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A contemporary anthology of short stories which uses the research of real scientists to put facts back before fantasy in popular science fiction has been published.

'When it Changed' front cover (pdf - 2829 Kb)
Credit: Comma Press

‘When it all Changed’, edited by novelist Geoff Ryman brings together scientists from institutions across the UK - including STFC Daresbury Laboratory and The University of Manchester - and science fiction writers.

Ryman, a senior creative writing lecturer at The University of Manchester, paired off literary colleagues with scientists to produce the book of short stories published by Comma Press.

Three scientists working at STFC Daresbury Laboratory, and one from the neighbouring Cockcroft Institute for Accelerator Science and Technology, were among 14 who helped the authors to write the stories, and add a fascinating insight into the science.

The scientific collaborators from STFC Daresbury Laboratory and the Cockcroft Institute were:

• Dr Richard Blake, Director of STFC’s Computational Science and Engineering Department at Daresbury Laboratory. Richard worked with Ken MacLeod on a story called ‘Death Knocks,’ based on future supercomputing abilities;
  
  
• Dr Manolis Pantos, who until recently had lead heritage and archaeological science research at STFC Daresbury Laboratory. Manolis worked with Geoff Ryman on a story called ‘You,’ based on how existing scientific techniques could be used in the future to find out more about artefacts from Mars;
  
  
• Professor Andrew Bleloch, Liverpool University and Director or the SuperSTEM facility at Daresbury Laboratory. Andrew worked with Justina Robson on a story called ‘Carbon: Part One,’ based on the invention of glasses for the electron microscope; and
  
  
• Dr Rob Appleby, Physicist at CERN in Switzerland and a lecturer at the Cockcroft Institute and University of Manchester. Rob worked with Paul Cornell on a story called ‘Global Collider Generation: An Idyll,’ based a facility just like the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland.

Geoff Ryman, who is based at The Centre For Creative Writing at the University of Manchester, said: “We wanted to go out and locate what is fresh and new in the sciences, and give writers a chance to work with researchers to come up with different, contemporary themes. ‘When it Changed’ actively extends the scientific repertoire of fiction - all fiction because we have mainstream writers as well. The best SF is a fairy tale made plausible by science that could give readers a lot to think about as well as wonder at.”

The Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Director of Computational Science and Engineering Dr Richard Blake was delighted to be involved in the project. He said: “Much science fiction is based on fantasy and has become anything other than scientific. The real work and research of real scientists is largely absent from fictions set in the real world. This book of short stories aims to change that. I was delighted to be involved with this book and help to give science fiction readers a genuine taste of how future science could impact the lives of human beings.”

‘When it all Changed’ was launched at a special event as part of The Manchester Science Festival (link opens in a new window) on 24 October. The Festival runs from 24 October - 1 November and includes over 150 science, technology, engineering and maths events for families and adults in venues across Greater Manchester.

You can also read The University of Manchester’s press release (link opens in a new window).

Notes to editors

Manchester based short story specialists, Comma Press - described as 'the literary equivalent of Factory Records' (The Herald) - have pioneered this project in collaboration with The University of Manchester, as part of a raft of anthologies challenging preconceptions about genre fiction. Comma's previous anthology in the series - The New Uncanny - won the Shirley Jackson Award 2008.

The authors of the book are:

• Geoff Ryman (Editor)
• Michael Arditti
• Paul Cornell
• Frank Cottrell Boyce
• Patricia Duncker
• Simon Ings
• Gwyneth Jones
• Ken MacLeod
• Sara Maitland
• Adam Marek
• Kit Reed
• Adam Roberts
• Justina Robson
• Liz Williams
• Gwyneth Jones

The scientists who collaborated are:

• Professor Andrew Bleloch, Liverpool University and Director of the SuperSTEM Laboratory, Daresbury
  
  
• Dr Rob Appleby, Physicist, CERN, Switzerland ; Lecturer, Cockcroft Institute and the University of Manchester, UK
  
  
• Dr Jennifer Rowntree, post-doctoral researcher, Faculty of Life Science, University of Manchester
  
  
• Dr Kai Hock, Lecturer in Accelerator Physics at Liverpool University. He designs small accelerators that can be used for cancer therapy
  
  
• Dr Vinod Dhanak, Senior Research Fellow in the Physics Department at the University of Liverpool. He has published research in nanoscience and on the use of nanotechnology in body armour, and is currently working on the use of nanostructures on metal surfaces
  
  
• Dr Richard Blake, Director of STFC’s Computational Science and Engineering Department at Daresbury Laboratory
  
  
• Dr Manolis Pantos has been leading heritage and archaeological science research at STFC, Daresbury Laboratory for the last ten years
  
  
• Professor John Harris: Lord Alliance Professor of Bioethics, and Director of the Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation, University of Manchester. He is also author of On Cloning and Enhancing Evolution
  
  
• Dr Matthew Cobb, Programme Director Biology, the University of Manchester
  
  
• Dr Tim O’Brien, the Senior Lecturer & Head of Outreach, for the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics. (two stories)
  
  
• Dr Steve Williams is a Professor working in the Imaging Sciences Research Group, in the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, University of Manchester
  
  
• Dr Sarah Lindley, Lecturer in GIS, School of Environment & Development, University of Manchester
  
  
• Steve Furber, ICL Professor of Computer Engineering, the University of Manchester
  
  
• Dr Rein Ulijn, Professor of Chemistry, the University of Strathclyde

Contacts

• Karen Coles
  Press Officer
  STFC Daresbury Laboratory
  Tel: +44 (0)1925 603232
  
  
• Mike Addelman
  Faculty of Humanities
  The University of Manchester
  Tel: +44 (0)161 275 0790

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