A Clockwork Heart

Author:

Bilger, Alexander Ray

Area of Honors:

English

Degree:

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type:

Thesis

Thesis Supervisors:

Charlotte Amalie Holmes, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Xiaoye You, Thesis Honors Advisor

Keywords:

Eldritch Horror
Fantasy
Creative Writing
19th Century

Abstract:

The purpose of my thesis is to explore the relationship between humanity and rapidly advancing technology in a fictional industrial revolution setting, rather than the science fiction setting typically used for such stories. A primary focus will be on the ethics of merging the mechanical and the biological, and the potential for such a thing to be abused. Additionally, I wanted to consider the near religious aspects of exceptionally advanced technology and some pursuits of it – primarily those of a less ethical nature – by making this piece have an eldritch horror aspect to it, which will be developed later, as this is a section of what I intend to make a longer work. While advanced technology and pseudo-religious aspects of it are my primary focus, there are numerous secondary themes I intend to explore through worldbuilding and setting. Greece in the 19th century had its own, little recognized, monarchy and I wished to explore what it could have been like had their power never waned and they remained the focal point of Southern European civilization. Furthermore, I wish to explore ethnic tensions in the midst of overwhelming social and technological change, a subject that is unfortunately ever-relevant. While we are far detached from the 19th century now, in both culture and technology, I believe that the time period and its issues mirror our own and exploring it with my previously mentioned themes in mind can be relevant in modern day.