Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction -- its essence -- has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all.

- Isaac Asimov

This quote from Isaac Asimov brought me into a deep though when I first heard it. I always loved science fiction. It was my favorite genre to explore and enjoy. I, like many others, did enjoy the action, the technology and the other cool stuff. Yet all of that was a surface. Above all else I liked that it forced me to think and examine many things (especially the well written one).

As Asimov pointed out many critics dismiss science fiction or get bogged down on irrelevant minutia instead of addressing the main point of the stories. But after a bit more nuance examination it becomes obvious what a tremendous impact science fiction had have. From classics like The Time Machine, 1984, Brave New World to Star Trek, Spaceship Troopers, The Expanse and multitude of others stories in between. From these and many other titles we can see that they had a tremendous impact on the world.

First we have the inspiration of people to become scientists or to do other things to improve themselves and communities. We have great entertainment from these stories and we see great loyal fan base emerge around the most successful ones. Yet for me the most important is the debate that these stories can generate. 1984 & Brave New World are most often cited when discussing strengthening of governmental controls over public squares or social media. Many other stories offer similar opportunities. I would say that thanks to them being science fiction it is easier to explore these topics, which can sometimes be socially explosive, in a way that allows everyone to be a bit detached. These stories allow us to explore philosophical questions from all sides. The surrounding stories allow to add a depth to it, so that the topic is approachable for all of public, which might not be possible in pure philosophical debates. It also adds an additional level of complexity to explore.

It allows us to explore the benefits and pitfalls of possible future developments and through this make better preparations and possibly avoid the most extreme scenarios. This isn't a foolproof method as many disregard warnings and reality can be more crazier than the most crazier science fiction story. Yet at least we have a tool with which to explore possible futures.

I really enjoy thinking about these big questions and seeing how different characters respond to the challenges while examining what would I do. Sometimes I don't have one answer and sometimes I like to explore the cynical way. Which is why I write science fiction myself, to explore different topics from different sides and see how they will play out in the constraints of my world.

In the end the technological wonders of our science fiction stories will pass as technology encompasses it, but what will remain, its essence, will be the character relations, the challenges for them and the hard questions it will confront us with. That for me is a mark of great science fiction. When after finishing a story I'm left in though above what I have just explored.