Science Fiction and Revolution: Interactive Conversation with Douglas Lain (In Venue and Online interactive Session – 24th August 2021)

“That’s the beauty of the new economy. There is a game for everybody, or at least every demographic. The rule is this: From each according to their ability, to each according to what their psychometric profile indicates, based on what their previous game-play, FB clicks, and favorite movie titles indicate they’d like to play next”

Douglas Lain, Bash Bash Revolution: A Novel

(Night Shade Books. New York. 2018.) pp. 36-7

 The science fiction genre offers us a medium to play out elaborate thought experiments to test our alternative realities, unrealised technological possibilities or even to offer distorting perspectives of our current predicament.  Douglas Lain’s writings use science fiction devices to explore issues of alienation, artificial intelligence, automation, augmented reality, religion, revolution and how we might get to a post-capitalist future. Douglas Lain is the author of science fiction novels such as Billy Moon (Tor Books. 2013), After the Saucers Landed (Night Shade Books. 2015) and Bash Bash Revolution (Night Shade Books. 2018), the collection of stories Last Weeks Apocalypse  (Night Shade Books. 2006) and the editor of In the Shadow of the Towers (Night Shade Books 2015) and Deserts of Fire (Night Shade Books. 2016). He is also the publisher for Zer0 Books and the host of the Zero Squared Podcast, and can be regularly found vlogging and podcasting on radical thought, politics and contemporary culture. In this session we will draw predominantly on his science fiction writings, but relating it to his thought more generally. We will explore what revolution might look like in our contemporary media and technological landscape, and how science fiction might help us envision it.

 This session will be run as part of the Exploding Appendix Avant-garde Art Practice and Research Group’s fortnightly meetup. This session will take place both online via Zoom and in person at The Pipeline, Brighton, UK. Douglas Lain will be joining us online via Zoom, but we welcome interaction and engagement both both online and in venue. The Pipeline can be found on  6 Little East Street, Brighton BN1 1HT. Door for the event open 7pm with the online session starting 730pm. The in-person session will be subject to any new laws and restrictions regarding COVID-19. To register interest and be kept up to date with any alterations please message me at explodingappendix@gmail.com

The online session will take place via  Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86524782267?pwd=TXR3RVRobXdJT0FNbSs0ZGNzZzkyUT09). The meeting ID is 865 2478 2267.  The passcode is “367078“. This session will be run by Bradley Tuck and take place on the 24^th August 2021 from 19:30 – 22:30 (UK time). If you have any further questions please message me at explodingappendix@gmail.com

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