Mission To Abisko: Stories and Myths In The Creation of Scientific "Truth"

Abisko is a minute village and scientific research station in far northern Sweden. In 1997 John L. Casti organized a meeting of historians, science writers, and writers of "hard" science fiction, under the midnight sun, to discuss the ways, means, and ends of scientific storytelling. Each of the 12 participants wrote a chapter in this book.

The quote marks around Truth in the title are nearly misleading. The writers mostly agree that there is such a thing as truth, even Truth, and that science tries to find it. But they also agree that science is not culture-free any more than modern culture can be made science-free. For the science fiction writers, in particular, this is a source of vibrant wit and insight.

Gregory Benford's personal take on cloning, for instance: "Speaking as a twin, clones seem a lesser form." The issue of cloning and the broader question of what is a human being run through the book, from Benford to Jack Cohen's image of the Make-a-Human-Being Kit to Paul McAuley's comparison of horror and science fiction's response to genetic manipulation. The feedback loops within and between chapters make Mission to Abisko the standard that all conference proceedings should hope to achieve: a partial record of a meeting of minds. --Mary Ellen Curtin