Rick Triplett, a lifelong science-fiction fan and veteran libertarian, has made a big difference in the Libertarian Futurist Society.
That’s why the LFS board of directors recently honored Rick by making him the first LFS Emeritus member, with lifelong Prometheus Awards nominating and voting privileges.
Because Rick served as a judge for many years on all three categories of the Prometheus Award and has reviewed quite a few Prometheus-nominated novels, his thoughts and insights about favorite authors and Prometheus winners seem worth sharing in this interview.
Q: Looking over the list of more than 100 Prometheus Award-winning works of fiction, are there any that you first read while growing up that taught you the importance of freedom?
A: The following four tales left me stunned and also appreciative of how awful it is to be coerced by others; they left indelible impressions in my values:
* “With Folded Hands…,” a 1947 story by Jack Williamson (inducted in 2018 into the Prometheus Hall of Fame
This is a tale of good intentions gone awry, implicitly warning us of legislators who love to legislate and the horror that can result from surrendering power to do-gooders. It’s told with great emotional force, culminating in a crushing denouement.
* The Weapon Shops of Isher, a 1951 novel by A. E. van Vogt (inducted in 2019 into the Prometheus Hal of Fame)
We’ve always had weapons for self-defense, but they can also be used to aggress. Author van Vogt hints that such a technology could make widespread improvements to our society. His story set me on a lifelong pursuit of what could function as a non-coercive sanction of self-defense.
* “Harrison Bergeron,” a 1961 story by Kurt Vonnegut (inducted in 2019 into the Prometheus Hal of Fame)
Here we have a short, dramatic satire of an increasingly common ethical position: that equality doesn’t just mean equality under the law, but also the pathetic non sequitur that if B has less of some good than A, this is bad and something must be done about it – like “corrective” legislation.
* “’Repent Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman,” a 1965 story by Harlan Ellison (inducted in 2015 into the Prometheus Hall of Fame)
Humans have often left places they didn’t like; but we lack space to do this now. Harlequin, the colorful and passionate nonconformist, decides to rebel anyway, which inspires others but ends tragically. It left me aghast at the effrontery with which the Master Timekeeper (the “Ticktockman”) demanded conformity to his regimentation and the ease with which he would kill to enforce it.
Q: Looking over the list of Prometheus winners, which rank among your personal favorites today – and why?
A: Looking over that list is a nostalgia fest and an inspiration. There is probably no other source on earth that combines the values of literary pleasure with the support of freedom.
I cannot pick favorites, and they change with time anyway. But it is heartening to see the golden-age classic writers recognized (e.g. Robert Heinlein, Ayn Rand, George Orwell, Poul Anderson, Jack Williamson) and newer authors (e.g. James Hogan, F. Paul Wilson, Vernor Vinge, Sarah Hoyt) that the Prometheus Awards helped bring to greater public attention.
The first Prometheus Award was in 1979, ten years after I identified with the libertarian movement, and during a time when almost nobody knew anything about the movement. The time was ripe.
Q: Growing up, which authors (sf/fantasy or otherwise) captured your imagination the most or helped shape your evolving world view?
A: In elementary school I was a slow reader, then two things happened: I got glasses and I discovered Tom Swift Jr.
Suddenly reading was not a chore, and stories of “space opera” entered my experience. I became a voracious reader of all things futuristic, scientific, or heroic.
Q: How did you become a science-fiction/fantasy fan?
A: Superman was (and still is) my hero, for he had enough power to rule the world yet was a nice guy anyway. I was reading pulp magazines, not just SciFi but horror and fantasy. Those latter two brought home the gravity of unopposed power and a consciousness of the field of ethics.
Except for thoughtful horror – like F. Paul Wilson – I’ve left that genre behind. Fantasy is still OK with me, but is often silly, emphasizing imagination over thoughtfulness.
Even Tolkien, though literate, readable, intricate, and picturesque, is still – for my taste – a bit tedious.
Of course most published novels are crap, and that (largely) applies also to SciFi; but it is still the best source of inspiration about the wondrous possibilities of humans (and probably aliens, but we don’t know any yet).
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS:
* Prometheus winners: For the full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees – including the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards – visit the enhanced Prometheus Awards page on the LFS website, which now includes convenient links to all published essay-reviews in our Appreciation series explaining why each of more than 100 past winners since 1979 fits the awards’ distinctive dual focus on both quality and liberty.
* Read “The Libertarian History of Science Fiction,”an essay in the international magazine Quillette that favorably highlights the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian Futurist Society and the significant element of libertarian sf/fantasy in the evolution of the modern genre.
* Watch videos of past Prometheus Awards ceremonies (including the recent 2023 ceremony with inspiring and amusing speeches by Prometheus-winning authors Dave Freer and Sarah Hoyt),Libertarian Futurist Society panel discussions with noted sf authors and leading libertarian writers, and other LFS programs on the Prometheus Blog’s Video page.
* Check out the Libertarian Futurist Society’s Facebook page for comments, updates and links to Prometheus Blog posts.
* Join us! To help sustain the Prometheus Awards and support a cultural and literary strategy to appreciate and honor freedom-loving fiction, jointhe Libertarian Futurist Society, a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf/fantasy fans.
Libertarian futurists believe that culture matters! We understand that the arts and literature can be vital in envisioning a freer and better future – and in some ways can be even more powerful than politics in the long run, by imagining better visions of the future incorporating peace, prosperity, progress, tolerance, justice, positive social change, and mutual respect for each other’s rights, individuality and human dignity.
