Nov 01 2008
The Frightening Way My Mind Works
One of the side effects of seeing scientific and engineering up close and personal, the successful woo-hoo projects and the, well, not so woo-hoo, is that it is endless fodder for writing science fiction. (Honestly, so many books on writing stress how to come up with ideas - that has never been a problem. If I wrote to completion every idea I’ve had to date, I’d be writing 4-5 lifetimes, and I expect to have more ideas). Not just the projects, of course, but also the people, some of which have been an absolute honor to work with.
For example, I’m chatting with an exceptional individual and friend, who also happened to be my first boss. We stopped for lunch and, opening the door caused it to ding. My friend commented that the dinging was considerably better than that overly gentle voice saying “The door is ajar.”
Naturally, my sarcastic self jumped in and said, “Well, it could be worse. It could criticize your driving. ‘That was a stop sign, ya dope.’” And of course, that was more than enough for my brain to hit the ground running. It was a short step from there to thinking about having a serious personality in the car and how irksome that would be. Next thing you know, I have a short story “Back Seat Driver” where someone installed their own personality in a car and ended up having to destroy it. Many people, I suspect, would find dealing with themselves less than gratifying. And how often do you get to use this line, “. I just killed myself. I couldn’t take me any more.”
In another case, when I was working in biotechnology, one of our software engineers described himself as a “codeslinger.” I found the term very appealing and since we were working on supplying hardware to support biotechnology experiments on the Shuttle and Mir using a bioreactor. Here we are, growing 3 dimensional cells because growing on the ground is problematic (check link for more information). Now, it’s not a stretch for a mind, at least not mine, to speculate on what could be done with growing 3 dimensional tissues if taken to it’s logical conclusion.
You’ll be unsurprised to find out that this story, or rather, future novel, has been a lot of fun (and research) to speculate about: space technology makes money (shock!) first as a multinational/multicompany science research station that finds the cure for cancer, then as a station that grows replacement organs. Codeslingers are a pivotal focus of the scenario, but I can’t let you in on all my secrets.
- Retired Life - Cleaning out the Basement of my Mind
- Ahh the way my thighs burn
- the slow unraveling of my mind
- Personally, I’ve always thought dying on vacation was the better way to go . . . I do have certain requests about my passing, though. I hope that if I die in a plane crash, it’s coming FROM a vacation instead of heading TO. I know, it’s
- Thoughts on “Losing My Mind”
The reason you express this kind of genius is that you keep your mind open. So many people walk through life in a daze, barely paying attention to anyone else, to the news, or even to the most inane television show. They can’t even remember what they ate for breakfast, so unobservant are they. They could spend all day outside, but the moment they walk in the door, they can’t tell you what the weather is like outside. They didn’t notice.
It’s a writer’s job to notice, analyze, assimilate elements, and synthesize them into a meaningful work that comments upon its origins in a unique way. It is a writer’s job to SEE the world for all that it is, and to take that sight and put it into a form for others to read, others who may not notice the world to the same profound depth.
The difference, sis, is the you are a WRITER.
Gosh, sis, I’m touched.
What a wonderful compliment.
Ok, you totally have to write the Back Seat Driver story.
Where’d you post the story? I’m dying to read it. I’ll check over at Gather, to see if it’s there.
I have written it but I don’t have it posted anywhere. I’ll post it tonight and I’ll put the link here.