From Spock to Grok

"Future History's"* Present Stage

Both Robert Heinlein and Gene Roddenberry had physical illnesses which forced their looming imaginations to write. Both are my literary heroes. Both wrote Sci Fi genre.

 Gene Roddenberry wrote the classic "Star Trek" which deeply influenced the electronics of the following generations. Our cell phones directly resemble the "communicator" device by purposed design.  Roddenberry’s exotic intelligence was revealed in “Mr. Spock”.

Robert Heinlein's impact on society was not as strong or deep as Roddenberry's but taught us the meaning of empathic understanding [to "grok ].  I grokked “Stranger in a Strange Land” in one night to early morn when I was sixteen.

How can these two dead authors have meaning in this new millennium? 

Humor and Vision.   These two classic writers have made friends with  the spirit of inspiration.  They modeled examples by their stories.   

Roddenberry's use of a technologically advanced fleet of ships was less militarism and more open to comfortable exploration.  After his death, the subsequent  TV "Treks" became more militaristic and less imaginative.  It died completely while flying as the series 'The Enterprise"....the fine cast could not giggle.

Heinlein's invented characters were very independent souls; brilliant, achievement oriented. In the typical perspectives of his time and forgivable sexisms of his taste, he populated ladies and rogues who were very clearly gendered.  Yet with all their clothing stiffness, they had their flair in humor. Heinlein understood the importance of the absurd.

I live the absurd. There can be no other way to live after the intelligent genocide of my family.   My friend, the Blackfoot, also lived this absurd. Together we did not hate our species but have decided to reach out and teach.  We still giggle.

I grok the brilliance of intelligence in the legacy of Gene Roddenberry and Robert Heinlein:

" those who contribute the  most to the world are also those who have the most fun. "

(Quote of Heinlein written by Damon Knight in the introduction to* Future History Stories: The Past Through Tomorrow - Heinlein stories.)