Auke Pols, author of “The Transformative Three and the Clean Cooking Revolution (grant no. 437-775)” in The Future Fire #70, joins us for this week’s microinterview.
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Art © 2024 CĂ©cile Matthey
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TFF: What does “The Transformative Three and the Clean Cooking Revolution (grant no. 437-775)” mean to you
Auke Pols: The story was inspired by watching one too many superhero movies in which hyper-competent individuals solve world problems (usually other hyper-competent individuals) through technology and violence. Which made me wonder what superpowers one would really need to tackle wicked issues in international development, an area in which I’ve done both research and teaching. Unsurprisingly, it quickly became clear that the story would become a kind of antithesis of the classic superhero story. For one, the focus is on communities and institutions rather than individuals. Instead of flashy destruction, it is about creation, patience, hard work and upscaling. And most importantly, it is about setting aside individual agency and your own convictions and being open to the wants and needs of the other. In the words of Ernesto Sirolli: “Want to help someone? Shut up and listen!” All this made it a challenge to write—but a deliciously subversive one!
TFF: Who is the most interesting person you've ever met while travelling?
AK: Visiting Eastern Europe, I once met a friendly and somewhat melancholic old Russian logician. I was mostly impressed by his dedication to his craft when his university board had instigated book bans, because they were ‘of the Devil’.
“What do we do with the Devil?” he asked his students.
“We fight him!’ was the answer.
“What do you need to fight an enemy?” he asked.
“Knowledge of the enemy!’ was, after some deliberation, the response.
“So if someone bans you from gaining knowledge about the enemy, should we not regard him as being in league with the enemy?”
His logic was ruthless, his dedication to his craft admirable. He also got fired. I never met him again: I hope the best for him.
TFF: What is the most important thing to remember about writing?
AK: Two things come to mind—I hope you’ll indulge me. The first is that speculative fiction is important because it shows us that things can be otherwise, for better or worse. As the proverb says, we live in interesting times. This is a problem, because many people are suffering from their more violent aspects, and many more will suffer before we are through them. But a crisis is also always an opportunity to question our assumptions of what we really value as individuals and as society, how to share what we have and what future we want to create for our descendants. Good writing can help us think through these fundamental questions.
The second is that writing (and reading) is a way to help process emotions, your own and others’. Many years ago, a friend who I knew from Live Action Role-Playing died in a tragic accident. Our friend group deliberated on how to deal with this in the game, as characters perishing is not that unusual. So I wrote a story in which his character was called away on an epic quest from which it was clear that he could never return. It helped us deal with the grief, and for me, it was a realisation that I could not only write for fun, but that my writing could also do emotional work.
TFF: What are you working on next?
AK: I’ve just finalised a post-apocalyptic steampunk novel in which an elderly and an armless priest have to solve a murder in a crumbling island city. Currently I’m starting up a spiritual science fiction novel following a diplomat, a veteran and a scientist on a peace mission to a group of powerful aliens, whose welcoming gift to humanity may expand its consciousness—or destroy it entirely. Of course, finishing writing a novel is not quite the same as publishing it, so no promises on when you’ll be able to to read it—but I’ll keep The Future Fire updated!
More news in my LinkedIn or Hebban (Dutch).
Extract:
The sun sets in a dusty orange haze when our jeep bumps over the dirt
road towards the low brick houses of the Bihari village. To anyone else
it would have looked like the many villages dotting the North Indian
countryside that we passed earlier, by train and by jeep. But when
you’re a team of superheroes—determined Grace, silent Vlinder, Vinod
sleeping in the back and me, Bram, you know when there’s change in the
air.
Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2024/07/new-issue-202470.html.
