Interview with Chad Lester, Author of Titan’s Tears
03 Jul 2024
What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Titan’s Tears?
While I don’t consider myself a writer of a particular genre but despite my best efforts, I couldn’t help but be pulled into the subject of rapid technological advancement and its effect on us as a species—and particularly the lives of families and individuals. I was hesitant at first. The problem with writing science fiction is that the author will almost certainly be wrong in some way, shape, or form—and no one wants to be wrong. Or perhaps the work will be seen as quaint in a few decades time. That dissuaded me from wanting to write such a book as I felt it would age terribly. Of course, the alternative is that sometimes science fiction authors are right—though not always in a good way. Ultimately, I decided to hell with it and wrote the book anyway. The concept that pulled me in most is what Ray Kurzweil calls “the law of accelerating returns.” That is technological progress is exponential in growth rather than linear. Granted, my view is that such growth only happens under certain economic and societal conditions. Ultimately, this means we will see technological advancement in increasingly short amounts of time. For example, there is a famous photo of a Civil War veteran, Bill Lundy, standing next to a fighter jet. It’s quite remarkable as the man lived in an era of horse-drawn transportation, smallpox, and musket balls made it to the age of jets, smallpox eradication, and nuclear power. Now there is an argument that the fellow may be a liar. Regardless, at his age in the photo, the technological changes he had seen are still remarkable and what will come in the future will be equally remarkable—should conditions allow for it. The questions I asked myself were: how will this increasingly rapid change affect the social contract of the species and ultimately how will it affect peoples lives? What ‘Titan’s Tears’ does is give a slice-of-life view of what could happen to regular people trying to go about their lives—albeit in a dramatic and fantastical way.
What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
I’ll read just about anything. Everything is interesting to me, it’s just a matter of mood.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
The scene about the Cascade Special Rehabilitation and Happiness Center. I added it at the last minute, I couldn’t help myself.
Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?
Catholicism and Stoicism. Granted, that path is far easier said than done.
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