SF and the 20th Century, Part 1: Favorite Stories
| The City on the Edge of Forever (Screenplay—Star Trek; 1967; Harlan Ellison) |
This classic time travel tale from 1967 finds Kirk, stranded in the 1930s, faced with a dilemma in which he must choose between saving someone he loves or allowing her to die in order to restore more than 300 years of lost history. The solution was best summed up some 25 years later in 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan when Spock said that, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." When McCoy changes history by saving a pacifist social worker from being killed in a traffic accident, her later actions delay the U.S. entry into WWII and allow Germany to conquer the world. Thus the future United Federation of Planets never comes to be. In reality it may not be so simple, but it makes for a great What if? and one of the best Treks ever.
The list could go on and on, but alas we must close the pod bay doors for now. I hope that some of these stories hold a special place for you as well, and if you're unfamiliar with any of them I hope you'll enjoy exploring them for the first time. I'm certain that many of you have your own list of favorite science fiction stories, too. I'd love to hear what they are, so feel free to contribute to the discussion.
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