Today’s interview is with Michael Siciliano, author of “Evolution,” one of the stories in Envision: Future Fiction.

Synopsis: Nineteen-year-old Walt is forced to reconsider his views on artificial intelligence when Molly, an android maid, claims she’s a slave.

Michael, what prompted you to write “Evolution”?

I’ve always been fascinated with artificial intelligence.

Back in college, in my freshman year as a computer science major, we were taught to write a very simple program that could learn to play 20 questions. I didn’t really believe it’d work. I ran the program, and of course, it didn’t get anywhere near the answer the first 50 times or so, but each time the program failed, it saved results and got more knowledgeable, in a very basic way. After more and more iterations it became difficult to fool the program which amazed me. Then I started to think: What if an automated program could play 20 questions with a gigantic pre-prepared database of information. Instead of sitting at the computer manually typing in answers, you could let it run through, say, a digital encyclopedia. How knowledgeable could it get?

But then the inevitable question came up: is rote memory really intelligence? Intelligence is marked by the ability to adapt to changing conditions — the ability to learn on its own. What if a program could be written to do that?

Science fiction is all about the “what if,” and this particular “what if” fascinated me.

How would an emerging, sentient intelligence think? And once it began to think on its own, is its intelligence really “artificial” anymore? Why would our intelligence be considered “natural” while a program’s intelligence be considered “artificial”? Aren’t we programmed by our DNA? Is the distinction between natural and artificial simply ego on our part? A conceit to make us feel special, like the concept of a soul.

The human race is fascinated by discovering extraterrestrial life. But what if the first new life we encounter is one we create ourselves? And what if it’s just a natural part of evolution?

How did you come up with the title?

I love titles with multiple meanings. Evolution, on the surface, refers to the evolution of programmed AI into sentient life, but a deeper meaning is Walt’s evolution. He sees their helper androids as complex moving robots shaped to look like people and programmed to act like people. As the story progresses, and Walt sees the connection Molly had to Gavin, he begins to understand the line between AI and what he considers to be natural intelligence has become blurred.

What was the hardest thing about writing the story?

Getting Walt’s transformation right. Earlier drafts had him come to the realization that Molly is a person too quickly. I rushed to get to the point in my zeal to show Walt’s transformation. Backing off that and making his change more gradual was a struggle.

And the easiest?

Molly was the easiest to write. She flowed perfectly, and in my opinion, she had a few zingers of dialogue.

Is any part of “Evolution” based on real-life experience, or is it all imagination?

Well, sort of. Do Star Trek episodes count as real-life experiences?

In the second season episode of The Next Generation called The Measure of a Man, Commander Data’s sentience is put on trial. Many lines stood out to me in it, but one in particular struck home: “Could the Enterprise refuse a refit?” Reading between the lines, I heard, “Just because it isn’t shaped like a human being doesn’t mean it can’t be alive.”

Then in the third season episode The Most Toys Data is manipulated by a despicable collector who understands Data’s programming and forces Data to commit acts he finds immoral. Data surpasses his programming, changing it, and in a wonderfully understated end Data protects himself by lying outright to a superior officer — something we had been led to believe was impossible for him. It gave me chills. The writers showed us Data cross that threshold into sentience.

Does the story contain a message?

Yes. We must be very careful in how we use AI. When an AI isn’t sentient, it’s a helper appliance. When it steps over that threshold, it becomes a slave. And slavery, as we all know, is immoral in the extreme.

How long have you been writing?

I wrote some pretty raunchy comedy in High School. I think that was my first foray into writing. It was meant as parody to amuse my friends. The less said about it the better. I accidentally left it on the bus one day, and a school administrator got a hold of it. Let’s just say I was called into the principal’s office and told to be careful what I wrote. I thought, “Careful? We’ll see about that!”

I went to college and started out as a computer science major. Although I had the mind for it, it didn’t fulfill me. Reading and writing did. So I switched, to my parent’s horror, to English Lit. “Don’t worry,” I told them, “I’ll make a living as a writer.” {Pause for laughter}

Creative Writing courses at my college were considered blow-off courses. No one took them seriously. Free credits, and all you had to do was sit around and listen to people’s terrible writing. You could understand that attitude from students because we were young and stupid, but not from the professor teaching the classes. The professor did almost nothing to teach us, and I did not grow as a writer. I wrote a lot of bad short stories back then and did not get published. Deservedly.

Writing was put on the back burner when I went out into the world to make a living.

In my late thirties I suddenly got serious about my craft. I researched the best books on writing and read them. I practiced what I read, and started my own short-lived writing group. Later, I joined an established one and really got into it. As I wrote, read, and critiqued I got better and better.

But I digress. How long have I been writing? Let’s see. Excluding the long break I took in my twenties and early thirties, I’d say I’ve been writing for about sixteen years or so.

What first attracted you to writing?

The money! Kidding. That’d be like joining a karate dojo because you wanted to meet Ralph Macchio.

Reading.

I read great books and wanted to do it too.

I read terrible books and thought, “I can do better than that. I’m sure of it.”

What’s the best thing about being an author?

Expressing my creativity. It feels amazing. I can’t get that rush any other way.

And the worst?

Form rejections. I know you editors are busy. I get it. But sending me a form rejection, which if you translate it, comes out to, “No, go away” doesn’t help. Not even a little. If you reject something of mine, tell me why, for God’s sake. I don’t need an essay. A sentence or two wouldn’t kill you. I can take criticism. Hell, I welcome it, because with good criticism I can make my stories better.

Can you offer any advice to other writers?

Don’t write what you know. That’s BS. Can I say BS? Well, I just did. Anyway, take on subjects you’re not familiar with. Do the research. Lots and lots of research. Learn about your subject.

I’m working on a story about a character who gets brain cancer now, so I’ve completed many hours of research on the web. I called a relative who is a doctor and talked to him about it. Then I talked to a woman whose husband actually has brain cancer. That was an awkward and delicate conversation. The character is also a former US Marine, so I called up my Dad who is a former US Marine and talked to him about the character.

Do the research.

I can’t begin to tell you the things I’ve Googled. I must have set off red flags at the NSA with my Google searches when I wrote a time travel story about terrorism.

What types of stories do you like to read?

Speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

Which writers inspire you?

George R.R. Martin, who I’ve interviewed personally, and Daniel Abraham.

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Writers on a deadline have to write every day. You have to exercise that muscle and make it a regular activity. I’m not on any deadlines, so I can wait for inspiration to strike. My method is very inefficient, and I don’t suggest it to anyone. I write for the love of it, not as a method of generating income (not that they are mutually exclusive), so I don’t have to worry about regularly producing prose.

The best way to deal with being stuck is to immerse yourself in good story-telling. That means good books, good movies, and good TV shows. If you’re passionate about story-telling, you’ll want to do it yourself when you see someone else do it well.

What are you working on right now?

Three different science fiction short stories. One of which takes the concept of AI sentience a step further.

I have an epic fantasy novel on the back burner that needs a serious overhaul.

Do you write every day?

No, but I should. I feel guilty I don’t.

Would you be willing to share a few lines of your current work in progress?

I went to place the remote back on the side table, but the strength left my hand all at once. The black plastic rectangle, pimpled with little gray and red buttons, fell to the carpet, and lay there mocking me. I cradled trembling hands in my lap and squeezed my eyes shut. Shivering in helpless fear, I leaned back in my chair like a palsied Archie Bunker, and waited for the other shoe to drop, unready and unwilling. It didn’t. The episode passed as silently and unexpectedly as it struck.

I managed to calm myself after a minute or two. Over the past week, I had developed a strange habit of addressing my brain tumor, like it was some sentient parasite monitoring my thoughts.

Well, how about that? Joke’s on you. You won’t get a chance to kill me after all.

Another bitter laugh escaped my lips when I imagined the tumor squealing in protest like the creature in Alien.

Something had to be said out loud. Something brash and direct. It wasn’t right to go out unheard. I searched deep for the right words. Marines don’t dissemble.

I tilted my head up and stared at the ceiling. God could see through ceilings.

“You’ve got one fucked up sense of humor, you know that?”

How much time do you spend doing research?

Depends on the subject. I spent three weeks straight researching medieval sailing ships and medieval nautical military strategy.

Then another two learning about cannons and black powder. In a pinch, if I’m ever stranded on a barren world with a guy in a really fake lizard costume, I can make gun-powder like Captain Kirk. Well, that is if the guy in the fake lizard costume gives me several months to pee on a compost heap for the potassium nitrate. The Star Trek episode kind of glossed over that part.

I tried to teach myself Germanic Longsword fighting so my sword fighting scenes would be realistic. There’s some fun Youtube videos out there on it. Trying to get the footwork down in my den might have looked a little strange.

On the other end of the spectrum, I spent about a half hour researching medieval feminine underwear for a sex scene — turns out, there wasn’t any. Who knew? Or rather what women wore as long johns in cold weather, men wore as pants. That’s right. Hose.

Do you have a favorite inspirational quote?

Carl Sagan is the man.

“What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it, and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic.”

Please tell us all about you.

I’m a married, legally-blind writer with the best son in the world.

I’m also a movie and cable TV enthusiast. Netflix and I have a special relationship.

I play lots of board and computer games. I’ve developed a game of my own that’s a hybrid board/card/dice game and have begun playtesting it.

Would you like to share an embarrassing or funny moment with us?

I met Tad Williams at a World Con. I loved his Memory, Thorn and Sorrow series. I had a thousand and one intelligent things to say about his writing. When he turned to me, I got nervous, star-struck, and all my intelligent comments and questions flew out of my head like so many startled sparrows. Empty-headed and staring into the questioning eyes of this well-known fantasy author, I couldn’t think of anything better to say than, “I … uh … like your books.”

Genius. Pure genius.

Where do you see your writing career in ten years?

I have no idea. I want to get back to my epic fantasy series, but it has serious structural problems that need to be addressed. For every short story I finish and submit, I have about a hundred abandoned ones that never see the light of day. I’m just going to keep riding that tide of inspiration until the love runs out.

What do you think the publishing world will look like in ten years?

That is for smarter minds than I. I think the brick-and-mortar book stores are dying a slow and piteous death. It’s evolution. I can buy an eBook from Amazon and have a digital copy of it on my iPad in 30 seconds. I can do that in my underwear, in bed, at 3am with one of my cats on my lap. Technological progress is good.

What advice would you give your teenage self?

Oh boy. All right. Buckle up, buckaroos.

“Stop being a little know-it-all jerk, please. You don’t have a clue.”

“Just because something feels good, doesn’t mean it is good.”

“Stop being melodramatic. You aren’t the main character in a movie about you.”

“Doing the bare minimum isn’t a form of rebellion. It’s laziness. Stop it.”

“Yeah, you’re a skinny, pimply geek. You know that sense of humor you use to crack up your friends? Girls like that. They like it a lot. You don’t have to look like John Hamm to … he’s a good-looking movie star … shut up and listen to me. If you make a girl laugh without being cruel, you’re in. You don’t need to be an Adonis, and those girls who are only interested in an Adonis, you don’t want to get with.”

“For the love of God, get your Masters in Creative Writing. The big bad world is about to put you to work doing some really pointless, mind-numbing garbage so you can pay your rent. Just delay it a little and really learn how to write while you’re still young.”

“Don’t try to cross a three-lane highway on foot to get to a Dunkin’ Donuts on the other side. Seriously. You almost get hit. Dying over Dunkin’ Donuts would, very simply, be the stupidest death ever.”

“Just start rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers now. I know. You’ll take flack from switching, but really, you’ll be happier in the long run. As a Miami Dolphin fan you will suffer horribly.”

“Powerball for December 25, 2002: 5, 14, 16, 29, 53. Powerball 7. Power Play 4. Use it well. And you might want to distract an Andrew Jackson Whittaker in Jumping Branch, West Virginia around that time. Just sayin’. The dude lived in a place called Jumping Branch. You deserve it more than him.”

Where can we find you on the Internet?

www.michaelsicilianoauthor.com

Thank you, Michael. I look forward to reading more of your writing.

More anthologies! I’ll write for ‘em. My mom loves seeing my name in books, and when my mom is happy the world can relax just a little more.

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