Science fiction literature and themes

Science Fiction

Is life better in the future? Marge Piercy and H.G. Wells give very different accounts of what life might be like in centuries to come. Piercy's is perhaps the most disturbing, because her novel, "Woman on the Edge of Time" gives a glimpse into the year 2137, a year in the not too distant future, and given the growing bio-technology field of today, her depiction of human life seems quite possible. Well's novel, "The Time Traveler" journeys to the year 802,701, and thus this future life seems rather implausible. However, both novels leave the reader to ponder issues of time dimensions, human nature and societal controls.

Wells begins his story with a group of gentlemen listening to the Time Traveller discuss the possibility of the fourth dimension of time as he shows them a miniature time machine he has built. When they return the next week, they see the Time Traveller stumble into the room, quite disheveled and thus begins his tale of the world in 802,701, in which frail creatures live in communal life style that is apparently free of the trials and worries of the present day. Although all seems perfect, the Time Traveller expresses concern that the Eloi seem lazy and not very intelligent. Wells may well have been making a statement concerning communism and the advent of technology, in that certain types of progress are not always good for the betterment of society, for comfort can breed ignorance and apathy.

On his second trip, the Time Traveller discovers an underground labor force, called the Morlocks, and likens it to the gap between the rich and poor in his own society, in which the wealthy live in large homes and the workers slave in factories and live in cramped quarters. However, in this world, the laborers have grown strong while the Eloi are now so weak that they have become prey for the Morlocks, thus the Eloi never venture out at night for fear of being captured.

Thus, this future world is a dystopia, and depicts what can happen if society does not stay alert to the consequences of progress. This is a commentary on both communism and capitalism, for although each has its positive points, but if left unchecked, either can become destructive.

Ed Morrow writes in "The Man Who Dreamed the Future: The imagination, prognostications, and politics of H.G. Wells," that Wells' novel, "posits a scientific advance, then explores its implications, in this case, a vision of degenerate humanity" (Morrow pp). Wells' story is about the destiny and ultimate extinction of humanity (Morrow pp). Morrow points out that Wells had concluded that humanity was in a race with disaster, that although technological progress was improving life, it was also heightening social conflict and as well as creating more powerful weapons of war (Morrow pp).

The Eloi had evolved from the upper idle class, were childish and weak, and lived in an Eden-type garden, while the Morlocks had evolved from the lower working class, and lived underground in darkness where they kept the machinery going that supported the surface paradise (Morrow pp).

And when the Time Traveller flees thirty million years into the far future, he finds the "attenuation of life on Earth to mere lichens whipped by snow and glimpses a tentacled creature thrashing in a red sea beneath a dim sun that has swollen to fill one-tenth of the sky" (Morrow pp).

Piercy's novel is about a 37-year-old welfare woman, Connie, who has been committed to a mental hospital where she is subjected to psychiatric treatments and lives without freedom and choices. Connie begins to communicate with Luciente from the year 2137, who lives in a communal society where survival is not dependent upon money, and no one is defined as male or female, but are pers. This world seems to be the complete opposite of Connie's, for Luciente appears to have freedom and safety. The pers live in the beautiful and serene town of Mattapoisett, where people always return to nature what they take from it, seem to believe only in themselves. Luciente becomes Connie's escape from the hell of her own abusive life, from her imprisonment.

Connie does not only communicate with Luciente, she is also able to visit her world through mental channeling, a sense of opening her mind which allows her to see things as they really are. In Mattapoisett, gender and ethnicity are not issues, there are no gender roles, men and women share all the work, and men are actually about to suckle the young, while women work in the fields and fight wars. Because there are no gender roles, love is shared by anyone who respect each other, in other words no one classed as homosexual or heterosexual, there are no boundaries concerning love.

Mattapoisett is self-sufficient, has no excess noise, infectious diseases, or pollution, and everything is recycled. Yet, this utopian society is not the only society that exists, for the pers must deal with a dystopian society, one that Piercy uses to portray the outcome for today's society if it continues unchecked. For it will be one of waste, pollution, violence, patriarchal, and totalitarian. It is basically the negative aspects of today's society magnified. In this dystopian society, every aspect of life is controlled, just as every aspect of Connie's life is controlled in the hospital. Connie is fighting for her freedom, just as the pers are fighting for theirs.

The citizens of Mattpoisett use their energy for creating fulfilled lives. This emotional well-being is instilled in them from birth. Adults nurture and trust their children, have faith in them, thus the children grow up independent. In fact the entire village minds the young, allowing them to learn from different adults throughout their childhood. Mattapoisett is actually one huge extended family, the true communal utopia. As children become self sufficient and take on societal responsibilities, they are allowed to rename themselves if they so choose.

Piercy's novel has many levels and meanings. It not only depicts the good and bad of society in the future, but on deeper levels, it portrays spirituality and the human soul. Connie is a prisoner of a dispassionate society, who uses and abuses her. Her escape to Mattapoisett allows her to see what life can be like, much like people who claim to have crossed to the "other" side and experience lessons from spiritual guides who teach the true meaning of being human, and that true meaning is love. That is why Mattpoisett is a utopia, because everyone is allowed to love and respect freely with limitations.