Revisiting Mr. Sensible from C.S. Lewis’ THE PILGRIM’S REGRESS

“I know a eugenist who promises to breed us a race of peons who will be psychologically incapable of playing me a trick like this Drudge.” — Mr. Sensible

C. S. Lewis. The Pilgrim’s Regress. (1933)

I keep a file of quotes that have impressed me, and recently I came across one I had collected a year ago on rereading C.S. Lewis’ The Pilgrim’s Regress

“I know a eugenist who promises to breed us a race of peons who will be psychologically incapable of playing me a trick like this Drudge.” — Mr. Sensible

For Mr. Sensible every relationship, every activity, and every appetite is to be appreciated to maximum benefit to Mr. Sensible. For example he has a dog whose health is declining and he decides it’s time to put him down. When asked if he will miss the dog, his reply encapsulates his philosophy: he only likes the dog well enough to enjoy him when he’s there but not so well that Sensible would miss his pet after he is gone.

Sensible, while speaking of his philosophy with great enthusiasm is living a lie. He counts on Drudge, whom he treats abominably, to make his life as easy as possible and to maintain the pretense of moderation and self-sufficiency. When Drudge gives notice and Sensible’s easy life is threatened, Sensible makes the statement quoted above.

When Lewis wrote this in 1933, eugenics was much more in favor than after the Second World War. In the original Star Trek, we meet Khan and his people who are the product of a eugenics program to “improve” the human race. The Star Trek episode and movie rightly taught that making people stronger and more intelligent, does not necessarily make them more virtuous. This “improvement” goal of eugenics is much to be feared.

Sensible talks about a degradation goal which is also to be feared because it is likely easier to achieve. It is always easier to make a car run poorly than to make it run better. In The Halcyon Cycle, I discuss a back story where ancient sorcerers, in an attempt to make biddable servants, created the Halfmen (The Battle for Halcyon) and the Apemen (The Halcyon Dislocation), two levels of degradation.

I fervently hope as we contemplate (and hopefully resolve never to pursue) gene manipulation in humans that we keep in mind the lessons from the past and vow to avoid the twin pitfalls of improvements and “deprovements” of the human race.

In case you’re interested …

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An Encouraging Review of THE HALCYON DISLOCATION on Just a Bookish Blog

I’m sure my readers who are also authors appreciate reviews as much as I do. To keep writing as an author, one needs to believe that one’s books are doing someone good, whether it be to entertain them, drive their imaginations to new lands and new adventures, or even lead them to thoughts that will later be seen as an important stage in their thinking.

Violet’s review was so encouraging and definitely belongs in my “Author Encouragement File.” Why not check out the full review by using the link below.

Just A Bookish Blog Link

““The Halcyon Dislocation” by Peter Kazmaier is a thrilling dive into a world where science fiction meets fantasy. Kazmaier’s storytelling prowess shines through in this intricately woven narrative, blending multiple storylines and diverse characters with finesse.“

Just A Bookish Blog

It’s Christmas time and this far into December your have received many suggestions on books as Christmas gift ideas. I would of course welcome support of that sort, but I offer a way to check out my books, including THE HALCYON DISLOCATION, for free if you have a library card. The two libraries in Canada I use, both support Hoopla. Why not check out THE HALCYON DISLOCATION by searching the Hoopla catalog and checking the e-book out of your library (hoopla asks for your library card and sets you up automatically)?

https://www.hoopladigital.com/

My Science Fiction Books are on Display at Lino’s Auto Repairs Inc.

I have, for many years, had my vehicles serviced at Lino’s Auto Repairs. Dimitri, the current owner, has not only given me excellent service, but from time to time amazed me as he was able to solve troublesome, intermittent faults that occurred with my vehicles.

Vehicle Decal

One time when I brought in my vehicle in for service, Dimitri noticed a decal advertising my books. We began talking about Science Fiction and I realized he was an SF fan. He purchased The Halcyon Dislocation and then, after reading the first one, all of my other books as they came out.

Just recently Dimitri suggested that I set up a display of my books in his waiting room. What an opportunity for me! As an Indie author, the challenge amid the hundreds of thousands of titles perpetually in print, is getting noticed enough for interested readers to find your books and give them a try. We have all found ourselves in an automobile repair waiting room, tired of reading the paper or bored with checking our phones. Perhaps some will give my books a try.

Thank you for your great service Dimitri and for this opportunity to display my books!

THE HALCYON DISLOCATION Has Just Listed on Hoopla

Hoopla Listing at the Leeds and Thousand Island Public Library

If you’re interested in trying a new author, but don’t know if their writing is consistent with your taste, why not try a book from a library? The Halcyon Dislocation, the first book in The Halcyon Cycle, a Science Fiction story that reads like Fantasy, has just been listed by Hoopla, a major library lending service.

Here is the North America coverage map for Hoopla, https://www.zeemaps.com/view?group=661471 .

North American Library Coverage Map for Hoopla

So, if you have library privileges at the Seeley’s Bay Public Library, the Lyndhurst Public Library, or the Lansdowne Public Library, why not download The Halcyon Dislocation and give the book a try?

Library Branches and Contact Information

The Dystopian Political System in THE HALCYON DISLOCATION

When I was planning the plot for The Halcyon Dislocation, an essential element was the development of a dystopian political system for the isolated, dislocated University of Halcyon. In particular, the political system, to the outside observer, would look like a functioning democracy with regular, honest elections, opposition parties, and even new grassroots parties that objected to the status quo.

However, the system is rigged so that these fledgling opposition parties almost never rise to power since it takes a very long time to gain a following, and even if they do, they will find the new party membership and the incessant government propaganda has turned them into another version of the older parties that they were supposed to supplant. Hence nothing has changed except possibly the ruling party’s name.

The reader might ask, “Why do we need such a new, elaborate political system. Man’s history is replete with tyrannical regimes which used propaganda and force to beat down opposition, often for long periods of time?”

I would answer that those systems all have several fatal flaws which this modified dystopian quasi-democracy circumvents.

First of all, using power overtly to suppress dissent means the dissent goes underground and the government receives outward compliance until the opposition gains sufficient momentum that people begin to believe a regime change is possible. Then allegiances change very quickly.

Secondly, suppressed citizens are smart enough to see what is going on and they will not be fooled even if the penalties force them to comply outwardly. They are essentially slaves in their own country and will serve and work halfheartedly at best. It will lead to a general malaise.

The Aberhardt Principle

A key element of the Halcyon quasi-democracy is the Aberhardt Principle, named after the professor on staff who wrote about it. In this approach for making societal change, one sets up a system where everyone is encouraged to speak their mind so the sociologists can measure how effective the advertising, propaganda, education, and entertainment activities have been in changing people’s minds about key issues. The focus is on changing people’s minds against their will by repetition, multiple lines of influence, and long exposure to the multi-media message. The rate of time-dependent change of people’s minds determine how quickly the agenda-setters in the Halcyon quasi-democracy can implement their social changes.

So, even though grassroots opposition parties form, by the time they get to power (if they ever do), they will find not only has their new party changed their outlook, but sufficient time has elapsed that the electorate now fully endorses the new sociological innovations that the old grassroots membership opposed.

Concluding Comments

This is not a political blog and I draw no inferences to past, present, or future systems which might resemble this Halcyon University dystopia. I merely point out, through this imaginative exercise in plot development, that it is possible to develop a political system that has honest, regular elections, allows citizens to share their political views with some freedom, and yet is totally tyrannical and constrained even though the programmed social innovation happens on a multi-year timescale to allow for Aberhardt-style attitude adjustment.

If you have a CALGARY PUBLIC LIBRARY card, you can check out Peter’s books for free …

Time for a New Magnetic Sign for My Vehicles

Since I have just finished my fifth book, it seemed time to update my rather modest advertising. Having a sign on my van is one inexpensive way to draw attention to my writing. The last sign I had on my vehicle only featured my first three books. So this time I wanted to focus particularly on The Dragons of Sheol and Coventry 2091.

My books are listed on many of the major online bookstores: Word Alive Press-Anchor, Walmart, Indigo, Barns and Noble, and, of course, Amazon (it will hopefully appear on Apple soon, but they seem to take longer than anyone else to list). If you’d rather not search the site for my name, you will find links at … https://wolfsburgimprints.com/buy-books/

Coventry 2091 Trade Paperback Arrived: Updating My Author’s Bio

I’ve reached a milestone with the publication of my fifth book, Coventry 2091. It’s time for me to revise my author’s bio. Here is a preview of the changes.

Long before I became a fiction author, I was an avid reader. Books in general and novels in particular influenced me greatly. J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings , C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of the Narnia , and Stephen R. Lawhead’s trilogy, Song of Albion are among my favorite and best-loved novels.

I also very much enjoy classic science fiction classics such as Robert Heinlein’s Tunnel in the Sky.

The stories I most enjoyed were not only entertaining, but they taught me something about all that is good and excellent in ourselves and the world around us. They inspired hope without glossing over the fact of evil

I began writing The Halcyon Dislocation in response to a challenge of sorts. I was meeting with friends in our small book club when I began musing about how much I would like to write a novel. One of my friends, an accomplished author in her own right, looked me in the eye and said, “Why don’t you do it then?” After many conferences and contacts with other authors, my first book was published.

I am now the author of five books. As a futuristic novelist, I started my writing journey by creating a complex, parallel world in The Halcyon Dislocation. And so I began my speculative fiction series, The Halcyon Cycle. My second novel, The Battle for Halcyon, describes the fate of the displaced University of Halcyon as it seeks to return to its own space-time. The third in this series, The Dragons of Sheol, published in 2019, takes the reader to Abaddon, a continent ringed by mountains with the main land mass six kilometres below sea level. 

In 2021 I have published the first book in a new series, The Coventry Chronicles, called Coventry 2091. These stories, naturally enough, make some assumptions about what life will be like seventy years from now. Although, I foresee some troubling and deeply unsettling changes ahead, I am at heart an optimist and believe that whatever evil we may face, it cannot forever triumph over good. As a reader you might be surprised at how that manifests itself in the story.

In writing these stories I have been able to pursue a life-long dream of writing fast-paced novels that explore the intersection between adventure, science, faith and philosophy.

My book, The Battle for Halcyon, won a 2016 Word Award in the Speculative Fiction category. Previously The Halcyon Dislocation was short-listed as a finalist in The Canadian Christian Writing Awards – Futuristic Fiction Category. I am grateful for the recognition I received as relatively new and unknown author.

I am currently working on the  first draft of Coventry Peril. This story follows the travails of the Coventry Penal Colony and their hope for freedom and a place of safety.

THE HALCYON DISLOCATION is now Available at the Toronto Public Library as an e-Book

Max Planck paved the way for the quantum understanding of small particle behavior. He also defined a concept later named after him: Planck Time. Planck Time is unit of time defined only in terms of universal constants. This is a SciFi story about what happens at intervals shorter than Planck Time.

The University of Halcyon Physics Department is researching force fields on behalf of the Defense Department. Unfortunately the first large scale test goes awry. The whole university is learning some surprising things about Planck Time.

Find the book in the Toronto Public Library catalog and check availability … link

THE HALCYON CYCLE is now Available as eBooks at the Calgary Public Library

Although I prefer holding a real book to reading a book on my smart phone, I have found e-books particularly useful for library borrowing. They allow waiting lists and automatic retrieval (no more pesky library fines).

I am gratified to point out to my friends in Calgary, that THE HALCYON CYCLE books are now available in e-book format at the Calgary Public Library … if you haven’t read, for example, THE DRAGONS OF SHEOL, why not check it out there for free?

For your convenience, here is a link to the Calgary Public library Halcyon Cycle e-books. Enjoy …. https://calgary.bibliocommons.com/v2/search?searchType=smart&query=Kazmaier

Christmas in Feiramar

As a novelist, Christmas sometimes draws my thoughts back to writing about Christmas in some of the stories I have created. For those who have read The Halcyon Dislocation, this discussion may remind you of the scene in Chapters 15 when Dave Schuster and Al Gleeson and their companions stumble on New Jerusalem after a disastrous and fatal encounter with pony-sized wolf-like creatures that can communicate with each other and plan attacks.