I was scratching my head for a way to introduce this Brain Parade when I came across a “Sex Slave Cult” story on the BBC. The “cult” (calling it a cult might be a bit much) is apparently based on the Gor books, a series of science fiction novels from the 60s. You can read the story here (link).

It’s probably a sign that I’m obsessive about science fiction (hard to believe I know) but there have been times when I as a reader have considered what I would have done in the protagonists shoes. Not that I necessarily want to be in those shoes, given the sick imaginations of some authors, but sometimes I can’t help but wonder.

Meme Therapy continues to limp along without regular internet access. Rosie, Charlie and I continue to make noises about finding a permanent place with broadband but so far little has happened. Mostly this has because Charlie has been rinsing (freeloading) accommodation in a seriously fine flat so he hasn’t been highly motivated.

Science Fiction seems to be everywhere these days. Hollywood is clearly in the throes of a skin deep love affair with the genre (I suspect largely because it mixes well with CGI). But beyond TV and film Science Fictional ideas seem to seeping everywhere nowadays.

You’ve heard me mouth off last week about the Geek Rapture (a utopian Singularity scenario) and why I liken it to a religion (link). A few science fiction authors were kind enough to throw in their two cents. We’ll also be touching on this subject in the episode 7 of Meme Therapy the science fiction podcast which is going online in a few days.

Alastair Reynolds is a Welsh science fiction writer based in the Netherlands. We like his books so we posed as highly important science fiction journalists and pestered him with some questions. Fortunately he fell for it.