Want Author Cindy Pon Talks Sci-Fi Worldbuilding and Odd Futures with Rhoda Belleza

Rhoda Belleza: I’m going to start off with two questions, because I’m a cheater! I grew up reading and watching a lot of sci-fi that projected us into future societies, usually Western societies, and only had mere nods to Asian culture or Asian characters. Do you wonder why that is? Secondly, can you talk about your futuristic take on Taipei? It was so refreshing, new, and immersive, and I’m wondering what drew you to writing about this city.
Cindy Pon: I don’t so much wonder over it as I know with established and loved films such as Blade Runner and more recently this year with the whitewashing of Ghost in the Shell, western media loves the trappings of Asian culture—the food, the dress, the backdrop—but do not like to have actual Asian people at the forefront of the narrative. If not completely erased, Asians are side characters at best, often relegated to much lesser and often racist and offensive roles. As for my futuristic take, except for some cool stuff like the flying cars and airpeds, I confess that much of Want is contemporary if not retro. I drew a lot from China headlines, and as I delved deeper in some of the science, I discovered Want is more reality than not. That’s really what I was aiming for. This story can be our reality. I only nudged it a little to make it seem more extreme. I was born in Taipei and went on a research trip to really take in the city back in 2013, and much of what I saw, felt, experienced, went into Want. I wanted Taipei to be a character in itself.
This felt like a character-driven thriller in a sci-fi setting; Jason was utterly fascinating! You really put him in an impossible situation, and even when he did questionable things I couldn’t help but root for him. How did you achieve that balance, and how did the setting and class issues help to bolster his storyline?
That is such a compliment, thank you so much! Want started out as a short story initially and is my first non-fantasy novel as well as my first book written in a first-person narrative. But after I finished that short story (basically the first chapter of Want), I realized I was intrigued enough by the characters and the premise to be willing to try and explore them all as a full-length novel. It’s probably one of the most challenging books I’ve written to date, but what did keep me going was my love and sympathy for Zhou. Although broken in many ways due to his past and his current situation, he still has fight in him, he still carries hope. He can be rash and thoughtless, but is daring and he does want a better life for the downtrodden and disenfranchised like himself. What I love about Zhou is he never sees himself as a hero—instead, he sees himself as totally dispensable. I think his interactions with the yous (the haves) and Daiyu underscore the tensions in the story itself, especially when he realizes the world is not so easily interpreted in black and white. As a writer, I always strive to stay true to a character, and I think that is what makes Zhou sympathetic. You see his reasoning and the hard choices he has to make, and the feeling of being pushed against a wall with no other way to survive. Zhou made it easy for me as an author; I had such fun writing him.
Speaking of, one of the most fascinating parts of WANT is how it deals with luxury. While it’s fun to read about the extremely wealthy, your book so beautifully illustrates how often their lifestyle is at the expense of poor people. Did you find it hard to separate writing about how fun this party world could be, but also how upsetting?
Pon: Let’s be honest, I’m a total have in that I lack for nothing that I might want or need. This comfort is easy and seductive. I wanted to show Zhou slipping into that world, feeling uncomfortable in many ways as far as etiquette, the sheltered and vapid lifestyles, but also at the same time, find himself enjoying the luxuries of wealth. Any person would, especially someone who has been poor and hungry for years. Look at timeless and classic tales that are well loved like Annie or Cinderella or one of my favorite books A Little Princess. But if you have everything that you might desire materially, does that mean you are less likely to care, or stop caring altogether about those less fortunate, about our environment and mother earth? Since Zhou has always seen himself as an outsider, this wasn’t something that was difficult to highlight when he infiltrates the you world.
I’m such a sucker for tech in sci-fi novels. Tell us about all the gadgets and technology in Want, and about your inspiration. Did it require research to figure out how the suits might work, and how certain brands were more effective and/or expensive than others?
So Want is my novel that has taken the longest to actually reach publication—six years. And what was “near-future” was quickly becoming retro as I revised and researched the technology. When I had started the book, the Apple watch hadn’t come out yet, and I realized in one of my final revisions that it’s less likely Zhou and his friends would be tapping out any messages on their Vox (also worn at the wrist) so much as dictating into it. I also had Zhou speaking commands aloud in his apartment. Of course, this was all written before the existence of “smart” homes, where you actually can do that now. My cambots (flying cameras that can capture live footage for journalists) were written into Want before drones became a familiar concept to most of us. Prototypes of flying cars are being made (although not as sleek and sexy as Zhou’s airped), and the military have already experimented with thought command and a London firm has created a mind-controlled device for Google Glass. I even discovered that goldfish that can “glow in the dark,” in a throwaway line from Want‘s beginning chapter, have actually been engineered and were first shown at a Taipei marine life convention! I could go on and on, but the technology in Want is basically now, if not an arm’s reach away. As are the more frightening aspects in regards to pollution and viruses.
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