AI-generated image by DALL-E of someone writing a science fiction story

Not a day goes by when I don’t hear some comical reference to predictions that by 2020 we would have flying cars. Forecasting the future isn’t an exact science, but it can be fun to explore. Today some things are as they were predicted (like watch phones) and others are just not quite there yet (like living on the Moon).

What will life be like 100 years from? Will we finally have flying cars or something even better? Will we still have the societal problems today, will they go away or will be have completely new ones? All of this is explored in the science fiction book TekWar by William Shatner. Yes, the same William Shatner known for his role as Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek series, and beyond.

First published in 1989, TekWar is set in 2120. The hero of the novel is Jake Cardigan, a former police officer who is released from a futuristic prison early to work as a private investigator on a case. “Tek” is a futuristic illegal drug that got Jake in trouble and still plagues society. Where the technology of the time plays a key role in this story, it is the people and interactions with that technology that are core of the story.

But is it possible to have takeaways from the science fiction book? I sure did.

Did Shatner predict social media and print-on-demand books? – At one point in the story there’s mention about someone filming all the bad things in the city, and how it is presented sounded familiar to the livestreaming over social media that many – including myself – have done and continue to do. The concept of books printed on-demand, something that is a thriving business today, was presented in the story as done at the Dalton-Walden American Faxbook Centre (a nod to two now-defunct bookstore chains). Even android robots were able to print books from their abdomen.

The seedy side of life still exists – Where it would be nice to think that 100 years from now – or even in a shorter time period – the underbelly of society was reduced or eliminated. That wasn’t the case in TekWar, and my guess it won’t be when my descendants will be on this mortal coil.

Finally – There are flying cars in Shatner’s 2120, if that’s any comfort to you.

How I Learned About TekWar

Last Fall William Shatner did a 5-city spoken word tour that kicked-off in none other than Appleton, Wisconsin, the city where I now call home. Why? I have no idea for sure, but the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center was the venue and was filled to about half-capacity for this unique show.

As it was in the midst of the actors and writers strikes, Shatner wasn’t even supposed to acknowledge any specific roles or characters he played by name. After a showing of the Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan for which he was not “allowed” to even introduce, he took the stage for over 90 minutes of telling stories and answering some audience-submitted questions. At the young age of 92 on the night of the performance, he was not only animated and witty but an inspiration for anyone to be like him at that age, if we make it to that far.

Shatner was, however, able to talk about TekWar during his dialog, the first of a series of science fiction novels he wrote. As I previously was unaware he was a writer (I was aware of his “singing” career, but I digress) I had to get a copy of it. A few days later I bought a copy at a used bookstore not far from the theater I saw him at and brought it with me on a business trip. As I share all books I read, I decided to leave TekWar in the seatback pocket of the flight I was on when I finished reading it. Hopefully someone was able to find it and enjoy reading as I did about the trails, tribulations and travels in the future.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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