Derrick Bell's story "The Space Traders" is one of science fiction's scariest thought experiments — because of what it reveals about human nature. It's a misanthropic tale in which aliens arrive on Earth and offer America the solution to all our problems, in exchange for all of our black people. For Bell, who spent…

Derrick Bell is primarily known as a pioneering law professor who helped improve civil rights in America. But he also wrote one of the most disturbing thought experiments in science fiction, which later became an HBO TV special. In "The Space Traders," aliens arrive and offer the United States "enough gold to retire…

Today's the day when we celebrate the life of visionary leader Martin Luther King, Jr. But the civil-rights legend is also an important figure in science fiction... as an influence, and an occasional character.

Today's the day when we celebrate the life of visionary leader Martin Luther King, Jr. But the civil-rights legend is also an important figure in science fiction... as an influence, and an occasional character.