Strange Time Travel Stories on Ars Technica

[jedishrfu]

A flight from Tokyo to San Francisco jumps through time and lands 20 years in the future. That's the short version of a writing prompt taken up by 22 of today's most exciting science fiction writers, each of whom contributed stories about the flight's temporally dislocated passengers to an anthology called Seat 14C. Now you can read the book for free online, and I guarantee you'll be engrossed.

You'll find original stories by Hugh Howey, Nancy Kress, Chen Qiufan, Bruce Sterling, Charles Yu, Charlie Jane Anders, Margaret Atwood, Madeline Ashby, Gregory Benford, Daniel Wilson, Eileen Gunn, and more. Each author interpreted the prompt in his or her own way, resulting in a fascinating selection of very different kinds of stories. Twenty-two incredible artists illustrated the stories, and we have a selection of their work in the gallery above. Some of these tales are about weird new technologies, some are about social changes, and others are about the tragedy of being marooned in an unknown future.

https://arstechnica.com/the-multive...e-travel-stories-from-sci-fis-modern-masters/

 

[Borg]

Read the first story from the passenger in seat 1A - Gregory Benford. I look forward to reading more.

 

[Buzz Bloom]

I have only started to scan the stories, and I find it quite entertaining to see all the visions of the 2037 future. So far from what I have read, and from the tittles of the stories I have not yet read, I get the impression that all the writers are optimistic. For example, nothing that I have seen so far deals with 20 years of (1) not much happening to slow global warming, (2) reduced political interest in maintaining infrastructure, and (3) increasing movement towards secession dividing large political groups into segments. Also, so far I have seen nothing like the San Fransisco setting of "Blade Runner".

 

[jedishrfu]

There's a science fiction writing contest going on right now called Seat14C sponsored by the XPrize folks and Japan's ANA Airlines.

It's to be an anthology collection of stories by some famous sci fi authors and with one slot reserved for an aspiring author all starting with the same premise of a flight from Tokyo to SFO that is transported 20 years into the future. They want you to imagine what the future will be like once you get off the plane.

Details of the competition are at the website: www.seat14C.com

Here's an online WIRED article about it as well:

https://www.wired.com/beyond-the-beyond/2017/06/seat-14c-jets-future/

 

[Borg]

Story submitted...

 

[Borg]

The winner will be announced in two more days. Jedishrfu and I have both submitted stories. It would be pretty awesome if one of us won.

 

[jedishrfu]

Yes that would be awesome.

 

[Borg]

This story competition from last year was about a plane that disappeared for 20 years and suddenly re-appeared.
Now NBC has a TV show coming out about a plane that disappears for 5 years.

What an interesting coincidence.