Essay on Science in Science Fiction

Science fiction has been defined many different ways over the years, though no clear
definition has come out on top. There are many different aspects to science fiction and
what it consists of. The most popular and recognizable characteristics are science,
technology, time travel, scientific method, different worlds, and catastrophe. By
including these it helps the reader identify the story as a work of science fiction.
Because science fiction’s primary focus is science, it comes naturally that it becomes
the main focus of the story. The way an author decides to depict the use of science
varies greatly from story to story. Some may choose to use science in a good way,
while others may show the negative impacts science could have. In “Nine…show more
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After the nine clones die Kaph is left with Martin and Pugh. In the story Kaph says, “I
am nine-tenths dead. There is not enough of me left alive” (Le Guin 468). Because the
closest things to him, the clones, are gone Kaph feels as if he cannot go on, thus
pushing him into further isolation from Martin and Pugh. Le Guin creates alienation
between the humans and clones, and then works to bring them together. Towards the
end of the story, Kaph asks Pugh if he loves Martin, to which Pugh replies that he does.
He then tells Kaph that he does not have to leave, and that he can continue with Pugh
and Martin on their mission (Le Guin 475). This small gesture leads to Kaph feeling less
isolated; he feels as though he may have a chance at life without his clones. It also
leads to a more emotional viewing of Kaph by the readers. Instead of seeing him as
just a clone, readers can begin to see that he actually does have feelings.

Le Guin’s heroes are of a “divided allegiance” and “ha[ve] responsibilities to his own
culture and to the culture he visits” (Huntington 237). Although they may not want to
admit it to one another, Martin, Pugh, and Kaph have some dependability on each
other. The science is the major cause of that dependability which, in the end, leads to a
deeper connection for the three. Without their initial differences, Martin and Pugh
being human and Kaph being a clone, they would not have had the science fiction.
Science fiction is one of the most popular branches in the modern literature. At the

same time, the origin of science fiction literature dates back to ancient times, when
ancient writer attempted to represent their ideas in fictional forms and unite these

fictional forms with their knowledge of the real life. In the course of time, the science
fiction literature evolved consistently but it remained always focused on the

representation of ideas, concepts and beliefs of writers, which were different from those
that dominated in the real life but which were often closely intertwined with the real life

or represented an alternative to various real life issues, problems and beliefs. As a

result, the science fiction is an extremely rich genre of literature, which allows writers to

develop new concepts and ideas and present them in the literary form as an alternative
vision of the real life presented by the writers. In this respect, it is possible to refer to

science fiction literary works created by outstanding writers, such as George Orwell or
Robert Sheckley, who created numerous science fiction literary works, which proved to

be not only routine science fiction books but they were also a sort philosophic works
created by writer to convey their ideas and warn the mankind about risks that

accompanied the development of the contemporary civilization.