Space: 1999 Catacombs Series GuidesScience Of Fiction
Space: 1999 Catacombs Series GuidesA look at the science in Space: 1999 by Martin Willey
Science has transformed the modern world. Our lives are dependent on technology, so it is not surprising that science fiction has become popular. Science fiction doesn't have that much to do with real science- the point is that the protagonists are using technology, however fantastical that technology is. But it can illustrate real science principles, and perhaps derive stories from scientific speculation. Science advances through gradual progress and revolutionary paradigm shifts, so present day knowledge may be fundamentally wrong. But in areas like physics and astronomy, the scope to rewrite existing science is limited. While Einstein showed that Newton's theory of gravity was wrong, it didn't rewrite any of the implications of Newtonian gravity. Einstein's relativity may similarly be shown to be wrong, but the limitations to the speed of light won't disappear. So faster than light travel will always be fantasy. Other developments- such as computers becoming conscious- are speculative but not impossible. Like most of science fiction, "Space: 1999" used a lot of real science, some speculative science that may someday exist, and a lot of imaginary non-science.
Contents copyright Martin Willey