Dystopian - Lynette M. Burrows

Do You Discuss Dystopias In The Making

Sometimes the well goes dry. When this happens to a creative, she must refill the well. This creative turns to informational podcasts (among other things). Recently I discovered a podcast of absolute golden inspiration for lovers of dystopian stories. The Good Code discusses dystopias in the making.

image of lines of green code on a black screen--digital dystopias in the making

Chine Labbe is the host of the Good Code in collaboration with DLI at Cornell Tech. It’s a weekly podcast on ways in which our increasingly digital societies could go terribly wrong. (Yes! Story fodder.) You may subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, GooglePlay, and other sites.

On Net-States

This week’s episode is Alexis Wichowski on Net States Chine and her guest, Alexis, discussed Wichowski’s recently released book The Information Trade: How Big Tech Conquers Countries, Challenges Our Rights, and Transforms Our World.

The premise of the book is that big tech companies like Google and Facebook act like national governments. She implies that this is dystopias in the making. Our world is no longer divided by nation-states (like the United States, Canada, Italy, etc.) and non-states (ISIS, al Qaeda). And she proposes a new term for the era, net-state.

What is a Net State?

image of the google sign taken at a close angle

A net-state is a digital, big tech company that expands its role to include protective or supportive services to citizens. These companies exist primarily online. They have millions of international followers (like Google and Facebook). And they pursue agendas separate from the law. Out of necessity, some big tech companies created huge departments or companies to deal cyber threats.

Google has an anti-censorship initiative called Project Shield, an online safe-haven for news sites censored by their national governments. They laud this project in some countries but other countries (China, Iran, etc) could see this as illegal and a disruption of their government.

Other actions appear humanitarian. After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, they had no power and no internet. FEMA sent fifty representatives with mediocre results. Wichowski stated that as a nation-state any government attempts to respond with fairness.

Big tech doesn’t care about being fair to all states or all situations. Google and Tesla quickly and efficiently provided Puerto Rico with temporary power and internet access.

Is This a Problem?

Wichowski says it is. She points out that no one votes for the leadership at a big tech company. That means there is very little oversight. And she points out that there is little transparency in these companies. Who has your personal information? What are they doing to protect it? What are they doing with it?

Not everyone thinks this is a situation of dystopias in the making. According to Wired, the world needs net-states. They occupy the same territory as the non-states: the digital sphere. And they understand their norms and tactics far more than a land-war, Cold-War era strategist ever could.

How Do We Fix it?

People need to be more aware of who owns the tech they buy. An example is that Amazon owns the home security system Ring. And Amazon has had data breaches where personal information is at risk. Wichowski says people need to bring pressure on big tech companies to be more transparent and police themselves better.

Wichowski also suggested we establish something like the Geneva Convention for the digital world. She says we should create some basic ethical rules for big tech companies to follow. In this short podcast, she did not go into how this might work.

If she could change one thing, she says she’d choose for companies to be transparent. She said that somewhere in the world someone knew more about her personal information, browsing history, and shopping habits than she does. She wants to know what all that information is.

Net-Nations in Fiction

While the term net-nations is new, the idea isn’t. Big bad corporations create dystopian societies in many novels. The tech in 1984 by Aldous Huxley isn’t as advanced, but the idea is similar.

The Warehouse by Rob Hart, The Circle by David Eggers, Orbital Decay by Allen Steele, and Immortality by Robert Sheckley are a few dystopian novels with tech-ruled societies.

What novels can you think of with this tech-dystopia set up?

What Is the Worst That Could Happen?

Do you play dystopian mind games? I do, endlessly. For more fun dystopian discussion material, read why we love reading dystopias.

Do you agree that big tech or net-states are a bad idea? Do you think a Geneva-like set of rules can stave off severe abuses? Is discussing dystopias in the making inspiration for dystopian authors and readers? Or is it the stuff of nightmares?

My One Year Anniversary and a Giveaway

One year ago today, my debut novel, My Soul to Keep, went live on Amazon and other online book retailers. It’s been a good year and I wanted to celebrate. I’m glad you came! There’s no better way to celebrate than with friends. Help me celebrate my one year anniversary and a giveaway!

Image of champagne being poured into a champagne glass — Won’t you join me in a little bubbly?

One Year Ago

On this day (August 21) one year ago (2018), I pushed that publish now button. There’s nothing more disheartening than the push of an electronic button. There’s no sound. There are no balloons or flags or cheering crowd. I’d done very little promotion and had few sales beyond my friends and family. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate every one of those sales. But when the first person who was not a close personal friend posted a five-star review, I was beyond thrilled. There was dancing and laughing and, I’m not ashamed to admit it, tears of joy. They were nothing compared to the watershed when I held the print version in my hands.

The physical book was the culmination of years of working hard to learn to write stories. Millions of words written and trashed or put away in a drawer. A lot of people compare publishing a book to having a baby. There are some parallels, but it’s not the same. Writing a book requires a long gestation period and a lot of “labor,” but when you put it out in the world the creation part is done. There are things to do—marketing, book signings, and events. It’s not like holding or nurturing a baby from then on.

The Ride

As a first book in a series, I decided not to promote My Soul to Keep much. It’s hard watching your book languish on the shelves.

So I did a few appearances and a couple of promotions. Both of which gave my novel a sales bump. A book club chose to review my book. That led to my first review from a reader in Great Britain.

I had no real sales goals. Why? Fear that no one would like the book I think. About mid-way through the year I decided to see if I could sell 100 books in the first year. Without any advertising, I fell short of my goal. But I came close.

Celebration!

Finally, I get to the good part: The My Soul to Keep One Year Anniversary Giveaway. A $32 value, winners will receive the following Kindle ebooks from Amazon:

Tribe of Daughters by Kate L Mary

My Soul to Keep by me, Lynette M. Burrows

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Red Clocks By Leni Zumas

To win, enter on the My Soul to Keep One Year Anniversary Giveaway page and follow the directions on links to click and share this giveaway. Points are accumulated by clicking the links or sharing the giveaway or signing up for my blog or newsletter.

Current subscribers to my blog and newsletter, don’t worry, there are daily bonus points available for you.

The winner will be chosen by KingSumo.com and announced on this blog and Facebook and Twitter on September 6^th.

Thank You

I appreciate each and everyone of you whether you’re a lurker or someone who comments on posts.Thank you for being part of my adventure into publishing and for helping me celebrate my one year anniversary and giveaway. ETA: This contest is completed and a winner selected. Thank you for your participation. Sign up for blog updates to get notification of future contests.

Outtake: An Early Prelude

Long ago, I wrote the first draft of My Soul to Keep. It was a fantasy with dragons. What was I thinking? My next draft or two or three were just as far afield as the fantasy, though they were closer to a science fictional approach. Then, after many discussions with my husband and friends, I came up with the alternate world in which the story now takes place. I thought readers might enjoy a look back at some of the outtakes from those earlier drafts. So, without further ado, here’s an outtake: an early prelude to My Soul to Keep.

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A Testament for Modern Times

The New Book of Samuel

Chapter 3, verses 1-17

1. Now it came to pass, in the days after the Great War, that the children of the world did evil in the sight of the Lord.

2. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people and He delivered them into the days of darkness called the Great Depression. He overthrew the tables of their moneymakers and money changers; and gold became as water.

3. Thieves, drunkards, and murderers ruled the land known as America. The American leader, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was assassinated; yet the people of America repented not.

4. And in these days the peoples of Europe, Russia, and Asia loved God not. So it came to pass that there was war between Britain and the Third Reich.

5. And the wicked fell upon each other and they dwelt in the darkness of their damnation.

6. Ten times ten thousand Britons were slain in the fields and in their homes. Their cities were destroyed, and their young men carried away into slavery.

7. And the Britons called to America for ships and weapons and men. But the American people asked one another, “Why must our sons die over the sea in other people’s battles?”

8. So it came to pass that the American people closed their ears and would not hear the strife across the sea. For they were sore afraid.

9. Now there arose many prophets: Father Charles Coughlin, Gerald L. K. Smith, Francis Townsend, Aimee Semple McPherson, and William Ashley Sunday.

10. But the greatest of these was born of the land called Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a man named Samuel Garret. He was a humble and pious man whose heart was troubled by the wickedness of his people.

11. There was sent to him from God the angel, Gabriel. And Gabriel said unto him, “Rise up and walk through the length and breadth of the land.” And he did.

12. And he saw the sins of the people of America were very grievous and was ashamed. And he cried out to the Lord, “Father, why hast thou forsaken us?”

13. And the angel returned unto him and said, “This nation was conceived ‘in liberty under God;’ thou hast forsaken the Father.”

14. “Open your ears that you may hear the word of God unto you: Woe be unto this wicked and faithless generation. In as much as ye shall repent, I will cleanse you of your iniquities.

15. “And to him who doth not repent and come to me with a broken heart and contrite spirit, I will blot out his name from the Book of Life.”

16. And it came to pass that Samuel made the people naked to their shame. And when the people heard the words of the Lord in their synagogues, and in their temples, and in their kingdom halls, and in their churches they fell down upon their faces and begged His forgiveness.

17. So the Lord blessed the people who took Fellowship with Him. And remembering His covenant with Noah, God sent not the waters but the angels, the Azrael, to cleanse the wicked from the face of the land.

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I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the past. If you haven’t read My Soul to Keep this passage is not in the published book. The information contained in this outtake, an early prelude, still formed the background for the story world. Click on this link to learn more about the book. If you have ready My Soul to Keep, what do you think of this?