“We are always in stories. Stories within stories within stories. You never know where one ends and another begins! In truth, they all flow into each other. Only in books they are neatly separated.”
Daniel Kehlmann
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WHO ARE YOU?
Theresa and Oscar. We are students of Catholic theology, with heart and soul and passion. That’s why we met for the first time at university. We are also avid devourers of everything to do with fantasy, science fiction and pop culture in general.
HOW DID THE BLOG COME ABOUT?
Numerous and long exchanges about theology and philosophy in fantasy and sci-fi gave us the idea that this could also be interesting for others. The many stories we spend our days with have so much to offer when you think about it, it’s hard to keep it all to ourselves. We can talk about these topics for hours and still not tire of them, so we might as well write about it.
“This is the way.”
A certain mandalorian
WHERE WOULD YOU RATHER LIVE: IN REALITY OR IN A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION WORLD?
T: If I had a choice between reality and a fictional world, I would probably choose fiction, more specifically the Doctor Who universe. It has a seemingly infinite potential, anything is possible, anything can happen. With every episode, a certain wanderlust germinates in me for strange worlds and strangeness. You’re constantly surrounded by this breath of adventure and every action has a real meaning. At the same time, Doctor Who is also down-to-earth in a way. The adventure is not always light years and millennia away, sometimes it’s right under your nose and the focus is on individual fates rather than the survival of entire peoples. And that is something that is also important in reality: taking offence at what immediately surrounds us. It’s about a balance between the infinite possibilities that present themselves and what can be grasped concretely. Maybe that’s why the two worlds are not so different.
O: I don’t think our reality is so bad most of the time, but I would still love to be able to discover other worlds and immerse myself in my imagination. That’s why I would most likely like to have a closet like in Narnia, only with unlimited visits and a choice of which world is at the other end. That way I don’t have to choose, because I’m not the best at that, and I can still see everything. But my first visit would probably be to Middle Earth.
T: If I had known that option was there, I would have said so. :-/
PREFER A BOOK OR A SERIES OR A FILM?
O: Actually, I prefer books. Because I prefer to use my own imagination. But since there’s usually not enough time, I consume a lot more films and series than books.
T: I also prefer books. When I read, it feels like you’re actually immersed in another world, you’re much freer in what you imagine. With books, however, I often risk losing the sense of time and space completely, so films and series are a bit more practical.
O: Of course, a good series can also take a lot of time away from you.
T: As if that would happen to me. Or to you.
O: No, never.
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
Bilbo Baggins
WHO IS THE MOST FORMATIVE CHARACTER FOR YOU?
O: As a child I always dressed up as Han Solo. I don’t know if he influenced me or not, because I’d probably suck in comparison, but he definitely belongs on the podium of my favourite characters. If it’s really about imprinting, then I’m probably most influenced by the Doctor, especially in my ethical thinking.
T: To pin myself down to a single character is almost impossible. However, I would say that the Star Trek universe and the crew of the new Enterprise around Captain Picard have always been significant for me since my childhood. The ethical ideals of Starfleet, the personal conflicts of the characters (such as Data’s quest for more humanity, etc.) have always engaged me. The desire to understand and question everything is something I guess I picked up from Star Trek.
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
T: It sounds quite banal and common, but I want to contribute something to this world. So irrelevance is probably my biggest fear. I want to change the world, for the better, and no matter how small my part in it will be, at least I want to try.
O: I can only go along with that. A strong driving force for me is that I’m worried that all the dystopias we’ve seen or read about in recent years will eventually become reality, because no one realises that we have to counteract that.
„To all mankind – may we never find space so vast, planets so cold, heart and mind so empty that we cannot fill them with love and warmth.“
Garth in „Dagger of the Mind“ (TOS S01E09)
WHAT UTOPIAN FUTURE DO YOU WISH FOR?
O: A world in which there is no longer anyone who acts out of their own greed for power, but in which a Christmas spirit of charity fills the lives of every human being.
T: A world in which no one has to be afraid any more, neither for their own well-being nor for the future.
“There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”
Samwise Gamgee
WHO WOULD YOU LIKE TO MEET?
T: The doctor. In all his regenerations.
O: The doctor is already gone, so the answer is a bit longer. If I read a text that particularly speaks to me, I would like to talk to the author. Otherwise I would really like to talk to J.R.R Tolkien.
T: Stop. Short pause. I can’t commit so easily after all. I’d just as soon talk to Gandalf, Bilbo, Eragon, Geralt of Riva, Larkspur, Lizzy Bennet, Mr. Darcy, Jean d’Arc, Mr. Spock, Bones (oh yes, I’d get on great with him), Data, Robin Hood…
O: Stop. We can just agree to have a big party with all our beloved characters and their creators. I’ll invite Han Solo, Lucky Luke, Prince Valiant, MacGyver and many more. It’s best if we do it on a planet where the day is very, very long, so we have enough time to talk to everyone in detail.
WHAT KIND OF THINGS INTEREST YOU OUTSIDE OF FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION?
O: The proverbial “child in the man” definitely applies to me. Besides fantasy, science fiction and theology, my biggest passions are LEGO and board games. I don’t get to either as often as I would like, but I am proud of my collections.
T: I paint, though not often enough and with a similar motivation to reading: I want to get a picture of places and things I’ve never actually seen (until now). And of course theology as well. There is just so incredibly much to learn and you can think about so many things…
„Hermits United. We meet up every 10 years, swap stories about caves. It’s good fun. For a hermit.“
The Doctor in „Utopia“ (NW S03E11)