Jewish Mythology - Related To Science Fiction

Related To Science Fiction

In the past century to modern day, there have been many retellings of Jewish myths (mostly from the Torah), and adaptations for the modern public. They have mostly been in the regions of science-fiction; as Isaac Asimov noted in his introduction to More Wandering Stars:

"...Can science fiction be part of Jewish culture? From fantasy stories we know?/ And as I think of it, it begins to seem to me that it is and we do know. And the source? From where else? From the Hebrew source for everything-- From the Bible. We have but to look through the Bible to see for ourselves." - Isaac Asimov.

He goes on to show parallels between Biblical stories and modern science-fiction:

• 'Let there be light!' was an example of advanced scientific mechanisms.
• God is an extraterrestrial.
• Adam and Eve as colonists on a new planet.
• The serpent was an alien, as Earth snakes don't speak or show any intelligence (and they're trayf, as well).
• The flood was a story of a world catastrophe, and the survivors (like in Larry Niven's "Inconstant Moon").
• The Tower of Babel (like Metropolis, which it inspired in part).
• Moses vs. the Egyptian magicians is advanced technological warfare.
• Samson as Sword-&-Sorcery.
• First chapter of Ezekiel is a UFO account.

The Hugo Awards, one of the highest distinctions for science fiction writers, have been awarded to plenty of Biblically derived stories, for instance:

• Arthur C. Clark's "The Star". (On a certain star)
• Harlan Ellison's "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream". (When God is angry)
• Larry Niven's "Inconstant Moon". (An explanation of Noah's flood)
• Harlan Ellison's "The Deathbird". (A retold Genesis)

Another example is the Hideaki Anno's Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series, which takes kabbalah elements, while narrating a reinterpretation of events surrounding Adam, Eve and Lilith on a futuristic and apocalyptic way.