Bruce Sterling in Singapore

Bruce Sterling gave a talk in Singapore on Saturday night at the sixteenth level of the new National Library. The topic of the talk is 'From Cyberpunk to Industrial Design - Writing Science Fiction in the 21st Century'. Sterling related that he is now teaching at a design college in Pasadena. From industrial design and the improbable term 'science fiction', Sterling delved into tracking and the RFID technology. He also spoke of a third way and the insustainability of the physical.

When Sterling spoke of 'mission statement design' and how a corporation's raison d'etre could arise from there, it was not unfamiliar, a case of stating the obvious. This, could, of course, easily have been a management talk given by a management guru type or some New Age mystic, and it could well have been within the realm of the business school academia too. When the cyberpunk hero spoke on it, well, I think my friends and I were more than amused. Sterling on management practices? Whoa!

And yes, the power of the word is undoubted, especially when it is a large faceless entity, a composite of individuals labouring under a set of mission statements and rules.

Colin took the picture of him (above) using a mobile phone.

Sterling was also impressed by the library. I suspect the panorama of the cityline during sunset was a feast for the senses. Colin and I were impressed too. Sterling's blog has an account of his trip to Singapore. And his subsequent blog entry. On another note, Norman Spinrad and Robert Sawyer will be joining Sterling for a talk on Monday night.

Sterling is, of course, known for his books, 'The Artificial Kid', 'Islands in the Net', 'Schismatrix', 'Holy Fire', 'Heavy Weather', 'Distraction', 'Hacker Crackdown', 'Involution Ocean'. He is, after all, the cyberpunk prime mover. The ideologue.

Norman Spinrad, the American New Wave SF writer, is notorious for 'Bug Jack Barron', the ultimate sellout novel, the novel of co-opting (of course, co-opting today need not be so obvious, if you know what I mean...) and 'Iron Dream', a book of symbols and fetishes. Strangely, he has recently written the first part of a fantasy trilogy. Colin or Wilson said ka-ching! I thought so too when I first saw it.

Robert Sawyer has often been called the 'Canadian Heinlein'. 'Factoring Humanity', 'Frameshift', 'Calculating God'. He is known for his hard SF novels.

I have read quite a few of Sterling and Sawyer's work. I have read a little of Spinrad work. The rare 'Iron Dream' was tasteless yet funny given the juxtaposition. Those who enjoy militaristic SF may want to read 'Iron Dream' (aka 'Lord of the Swastika').

Colin, Brian and I were at Jerry's Barbeque and Grill at Club Street for dinner later. Atmospheric place. Good place to bring women.

"We have never been a people of complacency. We Singaporeans have never abandoned our wise tradition of universal military service..."
Exerpt from Bruce Sterling's 'Islands in the Net'