I’ve been reading science fiction novels and watching science fiction movies and tv shows for many, many years. I really like science fiction. I was first introduced to science fiction in Junior High at Wasatch Junior High in Salt Lake City. A fellow student was drawing the medical monitoring device that Dr. Leonard McCoy used in the Star Trek TV show. I was intrigued, so I asked him what it was and he explained it to me. Part of his explanation was him telling me how much he loved Star Trek. After his introduction, I would race home after school to watch Star Trek on TV.
And today is a Saturday, and I’m sitting on the couch with the intent of writing this post. I would like this post to be well-constructed, well-thought out, concise, complete and insightful. But I doubt that is going to happen. I just need to continue writing even if it is a bit sloppy and poorly formed.
One of the authors that I really like is Orson Scott Card. He has written some of my favorite science fiction novels.
I reminded myself today that I had read a bit about why Orson Scott Card writes science fiction. I wasn’t able to recall exactly where I read that, so I asked Copilot the following question today:
“Has Orson Scott Card explained why he writes science fiction?”
This is the response that I got back from Copilot:
Why Card Writes Science Fiction
- Exploring Moral Dilemmas: Card sees science fiction as a powerful tool for examining ethical questions in unfamiliar settings. He’s said that speculative fiction allows him to “ask the big questions” — about leadership, sacrifice, and humanity — without being constrained by realism.
- Freedom to Build Worlds: He’s noted that science fiction gives him the freedom to construct societies and technologies that reflect or challenge our own. This flexibility lets him explore ideas like empathy, governance, and identity in ways that traditional fiction might not allow. This is evident in Ender’s Game, where he places a gifted child in a militarized space academy to explore leadership, morality, and manipulation.
- Mormon Theology & Speculative Fiction: Card, a devout Mormon, has acknowledged that his religious beliefs influence his writing. Themes like apotheosis (humans becoming divine) and the existence of other worlds resonate with both Mormon doctrine and science fiction’s speculative nature.
- Audience Engagement: In his book How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, Card explains that science fiction lets him connect with readers who are open to imaginative, idea-driven stories. He believes the genre is ideal for dramatizing philosophical and spiritual questions in a compelling way.
- He’s also joked that the difference between fantasy and sci-fi is just “trees vs. rivets” — but beneath that humor is a serious appreciation for how speculative fiction can illuminate the human condition.
And since I used Copilot, the AI engine built by Microsoft, to gather the answer about why Orson Scott Card writes science fiction, I thought that AI is going to test people and their moral dilemmas as much, if not more than any technologies that humans have created so far.
And if you want to read a pure science fiction novel that doesn’t try to wow you with strange aliens, super cool technologies, gadgets and faster-than-light travel, read Jacqueline Harpman’s novel, “I Who Have Never Known Men”.
And since I like to post photos of things I see, here are a few photos that have nothing to do with science fiction or AI:
Go faster, little cloud, it’s right behind you with open maw.
