Captain Jack wrote:
> Also, I'm not sure "Devil In The Dark" is the best example of the point... 
> the only important technology to the plot were A) what the miners were 
> digging for, and B) the silicon cement used to bandage the Horta.

Well, my point was that you couldn't tell the story without an alien 
creature that lives in solid rock. Granted, you could set such a thing in an 
old coal mine, but you couldn't substitute a person for the Horta and tell 
the same story.

> I think if you gave a logical enough explanation for how a silicon based 
> life form could exist (and in Wales, no less) and let the telepathy go as an 
> unexplained-but-taken-for-granted miracle (as it is in Star Trek) it would 
> be still be science fiction. No gadgets, but still scientific. 

Sure, that works too. The point is whether you can tell the same story in a 
mundane setting, not whether it's "science" or "technology" that does the 
trick.

Most of Star Trek wasn't about the technology and how it affected people. I 
suppose the episodes of the holodeck taking over or something would be hard 
to tell without the holodeck. :-)

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".

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