Who’s your favourite singer, is it human and are you sure?
Don’t be too quick to answer. You may be cheering on a holographic image. That was certainly the case when in 2010, a Japanese hologram belted out pop songs to sold-out concerts.
A trick of light creates an image that looks three-dimensional. In the case of an impressively solid-looking Hatsune Miku, she sings to and interacts with a crowd of fans.
So how is this related to my world?
A few years ago, I created a character that has a brain but no body. Instead, Mind Ops uses a solid-looking holographic image to interact with the world.
At the time, I thought it was only a figment of my overheated imagination. After all, my only experience with holograms was limited to fridge magnets.
Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon proof that my figment actually exists in the real world. I was also relieved, as Dragon’s Mind relies on this technology to allow the characters to interact.
This discovery highlighted to me the importance of research in the writing process.
Think of Isaac Asimov, for example: he was a scientist first, before he launched a writing career. His scientific knowledge provided a solid foundation for his novels, and his flights of fancy were as believable as the science behind them; his stories resonated with truth.
Not all writers will have the depth of knowledge that Asimov had; therefore we should explore the worlds we create, and broaden and deepen our understanding of them. It’s a lesson I’m keeping in the forefront of my mind in the African paranormal series I’m developing.
So thank you, Hatsune Miku and Cryton Future Media, for proving that Dragon’s Mind isn’t as farfetched as I first thought, and for teaching this writer a lesson.
Do you notice a difference between novels solidly based on fact and those that aren’t?
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