Hacker Cinema
The Cold Equations
1996 · Film · 92 min
Directed by Peter Geiger
Lieutenant John Barton is sent on a special mission to deliver a special vaccine to a distant mining colony. He is infuriated to find Lee, a stowaway aboard his spacecraft. Barton has only enough fuel to carry himself and his precious cargo, and Lee's added weight insures that they will crash if she stays on board. They have gone too far to turn back, and Barton's superiors make it clear: the mission takes precedence and Lee has to be dumped into space. But she won't go quietly.
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2 comments on Hacker News
> counts as breaking the rules if you do it at the same point that you're originally explaining the rules
It’s not that it’s a rule it’s that it’s an undefined rule. If they had said nothing then you don’t know, perhaps they are taking photos and uploading avatars off camera, or perhaps the Matrix keeps track of this stuff, or perhaps the Matrix downloads the data from your mind. Residual self immage does not answer the question.
Characters are not omnipotent. Character X explaining the rule does not mean Rule X actually applies. For example character says you need to use a plug to jack into the Matrix and need a hardline to get out. Later on you break those rules and that’s fine the character does not know what they are talking about.
But, the Sci-fi fantasy devide is not the lack of technology, as cellphones work just fine in Dresden Files and other Urban Fantasy. It’s the type of rules that exist and how they can be broken without destroying the suspension of disbelief. The cold equations is a good low budget film based around some very hard rules. The Matrix fails this, you can come up for explanations for anything that happen, but doing so is not bound by any rule in the world.
Further, it frames things in non technical terms perhaps the character just noticed he has a modem up his bumb. Perhaps he can wirelessly hack an alarm clock rather than setting the snooze button. Or maybe he has psy powers and can cause EMP’s. Undefined major plot elements under the control of the protagonist or antagonist is the hallmark of Fantasy. What can and can’t Gandalf do?
If you want deep science fiction that's still accessible, I would suggest 'the cold equations'. It's not a high budget film, but it captures the essence of classic science fiction instead of the Disneyland crap that makes up most of those lists.