: Re: The unknown and unexplained in science fiction Science fiction has been defined as a genre where the "incredible" elements are "recognizable as not-true, but also as not-unlike-true, not-flatly-

@Sarah872

Vote Up Vote Down

For my money my two questions aren't related to this in the least, they're about things that can't be explained within the universe and whether such elements have a role in Hard Science Fiction. You appear to be asking "how much does one need to explain the science in their science fiction?" there isn't a one size fits all answer to this question but I would put it like this "invoke enough established science to give the reader a basis for suspension of disbelief" what does that mean? It means give your audience some basic principles that underlie the technology and let them fill in the blanks with whatever speculation they like, or none at all.

Example: sample FTL Drive exploits the energy of other universes, assisted by phenomena it's inventors would be scared stiff to contemplate, to break the uncertainty principle just enough to let it be somewhere other than where it was. The in-universe explanation, (and what is initially presented to readers), is that it uses a trick of quantum gravity to exploit the interaction between absolute zero and the uncertainty principle to transport ships point-to-point across vast distances. It's based in the one-big-lie principle, in this case the lie is that you can get anything back from that absolute zero state apart from a scattering of individual atoms, or atoms worth of exotic energy, spread across the whole volume of space involved.

You give the reader some of the science on which the technology is based, thus proving that it is techno-science not magic but you never really need to explain in detail how it really works, unless you want to for dramatic purposes.

(0)

Login to post a comment!