Department of Homeland Security Consults with Sci-Fi Writers
If I told you told you about an article detailing meetings between Sci-Fi writers and the top brass from various national security agencies you’d probably think I read it in The Onion. And you’d be correct. If by “The Onion” you meant the Washington Post :
The line between what’s real and what’s not is thin and shifting, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has decided to explore both sides. Boldly going where few government bureaucracies have gone before, the agency is enlisting the expertise of science fiction writers.
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The cost to taxpayers is minimal. The writers call this “science fiction in the national interest,” and they consult pro bono. They’ve been exploring the future, and “we owe it to mankind to come back and report what we’ve found,” said writer Arlan Andrews, who also is an engineer with the Navy in Corpus Christi, Tex.
Andrews founded an organization of sci-fi writers to offer imaginative services in return for travel expenses only. Called Sigma, the group has about 40 writers. Over the years, members have addressed meetings organized by the Department of Energy, the Army, Air Force, NATO and other agencies they care not to name.
I wonder if they met with the CIA to discuss new methods for “enhanced interrogations”. Or perhaps they’re looking to make contact with extra terrestrial beings who will allow us to rendition unwanteds to their planets for “futher questioning”.
I’m sure a lot of people will have problems with this despite the practically non existant costs. Personally, I’m all for it. In fact I’d strongly urge the government to take this one step farther. How about the CIA consulting ninja’s on stealth tactics or the Navy consulting pirates on naval battles.
May 22, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Maybe they should consult the writers of “Lost” on time travel, so they can undo the last eight years.
Lauren
May 22, 2009 at 5:42 pm
BURN
May 30, 2009 at 12:13 am
[...] One blogger, commenting on the Post story, suggests science fiction could lead to an enhanced government program that transported “undesirables” to other planets for … well, enhanced questioning. Other blogolic apprehensiveness about science fiction/homeland security mashups can be found here, here, and here. [...]
June 9, 2009 at 1:41 am
[...] One blogger, commenting on the Post story, suggests science fiction could lead to an enhanced government program that transported “undesirables” to another planet for … well, enhanced questioning. Other blogolic apprehensiveness about science fiction/homeland security mashups can be found here, here, and here. [...]