Q&A with Samuel Peralta

 

 

 

What does the Latin poem at the start of the story mean?

 

The verse from Horace translates as: “How sweet and honorable it is to die for one’s country: / Death pursues the man who flees, / spares not the hamstrings or cowardly backs / Of battle-shy youths.” Centuries later, the phrase “Dulce et decorum est / Pro patria mori” was used in a well-known poem by Wilfred Owen, what he called ‘the old Lie’. That humankind still haven’t learned this, now or in the time frame of my story, is part of the theme of “War Stories”.

 

One of the many things I love about your writing is the way you tackle universal themes. This story is no exception. It’s set in some mythical future and yet it could have taken place during the Roman Empire or today in Iraq. How do you manage to write stories that seem timeless?

 

I very often consciously choose those themes that are vital and important today - and those are themes that turn out to be universal - such as the inequality of different races or genders in today’s society. Speculative fiction then enables me to use its particular vocabulary to say things about those themes and issues - using the inequality of robots and humans, for example, as a metaphor for today’s inequalities - in ways that can turn out to be very powerful.

 

You have an interesting resume. Can you tell us a bit about what you do along with writing SF?

 

I’m still not a full-time writer. My day job is with a specialized engineering company that, among other things, provides complex high-tech tools for the nuclear industry, such as robots to do things in places where humans cannot go. I’ve been active in start-ups, in areas including software for handheld devices, advanced III-V opto-electronic semiconductors, and most recently in a gesture and image sensing. I’ve also helped produce and support over 100 short films, one of which recently received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film.

 

Are you working on any new tales? And how can readers best find you online?

 

I have several stories coming up in many anthologies, a collection of my own stories later, and hopefully a novella. I’m continuing to produce my own anthology series, The Future Chronicles, which is up to fourteen volumes now. I’m most often on Facebook if you want to chat, but you’ll get to know me best by my stories... There’s always some of me in my characters.