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Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell star in Surrogates, based on a comic-book series.

Cellphones, medical tricorders, instant translators, noninvasive surgery and phasers set to stun ... the technology of 1960s Star Trek is the technology of today. Star Trek, like the best science fiction literature and film, imagined a future and anticipated the social and ethical challenges we face today.

Which is what makes science fiction so interesting to talk about.

鈥淚n science fiction, a lot of the metaphors and analogies -- for example, space aliens who stand in for people of different races -- allow a critical distance so we can engage in ideas in a more dispassionate way,鈥� muses Andrew Fenton, postdoctoral research fellow with 鲍鱼tv鈥檚 Novel Tech Ethics.

Because of the capacity of science fiction to spark discussion, Situating Science Atlantic Node is holding a sci fi movie and panel discussion series. The film screenings take place Tuesday evenings throughout the month of October. The first film, Surrogates, raises questions about virtual communications and the danger of retreating into artificially constructed lives. There鈥檚聽a聽lot of good stuff聽for panelists Darren Abramson, Stephen Snobelen and Thomas Trappenberg to delve into.

Other films in the series are District 9, Moon and the latest Star Trek. 鈥淎t its best, science fiction isn鈥檛 didactic (like Avatar). It allows you to think these big questions through,鈥� says Letitia Meynell, assistant professor with the Department聽of Philosophy.

Created in 2007 with funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Situating Science is a seven-year project promoting communication and collaboration among humanists and social scientists that are engaged in the study of science and technology. There are six nodes across the country; the Atlantic node is situated at the University of King鈥檚 College/鲍鱼tv University.

Films screen Tuesdays, 7 p.m. in the month of October. The location is Room HA19, Architecture and Planning, 5410 Spring Garden Rd. Admission is free.

	Surrogates (2009): Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop (Bruce Willis) is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates. On the panel: Darren Abramson (Department of Philosophy, 鲍鱼tv University); Stephen Snobelen (History of Science and Technology Programme, University of King鈥檚 College); Thomas Trappenberg (Faculty of Computer Science, 鲍鱼tv University). Screens Tuesday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m.
	District 9 (2009): An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent. On the panel:聽Dorota Glowacka (Contemporary Studies Programme, University of King鈥檚 College); Chike Jeffers (Department of Philosophy, 鲍鱼tv University);聽 Stephen Snobelen (History of Science and Technology Programme, University of King鈥檚 College). Screens Tuesday, Oct. 12, 7 p.m.
	Moon (2009): Sam Rockwell plays a man experiencing a personal crisis as he nears the end of a three-year solitary stint聽on the far side of the moon.聽On the panel: Dorota Glowacka (Contemporary Studies Programme, University of King鈥檚 College); Teresa Heffernan (Department of English, Saint Mary鈥檚 University); Stephen Snobelen (History of Science and Technology Programme, University of King鈥檚 College). Screens Tuesday, Oct. 19, 7 p.m.
	Star Trek (2009): A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members. On the panel:聽Melanie Frappier (History of Science and Technology Programme, University of King鈥檚 College); Jason Haslam (Department of English, 鲍鱼tv University); Stephen Snobelen (History of Science and Technology Programme, University of King鈥檚 College). Screens Tuesday, Oct. 26, 7 p.m.