Summary:
The illustration of complimentary science fiction and Darwinism writing can be found in Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells, and various short stories, including Greg Bear's Blood Music.
In the mid-19th century, Charles Darwin changed the world with his revolutionary and controversial theory of evolution in his book Origin of Species, which introduced survival of the fittest, the competition for survival or predominance, and natural selection, where individual organisms with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, to a predominantly religious public. The theory was found sacrilegious and heretical and was banned from school curriculums for a century afterwards. Darwin's theories later became relevant to society itself, thus defining Social Darwinism, a concept in social theory which states that Darwin's evolutionary theories of biological traits can be applied to competition between societies or groups economically and politically. Likewise, both classic and contemporary science fiction writing reference and exemplify Darwinism relentlessly, attesting that that science fiction and Darwinism are complimentary to each other; both Darwinism and science fiction writing deal with progression and change, and most, if not all, science fiction writing uses both literal and figurative Darwinism in plot and character development. The illustration of complimentary science fiction and Darwinism writing can be found in Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells, and various short stories, including Greg Bear's Blood Music.
If one accepts that all science fiction and Darwinism is complimentary and arguably interdependent, then the only factors left to determine is whether the author uses either literal or figurative definitions of evolutionary theory in his or her writing. Orson Scott Card's late-1970's novel, Ender's Game, exemplifies both literal and figurative definitions of Darwinism and uses them as a foundation that the book built upon. During Ender's career at Battle School, Ender is recruited into a "toon" under the command of Dink Meeker, a veteran and critic of the Battle School. During Dink and Ender's first encounter, Dink explains to Ender:
."..It's the teachers, they're the enemy. They get us to fight each other, to hate each other. The game is everything. Win win win. It amounts to nothing. We kill ourselves, go crazy trying to beat each other, and all the time the old bastards are watching us, studying us, deciding whether we're good enough or not...I've got a pretty good idea what children are, and we're not children. Children can lose sometimes, and nobody cares. Children aren't in armies, the aren't commanders, they don't rule over forty other kids, it's more than anybody can take and not get crazy." (Page 107-108)
Card uses Dink Meeker as a speaker for the philosophy and brutality of the Battle School, to expose a fairly "green" Ender to the truths of his new life. The passage encapsulates many of Darwin's ideas, including "natural" selection and survival of the fittest. The Battle School literally exemplifies the ideology of natural selection, except with a twist; the "nature" that is selecting the best students is not Mother Nature, but humanity itself. Survival of the fittest is literally exposed in this passage as well; the Battle School itself is like a monstrous science experiment to pick and choose the smarter, faster, and stronger children out of the controlled population. Without Darwinism, Ender's Game would be an empty novel with no foundation. The storyline itself is an ironic twist on "artificial" natural selection and survival of the fittest: even though Ender struggles in his society, he was already predetermined as the leader and best-fit student in the school. Also, the classic "species versus species" premise is there, the Bugger Wars, exemplifying survival of the fittest at its best.
The progression and change of science fiction correlates to the progression and change involved and explained in Darwin's theories. Science fiction authors must use evidence from either the past or contemporary times and predict the future or a feasible future deriving from the evolution of the past. Therefore, one could argue that it is indisputable that all science fiction is somewhat based on Darwinism, because the futuristic premises of science fiction authors derive from what happens today. In Greg Bear's short story, Blood Music, a scientist infects himself with self-motivated rapidly evolving bacteria, infused with nanotechnology, which at first began to fix the scientists imperfections, but then turned on him and the human race. Having bacteria evolving with intelligence is like playing the evolution of humanity in fast-forward, but converting seconds to thousands of years. During an explanation of the process of creating these ingenious bacteria, Vergil, the scientist, explains to his colleague Edward:
"I took advantage of randomness. The circuits could repair themselves; compare memories, and correct faulty elements. I gave them basic instructions: Go forth and multiply. Improve. By God, you should have seen some of the cultures a week later! It was amazing. They were evolving all on their own, like little cities. I destroyed them all, I think one of the petri dishes would have grown legs and walked out of the incubator if I'd kept feeding it." (Page 9)
The premise of Blood Music is indisputably Darwinian inspired and based. The passage above encapsulates the whole theory of biological evolution on a micro-scale, in fast-forward. It's development, progression, and change. The way this short story parallels Darwinism concretely exemplifies the correlation between complimentary science fiction - Darwinism writing.
Many science fiction novels are so plainly based on Darwinism that it's almost unnecessary to justify the significance of evolutionary theory in them. For instance, the godfather of all science fiction, H.G. Wells, and his novel, War of the Worlds, can be used to literally define Darwinism; his story of Earth and its battle against the threat of extraterrestrial dominance is a textbook exemplification of the process of natural selection. During the epilogue of the novel, H.G. Well's unnamed narrator explains his theories on the Earth invasion and how it will help humanity:
"We have learned now that we cannot regard this planet as being fenced in and a secure abiding place for Man; we can never anticipate the unseen good or evil that may come upon us suddenly out of space. It may be that in the larger design of the universe this invasion from Mars is not without its ultimate benefit for men; it has robbed us of that serene confidence in the future which is the most fruitful source of decadence, the gifts to human science it has brought are enormous, and it has done much to promote the conception of the commonweal of mankind... (Page 172)
The ultimate science fiction premise, the threat of another species to humanity, will always plague science fiction authors for its ingenuity and fearful nature. The fact that this premise is entirely based on Darwin's evolutionary theories, especially survival of the fittest, is more evidence to the hypothesis of science fiction-Darwinism interdependency; how without the development and change, science fiction is impossible, which proves the complimentary nature between the two.
In science fiction's short-lived life so far in comparison to other sources of arguably "more cultured" literature, science fiction has been created and fed Darwinism since its dawn with War of the Worlds. Darwinism then became part of science contemporary science fiction as well, creating a clear relationship between the two entities. In the three examples cited, both literal and figurative examples of Darwinism are apparent, strengthening the fact of this perceived correlation. The fact that complimentary science fiction-Darwinism writing both deals with progression and change is concrete evidence to that fact. But science fiction continues to evolve, because the future of the past is the present today, and there must be a new future to our present. H.G. Wells once said "Dim and wonderful is the vision I have conjured up in my mind of life spreading slowly from this little seed bed of the solar system throughout the inanimate vastness of sidereal space. But that is my remote dream." Maybe one day.
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