How would Fantasy survive a Sci-Fi Future?

[Prince of Spires]

Fantasy will have to change as more of the fantastical becomes real, but fantasy will suffer less from it than some other genres. Two examples where this scenario has already played out is in Sci-fi and in James Bond.

James Bond movies used to be about a bad-ass guy with cool gadgets saving the day. But over the years, the cool gadgets have been overtaken by gadget reality. There's one where a self-driving car is a major plot device, watches that do all sorts of cool stuff and so on. But many of the gadgets they came up with over the years have been overtaken by reality. Having a computer in our pocket that's over 100.000 times more powerful then what was used to put people on the moon has had that effect. As a result, the most recent Bond movies have had to change. Yes, there's still some gadgets in there. But it's more about the personal struggles and big CGI action shots then about those gadgets.

Same with Sci-Fi. If you watch star trek, even from the 90's, then some of the Sci-Fi is in the rockets they're flying. But just as much of it is in the technology they use to power those ships. Doors and elevators activated by voice commands, tablets, communicators, touch screen interfaces, computers that listened to your voice commands and did stuff. Those all contributed to the Sci-Fi feel of Star trek. And all of those have been overtaken by reality. As a result, Star trek has had to search for more fantastical Sci-Fi elements in newer series.

The effect of both of these is that the genre's have had to change. What the stories are about has changed and what the focus is has changed. This will also happen in fantasy as fantastical stuff becomes more real. The genre will change and will shift the emphasis from some elements to others. But people will remain interested in a hero who fights against the odds to overcome some goal.

 

[The Dark One]

Agree with most of that, although I don't know that Star Trek has become more fantastical. I'm talking about the movie reboot. Definitely darker...heavier...far more intricately conceived, and generally better than the past, but still based in science.

 

[Miles Lacey]

Why would fantasy be impacted by advances in science and medicine?. Most fantasy is set in a pre-industrial society where spells and potions can cure diseases and injuries, enchantments can turn a piece of wood into a weapon of mass destruction and where dragons frying your arse is an occupational hazard if you're a knight or heroine. It doesn't usually need to be scientifically accurate to be popular..

Science fiction, on the other hand, can date very badly with advances in science. This was brought home to me when I listened to an audio book of H G Wells' The War of the Worlds. What made the story so powerful when it was written was that it wasn't beyond the realms of possibility with what was known about the universe at the time. Even as late as the 1930s an updated version of the same story caused panic in many parts of the eastern United States. I found it hard to suspend disbelief because of how outdated and simply wrong the science was in the book.

 

[Maker of Things Not Kings]

Much like it's hard to envision where the future will take us in technology it's hard to see where literature may drift as we move forward. Still, even in your future vision where it would be possible to live out some of our fantasy desires, I don't think that fantasy will fall out of favor, though I can see it continuing to evolve and change as we move forward. Will there still be princess and dragon stories in a thousand years? Perhaps, but the genre will likely evolve with culture and society and perhaps lose some of those old standbys as new ones rise to take their place.

If we are talking the sort of advancements you have mentioned, we are indeed thinking hundreds of years or more into the future. By comparison fantasy, as a genre and as it exists here and now, would be a mere toddler along that extended time line. That is to say, there will be growing pains going forward, I am sure.

Though I do imagine fantasy will, by that time, be broken down into several hundred more subcategories, if only for cerebral-direct marketing. lol

Here's why I think fantasy will remain in tact. I think we all may lose sight of the fact that our speculative future scenarios for advancement are amazing and mind-boggling to us at this point and time because we aren't anywhere close to realizing them yet. Just as the idea of electricity, cars or reaching the moon would have been two hundred years ago. Once they arrive, those born into those new worlds will have no idea of what life before was truly like. we can read about it, even live it for a weekend or more, but we cannot really live in a world where it was the norm. And once any advanced scenario becomes the norm, becomes a status quo, there comes with it the desire for escape.

And while science and tech will advance and evolve, so will, it seems likely, the worst of our world. At least, that's my take on it because I have no evidence that equates any advancement/progress with happiness, equality, peace and overall satisfaction in people's lives. We seem to have far higher rates of depression, anxiety and people feeling disconnected and ostracized despite all the supposed advances in medicine and technology that were meant to make us feel the opposite. Fantasy has always been a filler for those who feel left out on the fringes of society. Myself fincluded.

In an even faster paced, ever more competitive future, it's hard to fathom there wouldn't remain a need for escape from that or any advanced world where the fringes will only be more likely to grow and expand and fragment further. A desire for something "other". As long as that is true, there will be a place for fantasy literature I think.

And while I can see the world advancing towards making fantasy into reality, it wouldn't happen unless it becomes a far more lucrative endeavor worldwide. (and yes, it might!) I don't know. We have roleplaying venues and cosplay which holds a tiny place in that area right now. As I type this though, the idea of a story centered around people who've signed up for a ten year long LARP with real fantasy aspects like lab grown dragons now tickles my story bones.

Our world will change/evolve and fantasy, as a genre, must and will change just as it has over the last fifty years. What that will look like far in the future is more of an unknown to me than IF it will exist. I think it will. I find today's fantasy far more interesting, more inclusive and more accessible than the fantasy of "old" so I'm excited to watch it evolve over my remaining years as it grows.

As for tech? Eh, not so much. lol

 

[psychotick]

Hi Sheila,

I tend to agree with you about theoretical physics - they do seem to be building entire magical castles based on mathematical models supported on sand. There's very few facts to form a bedrock. But it's still different to magic in that there is a theoretical framework and a logical basis even if it's supported by very few facts / data. That's why I wouldn't class it as Harry Potter.

And yeah, you're right about Alcubierre. I'm not sure why I thought he was French. But his version of the warp drive does provide some - extremely limited - support for Trek's drive. The main problem with it as I understand it, is that the energy requirements for it to work are literally astronomical. But if you want Harry Potter magic in Trek go to the transporter. Even if it could possibly be made to work, you'd still be killing one person at one end and creating another at the other. It's the duplicates paradox.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Vaporo]

The main problem with it as I understand it, is that the energy requirements for it to work are literally astronomical.

I believe the latest iteration of the math has reduced it to the equivalent of a few atom bombs' worth of energy. So impractical, but plausible. I believe that the big problem is that the physics that make it work requires an with negative mass in order to work. Nobody's knows if negative mass is even physically possible, so until we can make some in a laboratory, or utilize some other physical effect to achieve the same thing, it's pure theory.