Continuing with themes in the stories for Lunatics… Here’s number seven:
Theme #7
Agrarian Reality versus Technocratic Image
I call this the “white plastic walls” fallacy. People have an idea of
spaceflight that is derived from the images created in the 1960s Moon
program and lots of science fiction shows that try to glamorize it as
the ultimate “futuristic” and “urban” experience. Because back then,
urban was cool, and rural was always bad.
In today’s world, with people thinking that “Green” is such a good idea,
there is sometimes a backlash against space as part of this technocratic image.
But guess what? If you’re a space pioneer, then what you really are, basically, is
a farmer. Sorry. Not a scientist or an engineer or any of those cool things, but
somebody who grows plants and raises animals. And shovels manure. Really.
It’s not sexy, but there it is.
