What would happen if you stopped ageing at 33 years old? Or if pain could be transferred between two people, regardless of consent? Conner McAleese had us pondering these questions and many more during his sci-fi workshop on Wednesday night.
Conner encouraged us to look at sci-fi as a way of improving our own writing, regardless of genre, and he had us doing this through a series of engaging tasks.
First up, we discussed how the world would be different with one change. Memories can be bought and sold. Children can inherit their parents’ potential if their parents choose not to reach it.
We then talked about specific characters within these new worlds. How would someone earn enough money to rid themselves of a traumatic memory? How would a father deal with making a decision to keep/transfer his potential?
Conner made the rounds during the discussions, throwing many helpful ideas into the mix and sending us down paths we hadn’t considered.
For the third task, we found ourselves as archaeologists in the year 3008, presenting an object for inclusion in the Museum of Human Affairs. Will we still know what a teddy bear is, or how exciting it would be to find a full Le Creuset set? Or would a platinum wedding ring be mistaken for a fence fixing, since it’s far too plain to be worn as jewellery?
Finally, we read the poem “A Martian Sends a Postcard Home” by Craig Raine and considered describing familiar situations in unusual ways. Is a local play park actually a simulation? What about a dystopian Tesco on a Saturday afternoon?
Conner’s prompts were unlike any seen at Ayr Writers’ Club before, and encouraged many a lively and fun conversation throughout the evening. I’m sure we all went away with lots of ideas for the sci-fi short story competition.
Whatever the future holds, I definitely won’t be selling my memories of Conner’s 
workshop.
By Kirsty Hammond