Creating a novum for your science fiction story isn’t as simple as making up a cool name and then giving the device some interesting function. As a writer, you should understand the device inside and out. This will allow you to more fully incorporate it into your plot and to more fully explore its implications for the world.
There are several questions you should ask and answer when creating a new invention, sometimes referred to as a technological novum (We’ll discuss the aliens and extrasolar landscapes in future entries):
n Why did this change occur? No technological advancement occurs without reason. Cars were faster than horses, the atomic bomb allowed a country to win a war, computers improved office productivity. Any technological novum should address some need that exists in the world you’ve created.
n What are some uses for the novum beyond its intended one? Often people find unintended uses for new devices. The computer, for example, originally was thought of as an enormous calculator for scientists and the military. Video games, Internet-based businesses and chat rooms are all unintended uses of the computer.
n What are some ways this technology can be abused? There’s always a scam artist or someone with designs on power out there. The inventors of the Internet didn’t envision phishing or spam.
n Who benefits from this change? Nanotechnology obviously will make some corporations rich. But will it allow firefighters to wear suits that mend themselves when burned or to remain cool when placed in flames, saving lives?
n Who suffers from/disapproves of this change? For every winner there are dozens of losers. If fusion technology became a reality in personal transportation, for example, the fossil fuel industry would collapse. That would plunge parts of Texas and Louisiana into economic ruin. Refineries and gas stations across the United States would close, leaving many out of work.
n What are some professions this novum will alter? How would the medical profession change if nanomeds became widespread? Would there be new specialists in the field or could a family doctor now replace the cardiologist and urologist? Would lab techs and nurses at hospitals need to learn new skills so they could monitor the progress of the nanobots?
n How does this change affect “official” public life? If we become a spacefaring civilization, will the regulating of spacecraft be left to each nation or will an international body oversee it? If the latter, how do people of once powerful nations feel about an outside government establishing rules that govern them? Or would the powerful nations establish standards that ultimately exclude poorer nations from participating in space industries?
n How does this change affect the average person’s daily life? Video games result in obese children and many of us now take telephone calls in the park, on the street or at restaurants, a world quite different from one that existed before the 1980s. Each new invention subtly affects our lives so that several new inventions leaves in a world greatly different than one lived in by our grandparents (or even parents).
n How does this change affect personal behavior? In the 1980s, you’d get strange looks if you walked down the street talking to no one there with an electronic device stuck in your ear. Today, it’s normal. Each new invention can alter our sense of etiquette and relationships with others.
Visit my Web site about writing science fiction, Inventing Reality.
(c) 2008 Rob Bignell
Tags:
invention, novum, plot, setting, technology
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