By Giannina Ong

Even though it was over two decades ago, I remember this day clearly: I’m 4 years old, sitting next to my sister in a shopping cart. My mom is waiting for a toy store to open ahead of the “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” release — she’s one of the only women in line, let alone a woman with kids. Once the doors open, chaos ensues. People are grabbing and arguing over who got this and that action figure first. By the end of it, my mom emerges victorious with a haul that fills the cart.

That moment paved the way for my love for science fiction. (Yes, I know “Star Wars” is more science fantasy, and no, I didn’t watch the film when it was in theaters in 1999.) But as a genre that has been historically male-dominated, having a mom who loves sci-fi definitely helped smash those stereotypes.

These days, my love for science fiction goes beyond films and TV shows like “Doctor Who,” (which my mom’s mom loved too, so I guess sci-fi runs in our maternal genes). I love reading everything from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” to “The Martian” to “The Three-Body Problem” series by Chinese author Liu Cixin. There’s something so soothing about science fiction: the streamlined neatness of imagined future tech, the way complex plot threads snap perfectly into place, the sense that every impossible problem has a clever solution if you just look at it the right way. When reality is messy and unpredictable, science fiction is an imaginative escape and a pure balm for my anxious, future-worried brain.

Feaured writers: Ted Chiang, Yume Kitasei, Ken Liu, Sequoia Nagamatsu, Charles Yu, Gish Jen

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