U.S. Mission for Sci-Fi Writers: Imagine That
Novelists Plot the Future Of Homeland Security

Science fiction writers tend to know a lot about science. And the ranks of federal and commercial R&D departments are stuffed with sci-fi fanatics. 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. At first, “to pass the Beltway giggle-factor test,” Andrews recruited only sci-fi writers who had conventional science or engineering chops on their résumés. Now about a third of the writers have PhDs.

Scrittori di fantascienza americani al servizio della sicurezza della patria americana. Ma dato che in realtà sappiamo che nessuna entità straniera la sta realmente minacciando, a quali scopi verrà quindi utilizzata la loro immaginazione?