NATO 2099: A Graphic Novel

• NATO 2099: A Graphic Novel
  , edited by Florence Gaub *

Foreword

The future is never here – and yet, it always is. More than half of our waking moments are spent worrying, hoping, thinking about a time that is yet to come. In the military, this number might be even higher as our task is by definition to deter and prepare for worst-case scenarios.

And yet, as defence institutions we are not making enough use of the one genre that is the perfect fit for all these thoughts: science fiction. Often called the literature of ideas, scientifiction, speculative fiction or science fantasy, science fiction has been, for over 150 years (if not longer), the realm where humans play with innovation, think through the implications of technology, and imagine all sorts of disruptive events. When people dismissively say “that is science fiction,” they have it the wrong way around: science fiction is quite skilled at imagining things that can happen. Destination Moonbase Alpha, a 1970s series I marvelled at as a young man, featured flat screens, sliding doors and talking computers – none of which we find outrageous today. And while the lunar base in which it is set is yet to come, states around the world are feverishly working on it. Jules Verne, the French author, is no longer even widely viewed as a science fiction author as many of his predictions, from the submarine to the internet, have materialized.

It is precisely this predictive capability of science fiction we wanted to harness with NATO 2099. Written 75 years after the Alliance’s founding, and set 75 years into the future, it is a story that not only inspires, but also
encourages us to face the challenges head on – what is called the Stockdale paradox. Named after US Navy Admiral Stockdale, it invites us to “never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end — which you can never afford to lose — with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” Put more amusingly and in the words of my favourite comic figures, Calvin and Hobbes: “The problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present.” Facing this reality is the first step in shaping
the future – after all, this is our role.

Max A.L.T. Nielsen, Commandant, NATO Defense College

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