Redefining “Connection” in par with Far-Fetched Scientific Inventions: What is linked and who remains attached?

Abstract

Abstract The advancements in science and technology are aimed at making human lives better. The impact of these innovative ideas and inventions on human life is significant. It necessitates the study to find connections between natural science and its effect on social beings. Fictional works that incorporate future expectations and enable individuals to foresee the future provide valuable contributions to studying multiple arenas related to human existence in the changing world. Kim Fu’s “Twenty Hours”, a short story published in the collection, Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century (2022) is chosen to study the changes in personality that could occur while embracing science without questioning the after-effects. Literature and its novelty make the fictional works to be prophetic in several instances. One of the objectives is to comprehend the relevance of studying science via the lens of humanities. In addition, the paper discusses the familiar monsters of the 21st century like dating apps, porn sites and needless scientific inventions in mundane life. It also studies the representation of natural world by making constant comments on the landscape, weather and climatic changes and how human emotions are intertwined with these environmental factors. Thus, the paper proposes that every individual encounters a similar situation in a distinct manner thereby encountering problems or solving them is also distinctive. With a post-humanist approach, the meaning of value and human connections are analyzed in an environment that is dominated by commodity fetishism, scientific developments and constantly changing perspectives of life.