This session aims to introduce people to practically using speculative fiction. Whether used for improving research questions, inspiring activism/advocacy or serving as a teaching tool, there are many aspects of STEM where speculative fiction can be applied. However, it is still often needed to give people more familiarity with both the fiction and how it can be used. Time required: recommended minimum time of 1 hour.
This method is designed to help communities of people critique and update STEM policy. It is useful for a group of mixed abilities and experiences i.e. not only for people with professional policy-making experience Time required: recommended minimum time of 2 hours
'Baba Yemi holds up his finger and flicks it once like it is a lever. “One final thing. Don’t worry too much about the details of your consultation. All of you will receive the same answers regardless of how you ask the question, as long as it is indeed the same question. In fact, we count on it. It’s a good control procedure, to see if there is any alternative or minority report of the consultation conclusion. I will manage the debriefing session once you are all done. Does anyone else have more queries?” he asks. I look around and catch an earnest look in Jibola’s eyes like he is about to ask a question of his own, perhaps something that could delay or derail this consultation session, but then he changes his mind and looks away. “Great. If there are no more questions, please follow me. I will make the connection.” Baba Yemi bows gently.'
"When he returned from his travels, he brought a contingent of scientists and engineers who built the tower and several other structures. But, after a year of serious work, they packed up and left."
"Nigeria had become extremely attractive to investors from the year 2020. It was partly due to an attractive tax regime and the uninterrupted power supply that the nuclear plants provided. The tax laws limited the burden of double jeopardy of taxation and substantially reduced taxes for companies that agreed to establish headquarters in Nigeria. Since 2019, there had been literally no export duties charged on finished manufactured products. The country was admitted into BRICS, which in 2022 was changed to BRINCS to accommodate Nigeria. Young vibrant talent moved back home from their bases abroad. Dr Izima was one of them."
"She didn’t care about any of my academic curiosities. About ii-mo or gba’agbo. She only cared about her sound mining business. About getting a competitive advantage. About winning."
"‘I don’t want you to fail. But…’ Kahindo pointed back in the direction of the huts where Priti would no doubt be drinking with Chase. ‘They know nothing about our people.’ He looked down at the floor and for a while neither of us spoke, then he said, ‘There are no flying monkeys.’ I glared at him. ‘So what the hell–’ ‘We needed the money. Without guards and bribes, the poachers would destroy everything. I won’t let that happen,’ Kahindo said. ‘So you made it all up? Is this some kind of joke to you?’ ‘It’s not a joke, they fly, but they’re not monkeys,’ Kahindo said. I stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "
"Being offline from Orisis, my artificial intelligence mother governing Pinaa, the inhabited moon of Mahwé, means I am unable to find a solution or explanation for this scenario. I cycle through microseconds of data, yet even with a world of knowledge built into my system, along with a billion iterations of an action, I cannot find a reason for my abduction mere hours ago."
"When children in my region completed their schooling, they left to live and work at The Centre. Other children in other regions went to the ships to lay undersea cables. In the poorer regions, they went to work underground in the lithium mines. In some parts of the world, we were told there were Centres located underwater, and even some in outer space. But I couldn’t imagine my people living under the sea or up in the sky. We were people of the land, and our memory was in the soil."
“Excess energy creates sonic storms, as we all know from Órino-rin. But depletion is equally dangerous. Sound pollution, industrial harmonics, and unregulated amplification, these all thin the ambient field. When flare energy strikes a depleted system, it doesn’t heal it. It fractures it, and if left unchecked, it can produce deserts of silence.”