Conquering the Universe is Stupid

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What is the cost of your ambition?

The answer to this question varies from person to person, and often correlates to the extent of their goals. Typically, the response is something along the lines of hard work and perseverance. Most people would never openly admit that they would harm others, even if it meant that they could finally attain their heart’s desires. But for some, they would be pretty cool with destroying anything or anyone that gets in their way, and they don’t care who knows it.

…

Wait, hold on. How could anyone operate like that? Well, writers of space fiction often justify it in the same way: some folks are just really, really bad. And not “bad” like fun and cool, but bad as in truly awful on a fundamental level. Even terrible enough to eradicate entire star systems… and whatever life inhabits them.

Here’s the basic formula:

The only real variation from story to story can be found in their motives. What drives the bad guy to commit atrocities against innocent people? What’s in it for them? If every vicious act is done in the name of achieving ultimate power, what happens after they’ve achieved it? While the reasons may vary, the method is always the same: force all life to bend to their will, and destroy all who oppose them.

Consider the Sith from the Star Wars franchise. They spread evil throughout the universe to increase the power of the dark side. But why? They could just focus all of that energy on being good and achieve the same level of power. Even if they didn’t want to be as snooty and self-righteous as the Jedi, they could forge their own path to the light side without harming others. Why do innocent lifeforms have to suffer just so some dudes that they’ve never met can have cool lightning hands?

Not to mention the amount of work that a plan of that scope would require. The countless hours spent scheming and plotting, sowing the seeds of corruption wherever they can. The criminal organizations to construct, and influential people to threaten. And all of this not just on one planet, but all of them?

Of course, not every space villain goes to such trouble to get what they want. Let’s look at the example of Horde Prime from Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Rather than working with others, he created clones of himself and established a hive mine to connect them. With his vision of a perfect universe entirely under his control, he trampled all who dared defy his rule. Except… that’s still a lot of effort.

Ultimately, is it worth it? For an intergalactic control freak, perhaps it is. And a conflict of that scale is sure to make for an interesting story! But I’ve always struggled to understand the logic behind it. How could precious lives and complex civilizations be an acceptable trade for the satisfaction of one person’s egomania and greed? How entitled does someone need to be to cause so much death and destruction?

Luckily, these are fictional characters. We can just analyze them, delving into their carefully constructed backstories in order to understand them.

If only it were that easy in real life.

HANAN OMAR - An alien cosplaying as a big nerd. I like thinking about big questions and writing down whatever my brain pukes up.

Are We All Connected?

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Looking out into the infinite universe, it’s hard to see what the purpose of our existence is. Is it all just random chaos, or is everything a piece of a larger picture? This question has been pondered throughout all of human history. Philosophers reflect and reason, mathematicians and physicists pore over facts and data. They spend lifetimes in pursuit of the truth, but each answer just reveals new questions.

As it turns out, not knowing things leaves plenty of room for our imaginations to run wild. Between the known and the unknown exists the creative genre of space fiction. What lies beyond the realm of human understanding is a playground of speculation – an infinite hardware store of tools and supplies to craft endless stories. And yet, one theme seems to come up all throughout the genre: connection. More specifically, the connection of every living thing in the universe.

In Star Wars, there’s the Force. In Voltron, quintessence. She-Ra could tap into the energy of a planet and propel it through dimensions! Each fictional voyage into space seems to find the characters face-to-face with some massive well of energy to which every living being is linked.

The reason behind this is rather simple; space fiction is just a whimsical, emotional exploration into the nature of existence. It is yet another vehicle heading toward the goal of understanding our place in the universe, but it takes the scenic route. While it is often inspired by existing research and philosophy, space fiction takes liberties that make the void seem less overwhelming and pants-shittingly scary. It’s similar to religion, except disagreements just lead to nerds arguing online instead of war and human tragedy.

The storylines of space fiction that pursue this idea of interconnectedness often follow the same basic formula: a small number of people, some good and some bad, have the ability to draw power from what is fundamentally the essence of life itself. The hero must learn to wield this power in order to face a great evil, overcoming their own personal struggles along the way. Throughout their training, they form a deeper understanding of this energy and learn to set aside their individuality to become part of something bigger. Written all out like this, it seems kind of cheesy.

And yet…

There’s something about this story arc that speaks to me. And judging by the obsessive enthusiastic fanbases supporting these kinds of stories, it must resonate with a lot of other people as well. There’s something incredibly comforting about being part of something more significant, something that we can feel even if we can’t understand what it is.

It could be that there is a God that created everything and watches over us. Or maybe we’re all part of the Living Force, and when we die we become part of the Cosmic Force. We could just be one being experiencing itself in infinite ways. Or we could be nothing.

But until we know for sure, we can keep writing stories about the endless possibilities.

HANAN OMAR - An alien cosplaying as a big nerd. I like thinking about big questions and writing down whatever my brain pukes up.