Dear Reader,

On this most meaningful of days for the United States of America, before heading out for the parade or off to a barbecue to celebrate in the traditional way, I thought we could take a look at how sci-fi has viewed the 4th of July, with our "trusty" AIs into the bargain. Take Independence Day the film, representing the archetypal alien invasion narrative, solidifying the 4th of July as the "go to" date for sci-fi resistance narratives. Take a look at the Official Trailer for the 1996 film. From national to existential independence, a moment of absolute crisis, and in resolute action in the face of an implacable invasion from outer space, we have emotional context anchored to a symbol of revolution and freedom.

Wondering what our AI buddys would come up with, I asked Gemini to set the scene...

Now wait a minute! The query was, "Create an image of a 4th of July parade with flying saucers overhead." More tame than I was expecting, but when I tried to get some horror into the scene, I got back the following "Hal-like" response: "Sorry, I can't generate unsafe images." Huh! First off, somethings not quite right! Check out that blue and white 56 Chevy goin backwards. And hey, is this the symbol of a scared people under the thumb of the alien, fighting for the right to govern themselves? Is this the day they stopped being victims and began acting as architects of their own destiny? Well I don't know... Somehow we found ourselves back in the 50s. Oh for those idyllic days!

But then I got ChatGPT in on the act.

Now that's more like it. A Hollywood box office blowout. Panic in the streets... What's not to like!

And then there are those "Loonies" living in underground cities on the Moon. Back to the future...1966, novel by Robert A. Heinlein about a revolution against Earth's rule. Takes place in a lunar penal colony. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, uses the main themes of revolution, libertarianism, anti-colonialism, free will, and the nature of humanity. There's even a self-aware supercomputer named Mike, part of the conspiracy, timed to launch on July 4, 2076.

Wonder what Heinlein would have come up with in 2026? Hmmm. Just a thought... Yammerheads! So, enlisting ChatGPT, I queried the following: In The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein, to give the revolutionaries time to organize, Prof sets up an "ad hoc Congress" to distract and contain various self-appointed political scientists called "yammerheads." Create an image of yammerheads holding forth to an ad hoc Congress.

And you thought UAPs were anomolous! At this point, we could head over to Area 51, but let's save that for another newsletter and go to a parallel world instead. The following from Thing BEYOND REASON, book 3 of The THING Trilogy.

LI KAI MOSTLY gloats. The whole of Alaska and the west coast of Canada are now under his control. The BotChip Plan is going forward at a pace he never could have imagined. They are recruiting “Pleasure Agents” faster than their best model had predicted. Controlling the pleasure centers of the brain is turning out to be far more important than anyone thought. Ideology wasn’t even close, though it played a big role in the programming that made sure everyone followed the party line according to Li Kai Thought. Inserting a bot-chip was almost painless. People were lining up by the thousands at his Pleasure Clinics.

Whether totalitarian future states, alien fleets, or lunar uprisings, ultimately, science fiction uses the 4th of July to remind us that "Independence Day" is not just about the birth of a nation, but about the ongoing, universal struggle to remain free in the face of insurmountable odds. Freedom of thought...if you can keep it... Happy 4th!

All for now, but more to come.

For more on the books of The THING Trilogy, and excerpts, go to: https://kendallwilliamsauthor.com/ , click the books and join us on a journey through the fabric of time.

New to the newsletter? Check out the Newsletter Archive. Past newsletters with all those links make the Archive more and more valuable with each post. Find them at: https://kendall-williams-author.kit.com/posts

Quote from Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States: "I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him."

Until next time, be well and safe journeys.

Sincerely,

Kendall Williams, Author

​kendallwilliamsauthor.com​

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