The Future is Coming
the pieces are falling into place for a brave new Sci-Fi anthology fuelled by British Writers...
Martin Grace put out a call for British writers to write specualtive Sci-Fi pieces about the future of our nation.
The world seems an insane place now, more insane that at any time in my 57 years.
The madness and horror swirling around us makes the terrible times of my youth - The Cold War, Thatcherism, The Falklands, AIDS…seem almost trivial by comparison to what we are enduring and facing now…
Fascism, Genocide, Global Wealth Inequality, Billionaires, Drone Wars, AI, Robots, Deep Fakes, Surveillance State, Data Harvesting, Palantir, The destruction of Global Norms and Treaties, the Collapse of International Law, Nuclear Proliferation, Subversion of Democracy, Obesity, Pandemics, Privatised Everything. Flagrant Corruption, Corrupted Media.
All of these things are a terrifying noise that is drowning out the relentless horror that is climate change. This is a scientific certainty that we have known the truth of for the last FIFTY YEARS. Truth that has been attacked by Liars serving their own Corporate and Individual interests. Not the interests of the people and all life on this planet.
After we finished shaking with rage and fear about all of this, 24 of us answered the call - 24 different but overlapping stories: our visions of what future Britains could be. Here is a snippet of my vision - my story is (currently) going to be called “Facial Recognition.” I shall say no more.
“When the skiff dropped him back in town, there was a drone making slow laps above the square. It was an effort not to look up, but he clocked the new antenna on the Pele Tower, scratching the skyline. He kept instinctive hands out of his pockets and off the strange things he’d found beneath the wall of bones which tumbled from the container when the doors groaned open. The Councillor was supposed to tally anything metal; whatever Armstrong had pocketed, it was contraband now.”
If you would like to support the project we have a crowdfunder here - drop in and read more about the project and if you feel you can help, that would be grand.
You can support us and also choose some goodies - There is nothing better than being part of something bigger than yourself and I am delighted that some of my very best most talented substack friends (as well as Martin Grace our driving force ) of the sci-fi world are also beaming down: Evelyn K. Brunswick Johnathan Reid Caitriana NicNeacail Gary Mucklow to name but a few.
We are all aiming to finish our final edits for 1 June and get to the next stage of the Project - excitement is the flavour.
Hope to see you in the future…
“ALL THESE PLACES WILL BE LOST IN TIME…LIKE TEARS…IN RAIN”
It is a great time this era is, to be a dystopian SF writer! Such material. Such material.
We’re deep in the denial stage on this one. It is existential not partisan. Treating it as such will get us all killed. It’s survival.