Science Fiction Firsts

I am most definitely a full-fledged science fiction fan, but my path to getting there was fairly slow.  I was a girl growing up in the late 80s/early 90s-- a time of pretty rigid gender rules.  It didn't occur to my parents to introduce my sister and me, a couple of Barbie-loving little princesses, to stuff that was primarily marketed towards boys, and the internet wasn't a thing yet back then. I was on my own to discover the classics of the genre.  Luckily for me, I was born an avid reader.  Readers are always on the lookout for new and interesting stories, and that curiosity was what led me to do things like borrow my dad's set of Star Wars tapes when I was in middle school and watch Star Trek reruns throughout high school with my future husband.  Eventually I grew to love all things science fiction, it just took me a little while. 

My favorite episode of The X-Files, Bad Blood

One of my earliest experiences with science fiction was with the X-Files TV series.  I stumbled upon this show when I happened to catch a rerun of the very first episode one night sometime around my 7th grade year.  I fell in love with the show instantly and from that moment forward, a whole lot of my childhood was spent with Mulder and Scully. I watched my favorite episodes over and over again from my VHS recordings, which I had scrupulously organized, labeled and shelved in my closet.  I even belonged to the official fan club and read the magazine.  At that point in my young life, I was more into the will-they-or-won't-they romance between the characters than I was into the alien plot, but it was there that I began fostering an appreciation for stories that explored the possibility that there might be more to the universe than human beings and planet Earth.

Sometime around that same time, I picked up a collection of short stories called Alien Pets.  The anthology focused on science fiction tales about animal companions.  It was published for adults, and was a little bit beyond my reading level at the time, but I made it through a couple of the stories.  The parts I read had a huge impact on me.  The details of most of the stories escape me now, but I remember that my favorite part of the book had to do with a little alien creature that produced diamonds when it cried.  A young boy discovered this creature in his parents' room one day - they'd had it secreted away in a cage, living a miserable life.  It would cry, and they would be rich from the diamonds.  They were enjoying material wealth at the price of an alien creature's happiness.  At the time I thought this was one of the saddest, most disturbing things I had ever read. It stirred in me the same emotions I would experience again when I discovered Ray Bradbury a few years later.

It's funny sometimes which books really stick with you.  This novel is not particularly famous.  I doubt very many people remember it or consider it a favorite. You can't buy it new on Amazon anymore, or download it to your Kindle.  Nevertheless, it changed me as a reader and gave me a firm little push down the path of appreciating science fiction. It was the pages of Alien Pets that I discovered the real magic of the genre- the fun of exploring how people will get along in an uncertain future.  Behind all the scientific advancements, alien invaders and sentient robots that may or may not show up in our world, we will still have to try and live fulfilling lives.  Our emotions, our hopes and dreams, the people we love, and our sense of right and wrong will all have to fit around whatever comes next.  There's a whole universe of possibilities to explore for the adventurous reader.  That's what I love about science fiction.

My ET Halloween costume from 2015.  My favorite costume ever!

As time went on, I found lots of other sci-fi stories to love.  It's interesting to think back on how it all started.  I get a little jealous sometimes of people who share a special bond with a parent (usually a dad) that introduced them to some science fiction show as a kid and set off a lifelong love of the genre.  I had to get here by myself.  But while I was a little later than most fans, I'm glad I made it at all.  As in the best science fiction stories, it's the journey that counts, right?