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2009-05-28: MilSciFi.com interviews Dr. Charles E. Gannon, contributor to the
military science fiction anthology, So It Begins, book two in the Defending the
Future series.
MilSciFi: "Welcome. Please tell us a little something about your story Recidivism."
Gannon: "'Recidivism' is probably the most
atypical story I've ever written. It is
not a story in the traditional sense, but more akin to one of those "fictionally-structured
essays" that used to show up in (especially military) Sf anthologies, such
as Imperial Stars, There Will Be War, and anything that
Reginald Bretnor had a hand in. And in
the Golden Age magazines, similar 'thought experiments in fictional format'
would make occasional appearances.
I purposely worked in that tradition—right down to the old-fashioned
mannerism of ending with a swapped-species perspective (i.e.; the individual we
presume to be human turns out to be an alien; the approaching alien invaders
turn out to be the humans: Twilight Zone MUST have done something like that…). Consequently, there's not a lot of character
development, not even a lot of "action" (in the very kinetic sense
that I usually mean and write it): this was all about the idea of how
vulnerable we really are, and the foolishness of a) turning our backs on the
dangers as though they don't exist, and b) mothballing or abandoning the
technologies that might save us. These "politically
correct" behaviors also run in direct contradiction of the evolutionary
survival imperative, and are hence, recidivistic. Of course, because the protagonist had the
temerity to try to indirectly point this out, he's labeled a troglodyte, a
throw-back, a primitive: in short, the doyens of "right thinking"
label him as being recidivistic. In
fact, he was their last hope."
MilSciFi: "Is this part of a large series or
universe?"
Gannon: "Absolutely not: a one-shot deal.
MilSciFi: "What inspired you to write this
story?"
Gannon: "The ostrich-with-head-in-sand
attitudes that prevail about earth-crossing objects. The threat (eventual or immediate: who can
tell?) should be enough to get us serious, and keep us serious, about finding
hi-ISP thrust agencies that will allow us to get early intercept on inbound
rocks that might exterminate or severely damage life on Earth. In turn, that train of thought sparked the
idea for a story in which a character presented the various ways a biosphere
could be at risk, that planets can be destroyed. And so, "Recividism" was born.
MilSciFi: "Does science and technology play
an important role in this story (or in your work in general), or is it
secondary to the story telling and characterization?"
Gannon: "Because the story is a "thought
experiment" first and foremost, there is actually very little "technology"
seen in it—although much is referred to.
But yes, in "Recidivism" the character is definitely relegated
to being a foil for the idea—and that change of narrative focus and objectives makes
it a unique story for me.
MilSciFi: "Do you have plans to expand upon,
or write other works based on this story?"
Gannon: "None."
MilSciFi: "Please tell us a little something
about your other story To Spec."
Gannon: "It's about a crusty but savvy
career NCO, zero-gee combat, the weapons and skills you need to fight in that
environment, risking your life to protect a national secret, coronal mass
ejections, the radiation dangers of outer space, and saving your neck by
learning how to use a new weapon while people are trying—very hard—to kill
you. Pretty dull stuff: sorry."
MilSciFi: "Is this part of a large series or
universe?"
Gannon: "Absolutely. Most of what I write is part of a
simulation/projection-driven "future-history." The main story-arcs of that universe kicks
into high gear in 2097, when the first evidence of extraterrestrial
intelligence, or "exosapients," is discovered. (The "whole truth" about the
discovery of exosapients is a little more complicated, and would also be a
spoiler if posted here, so I hope you'll buy my books to explore the deeper
secrets of that world.) The events
in "To Spec" transpire about 13-14 years earlier, as the bloc known
as the New Worlds Commonwealth (US, Canada, Australia, and—at arm's length—the
UK) is about to complete work on an FTL prototype ship. (Okay, it's not really FASTER than light,
but, well—that's something else you can learn about by reading the books.)"
MilSciFi: "What inspired you to write this
story?"
Gannon: "That's a pretty funny story. Mike McPhail knew my work in gaming and
(despite that knowledge) approached me at Ravencon (2008) to write a story for
SIB. That same night, I was chatting
with people at Baen's Bar, and my soon-to-be pal Julie Cochrane asked about a
hypothetical weapon—a liquid propellant rifle—I had given a talk about at the
Battelle Corporation's Joint Services Small Arms Program (JSSAP) meeting a
month before. As I was explaining the
operation—and zero-gee advantages—of the weapon to Julie, I started realizing
that a) the weapon needed a story of its own, and b) the story was starting to
take shape as I spoke. The dramatic
setup—that the weapon has its trial by fire defending the Prometheus
Project—came first. The character—the
sergeant who is suspicious of new gadgets—followed right along behind. By the next morning, I pretty much knew how
the story was going to unfold."
MilSciFi: "Does science and technology play
an important role in this story (or in your work in general), or is it
secondary to the story telling and characterization?"
Gannon: "Yes and yes."
Actually, this is one of those either/or questions that I have to
demolish in order to answer. Issues of
character and technology go hand-in-hand in most of my SF. Sure, "To Spec" is about a new
weapon and about the dangers of space that we don't always see represented in
detail. But if these aren't made integral,
dramatic elements that determine the fates of believable, fleshed-out
characters, then all these novelties are just a collection of interesting pseudo-facts. Fiction—science or otherwise—is about
people. And whether we're talking about
people from a century ago, or from the century to come, the primal constants
don't change: life, death, hope, despair, joy, anguish, what's worth living
for, and—above all—what's worth dying for.
"To Spec" asks these questions within a frame boundaried by
new technology and novel environments. I
don't know how to say which is "secondary" when they come as a
completely fused and integrated package."
MilSciFi: "Do you have plans to expanded
upon, or write other works based on this story?"
Gannon: "I'd reverse the presumption of the
question: THIS story is the expansion, and continuation, of linked events in
the story arc of the Consolidated Terran Republic.
In "To Spec," the almost elderly intel-expert on site—Darryl
Wilder—appeared as a young man in my novella The Power of Visions (Analog, June 2003), which dealt with an
earlier attempt to sabotage a technological test-bed—an fusion reactor-- that
was a stepping stone along the way to Project Prometheus. So this story and that one are arranged to
function the way pearls do on a necklace: they are bright highlights that,
taken in sequence, describe a greater shape, the arc of a larger story of the
future."
MilSciFi: "Most authors we encounter write
novellas/novels, do you find it a challenge to write short stories?"
Gannon: "For me, the shorter the story, the
harder it is to write. This one just
verges into novelette length, and so gives me enough room in which to work
comfortably. The length of novelette
(and more) also lets you explore on most ideas.
However, when you start falling under 6 or 5 thousand words, you start
bouncing your nose into the fact that a great number of fine story ideas just
CAN'T be told adequately in that length."
MilSciFi: "Since time is of the essence for
getting a reader up to speed in a short story, do you have a strategy, or
preferred method for doing this?"
Gannon: "Yes. Start on action and with a mystery hook. That said, it can be an excruciatingly fine
line between getting a reader to wonder, "hey, I really want to know what's
going on here" but without going so far as to make the reader feel
disoriented, as per "what the hell is going on here and what's more, why
should I care?" If you've achieved
the first reaction, then you can start seeding in the "background facts"
without it seeming like a dull briefing room scene. But this is ALWAYS a challenge."
MilSciFi: "Do you have any other projects in
the works?"
Gannon: "Yes: many. Look for the novel(s) Fire with Fire , another one tentatively titled Who'll Stop the Rains (no, I didn't
forget a question mark), and more novellas—one of which will (I hope!) be in
Defending the Future 3. They are all
part of the future history of the Consolidated Terran Republic."
MilSciFi: "Do you have any upcoming author
events?"
Gannon: "I do about 8 East Coast cons every
year. Look for me at Arisia, Lunacon,
I-Con, Raven Con, BaltiCon, CapClave, Philcon, and usually World Fantasy
(wherever it happens to be). I'll
probably be adding 1 or 2 more in the years to come."
MilSciFi: "Do you have a website?"
Gannon: "My website is just going back up
now, after moving to a new host, and getting some hassles with domain registry
and names sorted out. By August of 2009,
there should be a whole lot of meaty content and eye-candy to check out at www.charlesegannon.com. You'll also be able to get there by www.cegannon.com. Come by for a visit! There will be new content every week, because
there's always a new story in from the Interstellar News Service—the unofficial
chroniclers of the early years of the Consolidated Terran Republic."
MilSciFi: "Thank you"
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