Just as METAtropolis:  Cascadia teeters on the brink of release, the global conversation about the withering of the nation-state and the rise of cities is heating up.  If you want to know what METAtropolis is about, look no further than the Glasshouse Conversations, or Foreign Policy magazine.  For the first time in history, the majority of human beings live in cities, and the trend will accelerate. By 2030, according to some analysts, China will have more than 200 cities with populations above 1 million each.  The political implications are staggering--especially when you consider that, while leadership of nations is pretty much restricted to the moneyed elites, in many cities, anybody can become mayor.

Finally.  We've been sitting on this piece of news for months now; it's a relief to be able to tell you that the new SF audiobook, METAtropolis: Cascadia (sequel to the Hugo-nominated METAtropolis) will be narrated entirely by Star Trek alumni!  I'm delighted to have Jonathon Frakes narrate my contribution, "Deodand."  I've been a fan of Frakes's vocal work ever since he played David Xanatos on the animated series Gargoyles.

Having these actors perform our stories adds an extra element of fun to an already playful and innovative project.  Here's the complete lineup, in order of appearance:

• THE BULL DANCERS by Jay Lake
  Narrated By: Rene Auberjonois (“Odo”)
• WATER TO WINE by Mary Robinette Kowal
  Narrated By: Kate Mulgrew (“Capt. Kathryn Janeway”)
• BYWAYS by Tobias S. Buckell
  Narrated By: Wil Wheaton  (“Wesley Crusher”)
• CONFESSOR by Elizabeth Bear
  Narrated By: Gates McFadden (“Dr. Beverly Crusher”)
• DEODAND by Karl Schroeder
  Narrated By: Jonathan Frakes (“Cmdr. William Riker”)
• A SYMMETRY OF SERPENTS AND DOVES by Ken Scholes
  Narrated By: LeVar Burton (“Geordi La Forge”)

The world gets stranger; and as it does, the people of Cascadia increasingly band together against the pressures and threats represented by the rest of the world.  In METAtropolis: Cascadia, Elizabeth Bear, Tobias Buckell, Jay Lake, Mary Robinette Kowal, Ken Scholes, and I have teamed up to bring you a kaleidoscopic view of the future Northwest. Nominally a sequel to our Hugo-Award nominated audiobook METAtropolis, this venture into the future of the Pacific Northwest is edited by Jay Lake.  

What's the connection between this volume and the previous one?  Well, here's a hint, from the official description of the project:

As the mid-20^th Century approaches, the Pacific Northwest has been transformed -- politically, economically, and ecologically -- into the new reality of Cascadia. Conspiracies and secrets threaten the tenuous threads of society. The End of Days seems nearer than ever. And the legend of the mysterious Tygre Tygre looms large. 

Well, the "win a copy of Tor's gorgeous new edition of Metatropolis contest" is over, and the prize goes to Jim Rion, for alerting us to a dystopian nightmare that's actually being built over in Burma.  Now, I gotta admit, some of the other entries were weirder--flying blimp refugee housing for a flooded New York, for God's sake?  Thanks to Jon Hansen for that one.  And what about Arcosanti and Biosphere 2?  (Thanks, Neth Space!)  The obviously-his/her-real-name Potato gave us perhaps my favourite, which was the microwave indoor heating system (or Personal Pain Ray) and, well, that's just damned weird.  Millennially weird, actually.  

And yet... with a little twist of perspective, I could actually see most of these ideas being implemented.  The common thread in the designs I ultimately didn't pick was that they were largely motivated by genuinely reasonable concerns about function and efficiency, albeit usually hypertrophied compared to the rest of the body that usually goes into a good design.  Microwave heating as a way of saving 75% of heating costs... okay, I can sort of get that (though if I had to choose, I think I'd bury my house in sod before prying the door off my microwave oven).

I really wanted ideas that had at least reached the municipal planning stage, however--proposed, not just thought of.  Most of these wonderful plans have, alas, not been seriously taken up by any real municipality.  

It came down to sheer lunatic inventiveness vs. sinister Orwellian reality.  The other big contender was Shimizu Corporation, whose website contains not one, or two, but seven gobsmackingly wild visions of future urbanity.  In the end, it was the fact that Naypyidaw really exists that pushed it over the edge for me.  I mean, come on--a city built with extra-wide roads that can double as military runways?  A place where the military 'fortress' and government quarter are literally walled off from the rest of the city?  --Where not even the families of government workers are allowed to visit?  (You too could live in a colour-coded apartment block, whose roof colour can tell the air force exactly which units to precision bomb to take out entire sectors of the bureaucracy.)  Where key government officials and high-ranking military personnel live in a dedicated system of bunkers and tunnels 11 kilometers from the rest of the city; but there's waterslides and not one, but two golf courses for the happy citizens?

Ah, Naypyidaw.  It'll make a dandy theme park some day.

Incidentally, what stunned me was that nobody mentioned Dubai.  What the frack?  Was it too ordinary for you guys?  Did I miss the memo and is Dubai reasonable or something? Or just so obviously the elephant in the room that nobody felt it worth mentioning?  Not citing Dubai... now that's weird.

So, anyway--Jim, I'm just coordinating with John Scalzi about getting you your book.  And thanks for bringing just a little grim, dystopian magic into all our lives!

The new Tor edition of Metatropolis will be out in just a couple of days, and you can get it for free.  All you have to do is enter any of the five contests being held by myself and the four other authors on their blogs (John Scalzi, Elizabeth Bear, Tobias Buckell, and Jay Lake).  Winners will receive free books!  

In my case, you need to reply in the comments below (you'll sadly have to sign up for my site first, an annoying restriction necessitated by the large amounts of spambot garbage I've been receiving in my comment threads).  Then, you need to describe--and hopefully link to--the most bizarre, weird-ass example of urban planning or urban renewal you've ever heard of.  It can be anything from Russia's scheme to light cities at night using giant orbiting mirrors, to nuclear-powered commuter trains.  But it has to have been really proposed at some point.

Contest closes on June 7th.  Ready... set... go!

Having been a roaring success in audiobook form and in its first print incarnation from Subterranean Press, METAtropolis is returning this summer in a new edition from Tor Books.  I don't have too many details yet, but I'll post cover art here when I get it; the publication date, however, is July 30th.