Many people consider Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to be the first novel that can be concretely classified as science fiction. It is the story of a scientist who discovers the secret of creating life. He uses the science of his day to construct a living creature out of dead tissue. In doing so, both the author and her protagonist stumble upon a moral conundrum that has fueled sci-fi ever since. What happens when man tampers with the affairs of God?
The question is not so much ‘can man create life?’; that is the domain of scientists. It is the job of science to answer the ‘can we?’. It is the job of science fiction to answer the ‘what if we?’. What if we had the ability to create life?
Where did we get this kind of a question? We got it in the Garden of Eden when we learned an important but tragic lesson about human pride.
"Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate”. - Genesis 3:4-6 NKJV
The thing that tempted Eve about the fruit was not that she thought it would taste good, but that she thought it would make her like God. God is the creator of life. Therefore, attempting to mimic this creation is attempting to control our own destiny as humans. Like Eve biting into the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it is attempting to make ourselves like God. No wonder the search for the secret of life fascinates us so much. It has always fascinated us.
Science fiction gives us a laboratory, if I may, in which to experiment with this idea. Oftentimes in fiction, ‘playing God’ results in disaster, just as it did in reality. Here are a few familiar examples. Though these categories don’t always show the downsides of tampering with life, or even ask the questions I’m discussing, they very frequently do:
1. Man-made Monsters-
Frankenstein's Monster, Mr. Hyde, and similar early science fiction and horror icons often leave death in their wake and cause the destruction of their creators.
2. Robots-
(I’m not going to get into ideas of sentience and personhood right now. That’s a post for another time. Or a lot of posts for a lot of other times.) Though not technically alive, these machines with a personality (and sometimes a temper), can spell doom for humanity. They also have a tendency to try to become the dominant ‘species’ in the cosmos. Think of V’ger or Nomad from Star Trek, the Cylons from Battlestar Galactica, and Ultron from Marvel Comics. (Also, there is a Classic Doctor Who episode called “The Robots of Death”. I thought I would just throw that one out there. )
3. Clones-
They are pretty similar to robots in their usage, only they’re biological, and made with already existing DNA. Some clones (as well as some robots), can be harmless and even heroic characters. However, they can also be the source of all sorts of moral and practical mixups, chaos and confusion. For example, in the Star Wars prequels, they were corrupted into a huge war-machine made up of identical, expendable soldiers.
4. Genetic Engineering-
You could say it has its pros and Khans… (alright, that was terrible, but do you know how long I've been waiting to use that one?). On the one hand, you can get someone like Captain America. On the other, you can get someone like Khan Noonien Singh- which is bad.
(Fun and geeky side note- Another member of Khan’s genetically engineered super-race appears in the Star Trek Animated Series episode, “The Infinite Vulcan”)
5. Terraforming-
Though this creates a different sort of life than the other examples, it is still an example of humans trying to shape and control life. Usually, terraforming stories end with the destruction of pre-existing life, or just failure. Consider Stargate SG-1 episode, “Scorched Earth”, The Genesis planet of the Star Trek films, and the xeno-terraforming in The War of the Worlds.
Should man tamper in the domain of God? What would be the result if he did? These are questions that we have grappled with since the beginning of science fiction, and really, since the beginning of humanity. We are created in the image of God, yet we are creatures who are subject to Him. When we try through our own ingenuity to make ourselves great, or exalt ourselves to the loftiness of God, we will always fail. Still, concepts of life from non-life are fascinating to us. There is much to explore, much to learn about the human condition and our place in the universe. What are the limitations? When is it right and when is it wrong? What are the consequences? Why are they there? These are the questions that will continue to inspire science and fiction until the end of time. And when we genuinely search for answers, we will find them in the Creator and Owner of all life.
Hello again! I'm back! Now that it's summer, I'm hoping to post more regularly. So, don't join me next week, because I'll be out of town....But! After that, I'll try to post articles like this on Wednesdays, exciting top 5 lists on Tuesdays, and random snippets of geekiness on Saturdays. The next of these Saturday shorts will be an explanation of the name of this blog.
Hope you enjoyed this post. If you have any ideas or examples of your own on this topic, please comment! I'd love to hear from you!
Keep on glowing in the dark,
Elora
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