MEMOIRS OF A MAD SCIENTIST

ONE: SOLARPUNK OUTLAW

112,000 words

Neurodiverse Robin Goodwin’s 2076 memoir frames tales of the 113-year-old inventor’s and allies’ adventures fighting bureaucrats, profiteers, warlords and fanatics to beat climate change, pollution, pandemics, and famines for a solarpunk future.

2076 is a world we want to live in, a protopia that is not perfect but that gets a bit better every day. 113-year-old Robin Goodwin is an autistic scientist and inventor who helped make this future possible. Robin’s first-person memoir uses reflections and essays to frame a century’s worth of anecdotes. These are the stories of one brilliant scientist’s efforts to apply knowledge to enhance human flourishing.

Robin is frustrated when their revolutionary innovations are unappreciated, obstructed, or actively opposed by those Robin has been told to trust and obey. The possibilities for slowing or repairing the effects of climate change are obvious to Robin, but the authorities are oblivious or hostile. Robin has to make increasingly drastic choices between following the rules or following their own judgment. Despite working for the common good, Robin must learn to behave like an outlaw to stay alive and out of prison long enough to put these inventions into people’s hands.