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A Protocol Fiction Protocol

TalkVenkatesh Rao, Travis, Sachin Benny, Timber
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A Protocol Fiction Protocol
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Venkatesh Rao presents a theory of 'protocol fiction' as a genre distinct from both heroic fantasy (Ted Chiang's 'special people') and science fiction (Chiang's 'strange rules'), arguing it uniquely captures how humans transform alongside technological/institutional change rather than merely reacting to it or resisting it collectively (per Ursula Le Guin's 'carrier bag' model). He traces this through modernist literature, detective fiction, and Asimov/Dick/cyberpunk eras, then outlines three ways protocols appear in fiction (authorial process, central theme, background device), before Travis Van Epps and Sachin Benny discuss their own protocol-fiction writing experiments, including LLM ping-pong drafting techniques and story ideas drawn from DAO governance and care-package logistics in Venezuela.

Topics

agency-in-system-vs-agency-in-protagonist-bechdel-test-for-protocol-fictionfictionllm-assisted-co-writing-techniques-claudechatgpt-ping-pongprotocol-fiction-as-a-genre-distinct-from-heroic-fantasy-and-classic-sci-fiprotocolstechnologyted-chiangs-strange-rules-vs-special-people-distinctionthree-modes-of-protocols-in-fiction-authoring-process-central-theme-background-devicetown-hall

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