On Reading Science Fiction - 14 December 2025

Amazing. Just amazing. Voyager 1, launched in 1977, and travelling at 70K MPH is today only one light day away from earth. The nearest star to earth, next to the sun, is Proxima Centauri, 4.2 light years away. Considering the boundaries of current knowledge, we'll never find out whether we are alone in the universe or not.

Because of earth's fragility - there have been five extinctions in the last 500 million years - and because of the likelihood, considering the laws of physics, that mankind will never connect with another civilization in the solar system or universe (see the Fermi Paradox), it is essential for mankind to act in a way to prioritize the preservation and advancement of human consciousness. A first step towards securing human consciousness would be for humanity to hedge its bets. That is, get humans on another planetary body in addition to earth. Elon Musk's quest for Mars fits that exigency perfectly.

Today, as Americans stop having babies, the need to preserve human consciousness seems far from a priority in the minds of most people. How do we raise awareness in the population of the need to safeguard and preserve human consciousness? I believe reading science fiction novels or watching science fiction films is one way to do this. I don't discount faith-based explanations for man's existence. But the more I read science fiction, the more I see congruence between science and faith.

Ten years ago, I attended an investor limited partners meeting where Elon Musk was the guest speaker. At Q and A there was the typical litany of boring questions, characteristic of such meetings, about financial matters.

Enough, I thought. I got the mike and asked Musk something I was really interested in. "Have you seen the movie, The Martian?" I asked.

Musk lit up. From the boring tone of back and forth on financial stuff, Musk waxed long and enthusiastic in answering my question. Paraphrasing Musk: "The more people see great films like The Martian, the more they engage in reading science fiction, the more they will be susceptible to considering the possibility of man traveling in space." The boring investor meeting on mundane financial data was transformed into an enthusiastic, aspirational discussion about man reaching for the stars.

During that investor discussion ten years ago, Musk did not mention any quest for the need to preserve human consciousness. However, in years since he notoriously has debated the point with Google's Larry Paige, who, counter to Musk, is less concerned about human consciousness being preserved in the wake of any AI based superseding of human consciousness. 9 Years Ago, Elon Musk Had an Argument With Larry Page on His Birthday | Observer 

Elon Musk was nurtured on science fiction. Musk, in his teens and early 20's notoriously, carried around with him a copy of Douglas Adam's "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." It was that science fiction novel that inspired Musk's quest to reach for the stars. What did Musk see in Adam's book that has driven him to the quest for the stars that he evidences today? How do we develop the enthusiasm about space travel that I witnessed Elon Musk radiating in that investor meeting ten years ago?

Here I put forward some recommendations for science fiction reading in the hopes that readers of these works may gain a better sense of mankind's destiny. There are links to my own book reviews for my recommendations.

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams. | Stephen DeWitt Taylor 
Musk's favorite.

"The Object" by Joshua T. Calvert | Stephen DeWitt Taylor
This one is about an object not unlike 3IAtlas, currently traversing our solar system, and mankind seeking a rendezvous with "the object."

"Rollback" by Michael C. Grumley | Stephen DeWitt Taylor
Have you read the Bible scripture to the effect... God knows where every sparrow falls? Matthew 10:29-31? You'll see how man might be able to accomplish this himself using scientific knowledge now within reach by reading this book.

"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card | Stephen DeWitt Taylor
High IQ teens fight actual wars against aliens because of their prowess and dexterity playing video game. Orson Scott Card grew up in my hometown, Provo, Utah. He was eight or so years behind me. A movie starring Harrison Ford was made of this book.