F.W. Fife interview with Brian Dorsey. Dorsey’s book, Gateway, will be released in July. FWF: Sci fi is hot right now. Weve had some impressive movies, books, and games; but more even than that, we seem to be living an earlier generations sci fi fantasies. Some of these are beneficial or cool: the bionic arm, brain mapping, an underwater rebreather. Others are downright alarming. An example of the latter would be scientists successful attempt to implant memories in mice. Blade Runner much? Does this new technology inspire you, frighten you, or both? BD: Humankind’s ability to learn and advance our knowledge for the betterment of our species and the world in general has unfortunately always been matched (and at times outmatched) by our capacity to misuse that same knowledge to control, enslave, and kill our own kind, as well as devastate the natural world. An example: The railroad was one of the most significant elements for pushing America, and the world, into the modern age. At the same time it played a significant role in the growth of corruption in our government during the Guilded Age and accelerated the end of the Plain’s Indian culture as it was known. Even more altruistic, and undeniably worthwhile, endeavors can have dangerous unintended consequences. Our advances in medicine are on the verge of eradicating significant diseases to the point it is possible to foresee a cure for many types of cancer within ours’ or our children’s’ lifetimes. I am personally an advocate for this continued work. I volunteer for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and truly hope a cure is found. At the same time, how does the world handle the increased numbers which survive disease that would have previously perished? As our lifespan increases, how do we (America specifically) deal with significant numbers of elderly from a financial and human services perspective? As lifespans increase and our world population grows, struggles over water, food, land, and other resources must be addressed as well. Otherwise, our goal of ending disease will only embolden more violence, famine, warfare, and exploitation of the weak. Again, don’t get me wrong-we should NEVER stop trying to find a cure for cancer and other diseases or any other endeavor enhancing our ability to improve our lives, our environment, or other species with which we share this world (or future worlds). My personal feeling is that we will always be in a continuous struggle to adapt and overcome what nature throws at us. We can gain ground but nature has a way of keeping the scales close to balance over generations. Nature will do what she wills. The trick is trying to keep the efforts of those which strive to learn, improve, and sustain all life slightly ahead of those which seek to manipulate, restrain, and conquer. FWF: How does your experience in the military come into your writing? BD: I used my military experience in two ways. First, some terms, techniques, and equipment have a foundation in current or past military usage. I purposely tried to avoid digging too deep into this aspect as Gateway is really about what people do when they come into contact with people from other cultures different from their own. Elements such as the perspective-driven ‘truths’ one creates about the others, the struggle for cultural dominance, and the power that cultural and societal expectations can have on the individual needed to take precedence over military jargon but I needed both cultures to place high regard in the warrior ethos. Secondly, I tried to bring out some of the more subtle aspects of military life: Leadership: I have served with both officers and enlisted leaders (both women and men) who personified all that is right with the military such as self-sacrifice, dedication, concern for their comrades and subordinates, intelligence, and the ability to logically apply orders to meet the mission with their people’s safety and quality of life in mind. I have also seen leaders who were only concerned with their own advancement and feared ‘rocking the boat.’ Politics: We are reaching a point of political-impotence within our military. The ‘boat rockers’ are looked over for advancement in place of those that do the bare minimum, punch all the right tickets, and don’t make the hard decisions. This creates a leadership structure at the field grade which is tentative, risk-averse, and resistant to change driven from anywhere but above. This is not always the case as I have worked for some great senior officers, but as a whole, the trend is not good. Several articles from within the military over the last few years have finally started to acknowledge this problem. Daily ‘Stuff’: I tried to include some of the frustrations of junior officers with senior leadership and some of the natural rivalries which exist within the military. Typical military bravado is based on each branch and community feeling they are doing ‘God’s work’ while everyone else is just playing a supporting role. That is the way it should be as in the end, the military is successful because each group takes pride in their job and the importance of their piece of the pie. In some cases, such as many engineering fields, the behind-the-scenes anonymity is also embraced as a badge of honor. ‘If you’re doing your job right, nobody ever thinks about you,’ was often their mantra. Do your characters or situations come from your service in your stories? Some basic characters are drawn from caricatures of people and military communities I have come across over my 23 years of service. When writing the character Cataline Tacitus I had two distinct people in mind but I will never give up their names. Perhaps some of my former shipmates can guess their names but I’m not talking. Likewise, Stone was loosely created based on some characteristics of some really good enlisted and officer leaders I have seen over the years. FWF: Im a huge fan of Orson Scott Card. Just a great writer. I have heard that Enders Game is required reading for officers in training. If military experiences enhance sci fi, does the opposite follow? Does sci fi enhance ones experience or effectiveness in the military? BD: It is highly recommended reading. High-level military leadership puts out list of works for their troops to read based on experience level. There are lists for new recruits, junior enlisted, senior enlisted, junior officers, and senior officers. Ender’s Game is good for senior enlisted and junior officers not necessarily because of the science fiction, technical, or even political aspects of the story but once again, it comes down to the personal interactions. Ender’s rise from a small, timid, and picked-on kid to the commander of thousands started with how he observed and interacted with people. He looked for their strengths and weaknesses and was able to find out how to motivate people and form cohesive teams from his understanding of small group dynamics. Small unit leadership is about getting those following you to ‘buy-in.’ They want to know you care about them, value their skills, and follow-through on your promises. Ender was able to do this and created a team willing to follow him because they trusted and respected him, not because they feared him- a good point to drive home to twenty-year olds who are charged with getting upwards of 100 people to follow them into harm’s way. FWF: A prison planet is featured in Gateway. Probably fairly necessary to hold the galaxys quotient of villainy and scum! (Not really a question but an invitation for you to enlarge upon the topic.) BD: Capro is that prison no one wants to go to and no one returns from. Think GITMO, Alcatraz, and the Crematoria (from The Chronicles of Riddick) rolled into one. In Gateway, you will see similarities between the Roman Republic and Empire with Alpha Humani. Likewise, on Alpha Humana many criminals are summarily executed (often crucified) on the order of magistrates, high ranking officers, or the Senate depending on the situation. Capro is not for your average criminal, however. Capro exists for Humani leaders to send people so that they wish they were dead. Whether to prolong agonizing punishment for a heinous crime or torture for the purpose of gaining information, Capro provides a remote location for the vengeance of Humani elite. Also, don’t want to give too much away yet, but the second book in the series (Saint) will see Capro play a much bigger role in the ‘big picture.’ FWF: Tell us more about the world of Gateway. Are there sequels in the works? BD: I am currently working on the second book in the series, tentatively title Saint. In Saint we will watch the lead character struggle with his new culture and a greatly expanded view of the known galaxy. Saint will also go much further into examining the Terillian culture where Gateway spent a lot of time on the Humani civilization. Additional elements I sink my teeth into are the power and danger of organized religion gone wrong, the consuming power of vengeance, and off course, there will be some espionage and a conspiracy or two. Beyond Saint, I expect at least one, possibly two or three more books in the series, not counting possible spin-off on a particular character I have been getting a lot of positive feedback on. FWF: Thanks, Brian, were very excited! FW is honored to be connected with this project. To learn more about Brian Dorsey, check out his website at briandorseybooks/
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 21:35:53 +0000