I read Isaac Asimov’s most well known short story “Nightfall” recently, and it made me think like no other work of fiction ever has. That, more than anything else, is what I love about his writing. A planet that will face it’s first night in two thousand years tries to prepare itself to see stars in the sky. Society has been built on the assumption that there will always be a sun- bright and warm above them. Without knowing what they are, can people appreciate the beauty and depth that stars represent? What foundations have we built our own culture on that aren’t as secure as we think they are? Published in the 1940’s, this is not a thinly veiled comment on environmentalism (despite my weak descriptions), but a reflection of our society; its needs, and its fears.
One recurring theme in Asimov’s writing is the thin but bitterly-fought differences between science and religion. Holding a PhD in biochemistry he was acutely aware of the conflicts and overlapping claims science and religion often make. In his Foundation series he takes the end of an epoch (the fall of an empire that stretches across a galaxy) to show just how much science and religion overlap. Knowledge and belief are two different ways to interpret the things we see and feel. In my mind, knowledge is based in facts and observable events.
Belief is much deeper, something in our bones that tells us about these facts and events around us. The important distinction is how we use our ability to understand the world around us. Science and religion can impact the world, but it is up to us to guide the hammer.
The Foundation series won the Nebula Award for best science fiction or fantasy series ever written, beating out the odds-on favorite: The Lord of the Rings. Asimov traces the history of the Foundation- a scientific oasis, a seed vault of all the accumulated knowledge of the 12,000 year reign of the Galactic Empire. One conversation leads to planets facing off in war decades later. A single trade agreement could be the reason a planet is able to throw off an oppressive religion. Asimov shows how our own modern civilization evolved, what roles science, religion, and economics all played. This is a story so well known to us we can only observe them honestly in an outside world.
I would highly recommend reading Isaac Asimov’s work. These stories published decades ago are relevant today because of the questions that they ask. We must continue to ask them- for each generation must find their own answers.
“What is there in darkness to drive me mad?”
“Have you ever experienced darkness, young man?”
–Nightfall
Written by Daniel
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