Ask the Author: Phil Bailey
Answered Questions (1)
Phil Bailey
Over the course of most of my career as a software developer, I have worked off and on for indigenous communities, known as “First Nations” here in Canada and “Native American Tribes” in the U.S.
For several years I had thought about writing a science fiction story that could parallel some of the experiences of indigenous people when dealing with the arrival of the Europeans. I thought that the humans could represent the innocent indigenous people and alien visitors could represent the early explorers and settlers. I thought that such a story might foster a better understanding of the struggles of indigenous people. In the end, this is not how Kelvoo’s Testimonial ended up, mainly because I am not an indigenous person, and it would be inappropriate for me to try to represent another ethnic/racial group.
As I write this, the world is in the grip of geopolitical upheavals, deep philosophical divisions, rising anger, and rejection of facts. In this context, how could I write a story in which humans represent goodness and innocence?
With my novel being set in the future, I wanted to portray the humans as much improved and well-intentioned, but still tragically flawed. That's when I thought about having the humans as the visitors and an extraterrestrial species as the recipients of the benefits and consequences of human interaction. This led to the idea that my novel could be an autobiographical account, written from the perspective of an extraterrestrial.
That’s how the idea Kelvoo’s Testimonial came to be.
For several years I had thought about writing a science fiction story that could parallel some of the experiences of indigenous people when dealing with the arrival of the Europeans. I thought that the humans could represent the innocent indigenous people and alien visitors could represent the early explorers and settlers. I thought that such a story might foster a better understanding of the struggles of indigenous people. In the end, this is not how Kelvoo’s Testimonial ended up, mainly because I am not an indigenous person, and it would be inappropriate for me to try to represent another ethnic/racial group.
As I write this, the world is in the grip of geopolitical upheavals, deep philosophical divisions, rising anger, and rejection of facts. In this context, how could I write a story in which humans represent goodness and innocence?
With my novel being set in the future, I wanted to portray the humans as much improved and well-intentioned, but still tragically flawed. That's when I thought about having the humans as the visitors and an extraterrestrial species as the recipients of the benefits and consequences of human interaction. This led to the idea that my novel could be an autobiographical account, written from the perspective of an extraterrestrial.
That’s how the idea Kelvoo’s Testimonial came to be.
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