Writing a Holocaust Memoir and a Sci Fi Universe: Are These Projects the Same?

I have been working on several writing projects at the same time, most importantly a Holocaust memoir utilizing firsthand survivor and savior accounts I published in the 1970s and a near future sci fi universe that includes a novel, a TV drama pilot script and two feature film scripts. What do these projects have in common? Or a better question may be: Are these really two sides of the same coin?

Of course I realize that the Holocaust memoir is nonfiction and the sci fi universe is fiction. Yet in many ways these are the same. How so?

As I said in my recent blog post “Holocaust Remembrance Day 2018: Is the Holocaust Fading From Memory?”:

At an early lunch today at a nearby Israeli-owned restaurant, I chatted with a stranger about the meaning of the Holocaust. I told her about the Holocaust-themed play I’m writing, and she asked, “What is the purpose of remembering the Holocaust if not as a call to arms?”

She referred to keeping a vigilant eye on the political climate of a democratic country, and acting in a timely manner if democratic rights are curtailed — not when it is too late to reverse the tide.

And what is the purpose of science fiction (besides entertainment) if not to warn us of what could happen if we don’t keep an eye on things and take action when necessary before it is too late? This can also be a call to arms.

While no one has a crystal ball for the future, certain trajectories can facilitate predictions about the future. For example, as genetic engineering becomes more and more sophisticated, how far will we allow tampering with humans to “advance”?

Or as medical costs become more and more expensive, how old will we allow people to live before their medical costs are too great and they need to be “eliminated”? (I deal with both of these questions in my sci fi universe: www.millermosaicllc.com/mississippi-divide/)

In reviewing the firsthand survivor and savior accounts I published years ago, I am as always reminded of the extent of perpetrated evil. And knowing how the Nazis utilized science and propaganda to undertake horrendous acts of evil makes it all too easy to imagine what can happen in our near future if humanity doesn’t pay close enough attention.

In the near future, breaches of personal information on Facebook and elsewhere may be nothing compared to how our lives are controlled by technology. We all have to remember this possible scenario when, for example, we invite AIs such as Alexa into our homes.

The price we pay someday may be our freedom.

P.S. Click here to read my short story “National Security Nightmare.”

Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller) has an M.B.A. from The Wharton School and is the author of fiction and nonfiction books/ebooks. Phyllis is available by skype for book group discussions and may be reached at pzmiller@gmail.com

Her Kindle fiction ebooks may be read for free with a Kindle Unlimited monthly subscription — see www.amazon.com/author/phylliszimblermiller — and her Kindle nonfiction ebooks may also be read for free with a Kindle Unlimited monthly subscription — see www.amazon.com/author/phylliszmiller