In family history, we are familiar with people searching for their roots.

But what happens when a sentient artificial being wishes to learn where it came from?

I recently attended the launch of the Sengkang Sci Fi Journal, formerly the Sengkang Sci Fi Quarterly.

This Singapore-based, literary journal is dedicated to speculative fiction and adjacent genre stories, harkening back to the golden age of sci-fi where short fiction pioneered the art of creating narratives within imagined futures. It supports short stories that push the limits of imagination using the frame of technology to entertain and examine. I was heartened to see its Chief Editor Mr Zubin Jain building and supporting a community of writers in Singapore imagining new futures through speculative fiction.

(Thank you Zubin and team for supporting and building this community. Incidentally, from his launch party, I learnt that instead of requiring guests to write their names on stickers, you could ask them to write about their favourite novel or film! I was “Dune”.)

As a Singaporean author focused on non-fiction, I usually write about family history and heritage.

My small contribution to Issue 3, “Searching for One’s Roots 2.0”, is an experimental step into sci-fi historical fiction. I thought about how I could write a piece that combined family history; Artificial Intelligence, which is all over the news these days; and an engaging plot.

I also experimented with structure. That is why I tried writing my piece as a movie script, using dialogue and direction to carry the story.

Set in the far distant future, my sci-fi story follows a sentient humanoid being searching for its roots, only to discover that its origins are more human, and more unexpected, than it had initially imagined.

Sentient machines are built in the image of their creators: and their creators, in turn, are human, who grapple with issues like searching and longing. Some answers must be experienced, to be found.

If this teaser (or is it a spoiler?) to my first sci-fi historical fiction piece speaks to you, this may be worth a read: “Searching for One’s Roots 2.0“.

Thank you for reading!

Cheers,
Shawn Seah

About the Author

Shawn Seah is a Singaporean author who has written several non fiction books, including the children’s non-fiction series Our Amazing Heroes and Our Amazing Pioneers. A storyteller at heart, he has appeared in the media and at literary festivals to share stories about Singapore’s history and heritage, and the art of historical storytelling at schools, literary festivals, and museums. Shawn is currently experimenting with sci-fi historical fiction.