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The Ultimate City Urban and Rural Values in Science Fiction Michael LaTorra Assistant Professor of English New Mexico State University mlatorra@nmsu.edu
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Future Past Brief history of human rural/urban life & times Rural idyll & reality Urban ideal & reality Far-future Science Fiction as thought experiment Next step?
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Natural World Environment of our evolutionary adaptation Soothing when viewed from safety Cruel and difficult to survive without technology
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Neolithic Age Hunter-gatherer Transition from nomadic to settled life Villages Proto- agriculture
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Neolithic Age Mythic Artistic Proto- civilization
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Rise of Civilization: Tension between Urban & Rural
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Age of Kings
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Athens: Greek City-State Ideal
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Democratic Rich Artistic Philosophical Athens: Greek City-State Ideal
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Chauvinistic Slave-holding Misogynistic Superstitious Athens: Greek City-State Reality
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European Pastoral Idyll No cities
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European Pastoral Idyll No kings
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European Pastoral Idyll No armies
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European Pastoral Idyll Simplicity Peace
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European Pastoral Reality
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European Urban Ideal
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European Urban Reality Industrial Revolution Growth of cities Increasing wealth Loss of rural values Alienation
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Industrial Agriculture Farm sizes increase Small towns decrease Loss of rural values Alienation
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Interdependence of Farm & City
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The bottom falls out…
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Times Change
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Urban World
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Rural World
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Future World Urban-rural split No longer interdependent Diaspar - the ultimate city Lys - the rural idyll
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Diaspar Splendid city full of wonders Completely self-sufficient Automated systems maintain perfect homeostasis
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Diaspar Holds one billion years of human culture
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Diaspar Last city on Earth
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Diaspar City of art
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Diaspar Time enough for everything
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Diaspar Robots do all work Material abundance Free goods, free services, free time for all citizens
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Diaspar Non-biological reproduction New citizens emerge from the Hall of Creation at biological age of 20
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Diaspar Youths are mentored for 2 decades, but do not age
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Diaspar Ever-youthful men & women live 1,000 years
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Diaspar At end of life, people prepare to return to the Hall of Creation from which they emerged a millennium earlier
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Diaspar Their minds are saved along with memories selected by each individual These memories will be restored in next life
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Diaspar Centuries later they enter new bodies to live again
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Lys Rural region of villages & farms
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Lys As old as Diaspar Lives by the old ways
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Lys Technology, but little automation People work
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Lys Children are produced by the traditional method
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Lys People grow into youths like those of Diaspar But the youths of Lys have physical imperfections
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Lys People grow through all the stages of life
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Lys People die after 100 years or less There is no storage of mind & memories In Lys, death is death
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Lys Arthur C. Clarke preferred Lys over Diaspar He thought Diaspar sterile But he acknowledged each had strengths
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Lys Perhaps Clarke’s own youth did not show him the horrors of sickness, old age & death
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Diaspar & Lys The novel ends with Diaspar & Lys re-establishing relations Clarke never explored what a synthesis of these opposites might mean
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What Do We Want? True love Long life Autonomy Material abundance
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What Do We Want? Esteem from the community Challenges fit to our skills but requiring growth to meet them
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What Do We NOT Want? Loss of all hope Not getting what we want Getting what we don't want Suffering Sickness Old age Death
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Diaspar versus Lys: Where do our hopes lie? DiasparLys 1 true love 2 long life 3 autonomy 4 material abundance 5 esteem in community
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DiasparLys 6 challenges 7 no physical suffering 8 no sickness 9 no old age 10 no death Diaspar versus Lys: Where do our hopes lie?
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Diaspar score: 90% Lys score: 40% Diaspar versus Lys: Final Score
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How Can We Build the Best of Diaspar-Lys? Life-extension biotech SENS Foundation Alcor Life Extension Foundation Aubrey de Grey
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How Can We Build the Best of Diaspar-Lys? AI & Robotics
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How Can We Build the Best of Diaspar-Lys? Nanotech & advanced manufacturing techniques
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How Can We Build the Best of Diaspar-Lys? Empowering crowd-sourcing through education, Basic Income Guarantee & universal Internet access
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How Can We Build the Best of Diaspar-Lys? Planetary eco-management
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Geoeningeering until natural systems can restore balance How Can We Build the Best of Diaspar-Lys?
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Preventing overpopulation by peaceful means
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How Can We Build the Best of Diaspar-Lys? Global Cooperation Project: new paradigm for world relations, a Global Cooperative Forum based on the "prior unity" that underlies all existence http://www.globalcooperationproject.org/
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The Ultimate City Diaspar + Lys Automated city of abundant health, wealth, leisure Natural outskirts - villages close to nature Best of both worlds?
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The Ultimate City And then…the stars?
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Thank you! Michael LaTorra Assistant Professor of English New Mexico State University mlatorra@nmsu.edu
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