“As a child I dreamed of exploring and discovering the world, but then I realised this world has already been discovered! So I decided to discover adventure in the planet of imagination.”
These words were spoken by celebrated Cuban science fiction writer and rock star Yoss during the panel titled “A Multiverse of Ideas” at the KK Tea Stage on the second day of the Dhaka Literary Festival. This engaging panel was moderated by Bangladeshi novelist Saad Z Hossain, and included broadcaster and novelist Marcel Theroux and novelist Ranbir Sidhu in an animated conversation about alternate worlds and thoughts
The discussion started with Hossain asking the panellists about why they decided to venture into the world of science fiction. For Ranbir Sidhu, science fiction was a way for him to escape a reality that he felt he didn’t really belong in, and he added that he found the ability to disconnect from the notion of “writing what we know” really empowering. Yoss also gave insight into his childhood dream of discovering new worlds, one which he is able to fulfill through fiction. Marcel Theroux added that all novelists are in a way creating their own worlds, whether they are science fiction writers or not.
The conversation then moved on to the idea of dystopian worlds, and their inclusion in the novels of the writers present at the panel. Theroux’s novel features a dystopian world where climate change has caused temperatures to drop drastically, and it is a world where all the greatest scientific achievements are stories of the past. According to the novelist: “I thought of how the English once looked at the ruins of Ancient Rome and wondered at the great civilisations that came before them – and this story is something in that vein.” According to Sidhu, writing about dystopian worlds is also a way to shake out the possibilities that may happen to us in the future and discuss them.
Yoss also spoke of his novel Planet for Rent, which is a dystopian world where the planet is controlled by a tourism board that markets all the people on earth for tourism purposes, and no humans are allowed to leave. According to Yoss, science fiction is the literature of “if,” and he draws from his experiences in Cuba and it’s complex political situation to create realistic characters engaging with science fiction ones, such as a prostitute who has to sell herself to aliens to survive.
The panellists went on to discuss the possibility of real dystopian worlds existing, agreeing that the poorest people in the world are living in a real dystopia. Theroux referred to the slavery in US plantations and how the families of plantation owners lived in their own versions of Jane Austen novels, completely oblivious to the unbelievably unjust system they lived in, and that speculative fiction can often be a tool that forcibly reminds you of the strangeness and injustice in the real world.
The panellists also discussed how writing science fiction can often be a good way to tackle difficult topics while at the same time avoiding censorship. At this point, Yoss mentioned that Orwell’s famous dystopian novel, 1984, will have an uncensored translation published for the first time in Cuba next year. There was also a discussion on how a lot of adults nowadays seem to have a quiet sort of prejudice against science fiction, which is strange when you consider that the basics of all fiction is that “it’s all made up,” and that some of the most famous novels are in essence science fiction, such as Gulliver’s Travels, Frankenstein, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, etc.
This animated discussion ended with a lively exchange with the audience that included speculation on how the world will end, whether technology is a bane or boon and if aliens really do exist. Nearing the end of the session, Yoss proclaimed “A lot of my friends tell me - you have a band, you write all this made-up stuff, you’re such a nerd. Yeah well, I’m proud to be a nerd” – a comment which was received with tumultuous applause.
