CARE

CARE: A deeply human story of resistance, identity, and the quiet, revolutionary power of care.

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What is CARE?

The novel CARE is my debut project, a work of speculative fiction that evolved significantly from its initial concept.

About the Project: CARE

This project is a powerful dystopian debut novel. It is a deeply human story exploring resistance, identity, and the quiet, revolutionary power of care. Set in the 'United Isles of Britannus and Hibernus' (formerly Great Britain and Ireland), the narrative follows Scott Hunter as he questions the rule of the authoritarian 'Unison Trust'.

What Inspired Me

My debut novel, CARE, unexpectedly grew from a simple idea: to explore my formative experiences growing up amidst Northern Ireland’s deep political divisions and my early career as a care provider.

  1. Political Conflict: I was born in London but grew up in Northern Ireland in the 90s, experiencing the tail-end of the conflict and witnessing firsthand what real political and religious division can do to a country with segregated communities.
  2. Care Experience: During those impactful times, observing conflict and vulnerability firsthand profoundly shaped the story. My early career included working as a care assistant at a nursing home and then moving into community care and student support.
  3. Thematic Goal: Somewhere along the way, that initial short story morphed into a sprawling dystopian sci-fi novel. I found myself building a futuristic world, reimagining Northern Ireland as ‘Ulsteria’ to explore themes of society, humanity, and our future.

What I Learned

The project forced a deep exploration of complex ethical questions.

  • Ethical Price of Progress: The novel grapples with complex questions surrounding the ethics of advanced artificial intelligence (AI), exploring the delicate and increasingly ambiguous boundary that separates sophisticated machinery from sentient beings.
  • The Nature of Humanity: The narrative compels readers, through Scott Hunter’s journey, to ponder deeply ethical questions like: What defines humanity? and what it means to be human.
  • Obedience vs. Awakening: The story explores the profound tension between obedience and awakening/rebellion.

How I Built the Project

The construction of CARE relied on blending personal experience, varied professional skills, and speculative imagination.

  • Blending Experience: My diverse career path—care assistant, educator, and multimedia designer—informs my storytelling style, allowing me to blend creative visuals and empathetic understanding to craft compelling narratives.
  • Developing the Protagonist: My keen observational skills, honed through my career roles, lend credibility to the portrayal of the protagonist, 'Scott Hunter', who lives with cerebral palsy and navigates daily life with his android assistant, 'DEC-E'.
  • World-Building: The novel is rich in atmospheric details. It paints a hauntingly plausible vision of a future where technological advancement has come at a steep ethical price. This includes creating gleaming technological marvels alongside subtle cracks hinting at systemic oppression. Scott Hunter is drawn into conflict after investigating the flaws within this fractured society and sensing the sinister truth beneath the synthetic calm.

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