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Featured Writer|David Brin

When I telephoned David Brin, the well-known Scientist/Sci-Fi author, he answered the phone saying, "And the fish!"

After a moment, he said, "I'm sure it isn't what you expect to hear when you call someone."

"No worries," I said. "I e-mailed you about my dog, so fish, dogs, it's all fine."

Brin's abstract greeting really helped settle my jitters about interviewing such a talented visionary. He then mentioned we might have to have our conversation in bits, as his wife had left one of their children at home with him. We briefly discussed the ages of our respective offspring. We commiserated as we both have 14-year-old daughters. Brin's sons are 16 and 11, while mine is 5, but I trumped him with both 17 and 16-year-old daughters.

Any fluttering of nerves was laid to rest, as I realized that David Brin is just another guy with the headaches of parenting teens, who happens to be a winner of both a Hugo and a Nebula award. I jumped right in.

WORD—So. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

DAVID BRIN—I was born into a family of writers and always knew I had a knack in that department. Despite growing up in the 50s and 60s, I was not exceptionally taken with the entertainment business, even though I almost went to Hollywood High. It struck me as bizarre that a group who is so easily replaceable is treated with heroic status.

Every civilization has had actors, artists, writers, ranters, ravers, extreme extroverts. If you killed all the actors, artist, writers you'd get more. The Art might even improve due to the romantic feel of persecution.

Art exudes from our pores, makes us human. We could live without art, but we never will.

So while I had artistic talent, I wanted to impress and I saw a group who impressed me a whole lot.

No other civilization had developed and propelled itself before with science. I found that pursuit far more attractive, especially how it's a collaborative effort. Nuts and bolts may vary, but still it's collaborative. I wanted to be a part of that. So I studied hard to do well in science and engineering, meanwhile on the side I had the hobby of writing stories that came as easy as breathing.

The first work I ever submitted was Sundiver, which was picked up by the first publisher.

Partly out of science, I learned the value of solid craftsmanship. If you actually believe other people will pay for your drivel you are already egotistic enough. Craftsmanship must come first, followed by egotism.

WORD— What do you want to be now?

DAVID BRIN—A National Treasure. Arthur C. Clarke did that, an island (Sri Lanka) set aside part of its national budget to give him that. That wouldn't be bad. I'd like more movies. Check out the CGSociety's Challenge of the Uplift Universe.

I mentioned the recent fame of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and asked whether Brin perceived any marginalization of Sci Fi as a genre as "more important" (emphasis ours) literature begins to deal with Sci Fi themes.

DAVID BRIN—Every seven years, like clockwork, The Atlantic creates a hit piece against Science Fiction, recreating the legendary war in the London Times between H.G. Wells and Henry James.

Brin stated that "change is the only constant," regardless of what most English Lit professors may think and that it should be addressed in writing, regardless if it's "Literature" or Science Fiction.

90% of everything is crap. 90% of Sci Fi are stories of lost princes who find magical talismans and fight dragons. The best Science Fiction deals with the same quandaries as those in literature—how to deal with the effects of change.

WORD— You recommend workshopping as a writer. Are you currently active in a workshop? 

DAVID BRIN—No, I have developed a coterie of eager volunteers & circulate my work to them.

WORD— I heard that you are involved with the Clarion Workshop at UCSD. Would you ever be an instructor?

DAVID BRIN—I help out. I come down to talk now and then to the Sci Fi class at UCSD. I'd consider (being an instructor) when a kid or two leaves for college.

Little did I know Brin's answer to my next questions about the biotech/nanotech revolution would give the rest of us new nightmares.

DAVID BRIN—Try to picture what cyberneticists did in the 60s, 70s and 80s when they shrunk computers to desktop sizes down from rooms and sold them to everybody. Only three science fiction authors ever predicted that. Now biochemists do the same thing—miniaturize room-sized labs down to desktop-sized.

Soon any teenaged hacker can get a MolecuMac and be able to synthesize any organic compound. Hackers building viruses will take on a whole new meaning. I won't be eating at McDonald's then. Forget worrying about them spitting on your food. Imagine they are creating experiments to run on you.

WORD—Yeah, as if I needed more things to worry about teenagers and the future.

With that little fun tidbit we arranged to resume the call after he raked leaves with his daughter and I fed my children {a hopefully virus-free} lunch.

We picked back up with a discussion about how Brin creates very believable alien characters and specific individuals within the framework of their alien races' tendencies. He spoke about his process of beginning with human traits and exaggerating them. Brin expounded by citing one of his characters from Uplift.

DAVID BRIN—And then somehow give the impression to the reader that this fellow is actually atypical for his own species. My Tymbrimi ambassador, for example, was chosen because his sense of humor was exceptionally dull for a Tymbrimi. He needs that for the diplomatic corp. I portrayed as much of a rapscallion as I could, then had him describe himself as "a really, really dull boy." The impression that one gets of his species, therefore, is multiplied several times over.

WORD— What were your inspirations for the Uplift World?

DAVID BRIN—Also in science fiction, it's simply a matter of "I think human beings will get around to this, so why don't I describe it?" Obviously, we have already meddled in the characteristics of the animals around us. For many of them it resulted in extinction. For others, it vastly expanded their numbers, so they can lay eggs for us or be family pets. The processes that altered these animals obviously can accelerate.

Since humanity is already showing signs of extreme loneliness, we are obsessed with Artificial Intelligence, aliens and also with the opposite sex. It seems only natural that we would use advanced techniques to try and develop companions we could talk to, starting with the smartest animals, such as the chimpanzees and dolphins.

I'm not the first to portray this happening. Science fiction authors H.G. Wells, Cordwainer Smith, Pierre Boulee, all depicted a form of Uplift in which chimps become fully sapient under our hands. Only they went with the simple self-flagellating morality tale, obviously it's done by mad scientists, and civilization will make slaves of these creatures.

I said to myself, "Well, that's been done. I don't have to tell that story, as morally enlightened as it is. Instead I'll show Uplift being done by a modern Western civilization, filled with civil rights, angst, guilt and picketing do-gooders."

Under those circumstances, slavery isn't the issue. The real issue is will the scientists be allowed to do the painful experiments necessary in order for dolphins or chimps to speak, to play concerts, to vote, to help us pilot our starships? It’s a far more fascinating quandary than simply saying, "Oops! We enslaved them, now their gonna kill us." And if, not if, but when, there is a fight over Uplift, both sides will be completely right.

That's scary and it represents the kind of dilemma that we'll have endlessly during the 21st century. The solution to that is not self-righteously indignant blogging. The solution to that is better tools of negotiation. Science fiction is part of the process, by at least laying the questions on the table.

WORD— Just curious. Do you collect anything?

DAVID BRIN—Anything that my wife and kids say I should pay for and collect for them. Quarters, coins, Classics Illustrated comics, dolphin knick-knacks, guidebooks and dictionaries in extremely obscure languages. What else do we collect? Science toys, oh yeah, my wife collects skulls. 

WORD— Any particular style of skulls?

DAVID BRIN—Oh, all sorts of skulls, that just sit in the bone cabinet. She has her dibs on mine.

WORD— On your skull being in the cabinet?

DAVID BRIN—Well, she's allowing me to carry it around for the time being.

WORD— But, as soon as you're done using it though, it's hers?

DAVID BRIN—Yeah. I have friends who will slice the brain up and offer it to Gods of Uploading.

WORD— Well, speaking of your brain and being Uploaded, What is your earliest memory?

DAVID BRIN—My father put me on the seat of a bicycle. I watched as the neighbor kids went round and round a suburban cul-de-sac in Granada Hills, California. I was about 2 years old. I can see the image very clearly in my mind. At the time, I thought it was some kind of National Bike Day, an organized festival, with banners and music. But looking at the scene with adult eyes, I now realize, it was just a bunch of teenagers in the cul-de-sac.

The dramatic is more preferable.

And somehow we had managed to circle back, through space and time, to teenagers yet again! Perhaps I should be inspired to write Science Fiction about a society run by teens.

Wait, hasn't that been done before?

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