“Science Fiction,” writes James Gunn, “… is the literature of change” (p. 10), and it is the notion of transformations in or by science fiction which underpin all of the contributions in this episode of Deletion. Andrew Hageman and Ashenafi Beyene, in their piece “Crumbs Buzz“, focus on Miguel Llansó’s 2014 film Crumbs, a post-apocalypse work set in Ethiopia, and examine the Ethiopia-Global dynamics of the film as it challenges and expands science fiction’s generic traits, especially in relation to the post-disaster sub-genre.

Alyson Miller’s two short creative pieces, “Heterocera” and “Incubation” look at different sorts of transformations. “Heterocera” presents a world in which nature is fighting back against humanity which has so recklessly and determinedly asserted the power of people and what they create at the expense of all else.  “Incubation” explores a more positive side of technology, and imaginatively considers how boundaries are transformed and challenged through the profound experience of watching the three-dimensional images from a pregnancy scan.

Birth is also the theme of Cathryn Perazzo’s “Dream Baby“, which explores how the permeable boundaries between dreaming and “undreaming” can be challenged and expanded, with sometimes fearful results.

This eleventh episode of Deletion finishes with Diana Hodge’s “The Evolution of Cool in the Work of William Gibson“, which examines four novels by Gibson to show how his idea of “cool” is developed and transformed.

We hope that you enjoy this episode of Deletion. May the transformations you experience in 2016 be enriching and fulfilling.

Sean Redmond
Elizabeth Braithwaite

Works Cited:

Gunn, James E. 2005. “Toward a Definition of Science Fiction” in Gunn, James E., and Matthew Candelaria. Speculations on Speculation: Theories of Science Fiction. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press, pp. 5–12.