Jay Knickerbocker
Dr. White
LITR 4632 summer 2001
Mid-term

Signing up for Literature of the Future I believed like most other students that I was signing up for a sci-fi studies class. To my surprise, the class was far from just reading and discussing sci-fi books. Literature of the Future addresses heavy questions inside the human soul; by this I mean it forces you to think about what you believe your future has waiting for you. Most classes I have had in college up to Literature of the Future never invited different schools of thought, just one view and one outcome. This restrictive thinking was never very challenging, nor exciting, but Literature of the Future is something every man, woman, and child thinks about everyday whether they know it or not. People always question the future in one fashion or the other, but since everyone has a different viewpoint no one ever gets a chance or wants to have stimulating conversations about it.

People see the universe as one big story that is unfolding before their eyes. As a result, "narrative" steps in to make sense and relate the story in a fashion everyone can grasp. People need these stories because of the basic human need to know. People always need some direction in life or something to feed off, narratives fuel that inert need. Robert Fulford related that need by saying, "Children grow into adults by learning stories, and so do nations and communities." People have always like a good story, which could explain the popularity of the Bible, but people rarely think about all the other different ways a story can unfold.

There are three main narratives with respect to the future: apocalyptic, evolutionary, and alternative. With these three views comes the temptation to follow only one; in fact, they overlap and intertwine with one another. Yet the three embody three solidly different forms of time. The apocalyptic narrative sees time as a linear plot that has one beginning, one middle, and one solid end. A good example of this is the Holy Bible, in which Genesis is the beginning of the story and Revelation is the only end in store. People tend to like these kinds of stories for the simple fact that it gives life a predictable and favorable path, much like going on a road trip with a map for guidance. Not too many people like to think of life as an impromptu trip with no real certain destination and no set path for getting there.

The evolutionary narrative is very parallel to the way things operate in our world today with the cycle of boom and bust in the business world. But for the most part the evolutionary narrative gives way for change and a never-ending cycle of time forever looping around doing away with the old to make way for the new. This is a very familiar concept still for modern people, like as said before about the cycle of business, but also the mentality of the new world we live in, having the eat-or-be-eaten philosophy of living.

Lastly, the alternative future narrative. This narrative is very hard to hold down for the simple reason that it leaves room for almost anything to take place. In an alternative future narrative the future is not set nor does it loop on one single line of time. The example in "Mozart in Mirrorshades" best notes this best by describing the timeline like a tree trunk branching in many directions with every choice made leading to a different future, each total unaware of the other.

With three different types of narratives to choose from it would be easy to state that certain narratives are only this or that, but the truth is many encompass many different schools of thought. For example, in Parable of the Sower, the temptation is there to file the story under apocalyptic tales, but the truth is the story meshes with other narratives as well. Parable of the Sower could be seen to follow the same path as the Bible with Lauren being expelled from her idea of Eden. The apocalyptic narrative follows a linear timeline with a beginning, middle, and an end; both Parable of the Sower and the Bible follow these time lines, but one cannot limit Parable of the Sower to a purely apocalyptic tale. The story also relishes parts of a evolutionary tale having to do with change. By Lauren interpreting God as change the story is now also incorporating evolutionary ideas juxtaposed with the apocalyptic ideas. The story depicts a world that is in the process of changing into something new and quite different from the old. The killing off of characters that embody the old life, for example Lauren’s father can be seen as very evolutionary because it follow Darwin's logic of survival. Lauren’s father was what was left of the old world and he was in capable of change, so he did not make the cut. On grounds such as these, the narrative can now be seen as evolutionary because it deals with life in a dynamic universe. In a static universe, such as one depicted in a purely apocalyptic narrative the old would not have to change because everything would not require new adaptations. Furthermore, Stone Lives can be seen as a purely evolutionary tale, but it embodies apocalyptic thinking as well. In the story Stone must adapt to his surrounding by changing to meet the environment around him. This undertaking involves his new eyes and the training to use them. All these things symbolize an evolution into a new man, but the apocalyptic flare lingers in the background. Apocalypse means to reveal, which was what happened with Stone’s true mother being revealed to him in the end. Furthermore, much like the chosen ones in the book of Revelations, Stone is pulled from a world of torment into a more favorable world.

In the Time Machine, the reader is introduced to the possibility of time travel, which gives man the ability to move backwards and forwards through time. This book raises many issues about the future, mainly is it written or being written? In addition, what kind of narrative does this book embody? With the traveler going forward in time the book would suggest an apocalyptic narrative, due to he only traveled one path forward in time. In addition, since he was able to travel forward into time this suggests another apocalyptic element, which is the future is already written. If the future is not written then how could someone travel into it? Conversely, the narrative could also be seen as evolutionary because the traveler encounters issues with man’s evolved state. In the story he discovers that humans have changed into two quite different beings. This change in human nature suggests that humans evolved to suit a new world, thus an evolutionary narrative. Time travel can also be shown to depict alternative futures because the question is raised; if time travel were possible what would happen to the present if he past were changed?

The stories on alternative futures depict a future that is not written, but has many possibilities. In Mozart in Mirrorshades, the story shows how time travel is used to go back and exploit the past. In exploiting the past the present is not harmed because with every change of the past a new branch of time splits of to form a new time line. This kind of narrative cannot be really seen as apocalyptic, due to the fact there is no real beginning, middle, and an end. The true beginning is different in all timelines, thus is true with the middle and end. The alternative future lends itself to free will. The characters in an alternative narrative can choose any destiny. For example, in "The Garden of Forking Paths" the spy chooses to kill Albert to set off the events to lead to the newspaper headlines. Also, in Thomas Parker's presentation of Terminator 2, the woman scratches "no fate" into the wood signifying that time can be diverted to a different path.

In conclusion, the stories of the future cannot be easily lumped into one category or the other, but rather seen as a tasteful mix of some or all. The question raised by these narratives on if the future is written or not is one that is easily answered. The future according to the book of Revelations is written in stone. Also with the concepts raised in the Time Machine, how can one travel forward in time without it being written first. This act of time travel in a world where time is being written as it unfolds would be like driving a car with no road to drive on. Many other stories leave this door open to wide debate; for example, the Terminator movie where the main character can change the future of our world by destroying the problem before it starts. The real problem is in the fact that the issue is a cultural viewpoint. The person who is asked if the future is written or not will responded based on his or her upbringing and the views surrounding that belief. Asking a Catholic if the future is written or not will produce the answer "written." This is because of their upbringing on the Bible. This is where literature of the future takes on a cultural stance because people will always identify with what suits them and their beliefs best.

log

9 start

10-12:15 family problems (not really great stuff happens around this house)

12:15ish to end