The Novelist As Engineer
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The Novelist as Engineer A thesis on credible engineering components of fiction novels (supplemented by an “engineering” fiction novel) by D R Stevens for the Masters Degree in Engineering (Hons) 2007 University of Western Sydney Dedication This thesis is dedicated to Professor Steven Riley who inspired the writing of the thesis in the first place and provided encouragement when motivation waned. Acknowledgement I acknowledge the assistance of Professor Steven Riley, Professor of Research, School of Engineering, University of Western Sydney. I also acknowledge Professor Leon Cantrell who gave significant and important advice particularly on the development of the supplementary novel, (called by the new genre name En-Fi) the title of which is “Amber Reins Fall”. Thanks also go to Dr Stephen Treloar, CEO of Cumberland Industries Limited, where I am the Director of Marketing and Social Enterprises. His contribution is through the scarce resource of time the company allowed me to formulate this thesis. Finally the thesis is dedicated in no small part to Caroline Shindlair who helped tremendously with the typing and construction of the actual documentation. Statement of Authentication The work presented in this thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, is original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, either in full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. (Signature) Table of Contents Abbreviations Page ................................................................................................. ii Abstract ................................................................................................................... iii 1.0 Introduction...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Thesis Overview ................................................................................................ 1 1.2 The Engineer .................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Engineering And Social/Cultural/Moral Dilemmas It Creates ............................ 5 1.4 The Thesis Structure ......................................................................................... 7 2.0 Literature Review ............................................................................................. 9 2.1 Literature Overview ........................................................................................... 9 2.2 The Engineer as a Character in Early Western Fiction ..................................... 9 2.3 The Engineer in Later Western Fiction ............................................................ 15 2.4 The Engineering Perspective in European Fiction .......................................... 18 2.5 Engineering in the Australian Novel ................................................................ 24 2.6 Sci-Fi or En-Fi? ............................................................................................... 27 2.7 Inventions from Novels .................................................................................... 30 2.8 Conclusions of the Literature Review .............................................................. 33 3.0 The Novel’s of d’ettut .................................................................................... 34 3.1 The “Engineering” Novel as Proposed for this Masters Thesis ....................... 34 3.2 Social Engineering in the Novel ...................................................................... 37 3.3 Engineering in “Greenwars” ............................................................................ 40 3.4 Engineering in “Pie Square” ............................................................................ 46 3.5 Engineering in “Vampire Cities” ...................................................................... 52 3.6 Science Fiction and the Novels of d’ettut ........................................................ 55 4.0 “Amber Reins Fall”: Constructing Engineering Fiction (En-Fi) In Detail ............................................................................................................... 57 4.1 Chapter 1: Dawn on a Summer Holiday .......................................................... 59 4.2 Chapter 2: A Mother’s Search for Myths ......................................................... 64 4.3 Chapter 3: Party for 69 .................................................................................... 65 4.4 Chapter 4: Suicide and Self Help .................................................................... 70 4.5 Chapter 5: War ................................................................................................ 72 4.6 Chapter 6: First Great Adventure .................................................................... 75 4.7 Chapter 7: Nuclear Surprise ............................................................................ 77 4.8 The Panama Component of Amber Reins Fall ................................................ 78 4.9 Amber Reins Fall: Engineering and this Novel’s Key Concepts....................... 81 5.0 The Conclusion .............................................................................................. 83 5.1 The Two Cultures Argument ............................................................................ 84 5.2 Creativity vs Training for Engineering Credibility ............................................. 85 5.3 En-Fi as a New Genre ..................................................................................... 85 5.4 Engineering Summary in Amber Reins Fall and the Other Novels of d’ettut .................................................................................................................... 87 5.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 88 References.............................................................................................................. 90 Appendices ............................................................................................................. 96 Appendix 1: List Of Inventions From Science Fiction ........................................ 97 Appendix 2: Supplementary Novel to the Thesis: “Amber Reins Fall” ............117 Appendix 3: Two Novels by d’ettut .....................................................................322 i Abbreviations Page Acronym Definitions En-Fi = Engineering fiction Sci-Fi = Science fiction S-F = Science fiction ii Abstract . This thesis investigates not so much the engineer as a character in fiction but the writer of fiction, the novelist, as a person who can have surprising insights into engineering principles without formal study or training in engineering. The engineer has featured in fiction novels significantly in the last century. The engineer as a protagonist in the novel on many occasions has been created by an author who is not an engineer. The same comment could well be made regarding the writers of science fiction who indeed are not necessarily scientists but write credibly about scientific inventions, usually set in the future. This thesis argues that there is a distinction between writing science fiction and writing about engineering, although the two are often combined in the one novel. This thesis distinguishes science fiction (Sci-Fi) from what is described as En-Fi or engineering fiction. Engineering fiction or En-Fi is based upon real life engineering feats, if one accepts that the definition of engineering is the “application” of science and technology. The specific hypothesis of this thesis is that credible engineering fiction (En- Fi) can be constructed by non-engineer trained authors. To support this hypothesis there is both a review of novels with the engineer as a central character and an examination of novels where engineering concepts used in developing a storyline are outlined in detail. Indeed, to support the above hypothesis a supplementary “En-Fi” novel has been created. This novel, titled, “Amber Reins Fall”, is used as the central device in addition to the literature review to prove that a writer untrained in engineering can write an En-Fi novel that has a high degree of credibility in engineering terms. iii The construction of this engineering fiction (En-Fi) novel is carried out in detail outlining the various engineering devices used to strengthen the storyline. Examples of engineering such as a light engineering factory of the 1950’s, operational aspects of the Panama Canal and the disposal of nuclear waste in the Australian desert are included in the novel. Three other novels by the author (of this thesis) are included as part of the argument supporting the hypothesis. They also demonstrate the combination of En-Fi and Sci-Fi. In the first novel “Greenwars” (d’ettut 1998) the overriding engineering component is AARDVARK (accelerated animal reasoning, decision making, voicing and reflective kinetics); the interactive voting video and dolphin scooters. The second novel “Pie Square” (d’ettut 2000) has as the major engineering component the interactive video games. The third novel, “Vampire Cities” (d’ettut 2000) has as the major engineering component a conductor’s baton (although this might be construed as science fiction). Two of the actual novels, “Greenwars” and “Pie Square” have been appended as part of the thesis presentation. They both deal with the central character “Adam Teforp”, also featured in “Amber