Of all the random thoughts you’ve had this week, I’m guessing you’ve never considered how science fiction is like ice cream. 🚀🍨

Well, you can thank one of my many random thoughts for this list. (That, and my recent trip to the grocery store while hungry…)

So here we go.

How exactly is science fiction like ice cream?

1) There are many flavors

There’s something for everyone in the science fiction cryogenic freezer. Maybe you like the swirling romance of a soft-serve space opera—or one that has a firmer texture, with crunchy bits and less of that kissing stuff. (Insert a quote from The Princess Bride here…)

Are you in the mood for a chunky military epic? Go ahead. You can enlist for extra mix-ins of action and gritty realism.

What about a thriller? A whodunit? Time travel where you absolutely, positively should not interact with your past self…or (gasp) keep your grandfather from meeting your grandmother? 🙅‍♀️ Yup…there’s guaranteed to be that flavor out there.

Ooh…but what you really crave is a special limited-edition printing. 📙 One with cool add-on toppings like sci-fi maps, color art, character profiles, spacecraft diagrams… Come on in! You can even taste a sample before you buy. 😋

But what if you’re allergic to certain objectionable ingredients? Have an intolerance for steamy scenes or nasty words? 🤐 There are cleaner versions of sci-fi that will tickle your taste buds.

And if you can’t decide on just one flavor? No problem. Pile on a few scoops and mix it up!

Have yourself an action-packed military space opera that’s clean and tasty…available in a special edition for a limited time! (Hmm…sounds just like a special sci-fi sundae this author will be dishing out soon!)

Bottom line: Sci-fi has more flavors than your favorite ice cream shop. So grab a spoon and dig in!

2) It’s cool

Who can argue that a light saber isn’t one of the coolest personal weapons ever?

Or that a Mandalorian suit would turn more heads on a sidewalk than a sports car?

There are other cool genres, but there’s something about sci-fi worldbuilding that’s wild and wonderful. Everything from a space station orbiting a black hole to a cantina filled with hooligans of multiple species. There are blasters and anti-gravity suits and warp drives.

Or perhaps not—rather, a pre-industrial dystopia where just getting the lights back on is a minor miracle.

No cell service.

And there’s definitely something cool about that.

3) It invites a second (or third) helping

Science fiction is similar to its good cousin, fantasy, in that it can be hard to stop at just one serving.

Thus, the duologies…trilogies…or more…📚

This isn’t to disparage a great standalone title. Like a unique flavor that requires no encore, sometimes our response to a wonderful solo work of sci-fi is to come back for more by re-reading it.

Still, a well-crafted sci-fi world calls us to stay awhile, to explore its physical and socio-political terrain, to linger with characters who might dwell in an imagined far-future yet remind us of someone we know today (including that complicated person in the mirror).

And we want to know how their longer story arc turns out.

If Luke will turn to the Dark Side…or rescue his father from it.

If Katniss will defeat Snow…and deal with the rebellion’s own threat to freedom.

And (in the standalone worth re-watching category) if WALL-E and EVE will get together. Yeah, you might just shed a tear into your ice cream with that one… 🤧

4) Both ice cream and sci-fi require space

(Okay, I hear your groan…) 🤨

Here’s a true mystery of the universe: why there always more ice cream flavors I want on hand than my available freezer space? And why is Neapolitan the only three-flavor, space-saving carton? Why not a trifecta of mint chocolate chip + Rocky Road + cookies-and-cream? (You can thank me later if that miracle happens…)

What’s no mystery is that most sci-fi stories involve outer space. 🌌

Whether it’s a generation ship on a hundred-year interstellar voyage, competing fleets battling it out in the asteroid belt, or multi-system colonization, the immense void of space is a significant backdrop.

It’s as important to the genre as castles and dragons are to fantasy.

Heck, the popular sci-fi series The Expanse could be retitled Space.

And consider what a tiny fraction of the universe we’ve explored.

When our eyes are drawn upward toward the stars, an ingrained sense of wonder is awakened. Next time, enjoy that moment with your favorite ice cream.

Perhaps even three flavors.

5) Like ice cream, science fiction alters the shape of our future

Sadly, the joys of ice cream can be offset by the reality of our waistline… 😬

Similarly, what was once science fiction can become science fact—with outcomes that might not be as utopian as we’d hoped. Consider the tricorder (the original flip-phone) and what we’ve learned about being tethered to a communication device all the time. Did you know iPad-like tablets made an appearance in the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey? But did anyone foresee the ill effects of those enticing screens on childhood development?

Just like grandma sugaring up a 4-year-old on chocolate ice cream with sprinkles before sending them home, the yummy technology marvels of science fiction can ruin our appetite for a more nutritious, tech-limited way of life.

Maybe it’s best to consume our sci-fi with a discerning eye toward a healthier future.

6) At its best, it causes us to dream

There’s nothing like a contented tummy full of ice cream to ease us into a nap, where dreams of chocolate-fudge rivers (thanks, Willie Wonka!) run through our minds.

Likewise, if we take heed to #5 above—not making technology our salvation—the ideas of sci-fi stories can stimulate our own. They can provoke us to imagine new things, conceive of different ways of life, and consider diverse (dare I say alien) perspectives. And that imagination can motivate us to step tangibly toward our dreams.

Mine include celebrating those achievements with ice cream… 🥳🍦

7) Ice cream and sci-fi are the most heavenly of humanity’s creations

“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream…”

Show me a picture of a kid unhappy with ice cream…and I’ll bet that delicious scoop just fell off the cone onto the pavement.😭

Love of ice cream is as widespread as a universal translator (yet another science-fiction-to-fact example…)

And sci-fi—which often depicts cultural melting pots—can point us to our shared humanity. Even stories with wacky aliens still evoke our basic human needs: for identity, for belonging, for love.

And for ice cream.

Because, like sci-fi, it’s heavenly…

There you go…seven ways science fiction is like ice cream. 🚀🍨

Got an eighth?

Comment below!

Until next time, happy reading. And enjoy every lick!