The writers were spectacular with creating the SF world of their stories. The Cold Equation started with the gauge, highjacking the reader into the EDS craft when the control room detected an unwanted stowaway on board; It’s Great To Be Back with the return of an accomplished couple back to Earth, two people who worked on the Moon yet yearned to go back to the simple mother planet; Down And Out On Ellfive Prime with the fantastical description of the colony two hundred thousand kilometers away from Earth; The Martian with Botanist Mark’s honest diary logs about his survival on the desolate terrain of Mars. These settings had their unique culture that were so strikingly different from the real life that I know (for one thing, I cannot imagine NASA being supported on space conquest in real life to the extent that it had for the Ares Missions in The Martian), and I can only imagine how bizarre the worlds of Tom Goodwin, Robert Heinlein, and Dean Ing’s stories were in contrast to the 20th century when these stories were originally published. I appreciate how the authors constructed their worlds through the interactions and the situations of their respective characters.

What was even more striking to me was how relatable the characters were despite being from different worlds. Although the Pilot Barton and Stardust seemed cold for kicking Marilyn off the ship, they were still sympathetic despite the unforgiving situation that required the death of Marilyn. Their defeat and remorse were heartfelt in the predicament where they had no other choice if they wanted the EDS mission to succeed. Allan and Josephine were intelligent people who were privileged to work on the moon yet still desired to return back to Earth. But shortly after their returned, they had a switch of heart and ultimately (and apparently expectedly) went back to their posts on the moon. Zen and his colleagues were people who, despite seeing themselves progressive and above being Earthsided, do not seem any different from the people in real life who sought to be in better livelihood. And in all of his ballsy ventures for survival with science by his side, Mark was just a poor botanist who was left behind and the world cried in an uproar like the parents who realized they unintentionally left their child behind at a service stop during a family road trip- except in this case, Mark was left behind on another planet with a degree. I feel that the individual qualities of these characters were contrasted by the bigger picture of ideology of their SF world, resulting in the manifestation of their human qualities for the reader to relate.

Other than this, I don’t see the SF world of these stories accomplishing anything else of significance. Perhaps SF can be a great medium for social or political novels if the genre is used in this way, but I would like see the other ways that this genre could be used in literature.