What if? The magic question

Speculative fiction is a projection into the future - or sometimes into an alternate past.  It's grounded in our current cultural mores, but in order to transcend them it asks one magic question, one question that can set us free from the shackles of today.

That question is: 'What if?'  What if cultures, governments, technology, change in a certain way in the future?   What would be the implications for a society living with those changes?  This seems such a simple question to ask, but it can have profound answers.  The answers science fiction writers arrive at drive the genre, drive our visions of the future,

In CJ Cherryh's Chanur books the author asks the questions: 'What if we could see the universe through the eyes of an alien?  What if we could see the universe from the viewpoint of the Hani, with all their squabbles and political and diplomatic ties to the Kif, Ma'hendosat, Knn, and other species? And what if a fugitive of an unknown species escapes and seeks sanctuary on a Hani ship, precipitating an interstellar crisis?  Those are the questions behind The Pride of Chanur.

Scott Westerfeld asked another 'what if' in his Uglies young adult book.   What if there was a world where every teenager left behind their 'Ugly' (I.e. normal) self and was genetically re-engineered into a 'Pretty'?  And what if the treatment that re-engineers their bodies has a shocking side-effect?  A side effect that has been a secret for generations?  What happens when someone smarter than average studies across the truth?

In my own work I'm currently exploring a large 'what if'.  The book I'm presently writing, titled The Code River, asks 'What if  you genetically engineered a big cat/human woman hybrid?  What would her world be like?  What if she was good at hunting, and had begun to enjoy the sight of terrified prey when she was about to kill it?  And what if there were humans who extended the prejudice and fear of the 'other' to her, and bullied her?  What if she returns as an adult and wants to kill the bully?

'What if' is such a short question.  It seems too short, too innocuous, to have such a strong impact on story.  But in that brevity lies the power to imagine whole worlds, whole civilisations, political, and religious systems.  That one simple, profound question is enough to change the whole nature of the universe.