ANDROIDS ALL
SIR.---Win Mr Golding allow a little pedantry about science fiction? The phrase itself was used first about 1931- such alternatives as, I am afraid, 'scientific- non having failed. The first SF magazine appeared in 1926. Strictly speaking, though there arc instances before the species is established, Mr. Golding can hardly have been an addict for forty years unless, as a confessed android, he possesses a time machine.
More seriously, just as the sophist playing with words invented philosophy, I know serious natural and social scientists who find in SF certainly a game, but one which permits unwonted freedom for 'thought experiments.' And it is worth remembering, too, that SF permits mere escape. in a world which is used up, too serious, or too small for the old narrative of adventure. For neither of these pur- poses need SF be literature.—Yours faithfully,
17 Fitz warren Gardens, N19
DONALD C. MaCCRAR
Previous page
