What If a Tech CEO Tried to Save the World With Geoengineering? An Excerpt From ‘Veil’

Eliot Peper’s new science fiction thriller ‘Veil’ imagines a world in which the wealthy and powerful can hijack the climate at will

Eliot Peper
OneZero
Published in
14 min readMay 18, 2020

--

An illustration of the Earth balancing on a triangular peak, tilting toward one side
Image: Daniel Grizelj/Photodisc/Getty Images

As the climate crisis grows increasingly dire, a radical question is appearing on more politicians’ lips: What if we geoengineer our way out of the mess? The notion that we could reduce global temperatures with a sweeping technical fix and for relatively cheaply — by, say, spraying particulates into the sky to block the sunlight — is at first blush rather appealing. But then it would likely produce drastic and potentially devastating unintended consequences, too.

Enter Eliot Peper’s latest book, Veil. Peper’s work always has a ‘next five-minutes-to-five years in the future’ vibe, and the latest is no different; the speculative fiction writer has crafted a modern parable about ecological collapse, climate change, technology, and power.

“This scenario raises so many questions that will define the coming century: what does it mean to exist within an environment in which

--

--

OneZero
OneZero

Published in OneZero

OneZero is a former publication from Medium about the impact of technology on people and the future. Currently inactive and not taking submissions.

Eliot Peper
Eliot Peper

Written by Eliot Peper

Eliot Peper is the bestselling author of eleven novels, including most recently, Foundry. He also consults on special projects. www.eliotpeper.com

Responses (3)