Today the Speculative Fiction Showcase are delighted to welcome Tanner Nielsen, author of Wired: A Dystopian Novel for the 21st Century, to answer our interview questions.
My inspiration started back a year ago. I had just gotten married, and was struggling to really cement my identity and come to terms with allowing myself to just be a man within a relationship. I started recalling my past experiences with mental illness, and what had given my life fulfillment prior to that. I read an article then that basically spoke about how to know what career you should pursue. In essence, whatever you had not been able to take your mind off for years was what should be seen as your passion. I realized that I had thought of little else other than an essay I had written in college about implementing an anarchist society in America and the fundamental philosophical standing behind anarchism to back up that idea. With that, I wrote a short memoir/philosophy book last summer consisting of my personal beliefs into coping with modern living. While writing it, I had a nervous breakdown and had to stop. I never did finish it. I keep it on my computer to read through occasionally, but it really was some scary stuff I wrote. I almost put it as an afterword to the book, but I would probably get some flack for some of it so I decided to keep it out. A few months after writing that, I (finally) read Orwell’s 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World in a three week time span. I continued to read, but was not getting the same level of satisfaction as before, and I began to formulate my own ideas into improving the typical dystopian novel mixed with some information wars and current global threats we face as a society. I like to think of it as the spiritual successor of 1984. I wrote it in a straight flurry of inspiration near the end of 2018; I didn’t shower for days on end.
You have a podcast called The Devil’s Threesome. How is that connected to your novel?
The Devil’s Threesome podcast is a result of my good friend and twin brother having a video call in January. We all live hundreds of miles apart and it really felt good just talking to one another again and cutting the shit. The podcast isn’t specifically tied to the book, but I have used it as a platform to express some of the ideas I go over in Wired.
The book’s major premise is that an asteroid will strike the earth in 2029 - or will it?
No comment 😊
You mention that the book is based on a conspiracy theory about an evil corporation. Do you view it as a fictional story with a core of truth, or a true story disguised as fiction?
A little of both really; I like to think of it more as a true story disguised as fiction though. In the book there are physical wires controlling the minds of the people to make them want to constantly check their phones and isolate themselves from the real world; we have a lot of that already without wires. I believe implants are the next logical step the government, or a corporation will take in the name of progress and health reform. We already have that Apple Watch that transmits your heart data to hospitals.
Why do you use the term “dystopian” to describe the book?
In my opinion, we already live in the world 1984 laid out. My book is an homage to the classics, Zamyatin’s We especially. They are all what ifs? In their nature. I like to think that the content of Wired is already happening, and this book will read like nonfiction ten years from now. I almost guarantee it.
Your videos make cell-phone masts appear terrifying, like alien invaders. Tell us more about this...
Where I live in Phoenix, we have thousands of those palm tree cell towers; there are two within 50ft of my house. I was listening to a newscast about MK Ultra, the mind control experiments of the 1960s, and the guy being interviewed straight up said “MK Ultra is still around. I’m not sure why people see it as an experiment of the past. Sure we don’t use acid any more to control people, but that’s because we don’t need to. The flicker rate on your television screen is already adjusted to put you in a trance like state, same with your phone’s screen. Those cell towers? They put out waves that make you docile and keep you in check.”
That whole thing really made me take a step back and look down the street; I had never even noticed those towers before literally right next to my house! Now I sure do. They just put one next to where I work as well, and I swear, at the risk of sounding paranoid, I get strange sensations now when I look at those towers. And with the introduction of 5G, those waves are classified as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization; they fundamentally destroy the DNA of people in the radius of their wave emittance. The 5G waves are also reported to mess with soil productivity, and a whole other slew of environmental destructiveness. And that’s all beside the mind control stuff that the waves may cause. We need to take a serious look at 5G.
Are you planning to write any sequels?
Originally I was, but it is not the kind of story I feel needs one. To be honest, I feel the story is definitely complete.
Tell us about your writing process...
My writing process is very intense. I wrote for sixteen hours straight one day! It is also very fluid, I did a small map on my notepad outlining the levels of conspiracy I would dig into in relation to the progress of the book; but I did little planning other than that. I knew what I wanted the ending to be, and really I wrote to that point. The book is constantly building to it. I like to edit as I go as well, with my mindset being that I don’t want serious revisions. My writing style seems to change day by day, and I feel that if I were to add large paragraphs to certain parts, it wouldn’t fit in.
Are there any current science fiction writers whose work you enjoy?
As previously stated, Orwell’s 1984 was very inspirational to my book. As for current sci-fi, I really don’t read much fiction; I’m a nonfiction kind of guy. A current author that really influenced my writing style was Joe Hill, Stephen King’s son; Horns was the first book I read at 14 that changed my life. He’s a horror author though, and that probably explains the gratuitous violence in my book. Leonard Schlain, David Wilcock and Nathaniel Philbrick are non-fiction authors that I really like.
Why do you think contemporary writers are so interested in post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction?
To me, I think we’ve lost our sense of wonder as a society. We no longer have God, but we still have a yearning to believe in something, even if it’s a negative belief to attach to. Dystopian fiction requires faith, and I’ll admit, when I watch documentaries about conspiracies and coverups, I get that high and satisfaction that comes from a reinforcement of my worldview. It’s kind of like how Christians see a small act of kindness or have a “I prayed and found my car keys two minutes later!” moment that confirms that God is real. Same with me, but essentially on the opposite spectrum. Humans need faith in something, even if it’s the belief in unbelief (or dystopian fiction).
Is your protagonist, Teton, an everyman figure?
Definitely! I purposefully tried to make him a guy you’d see at a Walmart who you’d forget 5 seconds later. If I had one qualm against 1984 or We, it would be that the protagonists are very “chosen one” esque. I really wanted this book to read like non-fiction, so I made him very impersonal, and for the first half of the book, barely cognizant of his existence on purpose.
What do you do to unwind?
I like to drive; around age seventeen, I would buy a pack of cigarettes, hop in my car, and drive whatever album I was currently listening to. I did that all through high school and college too. I liked to do that with my twin too, and we could talk for hours, even after we had parked the car at home. I quit smoking, but I still like to drive up to Utah, just for driving’s sake.
Is America the natural home of the dystopian novel and if so why?
At the risk of sounding ultra-patriotic, I really think it’s because of the influence America has on the world’s media; we have Hollywood and movies are popular, so naturally they’d be in the United States. America has also been the world’s superpower for 60+ years; only a fool would think otherwise. Ergo, the UFOs will naturally land on the White House’s lawn (satire intended)!
What about the humour in the book?
My sense of humor is very crass, and very satirical. It’s also dry. I really like to make fun of everything (my wife hates that so much). The whole format of the book is also very satirical towards progressive politics.
About Tanner Nielsen:
Tanner Nielsen was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and grew up there. He then moved to Colorado at age ten, and lived there until graduating from CNCC in 2016. He moved down to Phoenix, Arizona after graduation, and that is where he currently resides with his wife, Nicole, and a dog. Wired: A Dystopian Novel for the 21st Century is his debut novel and is an amalgam of his life experiences, philosophies, and dark humor.
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