The Big Idea: Matt Harry

In his new novel Ashland, author Matt Harry posits a world that is a little bit… gooey. If you don’t know what that might mean, or what it would mean for anyone who has to live in that world, never fear, Harry is here to get you up to speed. Here, put on this protective clothing before we go any further. MATT HARRY: Science fiction is riddled with tropes. The mad scientist, the killer robot, the first contact with aliens. My personal favorite has always been the concept of gray goo – an end-of-the-world scenario envisioned by K. Eric Drexler in his 1986 book Engines of Creation. Basically, it centers on the creation of a self-replicating technology that grows and grows until it devours all the biomass on Earth. It’s a pretty depressing concept, but one that never seemed particularly feasible to me. How could a single organism affect the entire globe at once? Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Everything shut down and everyone shut themselves inside. As I walked through the empty streets,…