Science Fiction and the Alien

For my science fiction selections, I read Never Let Me Go and The House of the Scorpion, both of which dealt with the very science fiction-y issue of human cloning, though in way that actually demonstrates the un-alienness of the subjects.

I had actually read Never Let Me Go for a class in high school and I was glad I got this chance to reread a couple of chapters because it definitely prompted a different reaction now. When I first read this book, I remember enjoying it—the story was definitely engaging and well written—but I also thought that the ending was somewhat anticlimactic. I didn’t understand why there was no attempted revolution or escape. Reading the last two chapters again, I’m less indignant that Kathy and Tommy went along with their fates because their experiences accepting mortality and loss ring really true for all of humanity—even those who live relatively long lives. I think this was similar to what Benford meant when he said that...“rendering the alien, making the reader experience it, is the crucial contribution of SF...to achieve the end of a fresh experience. That’s what the alien is really about.” Ishiguro was very successful in rendering Kathy’s inner life, but to relate to the audience, rather than shock us with a new experience. Benson emphasizes that “the alien in SF is an experience, not a statement or an answer to a question.” He didn’t think that science fiction stories should be understood as morality tales or commentary on our existing society because that mars the pure experience of the alien. In this case, I think it’s very clear that Never Let Me Go is reflecting on the human experience and I wonder if Benson would argue that that means it’s not very good science fiction.

House of the Scorpion, though I didn’t get a chance to read the entire book, seemed to be even more of a morality tale than Never Let Me Go. There was more of a dystopian, fantastical atmosphere—perhaps because this was aimed at children who are presumably more excitable in that way? It may be because these pieces are written from the perspective of human clones, but it seemed to me like the point of depicting the “alien” in both these stories was to show how human and not so different from us they really are. The world/“normal people” are actually the alien, and these protagonists are merely trying to establish their humanity to a society that refuses to accept them. It is a jarring/new experience to enter a world where human embryos are brought to term in cows, for example, but the cognitive and sensory descriptions of the characters are completely recognizable and sympathetic. I’m not sure how this contradicts or contributes to Benson’s discussion of science fiction but I definitely have a broader understanding of science fiction now after looking at our diverse selections this week.