9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Following a devastating nuclear war, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Lilith Iyapo awakens[br]after 200 years of stasis 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to find herself surrounded by a group [br]of aliens called the Oankali. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 These highly intelligent beings [br]want to do something 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they claim will be mutually beneficial: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 trade DNA by breeding with humans 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so that each species’ genes [br]can fortify the other. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Should Lilith hold on to her ideas [br]of what it means to be human, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or make a leap into the biological [br]unknown? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 These questions haunt Octavia Butler’s Dawn, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the first in her trilogy Lilith’s Brood. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 A visionary storyteller who upended science fiction, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Butler built stunning worlds throughout her work– 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and explored dilemmas that keep us awake at night. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Born in 1947, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Butler grew up shy and introverted in [br]Pasadena, California. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 She dreamt up stories from an early age, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and was soon scribbling these scenarios on paper. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 At twelve, she begged her mother for a typewriter 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 after enduring a campy science fiction film called Devil Girl From Mars. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Unimpressed with what she saw, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Butler knew she could tell a better story. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Much science fiction featured white male heroes 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 who blasted aliens or were uninvited saviors for brown people. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Butler wanted to write diverse characters 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and bring nuance and depth to the representation of their experiences, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 all while exploring mind-bending scenarios. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 For Butler, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 imagination was not only for planting the seeds of science fiction– 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but also a strategy for surviving an unjust world on one’s own terms. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Typically, her work takes troubling features of the world 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 such as discrimination on the basis of race, gender, class, or ability, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and invites the reader to contemplate them in new contexts. [br] 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 One of her most beloved novels, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the Parable of the Sower, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 follows this pattern. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It tells the story of Lauren Oya Olamina 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 as she makes her way through a world [br]ruined by corporate greed, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 inequality, and environmental destruction. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 As she struggles with hyperempathy, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or the ability to feel others’ pain, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Lauren embarks on a quest with a group [br]of refugees to find a place to thrive. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There, they seek to live in accordance [br]with Lauren’s found religion, Earthseed, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 which is based on the principle 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that humans must adapt to an [br]ever-changing world. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Lauren’s quest had roots [br]in a real life event– 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 California Prop 187, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 which attempted to deny illegal immigrants[br]fundamental human rights, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 before it was deemed unconstitutional. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Butler frequently incorporated [br]contemporary news into her writing. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In her 1998 sequel to The Parable of the [br]Sower, Parable of the Talents, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 she wrote of a presidential candidate 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 who controls Americans with virtual [br]reality and “shock collars.” 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 His slogan? “Make America great again.” 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 While people have noted her prescience, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Butler was also interested in [br]re-examining history. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 For instance, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Kindred tells the story of a woman 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 who is repeatedly pulled back in time 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to the Maryland plantation [br]of her ancestors. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Early on, she learns that her mission [br]is to save the life of the white man 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 who will rape her great grandmother. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If she doesn’t, she herself [br]will cease to exist. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 This grim dilemma forces Dana to [br]confront the ongoing trauma 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 of slavery and sexual violence [br]against Black women. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 With her stories of women who [br]founded new societies, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 time travelers overcoming [br]historical strife, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and interspecies bonding, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Butler had a profound influence on growing[br]popularity of Afrofuturism. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That’s a movement where Black writers and [br]artists who are inspired by the future 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 produce works that incorporate magic, [br]history, technology and much more. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And today, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Butler’s work remains a powerful reminder 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that imagination can be a tool [br]for real change– 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 as well as a rallying call for those who [br]seek other ways to be in the world. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 As Lauren comes to learn in [br]Parable of the Sower, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "All that you touch you Change. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 All that you Change Changes you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The only lasting truth is Change.”