Retired Royal Australian Air Force wing commander John R. Carlos talks with me about his debut novel Cryonic Dreams: Awakening and the real-world experiences that shaped its themes of control, surveillance, and ethical clarity. John shares insights from his 42-year military career in administration and logistics, including deployments to Egypt, the Middle East, and Sudan, and describes a post-COVID political shift that intensified his focus on authoritarian drift.

He then unpacks his structured worldbuilding method—mind map, key variables framework, and timeline—used to extrapolate a plausible dystopian future, and present the story’s core themes of authoritarian control.

We also discuss cryonics science, propulsion ideas, hybrid publishing and marketing, and broader questions about collapse, neo/techno-feudalism, perpetual war, and whether the West can recover a “classical center” through citizen-led resistance.

Books of his we discuss: Cryonic Dreams: Awakening

johnrcarlos.com.au

alternatefutures.substack.com

alternatefutures.co.uk

Narrative Designer and video game developer Eira A Ekre joins me as we explore the deeper layers of narrative design, the immersive power of video games, and the growing role of machines in shaping how we think, create, and live. Our conversation about storytelling quickly expands into something more: how interactive worlds influence identity, how structured narratives guide behaviour, and whether our increasing reliance on technology is quietly rewriting what it means to be human.

We dive into the craft of building meaningful stories, the unique storytelling potential of video games as a medium, and the philosophical edge where creativity meets control.

We also explore existential questions about machine dependence, autonomy, and whether the systems we build are beginning to guide us more than we guide them.

Books of hers we discuss: Mimeograph

linkedin.com/in/eira-a-ekre-1a700a35/

alternatefutures.substack.com

alternatefutures.co.uk

Applied science fiction collaborator and zoefuturism writer Stephen Oram joins me to explore how policy, technology, and evolving culture shape the futures we imagine. We chat about his work as a former UK Department for Education policy lead, and the UK’s post‑EU search for identity, before exploring his collaborations with scientists — using bespoke fiction to spark public engagement. Stephen explains zoefuturism, an emerging lens on constant becoming and relational life, and contrasts it with much of modern transhumanism.

We also discuss whether humanity has a future without AI, cyber-organic ecosystems, and whether humanity should settle other worlds.

Books of his we discuss: Brain Fruit, We Are Not Anonymous, Fluence

stephenoram.net

nudgethefuture.substack.com

alternatefutures.substack.com

alternatefutures.co.uk

alternatefuturespodcast.wordpress.com