This series focuses on stories that are both well-written and do something that I find interesting from a technical perspective. This week, let’s catch a wave!
Empathy is fundamental to the appreciation of fiction, but sometimes I wonder how technology might change that experience like it’s changed so many others. The Wave, by Vanessa Fogg and published in The Future Fire, is a fascinating examination of how technology can bring us closer together while simultaneously allowing its users to insulate themselves further from actual, lived experience with one another. It’s also a tense thrill ride through near-future extreme surfing, so there’s a gripping story to keep you reading while you’re thinking all of those big empathy-related thoughts. (Hey, if it only worked on one level, I wouldn’t be recommending it.)
This story also stands as a challenge to its readers. As we experience the life of this extreme surfer who makes money selling live feeds of what she experiences, we find ourselves in the same position as the viewers she needs to earn her liveliehood but at the same seems to disdain. We’re not out there with her. We may be expanding our horizons and our empathy, but fundamentally we’re not out there doing. (Unless you’re reading it while you’re out on a camping expedition in some terrible conditions and hunting for Bigfoot, in which case I salute you.)
So read, enjoy, learn, and grow, but don’t forget to get out there and do something awesome, too.