Interview de Orson Scott Card

[Priscilla]

Le père des Elephants de Poznan explique à Erin Stocks de Lightspeed sa vision de la science-fiction, et comment son oeuvre y correspond.

“This is science fiction,” Card answers. “As far as we know, it is not only not true, but probably impossible. Most SF ideas fall into this category. It’s simply a cool idea, and who knows? Maybe there is some version of this idea (i.e., genetic alteration from outside a species) that is true, or truish.

“I explain that the elephants, at need, can consciously alter the composition of their musth, creating a virus that spreads genetic change into the target species. The idea is that they have changed themselves at need—mammoths, mastodons, modern elephants—and also change other species. Humans were the result of elephant genetic manipulation in the first place, creating a cooperative primate that could control predators that elephants did not like. But then humans became far more dangerous than the predators they were designed to control, so further genetic change was needed. The human race, as was needed, could be wiped out.

“Science fiction exists in order to construct other realities, where changed rules alter the nature and meaning of the things people do,” Card adds. “Ultimately, we care about science fiction because of the lens through which it lets us look at ourselves and the world around us.

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