arebyte presents Science Fiction Squared, a one-day convention organised by former New Scientist and Arc editor-in-chief Sumit Paul-Choudhury inviting established and emerging science fiction creators and critics to discuss how social and technological trends are likely to change the form and function of science fiction.
What new challenges and eternal questions will tomorrow's SF address? Will it advocate for a better world, or warn against a worse one? Who will create it, and why?
Since its invention, science fiction has taken many forms - from its beginnings in the gothic horror of Frankenstein, through the globe-trotting adventures of Jules Verne, the techno-utopianism of its Golden Age, the trippy fantasies of New Wave and the slick, corporate dystopias of cyberpunk. But what will it evolve into next?
The event culminates with the ground-breaking performance ℧R by acclaimed collective Fronte Vacuo. ℧R is a performance for a faceless body, AI algorithms, lights and the vibrational force of sound.
Symposium Programme:
13:30 - 13:55 - Opening Notes by Sumit Paul-Choudhury and Nimrod Vardi
14:00 - 15:30 - The Mythology of the Future with Adam Roberts, Beth Singler, Yen Ooi
15:45 - 17:15 - Utopian Dreams, Dystopian Visions with with Caroline Edwards, Jo Walton, Sumit Paul-Choudhury, Glyn Morgan, Sally Adee
17:30 - 19:00 - A Mirror of Society with Stewart Hotston, Lavie Tidhar, Neon Yang, Modupe Ayinde, Aliette de Bodard,
30’ break with refreshments at arebyte Gallery
19:30 - 20:00 - Humane Methods | ℧R - performance by Fronte Vacuo
20:15 - 21:00 - Talk by Fronte Vacuo
