Writing Excuses 4.30: Worldbuilding the Future

In 'The Machine', Joe Posnanski chronicles the 1975 season of the Cincinnati Reds, often referred to as the Big Red Machine. The book delves into the larger-than-life personalities of players like Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Johnny Bench, as well as other key team members such as Tony Perez, Davey Concepcion, and Ken Griffey Sr. Posnanski explores the team's dominant performance throughout the season and their dramatic World Series against the Boston Red Sox, particularly the epic Game 6. The book humanizes the players and provides insights into their motivations, struggles, and the team's overall dynamic under manager Sparky Anderson.

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In this novel, Paolo Bacigalupi explores a grim future where genetically engineered crops and bio-engineered plagues have ravaged the world. The story centers around Anderson Lake, a 'Calorie Man' for AgriGen, and Emiko, the Windup Girl, an engineered being abandoned in Bangkok. The novel delves into themes of corporate greed, environmental disaster, and the struggle for survival in a world dominated by calorie companies and genetic manipulation. The setting is a dystopian Thailand, where tensions between different factions and the impact of bio-terrorism shape the lives of the characters.

Set in 2855, 'Ringworld' follows the story of Louis Wu, a 200-year-old human, Teela Brown, a young woman with extraordinary luck, Nessus, a Pierson’s Puppeteer, and Speaker-to-Animals, a Kzin ambassador. They embark on a hazardous mission to explore the Ringworld, an enormous rotating ring with a habitable inner surface equivalent in area to approximately three million Earths. The novel combines hard science fiction with imaginative concepts, including the Ringworld's artificial gravity, shadow squares for night and day, and advanced technologies like hyperspace travel and impact armor. Despite some dated social attitudes and scientific inaccuracies, 'Ringworld' is a classic in the science fiction genre, known for its monumental sci-fi creation and influential ideas.

Set in the year 2081, 'Harrison Bergeron' is a dystopian short story that critiques the concept of enforced equality. In this future, the government mandates that everyone must be equal in every way, using handicaps to prevent anyone from being smarter, stronger, or more attractive than others. The story follows Harrison Bergeron, a 14-year-old genius who rebels against these oppressive laws by breaking into a TV studio, removing his handicaps, and briefly showcasing his true abilities before being silenced by the Handicapper General. The narrative explores themes of individual freedom, conformity, and the dangers of an overly controlling government.