The November 1954 issue begins with a big swing-and-a-miss by editor John Campbell, who writes in his editorial,

I am willing to bet that the next major advance in human understanding – the really big advance – will be initiated by working with something that is detected by organic entities . . . probably human detection systems.

He goes on to talk about how the first device used to detect electric current was a pair of frogs legs and how science has become more about meter reading than human inventiveness.

Campbell's sentiment echoes, though never directly references, Ernest Rutherford's famous statement "All science is either physics or stamp collecting." An unsubtle jab, this statement ridiculed the orthodoxy and classification that Rutherford believed characterized biology and chemistry, representing physics as the only branch of science which allowed for true scientific exploration.

Campbell's idea that human perception cannot be usurped by mechanical tools is perhaps inspired by one of the stories in the issue. "Pilot's License," by William T Powers tells the story of Lysle Cruthers, the son of a disgraced spaceship pilot, who spends fifteen years working to get his own pilot's license. He makes a difficult landing, detached from the danger of the situation, and tells the doctor who checks him out afterward that he was "flying the instrument panel," and not the ship. After a final confrontation with Lysle, the doctor walks off thinking about what a fantastic pilot Lysle will be since "no man with that degree of presbyopia could have read his instruments accurately enough to fly on them."

The human spirit, not cold, precise instrumentation, will be the next breakthrough in science, the issue seems to declare. Read in its own time, it would have made a very good case. Read fifty-five years later, though, the most memorable part of "Pilot's License" is the blurb which gives us the emotional thrust of the story; "The only man who you can be sure won't get polio is the one who's had it – and won the battle."

This was a true statement at the time. Five months later, Doctor Jonas Salk announced to the world that there was going to be a very reliable way to be sure that a man wouldn't get polio. While the polio vaccine didn't usher in the golden age of biochemistry, in which our focus has literally turned from our stars to ourselves, it could be seen as one of its early heralds. As for modern research, we turn to scanning electron microscopes, the Hubble Telescope and the Large Hadron Collider, which all detect things that we can never hope to witness with our own eyes.

What struck me, the first time I read this issue, was how antiquated much of the science seemed and how contemporary the capitalism felt. Sure, the ad that said "Prepare Now for Leadership in the New Industrial Revolution," was a scam, but it was a prescient one. And sure, the ad on the back cover that promises "Free Round Trip Reservations to the Moon," looks quaint. Until you read it a little closer and see that it's basically an early forbearer of the current Star Registry programs. You know the ones. You pay a company to tell you that, as far as they are concerned, such-and-such star is named after you, International Astronomical Union be damned. In 1954, they were selling the same thing, only this time it was labeled as an application to be on the ‘list' of the first company selling commercial flights to the moon.

Capitalism isn't the only thing that stands the test of time more than science does. Reading an article entitled "Our Hairy Ancestors," by Poul Anderson, the most contemporary sentence is, "These days, the subject of race is so touchy that intelligent discussion is almost impossible." The sociological awkwardness, and the carefully-worded-to-seem-off-hand disclaimer have held up far more than the scientific content of the article. Poul claims that despite evidence of "Australopithicus, the mysterious South African fire ape," the modern human race originated in Southeast Asia. Africans are, therefore, the "youngest race," having broken off last from the main Homo sapiens group. Europeans, meanwhile, have almost doubtlessly interbred with Neanderthals. It makes sense, since Neanderthals weren't too different from modern humans. They had developed stone tools, speech, and religion. They had much to offer, and their genes may be the reason some modern Europeans have fair hair.

To my mind, this essay was as much science fiction as "Pilot's License" was. While most of what Anderson wrote was at the time backed by solid scientific evidence, almost none of it is regarded as fact anymore. In Before the Dawn, Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors, Nicholas Wade summarizes various genetic studies to paint a very different portrait of both Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens. Wade uses various studies to dismiss the idea that Neanderthals had anything worth contributing to the gene pool, let alone the thought that they might actually have a relative or two alive today. There is no genetic evidence that shows Neanderthals and humans interbred, Wade writes. More damningly, analysis shows that Neanderthals lack the FOXP2 gene, the so-called language gene. A population that lacked the capacity for language, and therefore long-term planning, religion, and creative development, would be unlikely to have contributed much to the human race.

"The title's not even right," I said to one of my friends, as I looked over the issue. "They aren't our ancestors."

"Actually," he replied. "They might be."

While reading Before the Dawn, I was again doing a little time-traveling, though this time only to 2006 instead of 1954. Since 2006, there have been a few developments that put Anderson's essay back in the running for scientific fact again. In 2006 and 2007, scientists discovered bone fragments which suggested that human-Neanderthal interbreeding was a possibility after all. In early 2009, though, studies in Germany, Spain, and Italy, ruled out the idea that Homo sapiens inherited any traits from Neanderthals. This looked to support Wade's theory, until it was discovered that Neanderthals did, in fact, have the FOXP2 language gene. Now, despite Wade's probably-correct assertion that Neanderthals did not interbreed with humans to any significant degree, Anderson's view of Neanderthal society, complete with language and religion, looks to be the correct one. At least, this year it does.

(Left: Nicholas Wade, seen here being wrong about Neanderthals.)

It was sometime between sorting through articles on Neanderthals and looking up studies on the FOXP2 gene that I understood why the science seemed so hokey and antiquated while the social issues and shameless marketing did not. Social strife and human acquisitiveness might not change much in fifty-five years, but scientific knowledge does. Constant inquiry and the rigorous testing of ideas, theories, methods and facts, has produced an stream of knowledge that might meander or loop back, but never stops progressing.

What we see in this issue of Astounding Science Fiction is the reason why science fiction will never surrender its grip on the human imagination. While most other genres focus on the static human condition, science fiction utilizes social themes while turning our gaze outward, on the ever-changing, ever-expanding field of scientific discovery. Perhaps, in time, John Campbell will be proven right about his faith in "organic detection systems." Perhaps, in fifty-five years, we'll be detecting dark matter with a pair of frog's legs.

Juan Molinet [Flickr via mashKULTURE]

War of the Worlds
Revista Colectiva - Supermarket Edition
Wintertime
Hidden Monster, Crouching Tiger
Candynaut
Golden Slumbers
Teen Wolf
Midnight Snack
Somewhere in Japan
First Day at Work
Robotono
Space Monkey
Harald the Viking

We may never be sure what our anonymous archivist really meant by that. Perhaps an engraver suddenly burst into flames, setting the whole building on fire. Or maybe the building itself suddenly caught on fire for no reason. Either way, Dave posted this intriguing image on Shorpy (above), and a commenter noticed that it looked like this (below) present-day intersection in D.C., on Raoul Wallenburg Place.

via Shorpy

The rumor had said JMS' new script was a "continuation" of the 1956 original, in which Altair 6 somehow doesn't blow up after all. Writes Babylon 5 creator JMS:

That report is totally incorrect. It's not going to be retro, and it's not going to be a continuation. When Altair 4 blows up, it blows up. I have, however, found a way to honro (sic) the original movie without in any way besmirching it in order to do this iteration. Once folks find out what we're actually going to do, I think they'll be most pleased. Forbidden Planet remains one of my favorite films of all time, and I wouldn't even think about doing this project if I didn't think there was a way to do it that would not in any way diminish the original...which is why this is the the first development in years to actually get to the script stage. Everybody involved is very excited by the approach.

Sounds as though it's more a remake than a continuation, although all this talk of a new approach also makes me wonder if JMS is playing into the new fad for remakes that are also quasi-sequels, sort of the way the recent Hulk movie half-acknowledged, half-supplanted the original. Or the way the Tin Man miniseries hinted that its Dorothy had had a great-grandmother who also visited Oz. The big question, though, is will we have a retro Robby the Robot? It's probably not up to JMS, since it's a design decision, and it probably depends how well Earth Stood Still, with its retro-looking Gort, does. Of course, if Earth Stood Still does really badly, this may be the last we hear of a new Forbidden Planet anyway. [JMS News]

Maybe these aren't the coolest, but when I was a kid C3P0 was my favorite. So there. Want to see the whole set? Check out Derek's Flickrstream.

John Berkey is one of those old-school concept artists whose work doesn't look hyper-realistic like Photoshop on steroids. He uses an old school smeary oils approach that look both futuristic and retro at the same time. Berkey has done numerous pieces of freelance futuristic artwork featuring ships in battle above our world and others, and also did some of the original concept and poster artwork for Star Wars.

I have one of their Big Boy rocket lamps sitting on my desk, and it not only helps inspire me to think up a new triviagasm every day, it also helps hold down my errant papers. Artist Jeff Brewer, who also works in special effects, designs the rockets and coldcasts them by hand before painting them and making sure you'll get your own unique piece of atomic-era wonder delivered to your doorstep. But a word of warning: They don't play well with kids, according to the instructions for the Big Boy Mark II.

In a day and age when Sesame Street ruled the airwaves and toys were marketed as "enriching and learning," Alphie was educational in the way white bread was "filled with vitamins." Armed with plastic game cards, Alphie allegedly could teach you math, memory skills, and some language basics. But all he was really good for was playing "Claire De Lune" over and over so you could drive your parents crazy.

He was sadly retired when Alphie II came out in the 1980s, but the new model sucked harder than the old one, and he was banished to the deep recesses of attics and basements across America. Alphie, I know you're somewhere in my parent's house in Texas. When I find you we'll see who gets schooled then, bitch.

Famous names: Directed by Nick Castle, a John Carpenter alum who started out strong playing Michael Myers in the first Halloween film and writing Escape from New York, but then directed three movies in the mid-nineties which are so foul, we dare not speak their name.

Crunchy goodness: 4

Stunt casting: Since both Mary-Louise Parker and Mary Stuart Masterson were unavailable to play the girlfriend, the filmmakers had to settle for third-tier triple-namer Catherine Mary Stewart—and Mary isn't even her first name, for Chrissakes!

Memorable product tie-in: Failing to learn from the success of the Tron video game two years earlier, Atari (the king of vaporware) produced an arcade game which was never released, and a computer game which was eventually released several years later, but not called The Last Starfighter.

Design breakthrough: All the special effects (except for the starcar on Earth) are CGI, and unlike Tron, they're meant to represent real, physical objects.

Cold Fusion Video Reviews: The Last Starfighter

Famous Names: Andrei Tartovsky (Director, Co-writer).

Crunchy Goodness: 4

Re-makes: Steven Soderbergh's 2002 re-make was surprisingly good ... but died at the box office, as people don't want to see George Clooney confront the existential problems of the universe.

Most Painfully Dated Moment: Actually, the whole movie is pretty damn Soviet.

Life Lesson: Talk things over with your loved ones before you have to do it as part of a telepathically-induced hallucination.

Review of Solaris at the Sci-Fi Movie Page

Crunchy goodness: 2

Spinoffs/Sequels/Copycats: Joss Whedon was supposed to write and direct a movie, but now it's stuck in development hell.

Stunt casting: Chloris Leachman as Queen Hyppolita, Wonder Woman's over-protective mother, who's worried about letting Wonder Woman visit the unhygienic outside world.

The shit: When the boogie-woogie theme music plays and Carter spins around to create a burst of light and don her spangly costume, you can't help believing in Amazons.

The Wonder Woman Pages