Speculative fiction struggles with how to handle disabilities, which is reflective of our society at large. Whether due to age, health, accidents, or other life happenstance, almost everyone will end up struggling with disability at some point in their life (or see it happen in someone they care about). The absence of this within our media only creates stigma around disabilities and chronic illness. Removing disabilities and chronic illness through handwaving, “superior technology” or magic, creates an unrealistic emphasis on wholeness as a moral or correct way of living/existing. Disabilities change as societies evolve, which means they’ll never be gotten rid of. Same with chronic illnesses. DNA will never replicate perfectly. Genetic disorders will always exist without eugenic interference.
Within the universe of the Expeditionary Force series, written by Craig Alanson, genetic superiority is discussed a great deal. Each of the alien races have been genetically modified for war by their patron species, all the way up to the top level races. It’s heavily implied that consent was not a factor in whether or not these races were modified. While these modifications are shown as improvements (better hearing, better vision, faster healing, etc), it’s also shown that these adaptations aren’t inherently morally superior or better. The humans can still keep up with their genetically modified alien counterparts, even if they have to be a little smarter about how they do things. That in and of itself is an important aspect to note: adversity pushes our collective boundaries. When we see problems, we as humans find incredible ways to overcome them.
One of the main characters in ExForce loses his legs. It’s a traumatic experience, as he’s a SpecOps soldier. And this is where Craig Alanson subverted my expectations. The medical technology they have on board their ship allows for limb regrowth/regeneration, and I wholeheartedly expected for this character to simply have his legs regrown. Then undergo physical therapy for a few months, then be back to normal/good as new (more or less). I was absolutely pleasantly surprised when the character pushed back on limb regrowth. He wanted prosthetic legs. He demanded them.
Click the imagine above, or click here to read the rest of this post.
“...seeing myself in a character, whether it’s this person...in ExForce, or the lawyer in My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, proper representation matters.”