SF and aliens

[warshipadmin]

At first it seems obvious that SF is about aliens. And yet, over 100+ years, things have changed, not very surprisingly.

Originally aliens were often BEMs (Bug Eyed Monsters) which behaved in various fairly predictable ways, not exactly human, but Terran at least. The last of these I read was Footfall (1985), where the space elephants in elevator shoes behave like herd animals, pretty much throughout. On a slightly less dull excursion OSC's piggies were at least comprehensible. As John Campbell said in exasperation, give me aliens who don't think like humans. I think we should extend that to Terrans.

Then we move onto the aliens who behave in ways we cannot understand. Of course if their motivations remain unknowable then it will probably be a dull book, so you need some resolution. Arrival is a good example, as perhaps is Annihilation (two films I will rewatch, I never got the ending of the latter). 2001 probably falls into this. A good novel on this is Embassytown by Melville. The motivations of the Xeelee in Stephen Baxter's books are mostly a mystery until it turns out that spoilers await.

And finally we have humans or humanoids which do not behave in a way we can understand (or at least like). I suppose this has been around forever- the Eloi and the Morlocks, many human cultures, The Moon Mask by Jack Vance 1961 (a damn sight better than Footfall), Ann Leckie's Ancillary justice universe, and Stephen Baxter's creepy ant-colony people in Coalescent etc.

Why did I write this? Because I am hate-reading Footfall.

[Craiglxviii]

I rather enjoyed Footfall…

[MikeKozlowski]

I rather enjoyed Footfall…

...Likewise. Some of it was a reach, but overall pretty good. Now - will Amazon/MGM please pick up The Mote In God's Eye?

Mike

[Craiglxviii]

I rather enjoyed Footfall…

...Likewise. Some of it was a reach, but overall pretty good. Now - will Amazon/MGM please pick up The Mote In God's Eye?

Mike

Oh YEAH

[Nathan45]

The Color out of Space is my favorite Lovecraft story, largely due to just how alien whatever the entity in the story is.

[jemhouston]

I rather enjoyed Footfall…

...Likewise. Some of it was a reach, but overall pretty good. Now - will Amazon/MGM please pick up The Mote In God's Eye?

Mike

Oh YEAH

Just have the team from Fallout do it. I'm not sure I'd trust Hollywood to do it.

[Calder]

Why did I write this? Because I am hate-reading Footfall.

I will admit one of my own picadillos I hate is when a creative work is created that celebrates their own group. It doesn't matter if that is a movie celebrating Hollywood, a novel celebrating authors, or a SCIFI book where science fiction authors are better scientists than actual real scientists. All of them feel like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

[warshipadmin]

Yeah the fan-service in Footfall is one of my gripes.

[gtg947h]

I found Footfall entirely forgettable except for the ending.

Now - will Amazon/MGM please pick up The Mote In God's Eye?

Don't break my heart like that...

[Nik_SpeakerToCats]

Enduring problem is that the body-shape is seriously limited by the operator.
eg Japanese Anime and 'super-kids' series are hilariously 'Guy in Rubber Suit' or mo-capped.

Human joints just gotta bend certain ways.
Unless you go to seriously sophisticated animatronics or have eg a high-amputee as operator...

( On the Gripping Hand, there are work-arounds using Myo-electric pick-ups, which let people learn to control 'smart' prostheses or bypass damaged spines etc )

By the way, did I re-post my off-beat 'Game, Set & Match', from previous board, which explores limits of myo-electric augmentation ?

[Craiglxviii]

Enduring problem is that the body-shape is seriously limited by the operator.
eg Japanese Anime and 'super-kids' series are hilariously 'Guy in Rubber Suit' or mo-capped.

Human joints just gotta bend certain ways.
Unless you go to seriously sophisticated animatronics or have eg a high-amputee as operator...

( On the Gripping Hand, there are work-arounds using Myo-electric pick-ups, which let people learn to control 'smart' prostheses or bypass damaged spines etc )

By the way, did I re-post my off-beat 'Game, Set & Match', from previous board, which explores limits of myo-electric augmentation ?

No, but I remember it well and I would love to read it again- along with any more of your “back catalogue”!