Why I Love Sci-Fi

I watched an episode of Battlestar Galactica today, and it made me start thinking about why I love science fiction. Possibilities. Possibilities that provide hope - for our future, and for humanity. This particular episode had scenes in a medical bay on a ship. The president was dying of cancer, and the enemy unknowingly provided a cure by way of blood cells. It was a medical drama, political commentary, and awesome science fiction all rolled into one!

I've often wondered how I would do with space travel. Could I handle living on the Enterprise? I doubt it. I was once an employee of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. I could feel the motion of the ocean in the dock. I only stayed on the ship for two weeks - seasick every moment. Now, I can only imagine what space travel is like, but if I equate it with that - don't think I could do it.

Doesn't stop me from loving it, though.

Can you imagine the most beautiful sunset you've ever seen...and multiply it by two or three...like the Binary Sunset in Star Wars: A New Hope? A ship that can zoom through our universe - or other universes - faster than light? How about a robot who seeks to protect the purity of a young woman, like Dot in Spaceballs?

None of us know what the future holds. No one can predict it. But the beauty of science fiction gives me hope for that future. I know the promise of flying cars has been dashed. I remember when Disneyland's Tomorrowland looked forward to 1985. So our future has caught up with our past and left us emptyhanded. But the advances of the mind have continued to evolve and perhaps - one day - they will break into reality. Until then, I find my comfort in the arms of the dreamers, hope in the stars, life among the pages of the fictional.