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dc.contributor.authorGrech, Victor E.
dc.contributor.authorVassallo, Clare
dc.contributor.authorCallus, Ivan
dc.date.accessioned2018-01-08T09:18:08Z
dc.date.available2018-01-08T09:18:08Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.identifier.citationGrech, V. E., Thake-Vassallo, C., & Callus, I. (2012). Gaia beware : infertility in SF due to bioterrorism, pollution and accidental iatrogenic events. Vector, 270, 26-30.en_GB
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/25519
dc.description.abstractSF has widely depicted eschatological scenarios of all types since we seem to willingly ‘accept the lure of annihilation, only to discover that it is a temporary condition, a gateway to renewal and rebirth’, an omnipresent theme in legend, myth and ritual. Of these scenarios, infertility in particular is a crucial issue that afflicts many individuals, and epidemiologists estimate that the number of European couples who struggle to have children will double within a decade. One in three couples is likely to suffer infertility in ten years' time, compared with one in seven today, and this is thought to be due to the rising age at first attempt at pregnancy when fertility naturally declines, an increase in sexually transmitted diseases which damage the reproductive organs, a huge increase in obesity which is known to adversely affect fertility, and a declining level of male sperm count and overall sperm quality. This paper will limit itself to the intersection of infertility in SF with bioterrorism, pollution, and accidental iatrogenic events, all potentialities that may affect our fragile biosphere. These depictions are common in the genre, and perhaps this is because ‘catastrophism evidently makes for more compelling fictional narratives than gradualism’. Real-life parallels will be highlighted, where and when appropriate and available, by the author, who is a medical doctor. Errors that go beyond the pale of poetic licence will also be pointed out, since ‘error-free science fiction is an ideal […] impossible of achievement […] not that […] the author can be excused for not trying; unreachability is, after all, what ideals are for’. A wide variety of narrative forms are included, in a comprehensive attempt to include all such narratives, and these include not only novels, short stories and films, but also computer games and comic books.en_GB
dc.language.isoenen_GB
dc.publisherBritish Science Fiction Association Ltd.en_GB
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessen_GB
dc.subjectInfertility -- Fictionen_GB
dc.subjectScience fictionen_GB
dc.subjectBioterrorismen_GB
dc.titleGaia beware : infertility in SF due to bioterrorism, pollution and accidental iatrogenic eventsen_GB
dc.typearticleen_GB
dc.rights.holderThe copyright of this work belongs to the author(s)/publisher. The rights of this work are as defined by the appropriate Copyright Legislation or as modified by any successive legislation. Users may access this work and can make use of the information contained in accordance with the Copyright Legislation provided that the author must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the prior permission of the copyright holder.en_GB
dc.description.reviewedpeer-revieweden_GB
dc.publication.titleVectoren_GB
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