Aliens have come a long way. Not real aliens—I don’t even know if they exist. I’m referring to aliens in literature. Inspired by fine articles authored by Ian Simpson and Joelle Renstrom, I’ll describe how aliens evolved with science fiction.
First, though, I’ll emphasize a non-intuitive law of alien literature: Alien stories aren’t about aliens. They’re about humans. Even stories populated only by non-human characters are about humans. A simple reason explains this—people write stories for other people. If we encounter aliens someday, we’ll write stories about them, and perhaps they’ll return the favor…if they write stories. Until then, it’s all about us.
Origins – Humanoids to Visit and Study
In primeval scifi, aliens resembled us. They served as stand-ins for primitive human societies encountered during exploratory voyages. They existed to be noticed and remarked upon, or to serve as metaphors serving the author’s purposes.
Examples include the sun and moon people of Lucian’s True History, the tall lunar Christians of Francis Godwin’s The Man in the Moone, and the titanic aliens of Voltaire’s Micromégas.
Post-Darwin Evolutionary Branching
Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution showed how animal species evolve from earlier forms and sometimes split into two or more species. This freed writers from the humanoid anatomy, so aliens branched out in all directions, exploding into the universe of fiction. They filled all niches. Their attitudes toward humans ranged from bad, through neutral, to good.
We saw warlike, conquest-driven aliens shaped like giant heads in H.G. Wells’ TheWar of the Worlds. A variety of species populated Mars in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series. God-like aliens appeared in Olaf Stapleton’s Star Maker. C.S. Lewis gave readers otter-like bipeds and insect-frogs in Out of the Silent Planet. E.E. “Doc” Smith’s The Skylark of Space featured non-material aliens. Arthur C. Clarke showed us Satan-like aliens whose purpose was to prepare humanity for its designated future role, in Childhood’s End. In Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein scared us with huge bug-aliens. By contrast, peaceful and philosophical aliens occupied Mars until humans colonized the planet and displaced them in Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles.
3-D Aliens
Readers loved these aliens, but began asking questions. They wanted more depth. Authors began fleshing out the aliens, thinking through the implications. They gave the aliens backstory, culture, language, politics, art, philosophy, mores, and logical motivations.
In Dune and its sequels, author Frank Herbert supplied a life cycle for the giant sandworms, and integrated them into the values and mythos of the planet.
Larry Niven became the exemplar for fully-imagined aliens, from the puppeteers and Kzinti of Ringworld, to the Moties of The Mote in God’s Eye, to the elephantine Fithp of Footfall (the latter two co-written with Jerry Pournelle). These aliens possessed history, characteristic gestures, distinctive modes of thought, their own behavior patterns—the whole package.
Explanations for Non-Contact
As decades passed and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) failed to detect evidence of aliens, and as the difficulty of interstellar travel became more apparent, writers found it less credible to craft stories teeming with star-voyaging alien life.
Authors had to confront the Fermi Paradox problem of why humans haven’t heard from aliens, and what forms that communication might take. Carl Sagan’s Contact, Robert J. Sawyer’s Rollback, and Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life” examined these themes in different ways.
Your Alien Story
Like time, evolution marches on. I don’t know what’s next for aliens. Perhaps, in an upcoming story of yours, you’ll tell—
Science fiction literature has provided many fun and interesting technologies that lie beyond our current abilities. Let’s look at a few.
Waterfall, by M.C. Escher
I’m calling these technologies improbable rather than impossible. One person’s impossible often becomes a later person’s accomplishment. The technologies on my list aren’t available now, and some violate known laws of physics, but scientists are researching all of them, and breakthroughs can occur.
Faster than Light (FTL) Travel
This one violates the General Theory of Relativity. That speed limit of c stretches interstellar travel into century or millennium timeframes. If you could exceed light-speed, no policeman could pull you over.
FTL Communication
If relativity forbids pushing matter faster than light, what about information? Sadly, so-called super-luminal communication also violates relativity and nobody has demonstrated it yet. Call me, you Andromedans, just not collect.
Wormhole Transit
The notion of sending matter (including people) through a wormhole connecting distant regions of space sounds appealing. It doesn’t violate relativity or even require FTL. However, nobody has found a wormhole and we don’t know if they exist, or can be created. We should come up with a better name, though.
Teleportation
The movement of macroscopic objects (including people) from one point to another without passing through the space between, as with the Star Trek transporter, might happen one day. The process doesn’t violate physics laws, but would require computational complexity beyond our current means. You’ve got to rearrange all 7 x 1027 atoms in their proper position. So far, scientists can “teleport” information about a single atom across a distance of 3 meters, but that’s all. “Beam me up, Scotty.” “Sorry, I canna do that, Captain.”
Time Travel
From the little I understand, time travel comports with physics laws. However, traveling to the past introduces causality problems, like the Grandfather Paradox. Traveling to the future avoids that difficulty, but remains beyond our technological reach. Except, I believe, for DeLoreans with the advanced options package.
Artificial Gravity and Anti-gravity
Though these are different things, I’ve lumped them together due to their mutual attraction. Artificial gravity, broadly defined, presents no difficulty. Use the centripetal force of a rotating spaceship, or the ship’s linear acceleration, to create it. However, creating gravity itself or eliminating it lies beyond our capability today. Heavy, huh?
Force Fields and Tractor Beams
If we can’t go faster than light, can we at least equip our spaceships with force fields or deflector shields to keep meteors away, and maybe tractor beams to grab things? Perhaps. Scientists are researching these gadgets, but each might consume more energy than they’re worth. Seems like physicists are spoiling all our fun.
Tactile Holograms
Scientists keep telling us no, but they’ll let us have holodecks, like in Star Trek the Next Generation, or hologram doctors, like in Star Trek Voyager, right? Sorry, you can’t touch light. Electromagnetic radiation, as we understand it, doesn’t work that way. Physicists ruin everything.
Lightsaber
Those laser weapons in the Star Wars movies look dangerous but handy. However, they violate what we know about optics and electromagnetic radiation. We can give you a laser, but the beam won’t end in mid-air, and will cross right through your opponent’s laser beam. Also, a laser strong enough to hurt people won’t fit in your hand. Sorry, apprentice Jedi, I’ve got nothing for you.
Invisibility
We’d all love this technology. Think of the practical jokes and the deniability. Optics researchers are working on invisibility using metamaterials, but haven’t seen any practical results. (I should reword that.) Invisibility suffers from an unfortunate downside—blindness. Light passes unseen through a transparent eyeball. A normal, opaque eyeball can see, but also be seen. Don’t look for invisibility any time soon.
Neuralyzer
Maybe I wouldn’t need a lightsaber if I had a neuralyzer, as in the Men in Black movies. Using that gadget, I could make my enemy forget why he wanted to fight. This time, physicists give their consent. However, biologists point out they’ve only demonstrated the technology on mice, and only by implanting fiber optic cables into the mice brains. They’d test it on humans, but nobody has yet volunteered to have their mind wiped.
Suspended Animation
That light speed limit bums me out. If interstellar travel takes centuries, then let me sleep through it, Rip Van Winkle style, and wake me when we get there. Oh, no. Here come those nay-saying biologists They acknowledge suspended animation happens all the time with microorganisms and plant seeds. It’s happened with humans for an hour or two, no more. At light speed, that only takes us one or two billion kilometers. They’d be waking me up before we got to Uranus.
Mind Uploading
The nature of our bodies renders some of these technologies improbable. We could get around that and become immortal if we simply upload our minds into computers. Maybe someday, not today. Here, computational complexity limits us. Work faster, you computer engineers! Why, I have half a mind to…
Cloning Long-Extinct Species
Not known for long-term planning, dinosaurs neglected to leave behind enough intact DNA for us to clone them. Maybe it’s just as well. If we did clone dinosaurs now, in our time, what would they eat?
Conclusion
I’ve teased about scientists spoiling our fun, but they can’t. We can still enjoy reading scifi books about these improbable technologies. They make for fascinating stories. Many scientists love scifi even while they wince at some of the gadgets. Some of these improbable devices even appear in the stories of—
You science fiction writers and technical writers face a difficult problem. How do you convey complicated information to an average reader in an understandable way? The late Dr. Richard Feynman may have your answer.
Who Was Richard Feynman?
Dr. Richard Feynman
Feynman (1918-1988) studied quantum mechanics, helped develop the atomic bomb, foresaw nanotechnology, investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger accident, and won a Nobel Prize in Physics. For purposes of this blogpost, Dr. Feynman developed his own technique for learning and understanding things.
Review, organize, simplify, and go back to step 2.
First, find out as much as you can about the subject. The second step requires you to teach it to a child who’s about eight years old. You can simulate that step if you wish, but it forces you to use simple words and think of relatable analogies. While doing this, you’ll notice holes in your knowledge (often by confusing the eight-year-old), so the next step involves seeking source materials to fill those gaps. Then you can review your notes, put them in order, simplify them further and try again to teach the topic to a child.
Thoughts on the Technique
My father portraying Richard Feynman
My father used to participate in historical portrayals, in which he acted the part of a historical figure. One time, he chose Richard Feynman, not so much for the scientist’s learning technique, but for his space shuttle commission work. Still, in preparing for his presentations, my dad made use of the technique to get to the essence of Feynman himself.
I wish someone had shown me the technique when I was going through school. Even if I’d imagined I’d have to teach the topic to others, I would’ve paid more attention.
How well do we know what we know? Could we teach an eight-year-old a complex subject? While in the submarine service, I had to study all the systems on the boat. Qualified watchstanders asked me detailed questions about each system, probing until they reached something I didn’t know. Then they’d send me away to look up the answer to the missed questions. That process shares similarities with the Feynman Technique.
Later, in my engineering career, I came upon other engineers who used big words, but I suspected they only knew how to pronounce them, not the details of their meaning. Some people try to impress with high-sounding language, but often those who use simpler vocabulary understand subjects best.
How Can Writers Use the Technique?
Author Isaac Asimov explained complex topics in plain terms. Few writers demonstrate that skill. More than other fiction genres, science fiction delves into complicated technical subjects. Writers strive to entertain, not educate, so must work their explanations into the prose in a manner that neither confuses readers nor slows down the action.
Following the Feynman Technique can help with that. If you follow that method, you’ll know the material well, and possess the simple words and analogies to allow you to convey it to readers without info dumps or head-scratching jargon.
If you need to understand a new topic, or describe it to readers, try the Feynman Technique. It’s a new favorite of—
Author Alan Cox said, “I figure [making] lots of predictions is best. People will forget the ones I get wrong and marvel over the rest.” Today, Poseidon’s Scribe will make his predictions about the science fiction to be written in 2025. Next year at this time, you can do some forgetting and marveling.
In the past, I’ve tried crystal balls, tea leaves, tarot cards, astrology, palmistry, and ChatGPT, but none of those worked. This year, along with a partner, I used a Ouija Board.
Authors will give us post-apocalyptic, post-climate disaster recovery stories with emerging solarpunk civilizations.
Driverless Cars
Writers will show us the pros and cons of more advanced driverless cars than we have now.
Futurism Beyond Africa
While Afrofuturism will continue, we’ll see books exploring the future of other cultures and regions.
Fact-ion
Scifi authors will combine their fiction with fact. That is, they’ll base a fictional tale on a true event.
Future Romance
Setting a romance novel in the future is fine, but in the coming year, authors will further explore how human relationships might change in the future. What bizarre, new kinds of relationships might emerge?
Interacting With Readers
Remember choose-your-own-adventure books? In 2025, authors will find new ways to allow the reader to influence the story-reading experience.
Linked Minds
Extrapolating the possibilities of Elon Musk’s Neuralink, writers will craft stories featuring human characters interfacing with computers via brain implants.
Merged Worlds
Pairs of authors will collaborate on novels that combine characters and worlds developed separately and previously by each writer.
Quality AI Fiction
In the coming year, an AI will write a good science fiction book.
After the Ouija Board finished making those predictions, I couldn’t resist asking it, “Who will be the most successful up-and-coming author of 2025?” After some hesitation, the planchette moved, guided by spiritual forces beyond our realm. To my amazement, within the planchette’s circular window appeared, one by one, letters forming the name of—
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…when I judge how well I did at foretelling the attributes of science fiction books in 2024.
In past years, I’ve tried and failed with various techniques, but last year at this time I used a sure-fire method—the AI known as ChatGPT by OpenAI. Let’s see how well I did:
Prediction: AI Ethics and Rights
As artificial intelligence continues to advance, science fiction writers may delve into the ethical considerations and legal rights surrounding sentient AI beings. This could include questions about consciousness, autonomy, and the responsibilities of creators.
Assessment:
Ironic that an AI chatbot would make that prediction. It turned out well, though, with several examples.
Your Utopia, by Bora Chung. Contains a story about an AI elevator that knows the building’s residents well.
With an increasing focus on climate change, science fiction could explore innovative and speculative solutions to the environmental challenges facing the planet. This might include technologies to reverse environmental damage or new ways of sustainable living.
Assessment:
CliFi itself did well, yes, but few authors (that I found) focused on solutions to reverse climate change.
Prediction: Neurotechnology and Brain-Computer Interfaces
As developments in neurotechnology progress, science fiction writers may explore the implications of widespread use of brain-computer interfaces. Themes could include mind control, augmented intelligence, and the potential societal impacts of such technologies.
Assessment:
I didn’t come across any examples of this. If you know of one, please post a comment.
Prediction: Space Exploration and Colonization
Given the growing interest in space exploration, science fiction could continue to explore themes related to interplanetary travel and the challenges of colonizing other celestial bodies. This may include the societal dynamics of living in space and encounters with extraterrestrial life.
Assessment:
ChatGPT didn’t stray far out on a limb with this prediction.
Advances in genetic engineering and biohacking may lead science fiction writers to explore the consequences of manipulating DNA, creating designer organisms, or even the potential for genetic warfare.
Assessment:
This prediction panned out, with several novels, but none seem to delve into large-scale genetic warfare.
Prediction: Virtual Reality and Alternate Realities
With the evolution of virtual reality, science fiction could depict worlds where the lines between physical and virtual realities blur, exploring themes of identity, addiction, and the consequences of living in immersive digital environments.
In the wake of global events, science fiction writers might explore the long-term societal impacts of pandemics, including changes in governance, healthcare systems, and the dynamics of human interaction.
Assessment:
Not too many in this category. Maybe SciFi writers sensed the public is well over COVID.
Prediction: Quantum Computing and Reality Manipulation
The advent of quantum computing may inspire science fiction narratives centered around the manipulation of reality, parallel universes, and the consequences of unlocking the full potential of quantum technology.
Assessment:
I think ChatGPT jumped the gun on this, and predicted it a couple of years early. I found no examples. Again, if you’ve got one, please post a comment.
Prediction: Social Media and Surveillance Culture
With the increasing prevalence of surveillance technologies and the influence of social media, science fiction could examine dystopian futures where privacy is almost nonexistent, exploring themes of control, rebellion, and the impact on individual freedom.
Assessment:
SciFi authors wrote more about the surveillance part than the social media part.
As augmented reality becomes more integrated into daily life, science fiction might explore the societal implications of a world where digital information overlays the physical world. This could include themes of information manipulation, addiction, and the consequences of an increasingly connected reality.
Assessment:
I found only one example here, but I bet more exist.
If you write genre fiction, you write for two sectors of the reading public. Problem is, they want opposite things. What do you do?
For any genre—and I’ll use science fiction as my example—you’ll have two types of readers. Let’s call them Experts and Newbies. You’d like both of them to buy and enjoy your books.
Experts
The first type knows the genre well. Scifi experts can quote the Three Laws of Robotics, have a ball lecturing you about Dyson Spheres, reveal the universal question for which the answer is 42, and babble on about Babylon 5. They read often, and crave the most recently published stories, and prefer them crammed with all the technologies and the latest scientific discoveries.
Newbies
Don’t take that term the wrong way. We all start as newbies. The newbie takes a chance when buying your book. Despite harboring doubts about scifi, the newbie remains curious and willing to learn. The newbie may not know a warp drive from a hard drive, but likes a good story as long as it doesn’t confuse.
These two types differ in their approach to what I’ll call New Stuff and Tropes.
New Stuff
I mentioned experts seek technology and scientific discoveries. They want the latest, the cutting-edge, the most imaginative concepts. Give them the New Stuff. Not only that, they want the full explanation. What’s it look like? How is it powered? How fast does it go? What languages can it speak? You could write many pages of convincing technobabble without boring an expert.
Newbies don’t delight in New Stuff. It’s all new to them. They just want to know how the characters feel about the new stuff and how it affects the plot. Any paragraph that reads like a technical manual annoys them, maybe enough to stop reading.
Tropes
With tropes, the situation reverses. Here, I using the term to refer to technology or concepts well known to readers of the genre. Expert readers get your meaning as soon as you mention wormholes, the multiverse, generation ships, FTL, or cryosleep. If you go further to explain the trope, experts feel insulted.
Newbies, by contrast, get stumped by tropes. These strange words and phrases serve as an ejection seat to launch them out of the story. Just a brief definition would save newbies from frustration.
The Balance
As a writer, you’d like to please both types. When it comes to New Stuff, you should aim for just enough explanation to satisfy experts, but not so much that it bores newbies. With Tropes, seek the briefest definition to help out the newbies. Better yet, define the term in context so newbies can catch the meaning and experts don’t get exasperated.
At a critique group meeting recently, one member criticized my manuscript, saying I hadn’t defined an unfamiliar term, but that member managed to glean what it meant. Another group member knew the term, and said I shouldn’t bog down the prose with further explanations.
I’d achieved balance.
The Signal Technique
Say you’ve got some new stuff in your story. You want to explain it all for the benefit of experts without making newbies nod off. Perhaps the signal technique will work. At the beginning of a paragraph, provide a signal to the reader that a long description follows. If you make the signal clear enough, the expert reads on with eagerness and the newbie skims or even skips that part.
This method might work as well for tropes. Here the signal tells experts they may skip an upcoming explanation without missing anything, while the newbies should read the paragraph to understand the unfamiliar jargon.
Jules Verne mastered that technique. Known for including long lists, he provided unmistakable signals in advance. It’s as if a hypertext alert pops up from the page saying, “Uninterested readers may skip this next part.”
Summary
Needless to say, I’ve simplified things in this discussion of two audiences. Your readers span a spectrum from newbie to expert and all points in between. You can write for them all if you keep their preferences in mind. Maybe, for your next book, one member of your reading audience might be—
Yes, my predictions prove false more often than they prove true. But as the adage goes, a scientist is blamed for one falsehood in a hundred truths, while a seer is praised for one truth in a hundred falsehoods. So give this seer a break, will ya?
It’s all a matter of hitting on the right method. I’ve tried crystal balls, tea leaves, tarot cards, astrology, and palmistry, but none of those worked. This year, I realized I should turn to our modern-day version of the Oracle of Delphi—ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence chatbot by OpenAI.
I gave ChatGPT this task: “make 10 predictions about topics or themes science fiction writers will write about in 2024.”
The AI couched its answer by stating that predictions are iffy. Further, it said its last training update occurred in January 2022, so the predictions are based on trends known up to that date. Personally, I think it was just being humble.
With all the caveats out of the way, here’s what we can expect in 2024:
AI Ethics and Rights. As artificial intelligence continues to advance, science fiction writers may delve into the ethical considerations and legal rights surrounding sentient AI beings. This could include questions about consciousness, autonomy, and the responsibilities of creators.
Climate Crisis Solutions. With an increasing focus on climate change, science fiction could explore innovative and speculative solutions to the environmental challenges facing the planet. This might include technologies to reverse environmental damage or new ways of sustainable living.
Neurotechnology and Brain-Computer Interfaces. As developments in neurotechnology progress, science fiction writers may explore the implications of widespread use of brain-computer interfaces. Themes could include mind control, augmented intelligence, and the potential societal impacts of such technologies.
Space Exploration and Colonization. Given the growing interest in space exploration, science fiction could continue to explore themes related to interplanetary travel and the challenges of colonizing other celestial bodies. This may include the societal dynamics of living in space and encounters with extraterrestrial life.
Genetic Engineering and Biohacking. Advances in genetic engineering and biohacking may lead science fiction writers to explore the consequences of manipulating DNA, creating designer organisms, or even the potential for genetic warfare.
Virtual Reality and Alternate Realities. With the evolution of virtual reality, science fiction could depict worlds where the lines between physical and virtual realities blur, exploring themes of identity, addiction, and the consequences of living in immersive digital environments.
Post-Pandemic Societies. In the wake of global events, science fiction writers might explore the long-term societal impacts of pandemics, including changes in governance, healthcare systems, and the dynamics of human interaction.
Quantum Computing and Reality Manipulation. The advent of quantum computing may inspire science fiction narratives centered around the manipulation of reality, parallel universes, and the consequences of unlocking the full potential of quantum technology.
Social Media and Surveillance Culture. With the increasing prevalence of surveillance technologies and the influence of social media, science fiction could examine dystopian futures where privacy is almost nonexistent, exploring themes of control, rebellion, and the impact on individual freedom.
Augmented Reality in Everyday Life. As augmented reality becomes more integrated into daily life, science fiction might explore the societal implications of a world where digital information overlays the physical world. This could include themes of information manipulation, addiction, and the consequences of an increasingly connected reality.
Now you know. The oracle has spoken. By ‘oracle,’ I mean, of course, ChatGPT, not—
We’ve arrived at that time of year again, when I judge how well I did at this time last year in foretelling the attributes of science fiction books in 2023.
In past years, I’ve tried various techniques, but this time I used a sure-fire method—palm reading. Let’s see how well I did:
Prediction: Artificial Intelligence. A continuing trend, yes, but in 2023, we’ll see a twist. Authors will get past the Frankenstein reruns and the cute-robot-is-nobler-than-humans plot. Novels will show us more sophisticated AI, computers with a different order of intelligence, one alien to us.
Prediction: Classics redone in LGBTQ. Authors will explore the contours of the LGBTQ realm by rewriting classic tales, but repopulating them with LGBTQ characters.
Assessment: I’ll call this a fairy accurate prediction, too. The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older is a retelling of Sherlock Holmes mysteries with lesbians in the role of Holmes and Watson.
Prediction: Climate Fiction. CliFi hasn’t run its course yet. Readers want it, and authors will supply it.
Prediction: Private Space Flight. I jumped the gun, er, rocket, in predicting this for 2022. 2023 is the year we’ll see spaceships funded by billionaires without government involvement, for better or worse.
Assessment: It took some hunting, but I found what might be an example. Skeleton Crew by HT Aaron appears to involve private space flight, though I may be wrong about that.
Prediction: Solarpunk. I’m seeing more novels in the coming year with this motif, bringing us sustainable, renewable energy and diverging from capitalism and a colonial mindset.
Prediction: Terraforming. Once seen as an extension of man’s dominion over Earth, terraforming will show its warts in 2023. We’ll see stories of botched terraforming, opposed terraforming, and weaponized terraforming.
Assessment: I’ll claim this as an accurate prediction, too. The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz depicts a terraforming project that missed something important.
Before you congratulate me on my foresight (I know you were about to), maybe you shouldn’t credit my palmistry skills. What’s really improved is my after-the-fact ability to find books that fulfilled my prophesies. For those prediction assessments that cite only one or two examples, it’s clear I didn’t forecast a major trend.
I made no personal predictions last year about how my own writing would fare in 2023. Probably a good thing I didn’t.
Watch this space next week to see my spot-on predictions for the world of science fiction in 2024. Considering my past track record, the law of averages says you’ll be amazed at the prognosticating prowess of—
This past weekend, I attended and spoke at ICON 48, the science fiction convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. What a great time!
Bill Pitcher, me, Tony Penticoff
On Friday night, I spoke at a very imaginative panel on the topic of “Dyson Spheres and other Megastructures in Space.” Tony Penticoff did a marvelous job of monitoring the panel (and making an informative presentation) while Bill Pitcher and I talked about various aspects of these structures. The ten audience members seemed engaged, and asked several detailed questions.
Michael Fraska and I
My first Saturday morning panel covered “Embracing Technology isn’t only for the Young.” (How would I know? I’m not old yet.) Still, Michael Fraska and I talked about that topic in an informed way and I think the three attendees got something out of it.
Me and Myron Williams
Next came an Author Meet and Greet. I sat at a table with Myron Williams while prospective readers stopped to talk. To my surprise, I sold a couple of books.
Me, Tom Ashwell, and Jim Hines
After lunch, I moderated a panel on the topic of “Riding the Publishing Roller-Coaster,” and authors Tom Ashwell and Jim Hines (ICON toastmaster and Hugo award winner) helped the seven members of our audience understand the ups and downs of the writer-publisher relationship.
Me and Paul Price
In mid-afternoon, I moderated a panel called “The Rapid Increase of Population Growth” with retired EPA scientist Paul Price. He gave the eight-member audience a much better understanding of the rise in human population. Though the world’s populace may experience some problems in the near term, it may be best to worry about something else.
Nobody attended my scheduled author reading with fellow author Trisha Anderson. I chatted with her for some time, though, and spent a pleasant half hour learning about her novels.
Joseph Isenberg, me, and Tony Penticoff
Saturday night, I served as a panelist for two artificial intelligence topics. The first, “Artificial Intelligence in World of Creators,” drew a crowd of three people, but moderator Tony Penticoff and panelists Joseph Isenberg and I explored how AI may soon create stories as well as human writers can. We might have to adapt to a future where AI writes better fiction.
Tony Penticoff, Bill Pitcher, and me
The next panel, “How AI Will Transform Our Lives Over the Next Five Years,” garnered an audience of eleven. Tony Penticoff moderated this panel as well, and Bill Pitcher joined us. A lively discussion occurred, with great audience participation.
Me, Tom Ashwell, and Athena Foster
Sunday mornings at scifi cons tend to be subdued after attendees have stayed up late the past two nights, and a sense of winding down pervades the hotel. However, eight alert and curious audience members gathered for a 10:00 am panel titled “First Time Authors – How to Get Published.” I moderated, while authors Tom Ashwell and Athena Foster imparted excellent advice.
At noon I moderated an interesting panel called “Writing a Compelling Fight Scene.” Author Alexis D. Craig did a masterful and enthusiastic job of educating the ten-person audience about how best to do that.
Rachel Aukes, me, and Megan Mackie
My last panel, “How Do I Get My Work Out There?” started at 1:00. Author Rachel Aukes moderated, and author Megan Mackie sat on the panel with me. I believe the six attendees of this panel walked out with solid tips on how to get their manuscripts published.
All in all, a wonderful con, and, having grown up in Cedar Rapids, it represented a nice homecoming for—
For today’s interview we travel across the pond and talk with a British writer who shares my interests in science fiction, artificial intelligence, and classic SF literature. Christopher M. Geeson’s story “Tyranny Under the Sea” appears in Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne.
Christopher M. Geeson has had several SF stories published, including AI-themed stories in the Flame Tree Press Robots and Artificial Intelligence anthology and The British Fantasy Society Journal—Autumn 2011. His most recent is a story for the collection, Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne. Christopher has also had tales published in Atomic Age Cthulhu, Steampunk Cthulhu, Spawn of War and Deathiness, The Great Escape and Anthology: A Circa Works Collection, all of which are available on Amazon. Christopher works as a tour guide in York, and as a workshop leader in schools, libraries and museums in North Yorkshire, delivering creative workshops for children.
Right then. Let’s get to the interview straightaway.
Poseidon’s Scribe: How did you get started writing fiction?
Christopher M. Geeson: As a child, I made up stories for my toys to act out and my favorite lessons at school were when we were asked to write fiction. There was one lesson when the teacher was punishing people who couldn’t be quiet by making them write a ghost story – some punishment! Naturally, I got into trouble that day. I started writing stories in my spare time as a teenager. When I went to college and university to make films, I realized I was more interested in writing the scripts than in the technical aspects of film production. This led to me writing stories in prose again as an adult and joining various courses – when my writing reached the level where I could get it published.
P.S.: Who are some of your influences? What are a few of your favorite books?
C.M.G.: I love the SF worlds created by Philip K Dick and—more recently—Chris Beckett. They both often take society’s ills to the next level, in a futuristic setting, seen through the eyes of a recognizable flawed human. I’m also a fan of a good fantasy adventure, whether it’s epic in scope like The Lord of the Rings (my favorite book), or on a smaller scale, such as Treasure Island, or The Dark is Rising.
P.S.: You’ve written stories involving AI for the Robots and Artificial Intelligence anthology and The British Fantasy Society Journal. Tell us the premise for these stories and whether you’re optimistic or pessimistic about AI.
C.M.G.: I wrote “Punchbag”—which was published in The British Fantasy Society Journal—after getting the inspiration on a car journey. I pulled into a supermarket car park and spent the next hour writing the first draft. It’s a very pessimistic story about how humans will use AI for violence and it’s told from the point of view of the AI, who is the victim. It is ultra-violent, but it reflects what I fear humans are basically like. It’s been out for over a decade but I still think of it as one of my favorite pieces of writing and it’s still very relevant. I’d love to see it reprinted and reaching a bigger audience.
The next AI story I wrote (“The Perfect Reflection,” for the Robots and Artificial Intelligence) anthology is also pessimistic, continuing the theme of violence, and also told from an AI point of view. This time, the AI is an observer of human violence. The big question in the story is whether the AI can intervene or not. I’ve been the victim of a couple of random acts of violence and that has clearly fed into my work. I guess I’m more pessimistic about the future of the human race than I am about AI, but I think it’s all wrapped up in one, as humans keep on inventing ways of being nasty to others.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, I’m dismayed that AI is now being used to make music, art and literature. Although I’ve written stories from the point of view of AI, I have no desire to read a story written by one. I’m sure AI could improve our lives in some way – organization, medicine, information, dangerous physical work – but not by replacing creative people. I think this started a while ago though, when CGI started replacing stuntmen, costumes, model work, and special effects in movies. I doubt anyone can even find Pandora’s Box anymore, never mind put the lid back on it.
P.S.: Is there a common attribute that ties your fiction together (genre, character types, settings, themes) or are you a more eclectic author?
C.M.G.: I love thinking of ideas or playing about with “What ifs?”, so my writing is almost always SF or fantasy, as those are the types of stories I love reading, and the things which inspire me. I want to escape and be taken to other worlds by stories and do the same in my writing. A lot of my published work looks at the violent tendencies of humanity and ends up pretty dark. But I have a couple of unpublished children’s fantasy novels that are about adventure, friendship and unification between races. They’re a lot more optimistic and I’d love them to see the light of day sometime!
C.M.G.: I loved that sense of massive cosmic horror and how insignificant humanity was in Lovecraft’s stories. For the steampunk collection, I dived into the American Civil War era – a part of history that’s always fascinated me – and gave it a Mythos twist which shows how futile war is. For the Atomic-Age Cthulhu anthology, I wanted to tap into the paranoia of the McCarthy era, so I stuck a bunch of characters in a nuclear bunker with all their hidden secrets and violent instincts, and let events play out from there, against a Mythos background.
P.S.: If you could visit the fictional world of another author, where would you go and why?
C.M.G.: Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time imagining this sort of thing – and given it a lot more thought than it really justifies! When I was younger, these imaginary journeys were all about adventure and battles, but I’m really the sort of person who would just want a nice quiet visit somewhere, enjoying the sense of wonder. If I went to Middle Earth, I’d want to live in Rivendell or The Shire and spend my time telling stories and creating art and music, far removed from the dangerous world outside.
P.S.: The premise of the anthology Spawn of War and Deathiness sounds intriguing. Tell us about the poem you contributed to that book.
C.M.G.: The premise of my poem, “Motorway Maintenance,” is in its recurring line: “Death drives a black hearse on the motorway” and is about the grim reaper mopping up after road accidents, and meting out justice to those who cause them. I don’t do poetry very often, but I did enjoy playing about with the rules and forms of villanelles for that one.
P.S.: You run creative workshops for children in schools, libraries, and museums. What are these workshops like?
C.M.G.: My main job is as a tour guide in the beautiful historic city of York, and I meet lovely people everyday and tell them stories about York. I have a sideline in running creative activities for children and a big part of that is reusing junk for model-making and art. I love being creative and I want to share that and encourage young people to be creative too, in any way they can, at school or at home – or occasionally also in museums and other heritage sites, where I’ll probably be dressed as a Victorian or a Roman, something like that.
P.S.: Extraordinary Visions: Stories Inspired by Jules Verne contains your story, “Tyranny Under the Sea.” It’s an adventure tale involving Captain Nemo, an underwater city, and a daring escape. How did you come up with the idea for this story?
C.M.G.: 20,000 LeaguesUnder the Sea is probably my favorite Verne story, so I knew early on that my submission would be linked to that somehow. I’m also intrigued by the start of Mysterious Island and its Civil War-era setting, because I’ve always been interested in that part of history. (My first published writing was three articles for the American Civil War Society about movies featuring the conflict). From that starting point, it was relatively easy to find clues to Captain Nemo’s views on the war and which side he would aid if he got entangled in it. Things really took off when I got the idea to include 1860s submarines and an underwater city inspired by Fort Sumter, but the key to it all was when I got the idea to tell the story from a slave’s point of view – because that added the emotional heart of the story, as well as the reason for the events which unfold.
P.S.: What is your current work in progress? Would you mind telling us a little about it?
C.M.G.: I’m not a writer who can focus on just one idea at a time because I’m constantly getting ideas and inspiration for different stories and flitting between them. It can take me years from getting an idea, to writing it down, to doing rewrites, to submitting it somewhere and it seeing the light of day. I have a couple of children’s fantasy novels that I need to finish, as well as a couple of short stories that need redrafting. At the moment, I’m going back to one of those children’s fantasy novels and looking at fleshing it out a bit.
Poseidon’s Scribe: What advice can you offer aspiring writers?
Christopher M. Geeson: Well, I think of myself as an aspiring writer, too—I certainly have many aspirations for writing which I haven’t fulfilled yet! But my advice would be to write what you want, not what you think will bring you success or money. Spending time being creative is a reward in itself.
I’ve had a few short stories published and the thing for me which made the difference was going through lots of drafts and listening to constructive feedback. I think my most useful advice would be to find or form a small circle of writers who are at a similar stage and level to you, regardless of genre or style—most of my writing groups have only had one or two of us doing fantasy and SF, but the feedback was still tremendously helpful. Share each other’s work; give and take honest constructive feedback. Keep it professional, rather than close friends or family. Joining a writing course—or several courses—worked for me. I don’t have a writer’s group at the moment but I had small writing circles, like those I’ve mentioned, in the years when I progressed to being a published writer and I found the feedback and contact invaluable.
Poseidon’s Scribe: Thank you, Christopher. I love your suggestion for writers to join or form groups. That’s helped me, too.
Readers interested in Christopher M. Geeson’s work should explore his Amazon page.
