Sci-fi author Michael “Aibo” Juarez joins me today to chat about his new novel, Slipshot Vol 1.0.
Bio:
Michael “Aibo” Juarez is an A.I. software patent holder and sci-fi author whose writing is heavily influenced by an extensive philosophy, journalism, and business background. Before starting his career as a writer, Aibo owned a retail business in San Francisco, employing local teens from at-risk communities. Now, Aibo’s work often explores themes of disadvantage, violence, spirituality, and the desire to break free from oppressive systems. When he isn’t writing, Aibo enjoys reading, cooking, working, and watching anime, TV, and movies.
Welcome, Aibo. Please tell us about your current release.
Something strange in happening in San Francisco. At least, from the perspective of a college student named Fredrick. He sees glitching, phantom-like machines in dark alleys and people falling out of black holes in the sky. People he normally thought of as “normal” are suddenly fighting each other with laser-like weapons.
It turns out, there’s something much bigger going on. He learns first-hand about a powerful technology known as the Slipshot. The Slipshot binds Earth, also known as Var 8, to an ancient, disk-shaped world named Griddish. And he learns from a reluctant extraterrestrial named Opal that there are bigger, more apocalyptic plans for his world. In fact, the Var 8 project has been eons in the making.
The only problem is that Opal, and her fellow Mechanic Class Slaves, are tired of their role in Var dismantlement projects. The only thing left for their aging and crumbling society is chaos.
The book has a lot of very powerful visuals that present the large cast of characters, as well as some key dramatic moments in the story. It also demonstrates the development process that went into designing the characters. Ryan Sunada-Wong is the illustrator and Gabriel Juarez, who is my son, designed the keyframes that you see in the book. I really had a great time working with these two young, professional artists, since it provided me the opportunity to see the world through their eyes. Their hopes and fears are very different from mine growing up. And they challenged me every step of the way. Plus, I learned something about the process of creating commercial art that I never knew before. It was exhausting as well as totally awesome.
What inspired you to write this book?
To me, sci-fi is all about social commentary. It’s about reflection on ourselves and thinking about what we are now and what we can be in the future. I once owned a retail store in a San Francisco neighborhood called Bernal Heights. I hired mostly youth, many of whom would be considered at risk or disadvantaged. That experience changed my life and my perspective, because I learned that many people are born into this world with very little chance of success. No matter how hard they try to gain education and opportunities for themselves, there are always social forces conspiring against them.
In this novel, there is a similar dynamic. The Mechanic Class Slaves are called upon to manage an apocalyptic event. Among them, there are those who believe the Mechanics should define their own future, but the ancient past and an almost mystical, communal network known as the Tenddrome have held them in their places since. Eventually, Griddish will fall into chaos as the Mechanics endeavor to transcend their traditionally held place in society.
Excerpt from Slipshot Vol 1.0:
After months of hard work, Opal Fremmity was finally ready to send the machines on their way and at last bring this miserable project to a close.
She sighed as she wiped a droplet of sweat from her brow. She tossed the Init Caster into a tool bag which rested on the ground next to her. She glanced up at the large machine that stood next to her. The thick, massive legs of the mechanical quadruped stemmed from an equally thick and massive body. At the base of its chassis, bulbous eye-like devices encircled and clicked as they turned and observed the world around them.
She slammed the panel door shut. Now that the last of the Vérkatrae was awakened, it could go along and do its job.
Opal lifted her hand to her forehead, shielding the bright starlight of this particular Var from her eyes. She could feel the star’s heat against her body, swarthy, almost burnt from exposure to this Var’s climate. She sniffed the air, which smelled like dust and burning metal. She could see, in the distance, along the horizon, the long line of those lumbering machines, each equidistant from the other in a manner that was most efficient for them to do their work.
“Well, that’s another one down,” she mumbled, her voice cast with a tone of bitterness. She could feel the vibration of the Vérkatrae in the ground, especially from these large ones, the Sleepers. Those giant extrusions on their backs always emitted that deep, rumbling groan, like an announcement to battle, like a thick, belching horn that made the ground vibrate under one’s feet. The Varlings, whoever they were, Opal tried not to know, would never see them coming. They were not meant to be seen. They were designed this way. Not until the last moment, anyway.
The Vérkatros lumbered forward, its ocular devices clicking and turning with each of its steps. The extrusion on its back, like a hunch, started its work. Opal reached down and picked up the tool bag, slinging it across her shoulder. She jogged, steps behind the slow-moving Sleeper. She always followed the Sleepers around, just to make sure they were doing their job. It was the responsible thing. It was what a good Mechanic Class Slave would naturally do.
Opal’s ankles turned on the dry, cracked ground. Small, scrubby brush poked its way through stony soil, its stems and leaves covered in thorny protuberances. Small, yellow berries clung to their stems defensively among rocks and boulders that were baked into a yellow-red tinge. Among them, squat, stone houses rose like empty turtle shells from the dry soil.
Opal paused. The bodies were where they should be. They behaved according to plan. A Var dismantlement project was designed to be humane. The Sleepers made sure of that.
What exciting project are you working on next?
I’ve finished the first draft of Slipshot Vol 2. In this volume, I’ll be spending a lot of time delving into some of the characters and what drives them to do what they do. I really want to think about human relationships as well as technology and how, oftentimes, technology defines the way humans interact with the world and each other. This is very much a theme in the Slipshot. But I also like fast-paced and exciting plots. We see Cythiria, who was a child in Vol 1.0, is now a teenager. She lives on Var 7, which is a variation of Earth. Rive Amber, her own toxic mentor and a major antagonist in Vol 1.0, violently forces her to return to Griddish. According to Rive, Cythiria is somehow the key to the Mechanics’ future. Of course, our cast of characters from Vol 1.0 all have different ideas about the way things should go. The result of that is a deadly conflict.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I still don’t consider myself a writer. I suppose, for me, it’s not just about writing, even though I enjoy the process tremendously.
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I will probably never be a full-time writer. I like to bring a lot of what I experience on a daily basis into my writing. As a software developer, I’m very deep into technology, and I think this is important for writing the kinds of stories that I want to write. For example, I own a design patent for an A.I. based software application, and this makes for some real discussion and thought about today’s world of practical A.I. In addition to that, much of what I write is a fictionalized and metaphorical version of what I do. For example, the Tenddrome is analogous to network technology. The Vérkatrae, which are the machines that the Mechanics operate, are similar to generative A.I. Mechanics, like Cythiria and Rive, interact with their world and each other in much the same way that things in a smart home would, like lamps, cameras, and door locks.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I wear 3M industrial strength earmuffs whenever I write because I can’t stand the sound of my own fingers tapping on the keyboard, or even the slightest environmental noise. I wear them in my own house and I take them wherever I go if I plan to write, like cafes and libraries. Fortunately, most people think I’m listening to music, even though I actually look like I should be directing commercial air planes along the tarmac.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An airline pilot. I remember really loving airports, and I was always excited to go to one. My favorite toys were replicas of passenger planes.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
As a person who writes near future sci-fi, I think we really have to work hard to have faith in our own future. We see a lot of things that seem to be going in the wrong direction, and technology just seems to exacerbate already sensitive issues.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Near future tech could enable a corporate, dystopic hellscape. But it could also help us to build an inclusive and supportive community. We may, in fact, see a human renaissance that we never thought could be possible, and we’ll reflect on the past and wonder how we survived such dark times. It will be a difficult journey, for sure. But the future really is infinite. We just have to work towards that goal, be willing to adapt, and refuse to give up on ourselves.