Writing into the future

Those who did not attend the most recent guest author presented by Fanshawe's Letters and Arts Society missed a rare brush with the future.

Canadian Science Fiction author and futurist, Robert J. Sawyer, graced our hallowed D1060 lecture theatre last Thursday, February 8 with a reading of an excerpt from his most recent novel, Mindscan, followed by a rather enlightening Q&A, which resulted in a discussion ranging from his writing career, to the science fiction genre, to his technological predictions and the implications they will have on everyday life.

Sawyer has been described by the Ottawa Citizen as “the dean of Canadian Science Fiction,” a title which is doubtlessly attributable to his prolific and multi-award-winning bibliography of fiction including 17 novels to date, with the 18th, Rollback, due out mid-April of this year.

Sawyer has also published an anthology of short stories, Iterations, and has edited collections of both Canadian science and crime fiction.

The book from which he read during his appearance, Mindscan, is set in a not-so-distant Canada wherein the technology exists to copy the human mind in its entirety and then uploaded, so to speak, into a synthetic body, allowing humans the opportunity to consciously exist without the unruly complications which can arise from a natural body. The main character, Jake Sullivan, suffers from an eminent predisposition to stroke and so chooses to undergo the procedure that will allow him to escape his brain-death sentence by scanning his mind into an android body.

As Sawyer pointed out, there are none of the aliens and spaceships stereotypically expected of his chosen genre within Mindscan. Indeed, to appreciate and enjoy Sawyer's writing, one need not know how to speak Klingon, attend any conventions decked-out in a lycra costume or live rent-free in your mother's basement. Rather, the philosophical and bioethical questions Sawyer's fiction encourages appeals to even the most dedicated of ludites.

In the course of his discussion, Sawyer went so far as to point out that “science fiction” is perhaps a misnomer, preferring instead the title of “philosophical fiction,” explaining that the genre “is the literature of ideas, questions and getting people to think about things that they would otherwise not have time in the day to question or argue about.”

When asked about the importance of the scientific aspect of his work, Sawyer explained “science is important because it lends creditability to what [is being said] philosophically.”

Consequently, as a futurist, Sawyer also believes that the philosophies in his novels are of great importance as reality catches up to the technological capabilities posited in science fiction.

So what technologies does Sawyer foresee commanding our lives in the future? A comprehensive answer to this question can be found through exploration of Sawyer's tremendously extensive website and the many fascinating essays and opinions therein (www.sfwriter.com - an experience I highly recommend), but for those looking for a quick answer as to what specific technology holds the most promising prospects, Sawyer suggests medical technology as “the most interesting…in the wake of the human genome project.” Similarly, with North America's rapidly aging population he believes that experimental medical technologies, such as the current development of robotic nurses at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, those that will “change the quality of life for people as they get older” are “the most productive area to get into.”

Intrigued? You should be! Luckily, Sawyer's many books, full of scientific predictions and philosophical quandaries, are available in bookstores everywhere.

Also, don't risk missing another installment of the Letters and Arts Society's enlightening entertainment, which will be an appearance by Canadian, postmodern author Ray Smith (The Man Who Loved Jane Austen, Cape Breton is the Thought Control Centre of Canada) on March 15, in room D1060 at 2:00 pm.