H.G. Wells: Prophet of Science Fiction
I recently watched an early showing of the next episode of the Prophets of Science series on The Science Channel and I was very happy that they showcased the life and works of H. G. Wells. I have been attracted to time travel stories since the days The Doctor wore his long multicolored scarf and I remember being enthralled on my couch watching the 1960 film, The Time Machine. I think there’s something amazing about the puzzles of time travel and the wondrous infinite possibilities that the butterfly effect can cause.
There is much more to H.G. Wells than his novel The Time Machine. The Science Channel did a great job in exploring not just his books but also his life, ethics and morals. And just like in every episode so far, they do a wondrous job in exploring today’s science to see how closely did Wells’ projections of the future jumped from fantasy to reality. Did you know that Wells wrote about tanks and aerial combat before they occurred in World War One? I didn’t know before they discussed it in this episode. Here are some other scientific wonders that H.G. Wells wrote about that science is now creating that the latest episode of Prophets of Science Fiction reveals!
1) Lasers – The description of heat rays that the aliens used in War of The Worlds are now called lasers and they are being used in certain scientific labs today. So dangerous are these beams that they have to be carefully regulated in use.
2) Germ Warfare – Not only was H.G. Wells ahead of his time in predicting the creation of biological warfare but also that we would use it on civilians instead of soldiers, which in our time seems odd but in the late 1800s civilians usually were not included in the skirmishes of the military.
3) Humanized animals – The Island of Dr. Moreau dealt with genetic manipulation between man and beast. In today’s world, we are seeing animals being bred to have human organs and DNA. Watch this episode if you don’t believe me.
And this episode has a lot more topics to cover, from the possibility of time travel through wormholes to invisibility. Besides showing how Wells’ idea of science is slowly becoming fact instead of fiction, what I enjoyed was the discussion of Wells’ view of ethics and how it inspired his work as much as his love for science. This episode reveals the hidden life of H.G. Wells and shows how his disdain for certain social conventions led his to write The Invisible Man and how British colonialism led him to write War of the Worlds.
Since I’ve just viewed the third episode in the Prophets of Science Fiction series, I just realized that the added bonus it’s given me is that it has exposed me to new books which before I wouldn’t have given a second thought, honestly. I plan on picking up The World Set Free to see how similar were his “predictions” and to explore how H. G. Wells views utopia. Whether you are a lover of science or a reader of fiction, you would really do yourself an injustice if you miss this episode of Prophets of Science Fiction on The Science Channel. Below has some information of where and when you can view this episode:
H.G. Wells
Premieres Wednesday, November 23, at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)
“H.G. Wells’ self-penned epitaph underscores a lifetime of grim – yet uncanny – prophecy. With stories like The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, The World Set Free, and The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells established himself as a sci-fi writer of almost clairvoyant talent. But these tales of hi-tech adventure hold an ominous warning – beware the dark side of progress. Our greatest innovations could very well become the tools of our own destruction.”
