Change is a constant in the universe and in the innumerable worlds of science fiction. In these worlds, Science Fiction is used to predict the outcome of the most unimaginable changes in ourselves and our worlds. Isaac Asimov’s Nightfall, for example, predicts what would happen if night only came once every several thousand years. Octavia Butler’s Bloodchild speaks of a future where descendants of human colonists become the hosts of a parasitic race, and are cared for in return. The Witches of Karres by James Schmitz show us an empire of the future controlled by nobles and companies, and captains and adventures braving the unknown. And Rachel in Love by Pat Murphey creates a future where a human mind can be imprinted on the mind of an ape. Where shall these stories lead us?
Nightfall leads us to the world of Lalgash. This planet has six suns, such as a yellow dwarf primary and a nearby, dim …show more content…
Dr. Aaron Jacobs was studying the human brain and had discovered a way to copy it. However, one day his wife and daughter died in a tragic accident. Nevertheless, he had a way to save his daughter’s mind, if not her body. He had copied her mind before she had died. Dr. Jacobs took a chimpanzee and uploaded her mind into the chimp’s body. The chimp, named Rachel after Dr. Jacobs’ daughter, retained memories from both her human life and her life as a chimp before the procedure. The story begins as Rachel discovers that her father died in his sleep. Eventually, a welfare check discovers Dr. Jacobs’ death as well as Rachel. Not realizing who she was, she was tranquilized. She was in shock when she woke up the next morning and discovered where she was: “Just before dawn the next morning, she wakens to the sound of a truck jouncing down the dirt road. She peers out the window to see a pale green pickup. Sloppily stenciled in white on the door are the words: PRIMATE RESEARCH
Nightfall leads us to the world of Lalgash. This planet has six suns, such as a yellow dwarf primary and a nearby, dim …show more content…
Dr. Aaron Jacobs was studying the human brain and had discovered a way to copy it. However, one day his wife and daughter died in a tragic accident. Nevertheless, he had a way to save his daughter’s mind, if not her body. He had copied her mind before she had died. Dr. Jacobs took a chimpanzee and uploaded her mind into the chimp’s body. The chimp, named Rachel after Dr. Jacobs’ daughter, retained memories from both her human life and her life as a chimp before the procedure. The story begins as Rachel discovers that her father died in his sleep. Eventually, a welfare check discovers Dr. Jacobs’ death as well as Rachel. Not realizing who she was, she was tranquilized. She was in shock when she woke up the next morning and discovered where she was: “Just before dawn the next morning, she wakens to the sound of a truck jouncing down the dirt road. She peers out the window to see a pale green pickup. Sloppily stenciled in white on the door are the words: PRIMATE RESEARCH