What Are You, Transformed Person?

Transgender rights (privilege, if you prefer), are an intractable issue in contemporary Western culture. Is a man who decides he’s a woman entitled to be treated as one? In the novel Quantum Cannibals Aarluk, a major character, changes from male to female as part of becoming a powerful shaman. (S)He marries and copulates with a […]

Should Writers be Afraid to Offend?

Much of stereotypical science fiction has courageous heroes traveling into deep space to fend off some kind of alien threat. In stereotypical fantasy literature, the hero fearlessly battles dragons, demons, or wicked sorcerers. Given all these brave figures that speculative fiction authors create, should speculative fiction writers be afraid to offend? More specifically, should they […]

I Think Therefore I Really Am…

It’s time to modify Descartes’s famous line I think therefore I am. It should now read I think I am, therefore I am. The original is no longer relevant, because if thinking was a condition of existence, there would not be many people left in our part of the world. Proof can be found on […]

Dangerous Religion

Dangerous Classification Classification can help you sort things out, make informed decisions. If someone was to threaten you with a gun, it would be helpful to know whether it was an assault rifle or a Nerf gun (soft foam bullets). Sometimes classification can be used to obscure, to prevent the making of informed decisions. The […]