A rare and precious find

A rare and precious find
Originally uploaded by Richard Gugins

This gem was found at last year’s Conversion 24. It’s a first edition, published in 1899. H. G. Wells was the father of modern science fiction along with Jules Verne. Even today, no one has written a better invasion from space story than War of the Worlds. The original George Pal movie done in the fifties was vastly superior to the pathetic Tom Cruise remake. Why can’t people recognize a classic when they see it? Classics do not require updating; that is what the term classic means. By their very nature they are timeless. Trying to bring them into the modern era is as futile as attempting to install a nuclear reactor in your Ford. None of the various television and movie versions were even close to the original in quality. The closest perhaps was the Jeff Wayne musical version. The music is by Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues and as such is a classic itself.

Some things stand the test of time as do some relationships. When my father passed away back in 2003 I couldn’t help noticing how many of his friends that showed up for the funeral had been his friend for over half a century. I have not been so fortunate with my friendships. Most have fallen by the wayside over the years. People come into and out of our modern lives at a far greater pace than they did in my father’s time. Some move away, become involved with other things and lose touch. Others suffer some slight or get into an argument with you over something you said or they said and you part ways, never quite sure why. Life is for the most part a one way street; you can never go back. Believe me, I’ve tried! People left behind are just that--people left behind. They are an important part of your past but only as part of the journey to the present. Today is what matters for this is where we live, like it or lump it. Carpe Diem! Whatever happened yesterday is nothing more than a memory (unless of course you are on trial for what you did yesterday, in which case it’s evidence).

Tomorrow on the other hand, is open to speculation and as such far more interesting. This is what science fiction is all about; speculation. Not the future per se but possible futures. What if? If this goes on… We are in many ways living in a science fiction age—go in a Future Shop and see how many of the new devices you even understand; if you’re an old fart like me, not many. I’m holding out for a holodeck and tea, Earl Grey, hot. I must admit that while I’m not a full blown Trekkie, I do like some aspects of the utopian future they present. Beam me up Scotty.

This is why I enjoy reading the science fiction of the 1930’s. Their vision of the age we now live in was for the most part optimistic in the extreme. Some, like Wells did consider war inevitable but others saw the future as one marvelous invention after another.