The Stars My Destination

For this week I read The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. I found the premise to be interesting but also reminiscent of some space-centered scifi stories that have popped into our culture before. I think that this story touches on the attraction of space as a venue for society and sustainable culture as well as its driving force in the science fiction genre. Many of these “wishes” that we as readers feel concerning our own lives surface in The Stars My Destination.

One notable characteristic is the ability to “jaunt” from place to place. This skill is essentially immediately transporting from one place to the other within given limits of the story. In this particular plot, characters can only jaunt on each planet (not from/in/to outer space) and only to places that they have been to. It seems that much of the science fiction genre addresses what life would be like if we had mystic abilities, highly advanced technology, etc. In particular, many stories explore the possibilities of an idea (in this case, jaunting as well as cyber enhancement of the body) then depict its downfall. It is a classic future metropolis gone wrong scenario, and alludes to the culture-shifting issues that could arise from advancements in human capability, intergalactic travel, or robotic technology.

These explorations serve as an attraction to the science fiction genre. Writing or reading such stories allows us to imagine “what if,” and experience these possibilities in some way. As I discussed in my previous blog post, tales such as The Stars My Destination provide a venue in which we can explore the possibilities of a life beyond the limitations of our own, and provides tremendous value in relation to the interest of the plot.