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The First Science Fiction Novel
opinion by Rhys Hughes
Everyone has their theories about which was the first SF novel. Taking J.G. Ballard's
definition of SF "Science fiction is fiction inspired by science" - we see
that the case for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is undermined. Although a horror
tale which rejects paranormal trappings for an extrapolation of science, the science
has proved defective. So what differentiates her novel from Lucian of Samosata's True
History, written in the second century? His book extrapolates notions about astronomy
and exo-biology as respectable in his time as galvanic reanimation in Mary Shelley's. Only
if Ballard's definition is changed to the following - 'Science fiction is fiction inspired
by true science' does Lucian's book - ineligible as the original SF novel, but then so does
Mary Shelley's.
The first step in choosing a candidate for the position must involve a more precise definition
of the word 'science'. It is a vague term. covering a range of disciplines from physics to
psychology. Is mathematics a science or does it occupy a special place with pure logic as
an analytical discipline? Can fiction inspired by philosophy be described as SF? There exist
very hard branches of philosophy: a novel based on Wittgenstein's 'Logical Atomism' would
surely be chrome-plated SF. On the other toga, philosophy can be softer than a social worker's
perm. But there is a grey area, a topic which swims in the pool where chrome and syrup rivers
meet.
Economics is that topic. True, it is not a hard science, subject to laboratory testing, but
mathematical models and mechanical simulations can been constructed to demonstrate core
theories. A contraption exists at the London School of Economics which consists of a number
of water tanks and tubes. It has been used to train economists for generations, different
tanks corresponding to aspects of the economy. Economics does not rely just on gathering
statistics; engineers can contribute. This is surely an important aspect of a definition
of a 'science'. Furthermore, certain factors can be formularised. If I soak cotton in nitric
acid and dissolve it in acetone. I get cordite. If I soak myself in beer and go for a vindaloo
- I get drunk and poor.
If economics is accepted as a valid science then I hereby nominate Robert Paltock's Peter
Wilkins (1750) as the first SF novel. The book concerns the fiscal adventures of the
narrator who, marooned on an isle populated by flying people, begins to convert them from
communists to capitalists (not that either word existed in Paltock's day). The narrator
applies policies which are still valid; the principles of this novel, unlike those of Mary
Shelley or Lucian, are 'true'. A modern equivalent of the narrator would apply similar
techniques. The transition of many East European economies is neatly anticipated by the
fictional changes on the isle of Normnbdsgrsutt. Paltock spent most of his life as a lawyer;
he wrote Peter Wilkins in an attempt to pay off his debts. Entertaining and complex,
it is one of the great neglected novels of the l8th century.
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