A Sci-Fi Imagining of My Dad's 67th Birthday
1 May 2020
Tuesday 28 April 2020 would have seen the completion of my dad's 67th turn around the sun. He died on Sunday 3 October 1993. What with one thing and another in the current situation, I not only indulged in a fantasy of what we'd do to mark the event were he still alive, I pushed further to imagine a world in which SARS-CoV-2 hadn't come about, and further again to a science-based utopia in a parallel universe. Here are some half-baked thoughts on how those would be.
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Tuesday 28 April 2020 would have seen the completion of my dad's 67th turn around the sun. He died on Sunday 3 October 1993. What with one thing and another in the current situation, I not only indulged in a fantasy of what we'd do to mark the event were he still alive, I pushed further to imagine a world in which SARS-CoV-2 hadn't come about, and further again to a science-based utopia in a parallel universe. Here are some half-baked thoughts on how those would be.
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In a parallel universe, Gaia is home to modestly intelligent organisms whose general motto is: 'I don't know the answer to that question, but let's eliminate possibilities until we find out'. Earlier humans' inquiries about the world around them, like ours, began with ancient civilisations making up allegorical pantheons of dieties to explain workings bigger than themselves that they could not comprehend. But as time wore on and their capacity for language, knowledge and understanding evolved, so too did their senses of empathy and equality. Everyone had a place in society and all were valued for what they could do and what ideas they had. Women were revered as life-givers, and everyone shared the responsibility of child-rearing. Everyone had a say in measured debates about how best to cultivate the land, and if the land could be cultivated well, then surely there would be no need to hunt and animals could be our friends, not our prey or our slaves. The land itself was our best friend of all.
These earlier humans worked out the mechanics of fertility very quickly and created a rudimentary family-planning system. After cruel wars arising from trade and territory disputes, the survivors decreed never to allow such bloodshed and pain to happen again. Their collective traumas would be passed down to warn future generations against the devastation of mass violence. Anyone who thought it should be okay to own or impose control over another person or creature was was given lessons in compassion and empathy - and these folk were valued because the challenges they raised were necessary in shaping ethical codes. Scientific discovery became highly valued and attempts to form religions from claims of contact with a messiah who had a few things to say about all this rampant bodily autonomy were quickly stamped out with demonstrable and growing evidence that no one person is more valid than another person, and that as long as everyone's knowing and cool with it, you could be groovy with one another however you liked.
Yes, science was nurtured and progressed fast because it wasn't stifled. Pioneers like Galileo Galilei were not made to retract their findings and repent their sins. They were also part of the crowd and not pioneers so much in this world, although their discoveries were certainly important. The celestial bodies with which Gaia shared the solar system were named for dieties from across the earliest ancient pantheons because the various civilisations shared more than they pillaged, and the later science-based civilisations wanted to retain the memories of the beginnings of their inquiries into the natural world and beyond. Instead of Mercury there was Hermes, Kali instead of Neptune, Pluto was named Nike, Uranus was Arsinoe, and so on.
The world by the late twentieth century was one in which type-1 diabetes was very treatable and living with it was manageable and not terribly debilitating. My dad had no need of dialysis or a kidney transplant and could live long and healthily. This is the case in general with the global human population maintaining sustainable levels, a lack of illnesses because people listen to science, they developed social values built on equality, and the environment is respected.
My dad and I would have a relationship based on our mutual love of rock music and science-fiction, and a language that was largely a blend of Vogon poetry and zingers from The X-Files - texts that would be largely recognisable in this world as the need to explore beyond the sky while railing against secret bureaucratic systems remains part of who we are.
On the morning of my dad's birthday, my sister would take him by the renewably-powered electric train from Sydenham to Botanic and on over to the Ulster Museum where they'd marvel at prehistoric artefacts, and he'd make funny observations to her about the weird modern art in the galleries. They'd have a nice lunch out just the two of them as mum and I prepared for the modest gathering due that evening.
After a wee rest, I would take dad for the afternoon shift. Each wearing our favourite jeans held together only by patches and sheer stubborn will - and his from the previous century - we'd take our rainwater-powered hover bikes to the Strand Cinema for a matinee of a horror film about a world in which religion-backed despots reigned supreme and the lack of regard for science and knowledge led to unmanageable levels of overpopulation throughout which rampaged terrible illnesses that spread easily because people wouldn't listen to the few voices with sense. We'd then decompress with a refreshing pint and a hover-cycle home for a fun dinner with the rest of the family and friends. There'd be Beach Boys karaoke, and we'd pretend we were in sunny California.
These earlier humans worked out the mechanics of fertility very quickly and created a rudimentary family-planning system. After cruel wars arising from trade and territory disputes, the survivors decreed never to allow such bloodshed and pain to happen again. Their collective traumas would be passed down to warn future generations against the devastation of mass violence. Anyone who thought it should be okay to own or impose control over another person or creature was was given lessons in compassion and empathy - and these folk were valued because the challenges they raised were necessary in shaping ethical codes. Scientific discovery became highly valued and attempts to form religions from claims of contact with a messiah who had a few things to say about all this rampant bodily autonomy were quickly stamped out with demonstrable and growing evidence that no one person is more valid than another person, and that as long as everyone's knowing and cool with it, you could be groovy with one another however you liked.
Yes, science was nurtured and progressed fast because it wasn't stifled. Pioneers like Galileo Galilei were not made to retract their findings and repent their sins. They were also part of the crowd and not pioneers so much in this world, although their discoveries were certainly important. The celestial bodies with which Gaia shared the solar system were named for dieties from across the earliest ancient pantheons because the various civilisations shared more than they pillaged, and the later science-based civilisations wanted to retain the memories of the beginnings of their inquiries into the natural world and beyond. Instead of Mercury there was Hermes, Kali instead of Neptune, Pluto was named Nike, Uranus was Arsinoe, and so on.
The world by the late twentieth century was one in which type-1 diabetes was very treatable and living with it was manageable and not terribly debilitating. My dad had no need of dialysis or a kidney transplant and could live long and healthily. This is the case in general with the global human population maintaining sustainable levels, a lack of illnesses because people listen to science, they developed social values built on equality, and the environment is respected.
My dad and I would have a relationship based on our mutual love of rock music and science-fiction, and a language that was largely a blend of Vogon poetry and zingers from The X-Files - texts that would be largely recognisable in this world as the need to explore beyond the sky while railing against secret bureaucratic systems remains part of who we are.
On the morning of my dad's birthday, my sister would take him by the renewably-powered electric train from Sydenham to Botanic and on over to the Ulster Museum where they'd marvel at prehistoric artefacts, and he'd make funny observations to her about the weird modern art in the galleries. They'd have a nice lunch out just the two of them as mum and I prepared for the modest gathering due that evening.
After a wee rest, I would take dad for the afternoon shift. Each wearing our favourite jeans held together only by patches and sheer stubborn will - and his from the previous century - we'd take our rainwater-powered hover bikes to the Strand Cinema for a matinee of a horror film about a world in which religion-backed despots reigned supreme and the lack of regard for science and knowledge led to unmanageable levels of overpopulation throughout which rampaged terrible illnesses that spread easily because people wouldn't listen to the few voices with sense. We'd then decompress with a refreshing pint and a hover-cycle home for a fun dinner with the rest of the family and friends. There'd be Beach Boys karaoke, and we'd pretend we were in sunny California.
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If you enjoy my posts, please consider supporting via liberapay.com/peablair. Thank you!
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