Has Hawking ever written any science fiction stories? Or are there any sci-fi stories or short stories based on his work?
At least some. One that I read recently is called “Lollipop and the Tar Baby”, by John Varley, which features Hawking radiation as a major plot point. Which is rather impressive, when you realize that it was written within a year or so after Hawking’s discovery of same.
The ‘First in Print’ concept works a couple of ways. I seem to recall Niven once saying that in his early days he’d stay right on top of the astronomy and physics journals so he could be sure to be the first to get stories out based on the latest research.
I’ve come up with a short sci-fi story starring Stephen Hawking, if that counts. One of these days I’ll actually commit it to paper. It’s not like I think anyone will steal the idea before I do…it borders on tasteless.
Not to my knowledge, and I hope he never does. The man is really an awful writer…
I thought A Brief History of Time was a pretty good read.
This wouldn’t be the Stephen Hawking, the blonde Swedish twins and the bucket of blancmange story that I have been working on would it???
It’s much the best course. As Niven keeps finding out, the latest science often doesn’t look that good a decade or two later. Unless you pounce on it before it can be discredited, you lose your story*.
- He says as someone who has a story forever in his files whose plot depends on neutrinos being massless.
A little off topic but maybe Stephen Hawkings could get the role of Dr. Scott in Rocky Horror Picture Show? Think about it, it a movie with a wheelchair bound professor, a scene with a strong magnetic field, and visitors with interplanetary travel.
OK, now, I’ve got to read that. Is it published? Any story which could depend on neutrinos being exactly massless (rather than just extremely light) would almost have to be fascinating.
This is annoying me, by the way, that I can’t think of any other examples of Hawking radiation in fiction. There are certainly plenty of stories featuring small black holes, where Hawking radiation should be an issue (Niven wrote quite a few), but they were all apparently before Hawking’s paper.
I should add, by the way, that Hawking did have a cameo on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, though none of his physics work was particularly relevant to the plot of that episode. I think he also had a Simpsons cameo, and there was also an episode where Homer says “I knew I should have read that book by that wheelchair guy!” (the episode where Homer goes 3-D). And in the most recent Harry Potter movie, one of the wizards in the Leaky Cauldron is reading a copy of A Brief History of Time.
Hehehe, that he surely did. Season ten, ‘They saved Lisa’s brain’
And in the spirit of a hijack… had to include some quotes from that great ep.
“I wanted to see your utopia, but now I see it is more of a fruit-opia.”
“Time for this hawk to fly”
Hawking: “Don’t feel bad, Lisa. Sometimes, the smartest of us can be the most childish.”
Lisa: “Even you?”
Hawking: “No. Not me. Never.”
“Your theory of a donut-shaped universe is intriguing, Homer. I may have to steal it.”
Moe: “All right, it’s closing time. Who’s paying the tab?”
Homer: [covering his mouth with his hand and imitating Hawking’s voice box] “I am.”
Hawking: “I didn’t say that.”
Homer: [still imitating] “Yes I did.” [the glove comes out again, bopping Homer in the face. He imitates again] “D’oh.”
“Larry Flint is right!!!”
He also guest-starred on Futurama as part of Al Gore’s squad of nerds where he descovered the Hawking Hole (or Frye Hole, depending on who you believe.)
Huh, I didn’t see that one. (Haven’t caught enough futurama I suppose.)
Was he just a head in a jar? And if so, was he a talking head or did he have to activate a voice synthesizer somehow??
Actually it was a “Tales of Interest!” episode where Fry learned what life would have been like if he’d not been frozen. At least I think that’s the episode. Anyway, it started causing a chain reaction that would destroy the universe so Al Gore, Stephen Hawking, Nichele Nichols from Star Trek, and D&D creator Gary Gygax show up to to force him into freezing himself.