On the special occasion of National Science Day 2021, The Science Paradox brings to you a thrilling Sci-Fi Writing contest: Twist-The-Tail!

This contest brings science and fiction together by challenging the contestants to weave their own quirky culmination to their favourite science fiction movie/show/novel. Looking at the 2021 theme “Future of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)” from a sci-fi perspective, we encourage the contestants to imagine beyond the possibilities that today’s science holds for us and come up with a futuristic climax to existing sci-fi tales.

Winner of Twist-The-Tail Contest: Amartya Pradhan

Awakenings: A Sci-Savvy Movie about a ‘Dope’Amine!

Do you believe in miracles? Or is it only limited to movies? Imagine you are treating patients for a condition that can’t be treated using the current knowledge or tools. You somehow administer a drug used for another disease, and it dramatically improves the state of your patients. Miracle, isn’t it? Oliver Sacks describes a similar memoir in his book, Awakenings, where he narrates how a miraculous drug ‘awakened’ his catatonic patients! Awakenings was later adapted into a movie by Penny Marshall.

About a century ago, humankind faced another epidemic – it was the outbreak of encephalitis lethargica, a rare form of sleeping sickness. The disease somehow attacks the nervous system, which causes an inability to speak and move, a state known as catatonia. Dr. Malcolm Sayer, the protagonist, observes that his patients mentally feel the stimulus like a piece of familiar music, name call, or simply, a touch!

Think of it as a person – let’s name him Amartya – who is super lazy (analogous to a catatonic patient’s brain). This is because he has no motivation (no dopamine hit to the basal ganglia, the brain’s motor control center). Dopamine is essential in movement as it can modulate the balance between striatal direct and indirect pathways. Going back to the story – even though Amartya realizes he has a lot to do, his lack of motivation doesn’t allow him to work – just like catatonic patients who can’t move or speak despite the feeling of its need. In the movie, Dr. Sayer attends a conference where he comes to know about a drug, L-DOPA, which was being used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Sayer experimentally administered L-DOPA to his catatonic patients. Miraculously, all of his patients came out of catatonia. It’s like when Amartya receives ‘flying chappals’ from his parents! Suddenly, Amartya gets all the motivation to work.

Likewise, L-DOPA is converted into dopamine in the brain that hits the basal ganglia. However, motivation to work in Amartya is short-lived! Even flying chappals don’t motivate him to work anymore. Analogously, response to L-DOPA was short-lived in Sayer’s patients. It was emotionally depicted when Leonard had his last lunch with Paula before he went back to his catatonic state.

Oliver Sacks’s ‘Awakenings’ prompts one to appreciate the privileges we take for granted, like the ability to move, speak, and connect with our ecosystem. On the other hand, even though Sayer’s L-DOPA couldn’t keep patients out of catatonia for longer, it opened new avenues for upcoming neuroscientists to explore! L-DOPA is being used till date to treat Parkinson’s and other dopamine-deficiency-related disorders.

I have tried to explain the scientific concept central to the movie Awakenings. I also have tried to put in a brief plot about the movie and talked about my understanding of the take-home message from the movie

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Runner Up of Twist-The-Tail Contest: Aryesh Acharjee

Neither for ever, not never

“Where are we?”-asked Jonas looking at his hand.
Martha said, “Is this paradise?”
– It doesn’t matter anyway as long as I find you next to me.
– Did we ever exist, Jonas? Was there any mark left of us in the universe?
– I don’t know Martha. But right now I can see you and in this little universe of
ours, you are sitting right in front of me. I don’t care about any other universe.
– Wait! What! I can’t touch or feel anything Jonas. What is going on here!
– Calm down Martha. Neither I can. All I can is see and hear you. And for eternity
maybe only two of us will be together like this.
– Well then you have to gossip with me 8 hrs a day. Oh, wait! Is there anything like
Day and Night? All I can see is a beautiful aura all around us. It’s hard to tell
whether it is day or night.
– Don’t you worry, all I have with me right now is Time and you and many words
to speak.

(The theme is chosen from DARK, a Netflix sci-fi series [2017-2020]. This piece is written based on my imagination on how things must be going for Jonas and Martha when they are sent to a non-existent place and technically they are completely wiped from any form of existence in the universe.)

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Contest Rules:

1. The write-ups must be summarised in no more than 200 words. The contestant must mention the movie/show/novel that they have chosen to twist (this will not be counted in the word limit)
2. The entries must be mailed to experienceparadox8620@gmail.com with a subject titled “Sci-Fi Writing Contest” in a Word document format.
3. One entry is allowed per contestant per contest.
4. The deadline for submission is Saturday, 27th February 2021, 11.59 PM IST. The deadline will not be extended.
5. The winner and one runner up will be announced on 1st March 2021, 12 PM IST and the winning pieces will be featured on the website as well on all social media platforms.
6. The winners shall be provided with a certificate of achievement and an opportunity to work with the team of writers for the upcoming episode of The Science Paradox magazine in April.

Judging Rubrics:

1. Creativity
2. Language and Grammar
3. Scientific relevance
4. Uniqueness (Any kind of plagiarism will lead to immediate disqualification)
5. Adherence to word limit (< 200 words)

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