Author Clyde DeSouza is famous for his non-fiction book Think in 3D, which is used as a prep reading by directors and cinematographers. His latest is Maya, the story that looks at the impact augmented intelligence will have on human personal relationships. He tells Divya Kaushik about Transhumanism and why hard sci-fi has not been explored in India
Sci-fi has been an unchartered territory to a great extent in India. What makes you delve into the topic through a rather unconventional storyIJ
It’s true that sci-fi or more importantly, hard science fiction (HSF) has not been ventured into India. There are healthy helpings of mythology-based science fiction and some of the more recent offerings in this genre make for engaging reads. There are a few good examples of speculative science fiction and fantasy science fiction where attention has been paid to world-building and creating believable sci-fi societies but from my exposure to Indian science fiction, which I’ll admit is limited, I feel it’s not been explored enough. Now, mythology has got it’s fair share of attention, in fact, I’ll go as far as saying it’s being done to death. I think it comes down to laziness. For good sci-fi, there is a lot more investment of time, creativity and research when crafting believable worlds and premises, even if the world is not of the distant galaxy variety.
HSF, where the science is plausible, requires still more effort as an author can’t resort to what we call “hand wavium” in the technology described or the science being explored. For instance, saying a nano-bot colony was injected into the blood-stream to kill the cancer isn’t hard science fiction, nor is hitting the FTl or hyper-drive button on a spaceship. Secondly, the audience that has been reared on pulp-romance and mythology fiction in India needs to be weaned gently and authors don’t want to take the risk. To be honest, Indian publishing houses don’t want to, which is a shame.
I chose to get into HSF with the story of Maya, primarily because I think audiences might be more receptive if the story is grounded in people and their intimate relationships. That it also deals with death and how emerging technology might be used to aid in the coping process, will hopefully generate additional interest in readers.
What led to the story of MayaIJ
I was asked this on a recent Facebook chat on Penguin India’s page. The story of Maya came about after being a bystander in tragic event — witnessing the devastation the loss of the life of a loved one had on the family members left behind.
We live in an age where we are rapidly merging with the technology we create. How long before we take on death or at least leverage our technology to aid in the grieving and coping processIJ That is the central theme in Maya and led me to getting down to writing it.
Since the story is about the impact of technology on human relationships in the modern world, how do you see this impact growing in the future and to what extentIJ
I see us merging with the technology we are creating. While currently it might be called bio-hacking, I would prefer calling it human augmentation technology. Today, we can have 3D print at little to no cost, a prosthetic hand for a child who’s never held a cricket ball in his life. Seeing them do so for the first time is beyond words, beyond describable emotion. Technology isn’t evolving — technology is evolution and we are seeing it’s effect in real time.
Tell us about Transhumanism.
I see Transhumanism as the use of technology for the betterment of humankind. Recently the movement stands in danger of becoming a pseudo religion or acquiring a political flavour due to people calling themselves Transhumanists while still carrying carcinogens of human behaviour (greed, need for power, selfishness). I like to think of Transhumanism as what it originally stands for. We owe it to ourselves to better our lives and the lives of the less fortunate. If tech can help a man walk, if advances in bio-tech can avoid famine, if we can off-load or backup our memories or augment our intelligence... we should.
How difficult or easy was it for you to look at the story that is based far ahead in timeIJ
The story is actually near future, as close as eight to ten years. The epilogue mentions a year but there is an encoded message in there that asks readers to read between the lines. The science researched for the book is all plausible current and near future technology and can be thought of as a blueprint to create Digital Surrogates (Dirrogates).
While I can’t say I have influenced real organisations directly, I was pleased to note visits to the book’s blog from organisations such as NASA, Microsoft and others. It turns out Microsoft is actually working on tech that will make Dirrogate-human interaction possible in a few years via their project Hololens.
Tell us about your interest in writing and do you always prefer to write on science-fictionIJ
I have written many non-fiction essays on topics that advance scientific thought in my sphere of interest — virtual reality, augmented reality and how these technologies will affect human beings. My essays have been published on some respected sites. While these sites are frequented by people with a deep seated interest or passion for science, I found it would be an exciting and rewarding experience to help cultivate scientific thought through fiction.
How open are you to the idea of choosing a subject from Indian mythology and reinterpret itIJ
I am going to be immersing myself in Indian mythology as soon as I can dedicate less time to my day job. In fact, in Maya, there is a slight hint of how I might interpret Indian mythology through hard science. Krish speaks about the Hindu God spelling out the secret to immortality in a cave high up in the Himalayas and later he looks at the tenets of Sanathan Dharma when designing his AI algorithms. Maya is the story about (digital) immortality. If there is a sequel to Maya, Indian mythology will make more than just a teaser appearance.
What are the works of science-fiction that you have likedIJ Is there any writing that has influenced youIJ
I can’t say any works have directly influenced me, though I am certain I have absorbed at a sub-conscious level, a great deal from books I have read. Works of science fiction that I have enjoyed are the classics — Gibson and Asimov. Recently there’s Ramez Naam.
What are you working on nextIJ And how open are you to a cinematic adaptation of MayaIJ
I am currently working on the 360 VR motion comic version of Maya for the Oculus Rift VR headset and Samsung’s GearVR. VR is going to be big in the next few months and the story in Maya lends itself well to a VR experience. Recently I was in Mumbai shooting in 360 3D, a few scenes such as the real-world “study street” that features in the story. There is already a finished screenplay of Maya that I wrote and it breaks the non-linear flow of the narration. The cinematic adaptation might be better suited with the so-called “inciting incident” happening within the first 10 minutes of the story, it was a challenge that I had to take on. If hard science is accepted in India through the book, a cinematic adaptation of Maya would be something I would look forward to.