RE: Bending Mars
So, browsing my way through Warren Ellis' blog this morning, I ran across a rather thoughtful rant (in Ellis' own gloriously fucked up way) about terraforming Mars. He argues from a quintessentially "victor's" perspective: we have the power to take it, therefore we have the right. I can't say I can really argue with that perspective; there's just something so elegantly simple about it. The other thing that would make such an experiment interesting is that it's never been done before. We're literally talking about building an entire planet's ecosystem from scratch. There's nothing to destroy, because there's nothing there (well, perhaps a few microbes, but those are of nothing more than scientific interest, and should therefore be gathered up for study before we go blowing shit up). Ellis also said something about working on some sort of project around the idea, which I hope comes to fruition. I'd love to see his take on this sort of thing.
Personally, I would love to see a major drive for extraterrestrial colonization. It would force the people involved to truly and honestly judge their peers and selves on the basis of who is better: stronger, faster, more intelligent and less prone to disease and general decay. Because, lets face it: as much as the climate is starting to harass us and shortages of certain materials are beginning to affect our daily lives, a climate without breathable air is going to demand much more of those who would live there. Perhaps, in some fluke of fate that would please me to no end, Martian-born humans would abandon this folly of egalitarianism as the basis of political policy, and recognize, openly, that the superiority of certain individuals over other individuals is something to be celebrated and encouraged (please note I said individuals. Fuck some master race idea, that leads to inbreeding and the exclusion of possibly useful genetics).
Beyond all that, of course, if there isn't a serious drive for colonization, why bother with SF anymore? Pipe dreams are an ugly, ugly thing.
Personally, I would love to see a major drive for extraterrestrial colonization. It would force the people involved to truly and honestly judge their peers and selves on the basis of who is better: stronger, faster, more intelligent and less prone to disease and general decay. Because, lets face it: as much as the climate is starting to harass us and shortages of certain materials are beginning to affect our daily lives, a climate without breathable air is going to demand much more of those who would live there. Perhaps, in some fluke of fate that would please me to no end, Martian-born humans would abandon this folly of egalitarianism as the basis of political policy, and recognize, openly, that the superiority of certain individuals over other individuals is something to be celebrated and encouraged (please note I said individuals. Fuck some master race idea, that leads to inbreeding and the exclusion of possibly useful genetics).
Beyond all that, of course, if there isn't a serious drive for colonization, why bother with SF anymore? Pipe dreams are an ugly, ugly thing.