They said it of Moses - that he had 'lamps on his brows.' That he could peer ahead, through the fog of time. That phrase is applied now to the Prefrontal Lobes, just above the eyes - organs that provide humans our wan powers of foresight. Wan... except in a few cases, when those lamps blaze! Shining ahead of us, illuminating epochs yet to come.
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| Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, David Brin, Vernor Vinge |
Alas, such lights eventually dim. And so, it is with sadness - and deep appreciation of my friend and colleague - that I must report the passing of Vernor Vinge. A titan in the literary genre that explores a limitless range of potential destinies, Vernor enthralled millions with tales of plausible tomorrows, made all the more vivid by his polymath masteries of language, drama, characters and the implications of science.
Accused by some of a grievous sin - that of 'optimism' - Vernor gave us peerless legends that often depicted human success at overcoming problems... those right in front of us... while posing new ones! New dilemmas that may lie just beyond our myopic gaze.
He would often ask: "What if we succeed? Do you think that will be the end of it?"
His 1981 novella "True Names" was perhaps the first story to present a plausible concept of cyberspace, which would later be central to cyberpunk stories by William Gibson, Neal Stephenson and others. Many innovators of modern industry cite “True Names” as their keystone technological inspiration... though I deem it to have been even more prophetic about the yin-yang tradeoffs of privacy, transparency and accountability.
Another of the many concepts arising in Vernor’s dynamic mind was that of the “Technological Singularity,” a term (and disruptive notion) that has pervaded culture and our thoughts about the looming future.
Vinge was also a long-revered educator and professor of math and computer science at San Diego State University, mentoring generations of practical engineers to also keep a wide stance and open minds.
Vernor had been - for years - under care for progressive Parkinsons, at a very nice place overlooking the Pacific in La Jolla. As reported by his friend and fellow SDSU Prof. John Carroll, his decline had steepened since November, but was relatively comfortable. Up until that point, I had been in contact with Vernor almost weekly, but my friendship pales next to John's devotion, for which I am - (and we all should be) - deeply grateful.
I am a bit too wracked, right now, to write much more. Certainly, homages will flow and we will post some on a tribute page.
I will say that it's a bit daunting now to be a "Killer B" who's still standing. So, let me close with a photo from last October, that's dear to my heart. And those prodigious brow-lamps were still shining brightly!
We spanned a pretty wide spectrum - politically! Yet, we Killer Bs - (Vernor was a full member! And Octavia Butler once guffawed happily when we inducted her) - always shared a deep love of our high art - that of the gedankenexperiment, extrapolation into the undiscovered country ahead.
If Vernor's readers continue to be inspired - that country might even feature more solutions than problems. And perhaps copious supplies of hope.
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Addenda & tributes
I have posted a video tribute from our memorial to Vernor Vinge.
“What a fine writer he was!” -- Robert Silverberg.
“A kind man.” -- Kim Stanley Robinson (The nicest thing anyone could say.)
“The good news is that Vernor, and you and many other authors, will have achieved a kind of immortality thanks to your works. My favorite Vernor Vinge book was True Names." -- Vinton Cerf
“Vernor was a good guy.” -- Pat Cadigan
