, but through there is (again) the thread of cooperation leading to a successful future, despite the dangers.
Post-Industrial Meaning: “A Psalm for the Wild-Built” by Beck Chambers
A list of optimistic science fiction would be remiss to not include the queen of cozy sci fi Becky Chambers. While a great many of her books would fit in this blog (and in fact are found in the accompanying booklist), none captures the philosophy of serene optimism more than “A Psalm for the Wild-Built.”
In a society divorced from the ever-hungrier maw of industry, Dex serves a humble yet important role: an itinerant tea monk, traveling from community to community, among cities reclaimed by nature and solarpunk technology, offering both a cup of tea and an ear. They hear the woes of people that should want for nothing in this utopia, and yet still find themselves restless. Dex knows the feeling well, feeling discontent themself. Their course of life changes, though, when they chance upon a robot, whose like has not been seen in generations after they left the factories and walked into the woods. What follows is a tranquil debate of the question: “What do people truly want?”
A quick, warm, and erudite novella that grapples with purpose once the bigger problems have been solved, this Hugo-award-winning work fills the mind with a warm akin to the tea its main character serves.
In search of better worlds and ways such as these? Check out my booklist of more optimistic science fiction reads. Turn your eyes towards the stars, and let the burdens of today melt away in the promises of brighter tomorrows.
