The exploration of the solar system is one of the classic themes of science fiction, although it is surpassed by the exploration of the galaxy, both in the number of works and in the variety of arguments to which it has given rise.
Among my favorite works on this subject I
will cite the following:
- Exploration
and colonization of the moon. Two novels
that make a series: De la Terre à la Lune
and Autour de la Lune by
Jules Verne, whose protagonists circumambulate the moon, but are unable to
land; and two short stories: The Singing
Bell by Isaac Asimov and The
Menace from Earth by Robert Heinlein. In the second there
is a well-established base on the moon.
- Exploration
and colonization of Mars. Three novels: A princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs,
Out of the silent planet by
C.S. Lewis and The Sands of Mars
by Arthur C. Clarke; and a collection of short stories: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.
All of them predate the discovery that the famous Martian canals do not
exist.
- Exploration
and colonization of Venus. A novel: Perelandra by C.S. Lewis; and a short
story: Sister Planet by Poul
Anderson. Both predate the discovery of the hellish environment on Venus and
were written when it was thought that perhaps Venus was almost completely
covered by oceans. The main thing in the novel by Lewis is not a
description of Venus, but the religious connotations of the plot. And in
Anderson’s story, as is often the case in his works, the most important
thing is the moral problem faced by the protagonist.
- Exploration
of the inner solar system. A novel: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke,
which rather than with the exploration of the solar system deals with
the encounter with a product of extraterrestrial intelligence, although
most of the novel takes place in the inner solar system, closer to the sun
than Earth; and a collection of short stories: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, some of which deal
with an expedition to Mars or with mining facilities on Mercury.
- Exploration
of the outer solar system. Two
novels: Hector Servadac by Jules
Verne, and 2001, a space odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke.
First came the film, in whose script Clarke participated, where the
exploration ends at Jupiter. Then the novel was written and published, where
the protagonist reaches Saturn.
In my own science-fiction activity, I have
written four novels (a tetralogy) dealing with the exploration of the solar
system. The series consists of the following titles:
- Under
an orange sky: In about twenty years from now, the
third expedition to Mars will take place. (When I wrote the novel, it
would have been fifty years later). The government of the Earth decides to
begin the colonization of Mars. In the spaceship Adventure travels
journalist Irene Pinedo, who will transmit to the Earth the incidents of
the trip. After arriving on Mars, Irene makes two sensational discoveries
that make her confront the leaders of the colony and the Earth government
in a conflict of interest that raises a major moral issue.
- Descent
into the hell of Venus: The first manned flight to Venus would make history.
Surprisingly, a crew member must be changed a few days before departure.
What does the Brotherhood of the Rose have to do with this?
Is someone plotting a sabotage? The fate of seven astronauts and one of
the most important scientific missions of the time is in danger... The
story takes place in parallel between Earth and Venus, with two different
but related intrigues. One of the characters in this novel, Steve MacDunn,
also appears in the previous novel of the tetralogy.
- Operation
Quatuor: Terexa Viginti, a fifteen-year-old South American girl, finds
herself involved in a mysterious intrigue, where some want to kill her,
others claim to save her, and still others want to use her as a decoy. Who
are the Brethren? What’s the reason why the Sect hates her? What wants the
government to do with Terexa? Everyone appears to know much more about her
than herself. The solution seems to be on Mars, where the mysterious
Quatuor claims to be the only one person capable of solving the enigma.
- Operation
Viginti: At the end of Operation Quatuor,
Terexa Viginti has discovered the mystery surrounding her life. From now
on she must prepare to be the successor of the famous Quatuor as president
of the Institute of the Brethren of the Holy Cross. She then discovers
that Mars holds another secret known by very few, which links this novel to
the first in the tetralogy. Suddenly, Terexa Viginti becomes the successor
of Irene Pinedo, the protagonist of the first book in the series. But the
Government wants to seize Terexa and use her for its own purposes. Will
Terexa be able to escape from the government wiles?
Compared to the Milky Way galaxy, the
solar system seems small, but, as one character says in the fourth book of my
tetralogy: The Solar System is very big, and
it’s difficult to keep everything under control. And in fact he’s
not speaking about the whole Solar System, but just about the four Galilean
satellites of Jupiter, which play an important role in that story.
Thematic Thread about Literature and Cinema: Previous Next
Manuel Alfonseca
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