Of course, the remarkable thing about this example is Dave Calhoun only got the job because his successor, or his predecessor, I should say, in the CEO position, Dennis Muilenburg, was fired as a result of the 737 Max crashes that had happened a few years earlier So now Dennis Muilenburg is the former CEO of Boeing.There's quite a club of former CEOs of Boeing.
- Yeah. Rant. - Rant. - Dennis Hopper is just sort of a dream dad. - Yeah. Dream dad.
That's all true, by the way, and frightening. Dennis and Amy play the most prominent of a group of ranchers that are really trying to expand their control and their influenceover this public resource.
So tell me about that. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Yeah.I had just discovered Kindle and e-books at the time, and I was downloading books like crazy, free, paid, whatever.
But apparently you've had more success with "We Are Legion". DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Yeah.That's great. So what about before the authorship?
What was your life like growing up, and what inspired you to know so much about and be so involved in sci-fi? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: I started reading science fiction in grade five.I mentioned to you "The Lost Planet" by Angus MacVicar was my first real novel.
OK. And do you feel like that's been a big inspiration for you, like a musician listens to music to inspire their music? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Yeah.It has to be.
Was that your lifelong career? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Pretty much.I started programming in my early 20s on RadioShack TRS 80 as a hobby.
So you started at 57, was it? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: 51.51. OK. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Sorry.
Snowboarding, 51. Snowboarding, 51. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Yeah.Writing, 57. Writing 57.
Did you ever get a degree later in life with programming? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: No.I was taking electronics technology at VCIT when I switched.
When you switched over to writing? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: No, when I switched over to programming.Programming full time. Cool.
So I'm sorry, but please don't apply. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Well, there's still a certain amount of programming going on.Good. And actually, yeah, we have a slide that we want to show that's pretty interesting.
Can you tell us about this? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Well, I called it Time A Line, which is really bogus, but I needed a name.It's written in C#.
That's pretty fun. Do you still use that when you're writing your books today? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: I have to.Yeah. The thing about the Bobiverse series is because things happen in different star systems and on different schedules, the overlaps and lightspeed delay
You should make a version for us so we can track all the different bobs. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Yeah.I actually did take a screenshot of that and publish it on my web page based on somebody's request.
How many books are in each? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: OK, well, I originally did "Outland".That was my first book.
You mentioned you work with Audible, but otherwise you're self-published, right? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Yeah.My agent shopped around "Legion" to all the big five publishers and all the various editors and so forth, and he didn't really get a bite.
And so I looked for your other works, and there was nothing else. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Yeah.So you must have picked it up before "Legion" was actually released.
And then, fortunately, you released the "We Are Legion" books pretty quickly behind each other, didn't you? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Yes.I actually had books two and three partly written by the time book one was released.
OK. And can you tell us a little bit about the difference between being a self-published author versus going the other route? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Well, the biggest single difference from my point of view is the amount of royalties.Traditionally, published authors do not get a large chunk of the pie.
Really huge, yeah. Well, who takes care of all the printing of the books and things like that? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Well, the simple answer is Amazon.But my agent has taken on the job of publisher for that.
I've been curious myself. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: It's not actually a lot of work in the end.And you can publish a book yourself without ever spending a penny, if you can do your own artwork.
Did you do your own artwork? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: No.Who did your artwork?
Who did your artwork? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Jeff Brown is the guy's name.He's actually a graphics artist professionally.
And that is actually an image from-- A long sleek one. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Yeah.I did a blender mockup of the ship when I was developing it, just trying to get a feel for what might work.
You've been writing for how long, then, since you started? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Well, "Outland" was published January of 2015, so a little more than four years, five years if you include the lead time on that.That makes sense because I must have picked it up right after.
And so that's what, four years now? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Four and a bit, yeah.That's not very long.
You have four or five books now, plus you did another work, too, didn't you, the group published? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Oh, the short story, yeah, in the Colony series.I think I mentioned to you that wasn't a pleasant experience, and I don't think I'll do short stories again for a while.
You just mentioned that you have at least one more book with Bob. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Well, under development, the Bender books.There's the three Bobiverse books, there's "Outland", "Singularity Trap", and then I'm working on books four and five of the Bobiverse, four
When do we see it? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: That will be the next thing I'll work on as soon as "Bender" is out.Again, I have an obligation.
What's that pressure like? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: It isn't really pressure.If you're a computer programmer or have been a computer programmer, you know about pressure.
Do you want your brain sliced into a million pieces and turned into an AI? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: My preference would be for physical immortality.So I'm holding out for medical advances.
It's kind of an interesting question. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Yeah.And I'd like to go back to the "Star Trek" episode where they created Thomas Riker, the duplicate Riker.
So if there are two different RIkers, I would suspect one can't control the other's body. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: No.Yeah, each of them is them, but each of them thinks that they're the original Riker.
Now when he deletes that sandbox, did he just murder? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Yeah.I kind of just sort of sped past that point and tried not to think of it too much.
Bob Light. Bob Light, OK. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: That's my story and I'm sticking to it.Good. He could remove, somehow, the sentience, maybe, from the sandbox version.
What human rights does the AI Bob have? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Well, in the book, none.And that's why I created a theocracy.
But it makes a lot of sense that you would need that in order to take away Bob's humanity, I guess. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Take away his rights.Interesting. Interesting. And they're kind of irrelevant, too, I mean, as an AI, because in some ways he's all powerful.
Interesting. Interesting. And they're kind of irrelevant, too, I mean, as an AI, because in some ways he's all powerful. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Yeah.He becomes all powerful because he gets the constraints taken off.
So can you explain what those are and what implications they have? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Well, the first problem with post-scarcity civilizations is that, when people hear about them, they think,I can have whatever I want whenever I want to whatever degree I want.
And is that what would drive, then, people to action in a post-scarcity society? DENNIS E. TAYLOR: I think so.It's been dealt with in a number of books, but usually the basic idea is that there's some kind of universal basic income
If you want to buy a Mercedes or the big mansion on the hill, you have to put some-- You have to work. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: You have to put some elbow grease in there.You have to find a use for yourself.
You have to find a use for yourself. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: The thing is, that type of question hinges on your personality.
You have to find a use for yourself. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: I was an amateur astronomer when I was a teenager.
You have to find a use for yourself. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Oh, that's total fabrication.
You have to find a use for yourself. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Well, that's actually discussed quite regularly in the scientific articles and so forth.
You have to find a use for yourself. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Then you got the Kuiper belt, which is outside of that.
You have to find a use for yourself. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: There are legal aspects to that.
You have to find a use for yourself. DENNIS E. TAYLOR: Have to put the blinkers on and everything like that, and just not look.