Dem
47
GOP
53
Here is the question we put before readers last week:
M.S. in Alexandria, VA, asks: In his novel The Number of the Beast, Robert Heinlein posits that every fictional world ever imagined actually exists as an alternate dimension. His protagonists go dimension-hopping through various fictional realms (including several of Heinlein's own previous works). If you were to climb aboard the Gay Deceiver and head off to a fictional universe for a vacation from our reality, what would be your top choice of destination, and why?
And here are some of the answers we got in response:
G.W. in Oxnard, CA: The Good Place from the TV show The Good Place. Not the Bad Place masquerading as The Good Place. Not the Medium Place. Not the Good Place when the protagonists first get to The Good Place. The Good Place near the end of the series after the protagonists fixed it. How can you argue with living as long as you want with your only limitation your own imagination? For those who haven't seen the show, you should watch it, and I'm sorry about the spoilers.
C.W. in Visalia, CA: There is no historical time or fictional universe that I would want to permanently move to because every one of them have some sort of conflict or numerous downsides (monsters, or lack of modern medical care). However, I am up for a nice, boring vacation in a place like the Shire or Rivendale when the dark lord isn't causing problems. The only universe I might consider moving to permanently is the Star Trek universe, with frequent visits to Risa for a good time. However, the constant fear of other powers such as the Borg, Cardassians, Dominion, and Romulans could bring too much excitement. I miss the days when we had boring news cycles.
T.L. in West Orange, NJ: In no particular order other than the order in which I thought of them:
- Tolkien's Middle-Earth (Third Age), because there the villains were obvious and easy to spot.
- Star Trek's United Federation of Planets, if for no other reason than to remind me that there's a reality where the human race survived our current idiocy.
- The universe of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series for the mostly-civilized behavior and the sparkling conversation.
- And surely someone would want to visit the Hitchhiker's Guide planet of Eroticon Six, just to be able to tell the story of meeting Eccentrica Galumbits.
S.B. in Hood River, OR: Middle Earth, hands down. As a teenager, I had a giant poster of Middle Earth on my wall. The land is incredibly rich. There is the quaint charm of Hobbiton. The beauty of Rivendell and Lothlorien. The grandeur of Gondor. Then there is all the history of the land.
In practical terms though, unless one is a wizard, there would be many places that are effectively off limits.
B.P. in Arlington Heights, IL: I think my first choice would be to live in the college environment portrayed in the film Real Genius, which is one of my top ten films, if not top five. Bonus points if Jordan can be my girlfriend. Jordan also has the greatest line in film history: "Are You Peeing?"
I would also enjoy living in the world portrayed in Bob's Burgers.
Finally, I could happily live the rest of my life, I think, being stuck in an endless loop in January 1969 and being part of the Get Back sessions as (more accurately) recently re-framed in the 8 hour film of the same name.
D.M. in McLean, VA: Sign me up for Iain M. Banks' The Culture universe, as long as I'm living on one of the Culture settled planets, habitats or ships. A universe where scarcity has been solved and people can choose their own path in life sounds like a welcome break from the world we live in. However, do not expect me to sign up for Special Circumstances. Rest in peace, Mr. Banks.
M.N in Madison, WI: I would pick Iain M. Banks' The Culture universe as my vacation destination, no question. Space faring, post-scarcity, totally egalitarian, effective immortality, they really have everything you could ever want from a society. It is so large and widespread you could find pretty much anything you wanted, or you could spend 1,000 lifetimes trying (and failing) to sample everything on offer.
J.H. in Lodi, NY: In Robert Coover's The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J Henry Waugh, Prop., the protagonist, has invented a baseball game with dice and charts. He becomes so immersed in the game that he creates a fantasy world around it that becomes much more important to him than his real life in which he is an accountant. Much of the novel is told from the perspective of the players in the baseball league. If I'm only able to go on a short vacation, I think it might be fun to head to the stands and watch a Knickerbockers-Haymakers game while contemplating what Albert Einstein meant when he said, "God does not play dice with the universe."
[One reason the novel appealed to me was because it took me a decade to track down. I first heard it being described while I was in college. The guest lecturer outlined the plot but didn't name the author or title, and I thought it was a short story instead of a novel. I was intrigued and did some research to locate it. Unsuccessful on my own, I sought help from others, including a librarian, but to no avail. Finally, years later, I became friends with a professor who taught a course "The Literature of Sports." I figured if anyone would know the story about the fictitious fantasy baseball league, he would be the one. I was right. Not only did he recognize it immediately but he told me I could buy a copy in the college bookstore. It was required reading for his course. I bought the book and devoured it. Over the next 45 years, I've read it a few more times. I guess it is a favorite.]
J.B. in Bozeman, MT: The Super Mario Bros. universe (excluding the terrible 1993 movie) has it all: whimsy, action, and colorful characters. And unlike many other fictional universes where you need super powers to survive (looking at you DC, Marvel, and Star Wars), two ordinary plumbers get along just fine. Plus, if you get hurt no need for health insurance: just head-butt a giant mushroom!
J.E. in San Jose, CA: When I was a kid, I always wanted to live in the unnamed city Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang grew up in. It seemed like a simple life, where I could play baseball and make sure the round-headed kid had a friend to talk to if Linus was busy.
C.G. in Toronto, ON, Canada: Immediate, non-thinking answer. DISCWORLD. Terry Pratchett. Magic actually works, leaders are beset with all our problems, but solve them in ways that benefit their societies.
J.K. in Portland, OR: I'd jaunt, following Alfred Bester's Gulliver Foyle:
Gully Foyle is my name,
And Terra is my nation.
Deep space is my dwelling place,
The stars my destination.
T.A in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua: Omelas, from "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. LeGuin.
It sounds like a most idyllic place and a fantastic vacation spot, especially during the festival. And, since it is only a vacation, eventually, I would get to walk away.
Never in my life would I have thought that somebody would have asked a question relating to Number of the Beast. I am beside myself.
D.M. in Burnsville, MN: Any of the three versions of Mars described in Kim Stanley Robinson's trilogy: Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars.
Why? Because each novel presents the reader with nearly intractable problems, which the protagonist(s) somehow manage to solve (or at least cope with). All the problems are plausibly real, and most require immediate action. Some folks excel at those challenges, and some get lost in the general chaos—just like in our world. But none give up. That's what makes it inspiring to me.
With specific respect to RAH's Gay Deceiver and various romps through time and space, I'd kinda sorta like to be in Lazarus Long's shoes when he meets (and romances!) his biological mother in another Kansas City timespace. I wonder how I'd behave.
B.C. in Phoenix, AZ: Just before the holidays, I got a chance to watch Flow. It is an animated foreign film, with no dialog, which follows the adventures of a little cat as it and a group of other animals struggle to survive a flooding world.
I'd like to vacation there because: (1) no humans, they have mysteriously vanished; (2) no humans, so no political a**holes; (3) no humans, so nobody trying to force their religious views on you by ringing your doorbell at dinnertime; (4) no humans, so no dialog espousing a world view devoid of common sense and (5) no humans, so no banal and insipid soap opera drama between the sexes.
Now THAT is a VACATION!
M.W. in Chicago, IL: First I would write a book where Hillary Clinton visits Michigan a couple of days before the 2016 election. Then, I would hightail it there as fast as humanly possible.
Here is the question for next week:
M.L. in Simpsonville, SC, asks: I teach U.S. History, and many of my students are on our school's academic team. I'd like to offer them a trivia challenge. May I ask if your erudite readership wishes to share some of their favorite unusual-but-fun History trivia questions (and answers) so I might make them up a packet as a review or bonus challenge?
Submit your answers to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "Trivial Pursuits"!