About the Event:
Author Mark Schlack collaborated with Ephraim Weisstein on his idea for this groundbreaking sci fi/political thriller. Both Mark and Ephraim will be here to talk about the genesis for the idea, collaboration, and Mark’s writing process.
About the Book:
Raefe and Lina are two twenty-somethings trying to start a life in the mid-21st century. He’s beset by crippling migraines, she’s trying to outpace the horrors of the genocide she escaped as a child. Their lives are upended by floods that turn 10 million people on the East Coast into refugees.
But all is not lost. Twenty light years away, a group of ancient and advanced alien civilizations known as the Guardians works to nudge intelligent life in the galaxy past the point of self-destruction that humans are teetering on. They realize that Raefe’s headaches stem from his particularly strong empathic nature, a clue that could be the key to human survival. They make contact with Raefe and begin to show him how to use those powers for good.
But all is not well among the aliens either. A rogue Guardian seizes control of the group, perverting its aims and sabotaging their mission on Earth. What follows is a 30-year adventure in which Raefe and Lina ultimately lead a billion refugees around the world to gradually become a new kind of nation, with new kinds of economic and social relationships. Inside the Guardians, Diver and her allies lead a guerrilla campaign to restore the group to its mission and continue to mentor Earth. It all comes to a head in 2082 in an inspiring showdown that changes history forever.
About the Author:
Mark Schlack has lived in Cambridge since 1984. He received a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan and returned to school twice to study electronic engineering and molecular biology. He’s worked since 1983 as a journalist covering computer technology, advanced manufaturing and biotechnology. Computer technology fans may recall him being the editor-in-chief of BYTE magazine from 1995 to 1998. Since 1998, he’s continued to cover computer technology online, including leading the editorial department at TechTarget to become the largest network of enterprise computing sites in the world. Outside of work, he follows the progress of research on empathy, behavioral economics, neurology and quantum physics, all of which help inform Replay Earth. Schlack also has a strong interest in music. He performs occasionally in the Boston area as a jazz guitar player and is an avid listener to jazz, blues, rock, folk, R&B and anything else that catches his ear. He is an avid woodworker and hoops junkie.
Ephraim Weisstein is a Portland, OR-based educator. He has combined his 40 year career in education with an ongoing commitment to social justice. In 2010 he began outlining ideas for what became Replay Earth and is now framing a second novel on a different topic.