Daily Times

Man’s fascination with space and to wonder about new galactic frontiers dates back to the 15th Century.

Humans first discovered the secrets of the universe when Galileo Galilei invented the first telescopic. In 1687, Sir Isaac Newton’s Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica paved the foundation for laws of motion, gravitation and discussed in detail Johannes Kepler’s laws of planetary motion.

In 1840, John William Draper’s first clear telescopic photograph of the moon did stir emotions and the desire for humans to travel and explore the universe. Authors have also been presenting their longing to observe and speculate about space. “From the Earth to the Moon” written by Jules Verne and “The War of the Worlds” by HG Wells made readers discover new planets and unknown realities. In 1903, Russia’s Konstantin Tsiolkovsky published “The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices” proving that space exploration is a realistic endeavour and that man could theoretically achieve this feat. Where Tsiolkovsky’s idea provided proof of space travel on paper, Robert H. Goddard’s invention of the world’s first liquid-fuel rocket, which he flew on March 16, 1926, added a new dimension to the age of space exploration. He did add a practical approach to the concept of space travel.

Where humans were practically trying to find answers to questions about space and the universe, they were also using their imagination, resource and information available to create inventive and ingenious stories and novels. Such authors wanted to entertain the readers while giving them speculative insights into the worlds, people and objects that exist only in the author’s mind – thus creating the literary genre of science fiction. English writer and novelist Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley is credited as the pioneer of science fiction literature when she wrote “Frankenstein”; or, “The Modern Prometheus” in 1823. Although the novel did not entail space travel or alien life forms, it did reveal a human-like creature. Movie adaptations of the same followed.

Space travel in science fiction, however, brought a new dimension of literature and imagination that created a different outlook in media, entertainment, and the publishing industry. During the Golden Age of Science Fiction, some of the memorable works in this genre were produced. Some of these authors are Isaac Asimov; Alfred Bester, HG Wells and Frank Herbert.

In Pakistan, however, the genre of science fiction has been a neglected one. Ibn Safi is considered as one of the first and probably the only Urdu-language science fiction authors who gave readers a taste of speculative and science fiction through his novels.

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist. He can be reached at omariftikhar@hotmail.com and Tweets at @omariftikhar