(Big Ship, by Stephan Martiniere. Used with Permission)

The oldest picture book in our possession is the midnight sky.

— E. W. Maunder, Nineteenth Century, September 1900.

Precious few of the humans who have inhabited this planet have been able to not only see that midnight sky, but ride off into it as well. And precious few of us alive now ever will. Yet that does not stop so many of us from dreaming of the possibilities. Raised on Golden Age pulp stories, early low-budget televised adventures, or the more realistic special-effects-laden offerings of the last few decades, untold numbers of us believed in our childhood innocence that we would already be traipsing around the galaxy by now. Many of us who have given up on space travel being a reality in our lifetimes continue to travel the stars anyway, in our imaginations.

The skillful wordsmiths who craft science fiction tales, and the production crews who create beloved science fiction television shows and films, and the creative teams who make games that allow us to adventure in virtual space, help to ignite our imaginations, and in their works we boldly go.

For several years I have been celebrating the beginning of the new year by immersing myself in science fiction and encouraging others do so also. This two month Experience previously ran from January 1st through the end of February, but over the years I’ve discovered that as soon as it starts to get chilly here in Missouri, I ache to embrace science fiction stories. Thus, a few years ago, I changed the period of The Sci-Fi Experience to begin on December 1st and end on January 31st. This allows us to end the current year and begin the new one by looking to the stars.

Every cubic inch of space is a miracle.

— Walt Whitman

Won’t you join us out there?

Continue reading The 2017 Sci-Fi Experience →