Science fiction anthology explores biological, environmental visions of the future

Imagine a world devoid of animal life except for humans. Or a future where medical advances enable people to live for hundreds upon hundreds of years. Would life be as sweet if there was no end in sight, or without our pets to greet us at the door at the end of a long day? These are just a few of the quandaries explored in “Living Tomorrow,” a new anthology of creative, thought-provoking visions of the future crafted by young people ages 13-25 from across the United States and worldwide.

The wiry old man stood in the Martian cave, sipping his coffee. Yuri’s rock-embedded display stretched across the cavern. The print from his mug reflected off the panel’s glass, “NASA MVC: Class of 2049.” He moved closer to it and touched the incoming spaceship’s blinking icon.

Launch event for Project Hieroglyph’s first anthology, Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future (HarperCollins, 2014) at the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix, AZ on October 22, 2014.

Have you ever thought about robots? I mean really thought about them. They are so prevalent in science fiction that it is easy to take the existence of robots for granted. But someone had to invent robots at some point, and for some reason. The answer can be found partially in the etymology of the word: the English robot comes from the Czech robota, meaning forced or compulsory labor. The term “robot” in its original use would be unfamiliar to modern audiences; it was first used by Karel Čapek in his work R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots), a science fiction play from 1920.