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Softserv online chat with Victor Koman
SOFTSERV RTC WITH VICTOR KOMAN
Date: 05/21/90 Time: 23:16EDT
Attendees: [[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV]
[[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK]
[[Kate] SOFTSERV-KO]
[TOM.ROBINSON]
[KEITH.KIRTS]
[NICK.DOTSON]
[R.GIBSON8]
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> I'm breathless with antici
PATION!
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> Room is now listen-only.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> Tonight's speaker is Victor Koman,
author of the Prometheus Award-winning novel, \The Jehovah
Contract\, and the equally stunning \Solomon's Knife\ ...
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> \The Jehovah Contract\ is a thriller in
which an assassin is given the Job of his life ...
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> And \Solomon's Knife\ is a medical
thriller which tackles the most controversial issue of our age
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> I'm sure you have questions for Victor,
so after a brief opening statement from him, I'll open the floor
for questions. Use the /RAI command to get in line.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> Victor?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> OK. First, thank you for dropping in
tonight...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> I think that the most important fact
of the coming millennium....
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> is that many dilemmas that we had
once considered insurmountable moral conundra will turn out to be
simple problems of technology.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> What once was considered the realm
of tedious philosophers and religionists will turn out to become
the province of every day technical experts.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> I dealt with just that topic in my
novel SOLOMON'S KNIFE,
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> in which the violently debated issue
of abortion is turned on its head so that we may see a clearer
moral field once the technology advances to where a woman need no
longer take a life to be free of a pregnancy.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> I think I can stop pomposing and
unlock the chains on thy lips and fingertips... Neil?
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> Okay, I'll open the room for questions.
Use the /RAI command to get in line.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> Tom Robinson is first.
<TOM.ROBINSON> Ok...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Hello, Tom
<TOM.ROBINSON> Howdy, Victor! Forgive my ignorance, but it's been
a few months since I've...
<TOM.ROBINSON> had a chance to go through the online catalog and
whatnot. What's the premise, briefly, of The Jehovah Contract?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Dying assassin Dell Ammo...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> is given one last contract--on God.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> And I think you can guess who put
the contract out...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> In the course of hunting Jehovah
down....
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> he discovers that God is an idea
within us, in various disguises, and it is that IDEA of God that
must be destroyed to kill God in any meaningful manner....
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> So he has to find a way to kill God
in the minds of everyone on Earth. And for how he does that...
buy the book!
<TOM.ROBINSON> Fascinating! So it basically follows the Eastern
concept of God, then?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Yes--God is a New Yorker. Well, I
took from here and there...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> mostly read books about the origins
of religion, such as Robert Graves' THE WHITE GODDESS, and John
Lilly's book about God, forget the title.
<TOM.ROBINSON> Okay, thanks. ga
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> And a lot of Wiccen stuff.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> \Simulations of God\ is Lilly's book.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Right.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> And, of course, \Jehovah Contract\ can
be ordered from SoftServ--download the Sampler TODAY!
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> You can see in the last few chapters
how I portray "God as Death," God as War" etc.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> But I disagree with Lilly on a lot
of stuff.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> OK ... Kate is next.
<[Kate] SOFTSERV-KO> Where do you get these wild ideas, Victor?
How do you get inspired?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> The origin of JEHOVAH took many
paths, from naming the protagonist after a street in Long Beach
(Del Amo ["of the Master"]
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> to my love for Raymond Chandler's
work and a desire to emulate him.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> The idea of creating a positive
image of an assassin was also a desire of mine, and I hung
around witches and such at the time I started JEHOVAH, so they
all merged into an assassin given the Ultimate Hit.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> As far as SOLOMON'S KNIFE is
concerned, the idea for that came from an offhand comment by \New
Libertarian\ editor Samuel Edward Konkin III that all the right-
to-lifers ought to stop trying...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> to pressure the State to stop
abortions and ought instead to develop artificial wombs and scoop
up all the aborted fetuses and bring them to term as their own.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> While I didn't get into the
artificial womb concept (although I've heard unreliable reports
that Dow-Corning is working on one), the idea sort of
springboarded into
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> the story about a doctor who finally
decides to take action.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Or, I could answer the way Harlan
Ellison does--SCHENECTADY!
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> OK, Vic. Kate has no follow-up, so Jim
Audlin is next.
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> Okay. As you know, I've read and enjoyed Jehovah
Contract...
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> My question is this...
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> Do you see any difference between the concept of
"god" and "idea-of-god" and, if so, what is it?
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> Hello?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Musing...
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> The question is because Del Ammo kills the IDEA
of God.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> God as an idea in our heads is
demonstrable...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Nearly all of us have a concept of
the divine, whether from "personal experience" or from the
constant bombardment by church/parents/others...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Whether these ideas have any basis
outside our minds, though, is something that either cannot be
answered, in which case worrying about it is futile,
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> or something that has not been
proven (to me, at least) to my satisfaction.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> OK. Follow up, Jim?
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> Well (grin) as you know, that is the fault of
your logic -- insisting on...
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> objectivism and empiricism...
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> but...
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> my follow up is,...
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> does God "exist" in the mind of an atheist, in a
nation of atheists, a world of atheists?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Only if they think about it. What if
the idea of God never pops into their heads?
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> You're asking ME?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> More important, does God exist in
the mind of an ANTI-theist?
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> (Well, I say, yes, of course.)
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Actually, so do I.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> OK ... Keith Kirts is next ...
<KEITH.KIRTS> I'm very interested in the title of Saucer sluts.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> You want a history on that?
<KEITH.KIRTS> And I'd like to know what's up with your publishing
company.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Once again, the inspiration "came"
from Samuel E. Konkin III, who thought up that title as a book
that would sell no matter what was in it.
<KEITH.KIRTS> I agree.
<KEITH.KIRTS> Much like Space Sex.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> I went ahead and wrote a 40,000 word
novel under that title with the usual plot of two men being
abducted by 4 green women in a starship.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> who wanted to repopulate their
planet. However, in my book...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> I took the "hard" science approach
that such a mating would not work, despite page after page of
attempts...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> So they were forced to turn to
cloning the hero.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> It will be available on our BBS, but
not on GEnie.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> And what can we expect upcoming from
KoPubCo, Vic?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> A novel entitled DEATH'S DIMENSIONS,
which I wrote even before THE JEHOVAH CONTRACT, and is based on a
short story that was published in the erstwhile GALAXY.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> We just released Samuel E. Konkin's
excellent NEW LIBERTARIAN MANIFESTO, and will be publishing a
collection of his essays.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> OK, we've gotten through our first
round of questions, so we move to second questions. Kate is first.
<KEITH.KIRTS> Are you working on a new book?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Snuck that one in, eh Keith?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Yes, I am...
<[Kate] SOFTSERV-KO> That was MY question! What new projects do
you have in the works?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> It is science-fiction, the first of
a trilogy
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> or more...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> and that's all I can really say
about it because I'm having a VERY tough time...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> determining what sort of spin I want
to give it...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> 0
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> 100 pages of notes
<[Kate] SOFTSERV-KO> Will it be a major motion picture (or 3)?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Not yet...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> But I think at least part of the
book (of which I DO have a screenplay) would make a great film.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> The screenplay is entitled KINGS OF
THE HIGH FRONTIER.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> It's about the greatgreatgreatgreat
grand nephew of Davy Crockett.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> A physics student at NYU.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> OK! Jim has another question.
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> On transoption.
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> My question relates to the "inertia factor" (for
lack of a better term)...
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> Will pro-choicers ever give up the path they've
taken and consider transoption? I doubt it. And...
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> when people are so picky about "what they get"
for a child, how would you sort the "options" out for people who
want to transopt -- and deal with the legal entanglements?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> In the novel, I make very clear that
those who have...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> a vested POLITICAL interest in being
"pro-choice" or "pro-life" resist and
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> denounce transoption and are its
chief opponents--it threatens to solve the problem that's been
paying their salaries!
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> (I meant to say "prochoicers and prolifers" --
sorry.)
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> However....
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> the "rank and file," that is, the
women who must actually make the hard choices...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> embrace transoption as a life-saving
alternative....
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> In answer to your second,
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> the same sorts of people who open
their hearts and homes to adopt children of all races and genders
will be in the forefront of transoption, too.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> There could be more of them here and
now, but even one life saved, as they say.
<[Jim] J.AUDLIN> My question is framed on the experience that
people simply don't change easily to new ideas. I would expect
transoption to be a very hard sell.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> And of course, the answer to the
whole mess turns out to be cheap, constantly "on" genetic
contraception as a way to avoid unwanted pregnancies in the
first place...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> with transoption the new "last
resort."
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> The whole novel is about what a
"hard sell" it would be!
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> It takes 16 years in the book for
transoption to catch on.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> At least 8 years of which it is
illegal--and still undertaken!
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> OK, Tom has another question.
<TOM.ROBINSON> That's a good observation, Victor, about the
political aspects; and it's a shame emotional issues bring out
political opportunists. Is "transoption" a term you coined to
describe the alternative you envision? I've never heard it used
before.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Thanks, Jim.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Yes, Tom--A friend of mine, Virginia
Jacobs, came up with the term as an alternative to what I had
coined: transortion.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> She added a "p" and made it less
ugly sounding and more friendly and warm.
<TOM.ROBINSON> Very creative! Thanks -- that's all I was
wondering about. ga
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> You're welcome.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> OK, I have a question ...
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> Vic, what do you try to accomplish with
your writing? What "hole in the bookshelf" (to use Bradbury's
idea) are you trying to fill?
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Many holes...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> I want to portray what Samuel Konkin
calls "perspective inversion"...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Where what your prejudices assume
turn out not to be the truth...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> SOLOMON starts out as a medical
thriller in which I portray the doctor as coldly as possible...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> yet she turns out to be the pivotal
hero....
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> In JEHOVAH, I take someone
practically no one would think honorable--an assassin--and turn
him into a hero of all Earth....
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> My screenplay (unproduced) FIRESCAR
starts with a race to find an H-bomb in the hands of a seemingly
ruthless billionaire ...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> and ends with its use to create an
island where people can live and deal in freedom.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> I guess I want to be the guy that
turns people on their heads. ga
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> Well, you do it!
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Thank you. You keep reading them...
I'll make more.
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> One more question from me ...
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> What's your favorite and least favorite
thing that's been said about something you've written? ga
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> My favorite thing (if I can
remember...)
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> is a reviewer who said...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> that the hardest thing for a writer
to do was emulate the Chandler style and that I did it
beautifully...
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> My least favorite is the curt
dismissal SOLOMON'S KNIFE received from
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Publisher's Weekly, who wished that
transoption WOULD end the abortion issue so that they wouldn't
have to be subjected to such novels in future!
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> OK. I'd like to announce the winners
of copies of Victor's novels ...
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> They are: Tom Robinson and Bob Gibson!
Each will be receiving copies of both \Jehovah Contract\ and
\Solomon's Knife\ in the SoftServ Paperless Book Edition.
Congratulations!
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> Room is now in the talk mode.
<TOM.ROBINSON> All RIIIGHT!
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Congratulations, guys!
<TOM.ROBINSON> That's *excellent*.
<[Kate] SOFTSERV-KO> You're in for fun reads, Tom & Bob!
<TOM.ROBINSON> Thanks very much!
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> I'd like to thank Victor for giving
such great answers ...
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> The room is now in CHAT mode.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Now, how do I sign a digital book?
<TOM.ROBINSON> Hahaha!
<TOM.ROBINSON> Good question. :)
<[NeilSchulman] SOFTSERV> With an RSA Digital Signature, of
course!
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Nyuck nyuck!
<NICK.DOTSON> YOU SIGN A DIGITAL BOOK WITH A MOUSE/OR TRACK BALL.
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> If it were in Page Maker, it would
be a cinch!
<TOM.ROBINSON> I think that's one of the neatest tricks a writer
can pull off -- to get the reader to think while entertaining
'em. ;)
<[Victor Koman] SOFTSERV-VK> Thank you, Tom. I try!
##
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