Episode 611: We Can't Unsee What We've Seen

Welcome back to Science Faction, where this week we cover everything from Disney trips and dying handheld consoles to exploding rockets, prestige television, and one of the most unsettling science fiction stories ever written. Steven is preparing for an upcoming Disney adventure and is especially excited to introduce his nephew to Galaxy's Edge. The kid's current obsessions are droids and starships, which means Disney has essentially engineered an entire section of the park specifically to drain Steven's wallet. Devon wrestles with the chaos that comes with family trips, navigating in-law logistics and the impossible task of fitting too many events into a single day. He also takes a moment to recommend comedian Josh Adam Meyers, whose visit to Devon's hometown left quite an impression. Meanwhile, Ben says goodbye to his foster kittens, affectionately known as "the captains," and reflects on their departure. To distract himself from the sadness, he gives us a fascinating history lesson on the WonderSwan, Bandai's handheld gaming system that briefly challenged Nintendo's dominance in Japan. In Future or Now, Ben dives into the recent failure of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket and why industry experts view the incident as potentially catastrophic for the company. Beyond the loss of a vehicle, concerns center around damage to launch infrastructure and the enormous delays that can follow major launch pad failures. We also spend time discussing For All Mankind, with Ben currently watching the first season alongside his child while also keeping up with the latest season. The conversation turns to the show's increasingly tense alternate-history storytelling, particularly its depiction of Star City. Ben also highlights Becky Chambers' upcoming novella, As You Wake, Break the Shell, which immediately caught the attention of science fiction fans. Devon joins the For All Mankind discussion and branches out into several other shows. We talk about the gleeful brutality of The Boys and the unusual premise of Widow's Bay on Apple TV+, which Devon describes as feeling like Parks and Recreation collided headfirst with a Stephen King novel. Steven mostly enjoys the ride this week, contributing commentary while the conversation bounces between exploding rockets, television recommendations, and speculative fiction. For Book Club, we begin by announcing next week's story, The Stars Look Away From This Vessel by Dave Ring. The story opens with a wonderfully strange description of how to draw a spaceship, setting the tone for what promises to be a memorable piece of science fiction. This week's discussion focuses on The Things by Peter Watts, a modern classic that retells the events of John Carpenter's The Thing from the perspective of the alien itself. The story radically reframes the film's events, transforming what appeared to be a horrifying monster into something far more complicated and tragic. We discuss the unforgettable line, "I am being Blair. I escape out the back as the world comes in through the front," and examine how Watts uses the alien's perspective to challenge assumptions about identity, communication, and survival. Naturally, comparisons to The Thing (1982) dominate the discussion, while we mostly leave the 2011 prequel out in the cold where it belongs. Thanks for listening to another episode of Science Faction! If you'd like even more content, including bonus episodes, exclusive posts, Discord access, AI-generated artwork, and direct interaction with the hosts, be sure to check out our Patreon. You can also subscribe on YouTube, leave us a review wherever you listen, and join us next week as we discuss The Stars Look Away From This Vessel.