Science of Fiction, Fiction of Science: A Bidirectional Model of Science Fiction as Sociotechnical Mediation

This paper develops a conceptual model of science fiction (SF) as a bidirectional interface
between scientific reasoning and narrative construction. Drawing on a recent conversational
transcript (provided as a primary source), we argue that SF is not fundamentally a predictive
practice but a human-centered sociotechnical activity that frames present tensions through
“supported” speculative scenarios. We introduce (i) the notion of a “fictional garment”, fiction
as a communicative wrapper for scientific ideas via analogy and allegory, and (ii) a two-arrow
interaction model in which fiction can inform scientific questions and methods while science
constrains and shapes fictional world-making. We further discuss utopia/dystopia as diagnostic
outcomes of an era’s capacity to imagine solutions, and we illustrate the framework through
brief historical vignettes ranging from Lucian of Samosata to modern cinema.