The Strategic Studies team is delighted to announce Kara Schneider as the winner of the debut Science Fiction Writing Competition!
The writing competition, which took place last semester, was open to students of all levels and disciplines. Entrants were tasked with investigating conflict and competition through creative storytelling. Dr James Johnson, one of the Programme Directors of the MSc Strategic Studies programme, explains “while we cannot precisely foresee future conflicts, fiction is a valuable tool for imagining them.”
“By creating and exploring possible future scenarios, fiction helps us anticipate the outcomes of our decisions and gauge how current trends or emerging innovations might develop.”
Entrants were encouraged to imagine the future and develop plausible scenarios about potential conflicts and national security challenges, or explore the past through using historical fiction to consider alternative histories.
Kara’s winning submission, Quantum Cascade: The Silent War explores the idea of psychological warfare being conducted through quantum systems. While all three finalists’ entries included a focus on how future technologies may impact our world, the judges noted that the idea of psychological warfare occurring via a quantum intelligence system, paired with trust and perception of reality as the key battlegrounds, was simultaneously chilling and eerily plausible.
Kara explained that she chose to focus on AI-enabled misinformation because “it felt like the most tangible plausible future reality in regard to an impending threat to humanity, that isn’t talked about enough.”
“I’m absolutely thrilled and deeply honoured to have my essay selected as the winning submission.”
You can read Quantum Cascade: The Silent War here.
The second-place entry was Trolljegeren by Ramon Jeriel Sawit. Judges noted that this story “masterfully blends Nordic folklore with cutting-edge military technology, creating a unique narrative where myth meets modernity.” You can read Trolljegeren here.
The third-place entry was A Human Ideal by Milena Rusztowicz. The judges felt that this story, which explores humanity’s hubris in creating a godlike AI, is a “beautifully haunting meditation on perfection and its cost.” You can read A Human Ideal here.