Diva

by Mark W. Tiedemann

Hall runs the most prestigious production company for the benefit of the Subscription Class, whose members expect only the best, only the most exclusive, and who are guaranteed it by a barrier of security that keeps the unwashed masses very firmly Outside. When he is contacted by an aging diva who wants him to produce her farewell show, Hall sees this as the crowning achievement of his career--until he learns of her conditions and needs. Suddenly he is faced with violating the very rules that make Subscription Class Society what it is, in order to maintain the elaborate fiction of its promise of only the best. In a society where reputation is everything, stepping outside even in a good cause is a tremendous risk. But Hall finds himself more and more disenchanted with the whole charade, and is prepared to take more than a few modest chances to do something spectacular and—crime of crimes—Original.

46 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Also credited as Mark Tiedemann and M. William Tiedemann.

Mark W. Tiedemann has published twelve novels---three in the Asimov's Robot Universe series, /Mirage, Chimera /and/ Aurora/---three in his own Secantis Sequence, /Compass Reach, Metal of Night, /and /Peace & Memory/---as well as stand-alones /Realtime, Hour of the Wolf/ (a Terminator novel), and /Remains/, plus /Of Stars & Shadows/, one of the Yard Dog Doubledog series, Logic of Departure, and the historical novel Granger's Crossing. As well, he has published over seventy-five short stories, all this between 1990 and 2023. /Compass Reach/ was shortlisted for the Philip K. Dick Award in 2002 and /Remains /was shortlisted for the James Tiptree Jr. Award in 2006.

For five years he served as president of the Missouri Center for the Book (http://books.missouri.org) from which position he has recently stepped down. He is now concentrating on writing new novels, a few short stories, and stirring a little chaos in the blogosphere at DangerousIntersection.org and his own blog at MarkTiedemann.com

Oh, he still does a little photography and has started dabbling in art again after a long hiatus.

Reviews

[Jane McCaffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story imagining a future society where IP/copyright law has split humanity into an elite "Subscribed" class separated from the rest of the unwashed masses by their exclusive access to performances by the "best" artists. No one but the subscribed are allowed to experience these performances. The rest of society has to settle for "Rimpop" from "lesser", unsanctioned artists.

In short order, the author gets to the heart of the intellectual property debate currently happening in our culture. He does this by taking it to a heretofore unimagined extreme. At the heart of the debate; in a world where all the essentials such as food, clothing, medicine, etc. are no longer monetized, and the only currency left is "Taste", who decides what is good and what is bad art? And how do you really tell the difference?

Good characters. Good dialogue. A couple of cool twists. All in 41 pages. Impressive.

[Byron 'Giggsy' Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

this dystopian novella imagines a caste system where access to the arts and ability to understand the arts defines the lines between the castes. Also includes an interesting mystery revealed at the end and some unique relationships between characters.

Its a standard dystopia with a unique twist and a good length for a quick read.