Harper Collins Blacklists Author's Book Because Of a Single Chapter Where He Posited AIs Destroy Humanity For Fear Humanity Will Destroy Them First, as "Inconvenient"

He didn't intend it as an abortion metaphor. Just as a reason for an AI attack. He wanted to give the AIs some motivation, and this was the one he chose.

But his editor at Harper Collins proclaimed herself "deeply offended" by his not-even-a-metaphor metaphor, and began insisting he change the book to keep her politics from being undermined by a mere author.

You know, the guy people are actually paying to read.

But apparently advancing the thought that a brand new life form might see us, humanity, as dangerous because we terminate our young, apparently....that's a ThoughtCrime most heinous over at Harper Collins. Even for one tiny little chapter.

Here’s what happened next. I was not given notes as writers are typically given during the editorial process. I was told by my agent that my editor was upset and "deeply offended" that I had even dared advanced this idea. As though I had no right to have such a thought or even game the idea within a science fiction universe. I was immediately removed from the publication schedule which as far as I know is odd and unprecedented, especially for an author who has had both critical and commercial success. This, being removed from the production schedule, happened before my agent had even communicated the editor’s demand that I immediately change the offending chapter to something more "socially" (read "progressive") acceptable. That seemed odd. How could they possibly have known that I would or would not change it?

Every age is defined by its sins, and ours is defined by Vanity, and narcissism.

That presents itself often in the form of dogmatism, the Sacralizing of each and every belief and preference you have. For if you are utterly perfect and divine, then it must be that your unfailingly perfect mind and heart have selected for you a series of beliefs and preferences, each of which is, in turn, utterly perfect and divine.

And thus does every twitch and wiggle of our Cult of Me society become Sacred, sacralized, holy, unchallengeable. And a sword to wield against all others, for the pristine holiness of the self must be vigorously defended from even a shadow of doubt.

There is no greater dogmatist than the narcissist, for no other person can be such a fervent zealot in his dogmas than the person who believes she is, by definition, perfect.

The dogma of self is the foundational dogma for a welter of dogmas to come after.

Link: It's CTRL-ALT-Revolt by Nick Cole.

Anna Puma suggests checking out some Moron-written tales while you're there:

Allen G's,

Christopher Taylor,

and Anna Puma's.

posted by Ace at 04:55 PM

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